Former Mayor Ken Livingstone today backed Ed Miliband in a shake-up of the way Labour chooses its candidate for City Hall elections in 2016.
Mr Livingstone said Mr Miliband “got the balance right” in changes that will allow Labour-supporting members of the public to pick their candidate.
His intervention is a boost ahead of a crucial meeting of the party’s National Executive tomorrow. However, it will fuel claims that the Left could take advantage of the new rules to gain influence. Mr Miliband has staked his authority on pushing through his reforms at a special conference.
Mr Livingstone told the Standard: “It’s got the balance right. Initially the talk was that anyone could turn up and vote, but now they have to make a serious commitment to Labour.” Critics say union leaders could gain power from the changes, because their 2.7 million members far exceed the 200,000 regular members. Deputy leader Harriet Harman rejected the claims.
