Labour must ditch online voting system unless doubts are addressed, unions say
Four trade unions have called for the Labour Party to ban the use of its online voting system, Anonyvoter, unless further proof of its robustness can be provided.
The demand came in a letter, seen by The Telegraph, from four general secretaries to David Evans, the party’s general secretary – the most senior Labour employee.
The intervention follows this newspaper’s investigation into how the system could, in theory, be open to abuse, and allegations from Left-wing figures that they are being disadvantaged.
Sam Tarry, the Labour MP for Ilford South, is threatening to sue the party to reveal the Anonyvoter records for the re-selection race he lost in October 2022.
Anonyvoter is a computer system that allows for remote online voting. It is used by many local Labour Party branches to pick candidates for the next general election, often alongside postal and in-person voting.
There is no suggestion that the system is inherently faulty. However Left-wing MPs have raised concerns in legal letters amid claims that in some cases it is used to help moderates.
Now four general secretaries from unions formally affiliated to the Labour Party have written to Mr Evans, in what amounts to a significant escalation of the row.
The signatories were Mick Whelan, of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), Dave Ward, of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), Maryam Eslamdoust, of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), and Matt Wrack, of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).
Mr Whelan is also chairman of the Trade Union and Labour Party Liaison Organisation (TULO), the body that brings together trade unions and the party.
The letter posed a series of questions about how the Anonyvoter system is being used, many revolving around fears that there are less checks and balances than in-person or postal voting, leaving the system in theory more open to abuse.
‘Verification processes’
One part of the letter read: “What assurances are there around the accuracy and integrity of the data which is uploaded to the Anonyvoter system? Are there any procedures guiding the handling of this data? Please share these procedures with us.
“What access is given to candidates in a selection to verify the accuracy of Anonyvoter voting, so they can be assured of the fairness of any result, similar to the extensive verification processes for postal and in-person voting?
“What access to the Anonyvoter system is given to candidates, similar to that of tellers during an in-person hustings, to ensure the integrity of the result? Please share any procedures covering this with us.
“What complaints have there been about unfair practices related to Anonyvoter during selections and how have these been dealt with by the party?
“Can you confirm that selections have always been paused to ensure full investigations and no further incidents?”
The trade union bosses wrote at the end of their letter: “If you are not able to answer these questions, as the general secretary of the Labour Party, we would have grave doubts about the continuing use of Anonyvoter.
“In that case, we would seek both a moratorium on its use until proper controls are in place, and a speedy and transparent resolution to all outstanding complaints.”
A moratorium would in effect mean an indefinite ban on using Anonyvoter for the picking of future candidates for the general election.
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While such a policy would have limited immediate impact, given many candidates have already been selected for seats at the next election, it reflects the scale of unease on the Left about the system.
A petition from the Left-wing activist group Momentum calling for a ban on Anonyvoter which launched on Friday has gathered about 3,000 signatures.
Mr Evans is understood to have issued a robust defence of the Anonyvoter system when asked about it at a meeting of Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) on Tuesday.
A Labour spokesman said last week in response to The Telegraph’s reporting that the party has “full confidence in the integrity” of the Anonyvoter system.
When approached last week about the concerns, the company that runs Anonyvoter and Jas Athwal, who beat Mr Tarry in the selection to be Labour’s candidate in South Ilford, both did not issue a comment.
