Labour deputy leadership contender Richard Burgon is calling for Jeremy Corbyn’s commitments to sweeping renationalisation to be enshrined in a new clause IV of the party’s constitution.
Clause IV sets out Labour’s defining aims, and was rewritten under Tony Blair’s leadership to eliminate the commitment to “the common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange”.
Burgon, the chosen candidate of key Corbyn allies including John McDonnell and Diane Abbott, said the promise of expanding public ownership of key sectors should be “hard-wired into our party’s core”.
“We need to modernise our party for the 21st century in order to win power. We can start doing this by updating those parts of our constitution that are now 25 years out of date,” he said.
“I will always publicly advocate and promote internal policies that seek to bring water, energy, rail and mail back into public hands whether it be from within the shadow cabinet or in a Labour government.
“Public ownership is popular, and we need to stay in tune with voters who are sick of being ripped off by private companies which treat public services as nothing more than cash cows.”
Burgon has won the backing of the bakers’ union and the Unite trade union, despite Unite’s pick for the leadership, Rebecca Long-Bailey, supporting the deputy frontrunner, Angela Rayner.
In order to make it on to the ballot paper alongside Rayner, he needs the support of one more affiliated organisation.
Other contenders include Dawn Butler, Ian Murray and Rosena Allin-Khan, but all appear to be struggling to secure the backing from either trade unions or constituency parties required to book their place in the final vote.
Corbyn has insisted that Labour “won the argument” during the general election campaign, and suggested Brexit was largely responsible for the party’s poor performance.
His allies are keen to ensure the party’s shift to the left under his leadership is not reversed under his successor.
Burgon said: “Before Jeremy’s leadership, the constant timidity to back what the public knew to be the obvious common sense solution of public ownership was driven by years of internal kowtowing to neoliberalism. There must never be a return to this dead end.
“If I win, I’ll fight to ensure that the leadership of our party never again refuses to argue for public ownership.”
The post of deputy leader was vacated by Tom Watson, who announced as the election campaign kicked off that he would not stand again in his West Bromwich East seat.
As with the leadership contest, the result of the ballot for deputy leader will be announced on 4 April.
