Jon Lansman has called for “a new generation” to lead Momentum, announcing that he will not contest Momentum’s upcoming elections and will step down as chair of Momentum.
In an article for Labour List he says that he is “enormously proud of what Momentum has achieved” including electing Jeremy Corbyn twice, mobilising hundreds of thousands of members to campaign for the party and tripling the size of the Socialist Campaign group of MPs.
He praises the thousands of young people in Momentum who he “has learnt so much from” and calls for a “new generation of leaders” to come through and “put their ideas into practise”, saying he has “every faith they will succeed where we have not yet done.”
Alongside focusing his attention on the NEC, Lansman plans to spend more time with his “three children and four grandchildren, the youngest of whom is just three weeks old”.
A Momentum Spokesperson said:
“We thank Jon for his years of dedication to Momentum and the Labour Party.
From running Tony Benn’s leadership campaign to founding Momentum, he continues to fight tirelessly for the left and has done an incredible amount to transform the politics of this country.
He has played a key role in building Labour into a half a million member party and strengthening the movement for socialism in Britain.
We look forward to working with him as he continues to lead from the left on the NEC and across the movement.”
