Wikipedia

Luke Akehurst

Luke Akehurst (born 2 March 1972) is a British Labour party official and former councillor. Since 2022, he has been a member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party, having also previously been on the NEC from 2010 until 2012. He is the Labour Party candidate for North Durham in the 2024 United Kingdom general election.

Luke Akehurst
Member of the Labour Party NEC
Assumed office
Nov 2020
In office
2010–2012
Hackney Councillor for Chatham
In office
2002–2014
Succeeded byWard abolished
Personal details
Born (1972-03-02) 2 March 1972 (age 52)
Political partyLabour
Other political
affiliations		Labour First
EducationBristol University
OccupationDirector of We Believe in Israel
Websitelukeakehurst.blogspot.com

Education and early career edit

Luke Akehurst studied at the University of Bristol. In 1993 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Politics.[citation needed]

From 2000 to 2011, Akehurst worked at the Weber Shandwick PR firm.[1]

Involvement in politics edit

Early activity edit

Luke Akehurst joined the Labour Party at the age of 16.[1]

In 1993, Akehurst ran for the in the Avon County Council election in the Cabot ward and came 2nd.[2]

From 1995 to 1996, Akehurst was National Secretary of Labour Students.[citation needed]

In 1995, Akehurst came 7th in the Bristol City Council election in the Stoke Bishop ward.[3]

In the 2001 general election Akehurst ran as the Labour candidate in Aldershot, coming third place behind incumbent Conservative MP Gerald Howarth and the Liberal Democrat Adrian Collett.[1][4]

In the 2002 Hackney borough council election, Luke Akehurst was successfully elected to the council. He was reelected to the council in 2006 and again in 2010, until he stood down for the 2014 Hackney Council election.[1][5]

In the 2005 general election he ran again as a Labour candidate, this time in Castle Point. In the run up to the election, Akehurst criticised an anti-immigration ad that siting Tory MP Bob Spink had published as "appalling comments that whip up racial tension" and "reminiscent of the worse utterances of Enoch Powell."[6] He came second to Spink.[1][7]

Activism and opposition to the left edit

In 2006, Akehurst became Secretary of Labour First, which represents "moderates" and "the old Labour Right".[8][9] Under his leadership, the organisation has been committed to "Clause One socialism" of prioritising getting Labour candidates elected to parliament above policy,[10] as well as advocating for a party "safe from the organised hard left".[1]

Since August 2011, Akehurst has been employed as director of the pro-Israel group We Believe in Israel.[11][12] Though not Jewish himself, Akehurst has spoken positively of Zionism, describing it in 2023 as "a beautiful ideology of anti-racism".[13] Following his selection as North Durham MP in 2024, he has said he is "handing in his notice" and will no longer be a member of the group.[14] He has described Israel's actions in the 2023–2024 Gaza war as proportionate, which led to criticism from pro-Palestine activists.[15]

During the 2015 Labour leadership election, Labour First urged Progress to join in supporting "ABC" (Anyone But Corbyn).[9][16] Luke Akehurst supported Yvette Cooper's campaign.[9]

As a prominent right-winger within the Labour Party, Akehurst spoke out against Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the party numerous times.[17] In particular, he has called out a perceived increase antisemitism in the Labour Party under Corbyn's leadership.[18][19] He frequently called out left-wing supporters of Corbyn, and has been described as trying to "wrest control of Labour’s national executive committee, conference agenda and constituency Labour parties from the Corbynite left".[15] He has been described as subsequent Labour leader Keir Starmer's "leading cheerleader on the NEC" by Ronan Burtenshaw, editor of Tribune. Akehurst said of Starmer's attitude: "voters like it when Labour leaders put the hard left back in their box".[20]

In 2018 he attempted to run for a position the NEC within the Constituency Labour Party (CLP) section, under the Corbyn-sceptic joint slate of candidates between Labour First and Progress.[21] Akehurst achieved 49 CLP nominations,[22] but the slate failed to achieve any candidates, all being beaten by the pro-Corbyn Momentum–CLPD–CLGA slate.[21]

Return to National Executive Committee edit

As secretary of Labour First, he was involved in 2020 talks with Progress that established the pro-Starmer umbrella group Labour to Win.[23] Since the organisation's launch, Akehurst has been one of its two co-directors.

