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Miliband calls Labour Party reform
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David Miliband has called for organisational reform of the Labour Party as he warned that voters were pressing the "fast forward button" on politics.
The Foreign Secretary, seen as a likely successor to Gordon Brown, insisted that Labour had to be "a different kind of party" if it wanted to lead change.
He said the party should consider adopting open primaries to encourage wider participation to tackle the decline in membership and people's affinities with political parties.
His message was delivered in the annual John Smith memorial lecture, 15 years after the death of the former Labour leader who spearheaded the move to "one man, one vote" in the party.
"The need for organisational renewal does not go away. It is real and pressing," Mr Miliband said. "Real because people have moved on and politics has moved on. Pressing because the finger of the electorate is on the fast forward button."
The Foreign Secretary urged the party to learn from President Barack Obama's election in the US and from the Greek socialists in adapting to new political realities.
Mr Miliband argued that the party should look at open primaries, which are widely practised in America, and opening up the party to "friends", not just full members. He described the US Democrats' two million-strong network of supporters and 3,600 trained community organisers as a "genuine inspiration".
But, while many saw Mr Obama's campaign techniques as the natural model for Labour moving forward, Mr Miliband said he was also struck by the success of the Pasok party in Greece.
He said Pasok reforms, including ending its "macho" culture, helped it secure the left's only good showing in last month's Euro elections.
Other ideas that ought to be considered included quotas for male and female MPs and an ombudsman to regulate MPs, he said. "We need to be exploring all these ideas. They are about finding energy in communities, and multiplying the force of a national message through local, authentic, committed advocacy," he said.
