Normally I'd vote for a whole slate in Labour internal elections. The Labour left needs to be organised and united. But Momentum isn't the Labour Party, and its NCG elections aren't a contest between socialists and non-socialists/1

One of the reasons we should back left NEC candidates is they're agreed to by Momentum representatives we've elected. But this relies on us exercising choice as to who those representatives are. Collective unity in action follows from prior debate and voting/2

Of course it's possible to think the politics, programme or candidates of one Momentum slate is clearly better. But both 'sides' are coalitions based on vague dividing lines within the Corbynite left. Not all of us see ourselves as falling entirely on one side or the other/3

For us 'Momentum centrists', a mixed outcome is best in terms of either the general politics and organisation of Momentum, or both. Many socialists I respect, like Richard Burgon or Grace Blakeley, have nominated candidates on both slates /4

I suspect Momentum's problems have been more political than organisational. Principally, the difficult dual role of defending the party leadership while being the voice of activists, and top down management by a narrow group. Becoming obsessed with procedure won't help but/5

the necessary cultural shift to a more responsive form of leadership that bridges the divides that have opened up probably does require bringing in strong critics from outside established networks and deeply embedded in grassroots activism/6

Having rival slates has at least sparked interest in the election and the online events and coverage by Tribune, Novara, New Socialist, means people have more of an idea who they're voting for than in the past. Whatever the outcome, I'm quite optimistic about the future /7