In 2020, he was reelected in the first round to the Labour Party's NEC under the Labour to Win slate of nominees.[24] Though his own Oxford East CLP refused to nominate him,[25] he received more votes than any other candidate.[26][27] In 2022 he was reelected again and once more topped the polls.[28]

In the 2021 Oxford City Council elections, Akehurst ran for the St. Mary's ward, and came in third.[29]

In May 2024, it was announced that Luke Akehurst is to stand in the 2024 general election as the Labour Party candidate for North Durham.[30][31] The nomination, perceived as parachuting Akehurst into a safe seat, has been criticised due to Akehurst's previous accusations against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza war of being paid crisis actors, and of the United Nations of being antisemetic.[32][33] Byline Times editor Adam Bienkov noted that Akehurst had recently deleted hundreds of tweets around the week his nomination was announced.[1][34] Additionally, the North Durham CLP was not involved with the selection of Luke Akehurst, instead being chosen by the NEC on which Akehurst sits.[citation needed]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Elliards, Xander (30 May 2024). "Who is Luke Akehurst – the controversial Israel lobbyist and Labour candidate". The National. Archived from the original on 31 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Avon County Council Election Results 1973-1993" (PDF). The Elections Centre (Plymouth University). Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  3. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "Bristol City Council Election Results 1995-2011" (PDF). p. 5. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Prominent Labour councillor Luke Akehurst to stand down at local elections". Hackney Citizen. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  6. ^ Nicholas Watt. "Tory candidate under fire for 'send them back' asylum ad". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  8. ^ Gilbert, Jeremy (14 April 2018). "Antisemitism, cosmopolitanism and the politics of Labour's 'old' and 'new' right-wings". OpenDemocracy. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Anoosh, Chakelian (23 October 2015). "Labour's warring factions: who do they include and what are they fighting over?". The New Statesman. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Labour First". Labourfirst.org. Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Our Team". www.webelieveinisrael.org.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  12. ^ Harpin, Lee (8 October 2023). "Luciana Berger makes emotional return to Labour Party conference". Jewish News. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  13. ^ Akehurst, Luke [@lukeakehurst] (13 September 2023). "I'm very sorry for you if you cannot see Zionism as a beautiful ideology of anti-racism and the national liberation and cultural flourishing of the Jewish people. I have no idea why you or anyone else harbours such intense negativity towards such a profoundly decent movement" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Munro, Craig (30 May 2024). "Labour candidate defends describing Jewish people as 'politically Black'". Metro.
  15. ^ a b Mason, Rowena (31 May 2024). "Luke Akehurst: who is Labour activist turned controversial candidate?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Anyone but Jeremy Corbyn?". Daily Politics. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  17. ^ Boscia, Stefan (30 May 2024). "UK Labour's fight with the left risks spinning out of control". Politico. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  18. ^ Whittell, Giles (31 May 2024). "UK election 2024: Who is...Luke Akehurst?". Tortoise. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  19. ^ Harpin, Lee (23 September 2019). "Mayor of London Sadiq Khan voices concern about antisemitism at packed Jewish Labour Movement rally". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  20. ^ Burtenshaw, Ronan (2 July 2021). "Batley and Spen Is Not a Victory for Keir Starmer". Tribune. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  21. ^ a b Butterworth, Benjamin (4 September 2018). "Labour NEC results in full: Jeremy Corbyn supporters win all nine places with Peter Willsman re-elected". i. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  22. ^ Rodgers, Sienna (24 May 2018). "Labour's NEC race: The full list of CLP nominations so far". LabourList. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  23. ^ Rodgers, Sienna (5 April 2024). "Progress and Labour First launch 'Labour to Win' umbrella organisation". LabourList. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  24. ^ Rodgers, Sienna (1 July 2020). "Labour to Win unveils "pluralistic" set of NEC candidate recommendations". Labour List. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  25. ^ "Labour First's Akehurst rejected for NEC by his own CLP – and another one in Oxford for good measure". The Skwawkbox. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  26. ^ Watson, Iain (13 November 2020). "No faction gets a clean sweep in Labour NEC poll". BBC News. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  27. ^ Akehurst, Luke (19 July 2022). "Luke Akehurst: Why I'm standing to represent local parties on Labour's NEC". LabourList. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  28. ^ Chappell, Elliot (1 September 2022). "Results released in NEC, national policy forum, youth and student wing elections". LabourList. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  29. ^ Council, Oxford City. "Election of CITY COUNCILLORS for the Wards of Oxford City Council Summary of Results". p. 9. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  30. ^ "Labour announces candidate for North Durham constituency". The Northern Echo. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  31. ^ Labour North [@LabourNorth] (29 May 2024). "Congratulations to @lukeakehurst, Labour's candidate for North Durham!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  32. ^ Elliards, Xander (30 May 2024). "Luke Akehurst: Labour pick 'extremist' Israel lobbyist for safe seat". The National. Archived from the original on 31 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  33. ^ "UK: Controversial pro-Israel activist Luke Akehurst selected for Labour safe seat". Middle East Eye. 30 May 2024. Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  34. ^ Bienkov, Adam [@@AdamBienkov] (30 May 2024). "Given the deselection of Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen, on the basis of old liked tweets, it's worth noting that the party's newly-appointed candidate for Durham North (and NEC member) Luke Akehurst, appears to have deleted a *lot* of his own tweets in the past week" (Tweet). Retrieved 31 May 2024 – via Twitter.

External links edit

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