Conference invite fuels discrimination row

A British Labour Party member in Northern Ireland taking a race discrimination case against the leadership will today challenge an invitation to attend a special delegate conference.

GMB trade unionist Andy McGivern, whose solicitors yesterday lodged papers in the County Court in London in a race discrimination action against the party, revealed he has written to general secretary Matt Carter after receiving an invitation to attend a local government women’s and youth conference in the party at Gateshead next February.

The trade unionist, who has been protesting against the party’s refusal to allow Northern Ireland members to set up constituency associations, said: “I have received a letter inviting me to the spring conference to attend it as a delegate.

“However, I am not a constituency Labour Party delegate because Labour will not allow people in Northern Ireland to set up constituency parties.

“I therefore find it puzzling that I am being invited to attend this as a delegate and I have written to Matt Carter trying to establish on what basis am I being invited to the conference.”

Last year Mr McGivern succeeded in forcing the Labour leadership to overturn at their annual conference a 79-year ban on people in Northern Ireland joining the party.

The decision was taken to avoid an embarrassing race discrimination case.

However, the GMB member has had to initiate a fresh race discrimination legal action after the party’s national executive turned down at least two approaches from members in Northern Ireland to set up constituency parties like their colleagues in England, Scotland and Wales.

Labour Party members in Northern Ireland say they need constituency parties if they are to play a full part in the life of the party.

They argue that the constituency parties would enable people in Northern Ireland to select delegates to attend conferences and national policy forums which constituency parties in England, Scotland and Wales can do.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Labour chairman Ian McCartney and general secretary Carter have all been cited in the latest legal action from Mr McGivern.

He explained today that in his letter to Mr Carter he had asked a series of questions.

“I have made it clear that I would like to attend this conference as a member of the North Down Constituency Labour Party but am unable to do so because we are not allowed in Northern Ireland to form constituency parties,” he said.

“I have asked a number of questions such as under which party rule has this invitation to me been extended?

“How can anyone attend a conference like this as a delegate without being selected by a constituency party?

“How many invitations of this type to this conference have been sent out?

“Under what basis are Labour members in England, Scotland and Wales attending the conference?

“Who will I be representing and who will I be responsible to over any decision-making if I attend?

“It seems to me that, by asking me to attend this as a delegate, Labour is breaking its own rules, and I would not and could not accept the invitation on that basis.”