Curry with a spin - and Alastair Campbell: 27 Feb

For more information click here.

Where to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow this week

• Saturday 22nd February - holding a drop in advice surgery for local residents in Walthamstow's Selbourne Walk shopping centre between 2-4pm 
• Monday 24th February- attending the Walthamstow Labour Party meeting at Orford Road at 8pm 
• Tuesday 25^th February –  Leading on the opposition response to the Consumer Rights Bill in Committee session, seeking to tackle ticket touting and log book loans
• Thursday 27^th February – Participating in a Consumer Rights Bill Committee session in Westminster seeking to ensure consumers have a refund within 30 days and then attending the Curry with a Spin: Alistair Campbell fundraiser- see below for details.
• Friday 28^th February – meeting with the Waltham Forest Adult Employment Centre and holding an appointment only surgery in the Town Hall. To book a place at this please call 020 8521 1223. 

Walthamstow's Wonderful Women Walk - Saturday March 8 2014 Midday Cedars Ave

In this week's Working for Walthamstow newsletter Stella Creasy MP has announced a march to celebrate an event in 1910 when women marched along Cedars Avenue to support the Suffragettes' campaign:

Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, Aunts, Nieces & Neighbours - Let us Celebrate our Past to Inspire our Future! Walthamstow's Wonderful Women Walk - Saturday March 8 2014  Midday Cedars Ave

Hello! As your local MP too often I am the only woman at meetings about key decisions about the future of our community. That's why I'm asking you to join us celebrating Walthamstow's suffragette past to inspire a more equal future on International Women's daySaturday 8 March 2014 at midday in Walthamstow.  The Museum of London has recently provided me with a photograph of women marshalling on Cedars Avenue in Walthamstow in 1910. Here's my recent Tedxtalk about why we need to recreate this spirit and inspire women into participation in community and civic activism. We want to do this by posing for a photograph to recreate the suffragette's picture, and then marching down to the Assembly Halls where Waltham Forest Women's Network Festival is holding an all day women only festival for IWD 2014.  The march will form up around midday with an aim to get to the town hall complex by 2pm for the start of the festival. We want women and girls of all ages to join this march and celebrate - and men who share our ambitions to line the streets in support! We are also able to provide local schools and youth organisations with historical educational resources about this event.  You can help this event in three simple ways:  Please join our Facebook group if you plan to march with us so we can plan for attendance and please encourage friends and family to do so as well - you can also follow our twitter accountfor updates on this event  We need volunteer stewards on the day to help with the organisation of this event- if you can help please reply to this email  We would like to have banners and sashes for attendees - Significant Seams Craft Community Enterprise will be holding a session in the week before to make sashes and anyone else who can help with making banners or badges for those attending we would very much appreciate! If you have other ideas for how to make this march a vibrant celebration of equality please do get in touch - I hope you will feel inspired to join us in showcasing the history and celebrating the futures of Walthamstow's women!  Stella Creasy Labour and Co-operative MP for Walthamstow

Where to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow this week

• Wednesday 19th February - attending the workshop on street homelessness and Walthamstow's Christian Kitchen service. See diary for details 
• Saturday 22nd February - holding a drop in advice surgery for local residents in Walthamstow's Selbourne Walk shopping centre between 2-4pm 

Ed Miliband's proposed party reforms in brief

March 1st sees the Special Conference in London, on party reform. The Guardian published an explanation and commentary on January 31st which included the following summary of the proposals:

Union affiliation

Current

A member of an affiliated union pays a political levy automatically, unless they opt out. Some unions ask members if they wish to pay levy and for some of this money to go to the Labour party.

Future

Members of affiliated unions will be asked to give positive consent if they wish some of the political levy to go to Labour. They will also be asked if they want to become an affiliated Labour supporter. If they opt in to this they will be attached to a constituency party, with the right to vote in leadership contests. Labour will have a direct relationship with affiliated supporters for the first time, without unions acting as an intermediary. In addition registered supporters – not drawn from unions – will be able to sign up with same rights as affiliated supporters.

Conference

Current

Half of the votes go to the unions and half to constituency parties. The strength of a union's vote is dependent on the number of its political levy payers. Due to mergers, Unite, Unison and GMB represent three-quarters of the union section of the conference vote, making it very difficult for them to be defeated.

Future

There will be the same 50-50 division of votes between unions and constituencies. But the strength of individual union votes will be determined by the number of people who pay an affiliation fee. Ed Miliband says there may be other changes in future on the balance of power.

Labour leadership election

Current

The Labour leader is selected through an electoral college in which MPs and MEPs have a third of the vote, the unions a third and party members a third. To get on the ballot paper, a candidate needs to be nominated by at least 12.5% of Labour MPs.

In the union section of the electoral college, representing a third of the college, union political levy payers vote individually, on ballots requiring them to tick a box saying they support Labour. Fewer than one in 10 of those eligible to vote do so. Union executives issue the ballot papers, often advising members how to vote.

Candidates that fail to win the recommendation of the executive do not have the same access to union membership lists as those who did.

Future

Nomination threshold will rise to 20% of MPs. Individual voting by party members, affiliated supporters and registered supporters. No one will have more than one vote and no vote will be worth more than another. Ballot papers distributed by party, with equality of access for candidates to electorate.

MPs

Since reforms introduced by John Smith in 1994, MPs are currently only selected by full party members. That will not change, but there will be stricter codes of conduct and spending limits.

London mayor

Current

Candidates chosen via an electoral college of 50% party members and 50% union members.

Future

Individual voting in closed primary by party members, registered supporters and affiliated supporters on same basis as national leadership election.

You can read the full article here.