The Labour leadership are submitting a proposal to further emasculate the Party Conference because there is a danger that people may disagree with their policies, and that would show disunity in the full glare of publicity. Heaven forbid, we wouldn't want to be seen to do that, would we? Far better to tamely accept the policies handed down to us by our Leaders with ne'er a word of dissent. Policies will instead be rubber stamped behind closed doors at so-called 'Policy Forums' (I remember Clare Short selling us that pile of crap as an improvement to democracy). Instead, the Conference will become even more of a television and photo beanfeast for the media who will lap up a series of presentations from Ministers telling the nation what wonderful things they have been doing. Party political broadcasts on the cheap, with delegates clapping like demented seals.... and being stupid enough to pay for the privilege of being extras on a movie set.

Any real vestige of democracy at the Labour Party Conference disappeared years ago. Why, even this year I am informed by Labour right-winger Luke Akehurst about a resolution submitted from my own Constituency Labour Party, Warley. It is a pro-Trident, pro-nuclear weapons resolution that one would fully expect to come from my MP John Spellar. But why do I find out we have submitted a resolution in favour of nuclear weapons by reading some right-wing blog? I have been a delegate to Warley Constituency Labour Party (and its predecessor Warley East) for over 25 years. I can never recall the CLP discussing nuclear weapons or Trident renewal.

Oh, I have no doubt that Spellar could wheel out the delegates to vote in favour of this sort of resolution.... but what about the handful of us that don't want to nuke Iran? They may not want to hear our voices, but for heavens sake, these are Party meetings, behind closed doors. They can't even hide behind the smokescreen of 'disunity in public'. And should resolutions be submitted to Party Conference in the name of a Constituency Labour Party when they haven't even been the subject of even a cursory consideration by that CLP?

"Democracy should mean that we elect representatives to manage the economy so that it can be made to serve the interests of the people, but new Labour has interpreted its role as managing the people so that they can be made to serve the interests of the economy more profitably."

Tony Benn