May 26, 2020
Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.Keir Starmer has received a fresh boost to his leadership after Labour’s ruling body appointed his preferred candidate to be the party’s new general secretary.
David Evans Appointed New Labour General Secretary In Boost For Keir Starmer
David Evans, a former party official under Tony Blair, will succeed Jenny Formby in the top post, the National Executive Committee (NEC) decided on Tuesday.
Evans, who was an assistant general secretary until 2001, came ahead of nearest rival, the trade unionist Byron Taylor, after a lengthy interviewing session.
The move marks another significant break with the Jeremy Corbyn era and underlines Starmer’s determination to replace internal factional rows with a focus on turning the party’s HQ into an election-winning machine.
Starmer made plain earlier this month that he wanted to “move on” from his predecessor’s tenure, revealing that Formby left the Job by “mutual consent”.
The narrow vote by 20 votes - just over half of the 38-strong NEC -  highlighted the slender pro-Starmer majority on the ruling body.
Insiders said that the crucial two votes of the GMB union proved decisive. However, the Welsh Labour representative, Mick Anoniw, is understood to have voted against Evans.
Evans said: “We face a defining period in the history of our great party, with a global pandemic, an imminent recession and a mountain to climb to win the next election. Through the strength of our movement, I know we can rise to this challenge.”
Starmer added: “He brings a wealth of experience to this crucial role and a clear understanding of the scale of the task ahead of us.”
The NEC is due to meet next month for a special meeting on fresh elections of local constituency reps, with a move towards single transferable vote (STV) elections expected to embed the Labour leader’s ‘moderate’ supporters.Evans was a regional secretary in the North West in the 1990s and then assistant general secretary for two years, before leaving set up his own consultancy firm, The Campaign Company.
He had upset some leftwingers with a paper he produced under Blair in which he called for a “radical overhaul” of the party to “excite and enthuse our own membership”.
“Done correctly, it will empower modernising forces within the party and marginalise Old Labour,” he had written, when arguing for a shake-up of local constituency parties and more power given to members.
The battle to become Starmer’s general secrertary has been fraught with intringue for weeks. Former party official Emilie Oldknow was a contender until a leaked anti-Semitism report listed her scathing views of Corbyn.
Lisa Johnson of the GMB union was another fancied candidate until her union was plunged into a crisis of its own by the resignation of general secretary Tim Roache amid allegations about his private conduct.
Unite’s Anneliese Midgley, another possible front-runner, opted not to apply for the post last week but was swiftly appointed as Starmer’s senior adviser.
The final shortlist for the job included former Corbyn policy chief Andrew Fisher, former MEP Neena Gill, former Cooperative Party chief Karin Christiansen and ex-teachers’ union president Amanda Martin.
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard was in Holyrood and did not take part in the Zoom video meeting of the NEC.
One NEC member told HuffPost that Welsh Labour rep Antonwiw, who is a member of the Welsh Assembly, had made a mistake in not backing Evans./
“He has yet to vote in support of the Labour leader.  It’s very damaging for the relationship between the UK party and Wales - especially as he’s effectively voting against the Welsh membership.”
But one Left NEC source echoed concerns of FBU general secretary Matt Wrack, who had warned Evans’ appointment could be divisive.
The NEC source said: “Keir urged NEC members to vote for David Evans. If Evans now takes us back to the toxic culture in HQ, purges of left-wing members and stitch ups of parliamentary selections exposed in the leaked report, his appointment will be the worst mistake of Keir’s leadership.
“Keir and Angela both stood on election platforms promising to unite the party. Members won’t forgive them if they allow a hard-right General Secretary to wage factional warfare against the Left.
“They are responsible for making sure Evans fulfils their election promise to bring our party together, not tear it apart.”
Another Corbyn-era official, London regional director Hazel Flynn, is understood to have left her post in recent days.Related... 'He's Failed That Test': Kier Starmer Tears Into Boris Johnson Over Cummings Row Unite Official Anneliese Midgley Appointed As Senior Adviser To Keir Starmer Slowly, Surely, Keir Starmer Is Imposing His Will On The Labour Party
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Ruby Franke’s Husband REVEALS Alleged Rules He Had to Follow at Home | E! News
March 28, 2024
_mU-3lE2QwI
#KenanThompson speaks out following the #QuietonSet documentary. (🎥: Tamron Hall Show) #shorts
March 28, 2024
8AGP-Gfw_Ek
King Charles Shares "Great Sadness" at Missing Royal Appearance | E! News
March 28, 2024
lyizFqf1kQY
Martha Reeves Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 27, 2024
QzyezumEPtQ
Eminem, 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg Present Dr. Dre with a Star on the Walk of Fame
March 19, 2024
4bNLs1hxVp8
Opening Remarks for the Variety Summit October 20th, 2023 Jay Penske
March 18, 2024
c6Z707iLq8E
Montell Jordan Dishes On Young MC Wedding, 'This Is How Date Night' Plans | TMZ
March 28, 2024
G3SMExj-qio
Davina Potratz Says TV Not Helping 'Selling Sunset' Relationship Woes | TMZ
March 28, 2024
D4piy4GNm4k
Logan Paul Rips Graham Bensinger Over Documentary, You Promised Apple TV+ | TMZ Live
March 28, 2024
NiSDpZhZklQ
Prince William pinned royal medal to Spice Girl Mel B’s boobs #shorts
March 28, 2024
O1cQ0UW9pco
Jennifer Garner shares ‘hard’ part of raising her and Ben Affleck’s kids
March 28, 2024
3Q7mZaVUdgc
50 Cent's ex Daphne Joy named as an alleged sex worker in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs lawsuit #shorts
March 28, 2024
yhLFI8DG9rM
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
28
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
PSG W - Hacken W
28
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Barcelona W - SK Brann W
27
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Chelsea W - Ajax W
27
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Lyon W - SL Benfica W
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.