Labor must ditch online voting system unless concerns are cleared, unions say

David Evans, general secretary of the Labor Party, has been sent a letter demanding proof of the anonymous voter's credibility. Photo: Eddie Mulholland for the Telegraph

Four trade unions have called on the Labor Party to ban the use of its online voting system Anonyvoter unless more evidence is provided of its reliability.

The demand comes in the form of a letter seen by The Telegraph. from four general secretaries to David Evans, the party's general secretary — Labour's most senior official.

The intervention follows this newspaper's investigation into how the system could theoretically be open. abuse and accusations that left-wing figures are being disadvantaged.

Sam Tarry, Labor MP for Ilford South, is threatening to sue the party to reveal Anonyvoter records in the re-election race, which he lost in October 2022.

Anonyvoter is a computer system that allows you to work remotely on the Internet. vote. It is used by many local Labor Party branches to select candidates for the next general election, often alongside postal voting 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 it is being used in some cases to help moderates.

Now four general secretaries of trade unions officially affiliated to the Labor Party have written to Mr Evans in what represents a significant escalation of the scandal.

The signatories included Mick Whelan of the Associated Society of Locomotive and Fire Engineers (ASLEF), Dave Ward of Communications Workers' Union (CWU), Maryam Eslamdoust, of the Transport Salaried Employees' Association (TSSA) and Matt Rack, of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).

Mr Whelan is also Chairman of the Trade Union and Labor Liaison Organization parties (TULO), the body that brings together trade unions and the party.

The letter raises a number of questions about anonymous voter use of the system, many of which revolve around concerns that there are fewer checks and balances than with in-person or mail voting, theoretically making the system more open to abuse.

«Processes» checks»

One part of the letter stated: “What guarantees are there regarding the accuracy and integrity of the data uploaded to the Anonyvoter system? Are there any procedures governing the processing of this data? Please share these procedures with us.

“What access are given to candidates when choosing to verify the accuracy of an anonymous voter's vote so that they can have confidence in the fairness of any result, similar to the extensive verification processes for absentee and in-person voting?

“What access to the Anonyvoter system is given to candidates, similar to that of vote counters during in-person elections, to ensure the integrity of the result? Please share with us any procedures regarding this issue.

“What complaints were made about unfair practices against Anonyvoter during the election and how did the party deal with them?”

“Can Do you confirm that selection has always been suspended to allow for a full investigation and to ensure that no further incidents occur?

The union bosses wrote at the end of their letter: “If you, as General Secretary of the Labor Party, are unable to answer these questions, we will have serious doubts about the continued use of Anonyvoter.”

“In this case we will seek both a moratorium on its use until adequate controls are established, and a prompt and transparent resolution of all outstanding complaints.”

A moratorium would essentially mean an indefinite ban. about using Anonyvoter to select future general election candidates.

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While such policies would have limited immediate effect, given that many candidates are already chosen to fill seats at the next election, it reflects the scale of the left's unease about the system.

A petition by left-wing activist group Momentum calling for Anonyvoter to be banned, launched on Friday, has attracted nearly 3,000 signatures.

Mr Evans is believed to have made a strong defense of the Anonyvoter system when asked about it at a meeting The Labor Party's National Executive Committee (NEC) on Tuesday.

A Labor Party spokesman said last week in response to The Telegraph report said the party has «full confidence in the integrity» of the Anonyvoter system.

p>When contacted about the concerns last week, the company that runs Anonyvoter and Jas Atwal, who beat Mr Tarry to be Labor's candidate in Ilford South, both made no comment.