The best explanation for the bizarre story that circulated earlier this week about the appointment of the next Labour Party General Secretary that I have heard is this. At the heart of the intrigue is said to be Labour First (LF).

Does anyone know how true this is? And any thoughts on what he would be like?

According to Radio 4 (and following much speculation on this site) David Pitt Watson will not be taking up his post so the search is now on for a new Gen eral Secretary

There are reports that party officials will hold a meeting today to discuss the current state of play around the appointment of David Pitt-Watson as Labour Party General Secretary

A flurry of phone calls this morning has shone light on the possibility that the new General Secretary, David Pitt-Watson, has changed his mind about the wanting the job before he has even started.

Among the people sitting in at Labour Party National Executive Committee meetings are usually the Prime Minister's Political Secretary Fiona Gordon and her deputy, Jonathan Ashworth. There is one today. I read in Tribune and have been 'tipped off' by well-placed sources that Fiona is the real General Secretary of the Labour Party. I have never met Fiona and can't find a photograph of her.

Given the depressing drift back to Blairite policies lamented at the Progress/Compass event last night chronicled here, I am wondering what her role is as the Party languishes in the polls ahead of an absolutely critical Mayoral election in London in May. Can anyone cast any light?

Congratulations to the new General Secretary of the Labour Party David Pitt-Watson. I have meet David a couple of times at pension conferences and have been very impressed. He was our guest speaker at a UNISON conference fringe last year which I chaired. It was called “Trade Unionists are the New Capitalist’s”. Check out David’s book on this subject.

He is an experienced former Labour Party assistant general secretary and successful fund manager for Hermes which runs the huge BT pension scheme (unusually the scheme owns Hermes). He can walk the talk. I suspect that he is taking a big pay cut to do this job (which admit it, is going to be a pretty thankless task at times).

He is just the bloke to sort the Labour Party finances and its campaign machinery in time for the next election. Good Luck David (you'll need it)

Former Assitant General Secretary David Pitt-Watson has been appointed GS by the NEC. Pitt-Watson has a track record in private sector finance and I have acquired the biog below from the Labour Finance & Industry Group. Pitt-Watson is believed to have been the Prime Minister's preferred candidate for the position.

In a move brokered by Amicus Unite Deputy General Secretary Tony Dubbins, the Grassroots Alliance has agreed to back Mike Griffiths for General Secretary, having secured the withdrawal of "wildcard" left-wing NEC candidate John Wiseman, the Labour candidate in Westmoreland & Lonsdale.

Wiseman has used the pages of Labourhome.org to present a platform that a number of left-wingers have found attractive, and which is known to have caused concern among Grassroots Alliance figures, who are not presenting "celebrity" candidate Walter Wolfgang for a further two-year bid - and who fear a split in the left-wing vote.

While John Wiseman should be proud to have secured from the Grassroots Alliance an undertaking to be more democratic in two years time (at the next NEC election) a further concession the left-wing slate has made is a promise to support Amicus Official Mike Griffiths' application for General Secretary of the Labour Party.

The Grassroots Alliance may well save a seat on the NEC through this deal - and I certainly hold no brief against Griffiths - but is this really the best way to recruit a General Secretary for the party in difficult times?

John Wiseman's announcement can be read here.

The latest donations and borrowing data from the Electoral Commission revealed Labour's net indebtedness in Q4 2007 was slightly higher while donations were sharply lower. The Party's dependence on its traditional financial supporters - the trade unions has increased, while TU members' readiness to fund Labour is facing increasing opposition from rank-and-file members.

The NEC will shortly be deciding on the new General Secretary of the Labour Party. Although the whole process hasn't had much press coverage, it's a crucial one in the future of the Labour Party.

Now that the Labour Party has officially launched its recruitment campaign for a new General Secretary, I thought I would have a close look at the Job Description. 

The Labour Party has officially begun its search for a new General Secretary with a prominent advert in today's Guardian.

Anyone interested should click here.

The just published edition of the New Statesman carries a cover article by MPs Jon Trickett and Jon Cruddas which argues that the Labour Party needs to become more independent of the Parliamentary leadership and that a good place to start is the appointment of an automous general secretary, so who do Labour bloggers think that new general secretary should be?