KEITH GRAY v THE LABOUR PARTY: CHALLENGE TO POLICY NOT TO STAND CANDIDATES IN NORTHERN IRELAND
KRW LAW LLP (KRW) is instructed by Keith Gray. Mr Gray is a resident of Northern Ireland. He is also a member of the Labour Party UK. He pays a subscription to the Labour Party UK as do many other people in Northern Ireland and many with union subscriptions. Labour Party members in Northern Ireland belong to one Constituency Labour Party (CLP) which represents the 18 constituencies.
Today KRW, on behalf of Keith Gray, has sent a Pre-Action Protocol Letter to the General Secretary of the Labour Party UK, David Evans. This letter puts the Labour Party UK on notice of Mr Gray’s intention to request the High Court to rule that the Labour Party UK is in breach of its contract with Mr Gray on the grounds of discrimination and is acting in bad faith in not fielding Labour Party UK candidates at elections in Northern Ireland.
In addition, Mr Gray maintains that the policy of the Labour Party UK is also in breach of that contract as being incompatible with Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is to be implied into the contract. Further, the policy denies Mr Gray his rights under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which secures the right to freedom of expression.
Mr Gray said:
“I am a proud member of the Labour Party. I want to be able to elect Labour Party candidates to local councils, Stormont and Westminster. I want to be able to put myself up for candidature. The SDLP is not a ‘sister-party’ as the NEC and leadserhip say it is. SDLP policies are not the policies of the Labour Party. For too long members of the Labour Party have been discriminated against and the trust between them and the Labour Party has been broken. Now is the time for a challenge. I am standing for Secretary of Labour Party Northern Ireland’s at its AGM on Saturday 6 March 2021.”