A candidate for the Your Party Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections has been ruled ineligible.

Ian Spencer, standing as part of the Grassroots Left slate for the North East, has had his candidacy in the CEC elections withdrawn. This was on the basis of an accusation that he is a member of another political party. He claims he is not and he’s appealing the decision.

Your Party conference votes

The CEC is a form of collective leadership. At Your Party’s founding conference in November 2025, members voted for a committee rather than a single leader. They also voted to allow dual membership. This means that Your Party members can also be members of other political parties. However there are two caveats to this. Firstly, the other parties need to be:

approved by the CEC as aligning with the Party’s values, to include those with whom the Party cooperates electorally. The approved list shall be subject to ongoing CEC review and annual ratification by National Conference.

As the CEC doesn’t yet exist, neither does the list of acceptable parties for dual membership. Also, ahead of the CEC forming, Your Party is still running on interim rules. These require exclusive membership.

Grassroots Left response

However, a statement on behalf of the Grassroots Left slate says Spencer isn’t in another party. It takes issue with the nature of the allegations and the suspension. It argues that Your Party needs to avoid any appearance of being like the Labour Party. The statement continues:

Many of us left the Labour Party, or were indeed suspended or expelled, because we experienced first-hand how accusations were weaponised, how due process was abandoned, and how internal democracy was hollowed out by bureaucratic exclusion. What is happening to Ian now is uncomfortably familiar and deeply concerning.

If unsubstantiated allegations are enough to bar someone from standing, if decisions are taken behind closed doors, and if members are expected to accept this without transparency, then we are heading directly towards a second witch hunt. Labour 2.0 in all but name.

We must build a genuinely socialist democratic party that unites the left, not divides it.

That’s why Grassroots Left wants to deliver maximum member democracy and put you in charge.

Your data, your money, Your Party.

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