Michael Foster v Iain McNicol (sued on behalf of all other members of the Labour Party except the claimant and the Second Defendant) and Another
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judge | Mr Justice Foskett |
| Judgment Date | 28 July 2016 |
| Neutral Citation | [2016] EWHC 1966 (QB) |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division |
| Docket Number | Case No: HQ16X02502 |
| Date | 28 July 2016 |
[2016] EWHC 1966 (QB)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
Mr Justice Foskett
Case No: HQ16X02502
Gavin Millar QC and Sarah Hannett (instructed by Simons Muirhead and Burton) for the Claimant
Mark Henderson and Keina Yoshida (instructed by William Sturges) for the First Defendant
Martin Westgate QC and David Lemer (instructed by Howe and Co) for the Second Defendant
Hearing date: 26 July 2016
Approved Judgment
I direct that pursuant to CPR PD 39A para 6.1 no official shorthand note shall be taken of this Judgment and that copies of this version as handed down may be treated as authentic.
Introduction
This case raises the question of whether the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party ('the NEC') was correct in the decision it reached that Mr Jeremy Corbyn MP, the current Leader of Labour Party and ex-officio the Leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party ('the PLP') and Leader of HM Opposition, should be entitled to take part in the forthcoming leadership ballot "automatically" without the need to obtain nominations from the combined membership of the PLP and the European Parliamentary Labour Party ('the EPLP'). The decision was reached by a majority of 18–14 at a meeting on 12 July 2016.
The challenge to that decision is brought by the Claimant, Mr Michael Foster, as a member of the Labour Party ('the LP'), which in law is an unincorporated association, who seeks to enforce the contract of membership that the legal status of the Labour Party confers on its individual members. As Stanley Burnton J, as he then was, in Choudhry & Ors v Triesman [2003] EWHC 1203 (Comm) said of the LP at [38]:
"Its constitution is contained in its rules contained in the rule book, which constitute a contract to which each member adheres when he joins the party"
It is not disputed that the Claimant has the right in principle to bring this claim.
His case is that the relevant rules of the LP require Mr Corbyn to obtain the same minimum number of nominations from the combined membership of the PLP and the EPLP as any other MP wishing to take part in the ballot.
The timetable for the leadership ballot was published on 14 July which provided for a nomination period of approximately 48 hours between 18 and 20 July. During that nomination period there were valid nominations for Mr Owen Smith MP (with 90 supporters) and Ms Angela Eagle MP (with 72 supporters). Ms Eagle withdrew her nomination subsequently and Mr Smith is thus Mr Corbyn's opponent in the ballot provided, of course, Mr Corbyn is entitled to take part in the ballot.
Various other provisions were made concerning the electoral process, but all that I need record for present purposes is that during the week commencing 22 August the ballot mailing will be despatched to those entitled to vote and the ballot will close at midday on Wednesday, 21 September. A special conference is scheduled for 24 September when the result will be announced, that being the day before the annual Labour Party conference begins on 25 September 2016.
It is plain that an urgent decision on the Claimant's challenge is required if that timetable is to be met. I should, however, say that Mr Mark Henderson, who represents the First Defendant, indicated that the NEC would respect and comply with the decision of the court and that the current electoral process was not irreversible. Mr Gavin Millar QC, who represents the Claimant, said that it was not the Claimant's wish that Mr Corbyn should be denied the opportunity to stand in the contest if his (the Claimant's) case succeeded.
However, notwithstanding that, these proceedings have been expedited: the Claimant's letter before claim of 13 July 2016 was addressed to the First Defendant, Mr Ian McNicol, the General Secretary of the LP, and was copied to Mr Corbyn. The proceedings were issued on 14 July. Under the careful guidance of Deputy Master Partridge and Master Victoria McCloud, and with the industry of the legal teams for all interested parties (including, by addition as a party, Mr Corbyn), the case was ready for argument on 26 July. I had received the Skeleton Arguments for all parties prior to the hearing together with all relevant documents. I heard oral submissions from Mr Millar QC, Mr Henderson and Mr Martin Westgate QC, for Mr Corbyn, on Tuesday, 26 July.
