Headquarters London, England Vice-Chair Andy Kerr (CWU) | Chair Glenis Willmott Parent organisation Labour Party | |
Website Labour’s National Executive Committee | ||
The National Executive Committee (NEC) is the chief administrative body of the Labour Party. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affiliated trade unions, the Parliamentary Labour Party and European Parliamentary Labour Party, constituency Labour parties, and socialist societies, as well as ex officio members such as the Party Leader and Deputy Leader and several of their appointees.
Contents
During the 1980s, the NEC had a major role in policy-making and was often at the heart of disputes over party policy. In the Tony Blair era, the committee's role declined and its membership was reformed, but it remains the administrative authority of the party. Its former policy development function is now largely carried out by the National Policy Forum. One of its committees has disciplinary powers including the ability to expel members of the party who have brought it into disrepute or to readmit previously expelled members.
The Labour History Archive and Study Centre at the People's History Museum in Manchester has the full run of the minutes of the National Executive Committee in their collection.
Membership
As of Annual Conference 2016, the NEC has 35 members elected from the following constituencies:
In addition, the Chief Whip of the Labour Party (currently Nick Brown MP and the Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party (currently John Cryer MP) attend ex officio without a vote.
The General Secretary of the Labour Party acts as the non-voting secretary to the NEC.
Current members
Chair of the Labour Party
The chair of the party is elected by the NEC from among its own members, and holds office for a calendar year, chairing both NEC meetings and national party conferences.
The name of this post has become confused since 2001 when Labour Party leader Tony Blair appointed Charles Clarke to the courtesy position of "Party Chair" without the NEC or the national conference authorising such a position. The office's name remains "chair of the party" in the Labour Party Constitution, but elsewhere the party presents the position as "Chair of the NEC". Prior to 2001 the position was called "Chair of the Labour Party", and before that "Chairman of the Labour Party".
List of Chairs of the Party
(Information taken from British Political Facts 1900–1994, Butler & Butler 1994, pp. 144–5, the period down to 1993)
Chairmen of the Annual Conference of the Labour Representation Committee
1900: William Charles Steadman MP 1901: John Hodge 1902: William John Davis 1903: Joseph Nicholas Bell 1904: John Hodge 1905: Arthur Henderson MPChairmen of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Representation Committee
1900: William Charles Steadman MP 1901: Allan Gee 1902: Richard Bell MP 1903: John Hodge 1904: David J. Shackleton 1905: Arthur Henderson MPChairmen of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party
1906: Arthur Henderson MP 1907: J. J. Stephenson 1908: Walter Hudson MP 1909: John Robert Clynes MP 1910: Keir Hardie MP 1911: William Cornforth Robinson 1912: Ben Turner 1913: George Henry Roberts MP 1914: Tom Fox 1915: No conference held 1916: William Crawford Anderson MP 1917: George Wardle MP (acting) 1917–18: W. F. Purdy 1918–19: John McGurk 1919–20: William Harold Hutchinson 1920–21: Alexander Gordon Cameron 1921–22: Fred Jowett MP 1922–23: Sidney Webb MP 1923–24: Ramsay MacDonald MP 1924–25: Charlie Cramp 1925–26: Robert Williams 1926–27: Frederick Roberts MP 1927–28: George Lansbury MP 1928–29: Herbert Morrison MP 1929–30: Susan Lawrence MP 1930–31: Stanley Hirst 1931–32: George Lathan MP 1932–33: Joseph Compton 1933–34: Walter R. Smith 1934–35: William Albert Robinson 1935–36: Jennie Adamson 1936–37: Hugh Dalton MP 1937–39: George Dallas (no conference in 1938) 1939–40: Barbara Gould 1940–41: James Walker MP 1941–42: Walter Henry Green MP 1942–43: Alfred Dobbs 1943–44: George Ridley MP 1944–45: Ellen Wilkinson MP 1945–46: Harold Laski 1946–47: Philip Noel-Baker MP 1947–48: Emmanuel Shinwell MP 1948–49: Jim Griffiths MP 1949–50: Sam Watson 1950–51: Alice Bacon MP 1951–52: Harry Earnshaw 1952–53: Arthur Greenwood MP 1953–54: Wilfrid Burke MP 1954–55: Edith Summerskill MP 1955–56: Edwin Gooch MP 1956–57: Margaret Herbison MP 1957–58: Tom Driberg 1958–59: Barbara Castle MP 1959–60: George Brinham 1960–61: Richard Crossman MP 1961–62: Harold Wilson MP 1962–63: Dai Davies 1963–64: Anthony Greenwood MP 1964–65: Ray Gunter MP 1965–66: Walter Padley MP 1966–67: John McFarlane Boyd 1967–68: Jennie Lee MP 1968–69: Eirene White MP 1969–70: Arthur Skeffington MP 1970–71: Ian Mikardo MP 1971–72: Tony Benn MP 1972–73: William Simpson 1973–74: James Callaghan MP 1974–75: Fred Mulley MP 1975–76: Tom Bradley MP 1976–77: John Chalmers 1977–78: Joan Lestor MP 1978–79: Frank Allaun MP 1979–80: Lena Jeger 1980–81: Alex Kitson 1981–82: Judith Hart MP 1982–83: Sam McCluskie 1983–84: Eric Heffer MP 1984–85: Alan Hadden 1985–86: Neville Hough 1986–87: Syd Tierney 1987–88: Neil Kinnock MP 1988–89: Dennis Skinner MP 1989–90: Jo Richardson MP 1990–91: Tom Sawyer 1991–92: John Evans MP 1992–93: Tony Clarke 1993–94: David Blunkett MP 1994–95: Gordon Colling 1995–96: Diana Jeuda 1996–97: Robin Cook MP 1997–98: Richard Rosser 1998–99: Brenda Etchells 1999–00: Vernon Hince 2000–01: Maggie Jones 2001–02: Margaret Wall 2002–03: Diana Holland 2003–04: Mary Turner 2004–05: Ian McCartney MP 2005–06: Jeremy Beecham 2006–07: Michael Griffiths 2007–08: Dianne Hayter 2008–09: Cath Speight 2009–10: Ann Black 2010–11: Norma Stephenson 2011–12: Michael Cashman MEP 2012–13: Harriet Yeo 2013–14: Angela Eagle MP 2014–15: Jim Kennedy 2015–16: Paddy Lillis 2016–17: Glenis Willmott MEP