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Labour presses on with 'one member, one vote' leadership reforms Labour presses on with 'one member, one vote' leadership reforms
(about 11 hours later)
Plans to reform Labour leadership elections are expected to go before the party's national executive committee this weekend, the BBC has learned.Plans to reform Labour leadership elections are expected to go before the party's national executive committee this weekend, the BBC has learned.
The party is thought to be planning to adopt the one member, one vote system.The party is thought to be planning to adopt the one member, one vote system.
Trade unions, which account for one third of the votes under current rules, have protested about the plans.Trade unions, which account for one third of the votes under current rules, have protested about the plans.
Leader Ed Miliband first proposed a "historic" change in his party's relationship with the unions after the Falkirk candidate selection scandal.Leader Ed Miliband first proposed a "historic" change in his party's relationship with the unions after the Falkirk candidate selection scandal.
Under the proposals, each of the roughly 200,000 Labour members will get a single vote in choosing the leader, but so will a new class of so-called associate members, who will pay a membership fee of £3 a year.Under the proposals, each of the roughly 200,000 Labour members will get a single vote in choosing the leader, but so will a new class of so-called associate members, who will pay a membership fee of £3 a year.
MPs and MEPs, who collectively also have a third of the votes in leadership elections at present, will be relegated to a role in short-listing candidates.MPs and MEPs, who collectively also have a third of the votes in leadership elections at present, will be relegated to a role in short-listing candidates.
Under current rules, the other two thirds of the power to elect a leader is divided equally between party members and of members of "affiliated organisations", such as unions.
Newsnight's Emily Maitlis said that some senior Labour party figures were worried that a move aimed at diminishing the unions' influence could end up handing them even more power.Newsnight's Emily Maitlis said that some senior Labour party figures were worried that a move aimed at diminishing the unions' influence could end up handing them even more power.
Some fear that the union leaders will use their powers to register large numbers of associate members and influence their decisions, despite the loss of their block votes, she added.Some fear that the union leaders will use their powers to register large numbers of associate members and influence their decisions, despite the loss of their block votes, she added.
The plans are expected to be introduced incrementally over a five-year period. Professor Roger Seifert, of Wolverhampton University, said it was "not clear" that Mr Miliband thought the move would reduce union influence.
"It just changes the nature of that influence, but fundamentally those people who pay the bills - the unions - will still have a big say in party policy," he said.
'Turning point'
However, John McTernan, a former adviser to Tony Blair, said the move could be a "turning point for the party".
"It's another example of Ed Miliband defining how the Labour Party are going to be in the future," he said.
The Labour leader was "choosing to be more Blairite than Tony Blair", Mr McTernan added.
Last summer, the Labour leader said: "In the 21st Century it doesn't make any sense for anyone to be affiliated to a political party unless they have chosen to do so."Last summer, the Labour leader said: "In the 21st Century it doesn't make any sense for anyone to be affiliated to a political party unless they have chosen to do so."
Changing its link with the unions would mean an end to "machine politics", he argued.Changing its link with the unions would mean an end to "machine politics", he argued.
The plans are expected to be introduced incrementally over a five-year period.
The announcement came after Unite, one of the party's biggest donors, was accused of signing up its members to Labour in Falkirk - some without their knowledge - in an effort to get its preferred parliamentary candidate selected.The announcement came after Unite, one of the party's biggest donors, was accused of signing up its members to Labour in Falkirk - some without their knowledge - in an effort to get its preferred parliamentary candidate selected.
The union was later cleared in an internal investigation.The union was later cleared in an internal investigation.