The Labour Party’s annual conference in September 1952 was uniquely brutal. Delegates arrived in Morecambe to lashings of rain: the Cumbrian peaks across the bay were barely visible. After a sobering general election defeat in 1951, the party had become locked in a factional struggle. Its left and right wings (led by Nye Bevan and Hugh Gaitskell, respectively) were tearing each other apart. Writing for Tribune in the weeks afterwards, Michael Foot described a “splenetic” mood that at times threatened to “collapse into an irretrievable brawl”.
It culminated in a showdown election for the party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC). The Bevanites – members of the “Keep Left” slate – won by a landslide. Almost every right-wing candidate lost their seat. In the aftermath, one right-leaning trade unionist shouted so furiously that his dentures tumbled out.
The 2026 NEC election is unlikely to be as fraught as 1952, but it is still significant. The committee is responsible for providing Labour’s strategic direction and national governance, so its seats have always been hotly contested by the party’s various factions. The NEC has influence over candidate selections, election campaigns and party messaging. Andy Burnham came up against its power earlier this year when it blocked him from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election. As party leader, he will need to work with the NEC closely.
The most significant battle is over the nine seats allocated to constituency Labour parties (CLPs), which are voted on by members. After Keir Starmer changed the electoral system in 2020, from first past the post to single transferable vote, no faction has been able to assume overall control. But the exact make-up of the committee could still reveal a lot about where the membership’s allegiances lie.
There are three key factions in contention. Representing the right of the party is the “Labour to Win” slate, which is backed by Labour First and the Blairite think tank Progress. On the left is Momentum, which has retained its organising capacity from the Corbyn years. “Mainstream” – the newest of these three dominant groups within the Labour movement – represents the soft left, which might be better described as the broad centre of the party. The Mainstream group was formed last year with Burnham’s backing and championed his cause in parliament (though key members, such as Clive Lewis and Neal Lawson, do not have official roles in the new No10). Two candidates from another slate, “Restoration”, whose aim is to “make Labour working class again”, also made it on to the ballot, but it is unlikely to win more than one seat, if any.
Since April 2020, Labour to Win has been dominant, holding four of the nine CLP seats. It was formed after Starmer’s election as leader, with the aim of uniting party moderates behind him. A source close to the group said it’s confident that it will retain all but one of its existing seats, describing the fourth as “completely unpredictable”.
Momentum holds three. Mainstream formally has none, as it was only established this year, though an existing NEC member, Cat Arnold, is running on its slate. It was endorsed by the NEC stalwart Ann Black, who is stepping down from the committee this year after 24 years.
For Mainstream and Momentum, both of which are running three candidates, the prospect of taking a seat from Labour to Win – thereby depleting the right’s presence on the NEC – is tantalising. Polls suggest Mainstream will win three of the nine seats, closely followed by Labour to Win, also three, and Momentum with two. The ninth and final seat remains in contention.
Earlier this year, Mainstream and Momentum groups co-signed a call to “reset Labour”, which included pledges to reform party democracy. Momentum suggests this is evidence of its desire to make this NEC election not simply a factional contest but “more about what kind of Labour Party members want to be part of”.
The Labour right has traditionally been well organised. The same cannot be said of the soft left. Various informal groupings came before Mainstream, such as “Open Labour”, an activist collective that previously backed soft-left candidates (on 9 August, a majority of Open Labour members voted to disband and merge with Mainstream). But previous soft-left leaders, such as Ed Miliband or Neil Kinnock, have suffered for their allies’ inability to mobilise.
The emergence of Mainstream as a coordinated soft-left group is an important moment for Burnham because of how significant the NEC is as a source of organisational legitimacy. Though popular with the party membership, Burnham won the leadership uncontested and therefore does not have a formal mandate from it. An efficient soft left representing Burnham’s interests on the committee will give him power beyond his MPs and make it harder for internal opponents to constrain his agenda.
Though the run-up to this NEC election has been far quieter than the row of 1952, behind-the-scenes machinations remain a key part of Labour Party politics. If Mainstream wins all the seats it’s contesting, Burnham will be bolstered by an organised soft-left bloc on the NEC. When he accepted the party leadership on 17 July, Burnham pledged to end the “factionalism that has bedevilled us”. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister could soon be strengthened by the very machinery he hopes to transcend.
[Further reading: The Kemi-naissance is bullshit]
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This article appears in the 12 Aug 2026 issue of the New Statesman, A Very British Scandal
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Subscribe here to commentThe problem with the Left is the messianic fervour of their beliefs. When will they realise, as the Right always has, that power is what democracy is about. Being right and out of power, as we were between 2010 and 2024, is so useless that the people concerned, Brown, the main culprit, followed by Milliband and Corbyn, should be ashamed of themselves, if their egos allowed for shame.
The Right on!y care about being in government. Trouble is Right wing Labour in power gets us nowhere!
Messiahs aren’t restricted to any one political tendency – they pop up all over the place. I seem to remember Blair being disastrously messianic over Iraq.