I think that campaign slogan is really silly.  I don’t want a treasurer who counts (spending all their time looking at the accounts – that’s what auditors do) I want a treasurer who can put in place strong strategies to raise money for our party, that’s what’s vital.

Tom Marley’s special brand of democracy means that only one candidate has been displayed on these pages, that’s why I felt I had to write this post about the reasons I am support Jack Dromey.  For those who don’t know anything, like BUCF, the Labour Party actually elects its treasurer, as well as its ruling body the NEC, and that is what we are doing this summer.

One of the reasons I am supporting Jack Dromey is because I don’t actually see what a Mark MacDonald victory would actually do to help the party.  I’ve simply not been convinced, and I’ve thought long and hard about this decision – I’m not voting on a whim at all, as I’m sure comrades might try to suggest.  Infact I only put my ballot in yesterday, after receiving it on Monday.  My decision to support Jack over Mark is down to experience.

For me, it’s not about service to the party – both candidates have excellent Labour credentials and tick all the right boxes for me.  It’s about experience.  Jack has been involved in the finances of large scale organisations for a number of years now.  As a trained barrister, I’m just not sure what Mark can give to the position.  Jack, famously took his Union out of the red and made it profitable again.  So we’ve seen him deliver, and yes maybe progress has been slow in the Labour Party, but we’ve had an easy ride so far.  We’ve never had to worry about finances up until now, as donors leave our movement when the polls go bad – that’s not Jack’s fault at all.  We need someone with a track record, experience and the ability to make tough decisions.  I searched, but just could not get that from Mark at all.

In this rather crucical time, what is needed is staying on the straight and narrow and to ensure that we don’t do anything to further de-stabilise the situation.  I’m sorry if this dissapoints some people, but the decision we are making will directly affect our party’s ability to fight a next general election, so I’ve chosen to stick with someone who knows the job.  It’s not the time to ask questions and naval gaze, it’s the time to hunker down and fight for our lives!

For the NEC i supported:  Ellie Reeves, Sonika Nirwal, Peter Wheeler, Peter Kenyon, Deborah Gardiner and Mohammad Ali.