The LabourList website is carrying a story this morning that an unscheduled election at Labour’s National Policy Forum was cancelled because of ‘insufficient notice’.

The meeting was staged to elect a new NPF chair after Ann Cryer announced she was stepping down and right-wingers have – of course – blamed Momentum for the cancellation, claiming “Momentum only likes party democracy that goes its way“. Momentum-backed NEC officers were not involved in the decision to cancel the meeting.

However, the reality is somewhat different.

A senior Labour source told the SKWAWKBOX:

Blairites tried to hijack the NPF and stage an illegal vote to impose Ann Black as chair. All hell broke loose and some right-wingers are alleging physical bullying, but that’s a straightforward lie. The vote will take place – but it will be conducted by postal ballot over a period of four weeks to give every NPF member the chance to participate instead of it being done at a short-notice meeting with controlled attendees. A formal complaint has been lodged against [a female north-west MP] for abusive behaviour toward the chair.

For NPF elections to be valid, seven days notice is required according to party rules.

NPF officers have no authority to call an election or to overrule the NEC.

LABOURlist’s new editor originally tweeted that:

However, she subsequently deleted that tweet and ‘clarified’:

Eyewitnesses have vehemently denied to the SKWAWKBOX that anything like this took place, but that Kerr himself was the target for abuse.

The attempt by right-wingers to crowbar Ms Black into the chair’s position will not help her chances of attracting support from the left for her intended bid to stand as an independent after she failed to win reselection for the left slate in the forthcoming NEC elections.

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