Overall, it has seemed right that I should treat the need for a decision as urgent. In an ideal world I would have valued a little longer to think about the submissions and to produce a more considered judgment, but the circumstances have not afforded that luxury. I have, accordingly, produced this judgment (which was sent in draft to the parties shortly after 9.00 am today) and thus in a relatively short period following the hearing. I have been conscious, of course, that whatever my decision might be, one or other party may wish to challenge it before the Court of Appeal. That is another reason why I have produced the decision quickly.
It is obvious that the outcome of these proceedings is of considerable importance to the LP generally and to Mr Corbyn. It will, of course, be of wider interest too. It is equally obvious that it may have significant political implications, both in the short and longer term. I wish to emphasise as strongly as I can (i) that no court brings to any case any political agenda and (ii) that such political consequences or implications as there may be are of no relevance to the legal analysis asked of the court and that analysis is wholly uninfluenced by political considerations or indeed by media or other comment on the issues to be considered.
As will emerge below, what is essentially required of the court is its interpretation of one particular clause in the current Labour Party Rule Book ('the Rule Book') in the context of the rules as a whole. It is therefore a very narrow legal issue. It is upon that issue that this ruling is focused. All other matters are irrelevant unless they are needed to help in arriving at the correct interpretation of those rules. Even then, anything that is arguably to be regarded as "political" would be approached with very considerable caution by any court and, as will be apparent in due course, had it been necessary for me to consider matters that might have trespassed into the political arena I would have trodden a very cautious path. Mr Westgate quite rightly said that the court should be extremely careful not to find itself picking sides in a political debate.
I should also say for the record that reports in the media, and indeed in the material put before me, indicate that there is controversy about aspects of the meeting on 12 July 2016. No such issues have been raised with me and I emphasise that nothing in this judgment is intended to reflect on those matters, one way or the other.
The background
The story has been played out in the media over the last few weeks and will be well known to those interested in it. Given the time constraints, I will summarise the essential elements of the background very briefly.
Mr Corbyn has been the Leader of the LP (and thus Leader of the PLP and HM Opposition) since 12 September 2015. He was elected with 59.5% of the total vote of LP members, affiliated supporters and registered supporters, with a total vote of 251,417 votes out of the 422,664 who voted. Following the result of the referendum on the UK's continued membership of the EU on 23 June 2016, Mr Corbyn lost a vote of no confidence conducted by the PLP on 28 June 2016. 172 Labour MPs supported the motion of no confidence and 40 voted against it. There were 4 spoilt ballot papers and 14 abstained from voting.
Notwithstanding that vote, Mr Corbyn has not resigned from the position of Leader of the LP or from the positions he holds by virtue of being Leader of the LP.
By 11 July 2016 Ms Eagle had obtained the requisite number of nominations from the members of the PLP and EPLP to mount a leadership challenge and it was against that background that the meeting of the NEC on 12 July 2016 took place. Its purpose was to consider the arrangements for the leadership election including, of course, the question of whether Mr Corbyn required support by way of nominations in order to take part in the election. I have indicated above (paragraph 5) what took place thereafter.
The NEC and what it had to consider
The NEC is, subject to the control and directions of Party conference, "the administrative authority of the [LP]": Chapter 1, Clause II.1 of the 2016 Rule Book. The "Party conference" is provided for in Chapter 1, Clause VI. Clause VIII provides in detail for the responsibilities of the NEC which include a duty "to uphold and enforce the constitution, rules and standing orders of the [LP]": Clause VIII.3A.
Chapter 1, Clause VII.1(ii) provides as follows:
"The leader and deputy leader of the Party shall be elected or re-elected from among Commons members of the PLP in accordance with procedural rule Chapter 4 Clause II …, at a Party conference convened in accordance with clause VI above. In respect to the election of the leader and deputy leader, the standing orders of the PLP shall always automatically be brought into line with these rules."
Chapter 4 contains the crucial provisions relating to elections for national officers of the LP. Clause II.1A provides that the procedures that follow "provide a rules framework which, unless varied by the consent of the NEC, shall be followed when conducting elections for Party officers [and that the] NEC will also issue...
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