It’s the latest change to the story that has been told by Starmer in relation to this scandal, sparking incredulity among some MPs and even among ministerial ranks and has re-erupted the questions around his competency. One Labour MP reportedly said that “terminal death is now on speed”, while a government minister told The Times that “there can be no more excuses… we’re past apologies… the PM must go.”

For his part, Keir Starmer is said to be “absolutely furious” and did not know about this latest revelation until earlier this week. However, that still begs the question as to why the government didn’t act sooner to establish the facts before it emerged in the press, putting Downing Street on the back foot.

As is cliché in these situations, deputy heads have already rolled with the sacking of top civil servant Olly Robbins. But his departure won’t stop the flood of questions that now require answers. Why would Robbins overrule the vetting procedure if he didn’t feel pressure from others? Did the Prime Minister really only find out only this week – and why didn’t he correct the record sooner rather than later? And, most fundamentally, can Starmer still claim that he and his government still represent the highest bar for standards?

Foreign Affairs Select Committee chair Emily Thornberry was blunt in her analysis: “My committee asked several times whether red flags had been raised by Peter Mandelson’s vetting process. It seems there were. People need to stop messing us about and tell us the truth.”

Expect an explosive session of Parliament on Monday when the Prime Minister looks to address the latest revelations to MPs directly. It won’t just be the country he will be trying to convince, but his own MPs too amid growing questions about whether Starmer is the right person to lead the party.

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Editor Emma Burnell said: “There is a famous quote by US journalist Upton Sinclair – “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”

“Perhaps if this were retooled for modern times it might read: “It is easy not to ask the right questions when the wrong answer might cost you your job.”

“I understand that Keir Starmer is furious. I’m furious. But the person we should both be furious with is the PM himself. Because at best the lack of proper curiosity that should have lead him to question the appointment of Peter Mandelson in the first place has clearly continued into the process of getting to the bottom of why it was allowed.

“Starmer doesn’t just have to answer to Parliament on Monday. He will have to answer to Labour members, councillors and candidates who will be slogging their guts out to try and elect as many Labour representatives as possible over this weekend and have just found that job even harder than it was before. That answer will have to be good.”

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The post Peter Mandelson’s spectre returns to haunt the Prime Minister appeared first on LabourList.

The ‘winter of discontent’, losing to Thatcher in 1979 and the disastrous loss in 1983, the miners’ strike, the pain of 1987 and much worse 1992. Neil was there – leading from the front. Whilst the 1997 victory was the catalyst for the minimum wage and Sure Start, Neil sowed the seeds of change that enabled that win. When the Coalition and Tory governments stripped away so many of the Labour achievements we took for granted, Neil was watching on with horror. 

With such a storied career (and such a storyteller) it can be hard to know where to start. And those Friends of LabourList who watched live (the full video will be released at a later date) will know that any question asked of Neil will never lead to just one answer or just one anecdote – but to a wild canter through the history of the Labour movement with detours through dances in his Bedwellty constituency, his 1980s motor and the internal politics of the NUM among many other topics. 

READ MORE: ‘A piece on advice’

Given all this, you might expect Kinnock to be the kind of politician who will tell you that it’s the journey that matters more than the destination. But this would be wholly wrong. When asked what his biggest unfulfilled wish was his immediate response was: “There’s only one answer to that, and that’s not winning at least one election to get a Labour government.”

When he talked about ambition, when he talked about what he wanted to achieve the way that he said it was not about him becoming Prime Minister but as he went on to say: “It’s about more than one bloke – or one woman – getting this job at the head of the table.” He added: “It’s about winning elections for our cause.”

It is that sense that it is not about the purity of the cause but the electoral effectiveness of it that has been the core theme of what never became Kinnockism – but would definitely be the defining characteristic of anyone who called themselves a Kinnockite.

Whether it’s one-on-one or in a conference hall, Kinnock is an inspiring speaker. In fact, as we discussed, there aren’t many people who have not just one but three speeches that are still quoted by other decades later. 

What is fascinating is that he is able to make a passionate case using words like pragmatic, sensible, rational – all words he used as better terms when asked for a definition of the ‘soft left’ (a term we both agreed that we disliked). The ability to make a compelling and passionate case for democratic socialism using terms that you would never find on an inspirational poster, and do so in a compelling way, is a skill that Labour needs to rediscover – and fast. 

On the soft left (or “sensible left” as he preferred to call them), he said the key thing to remember is that while they can be organised (and in my view as you will hear in the interview, disorganised) they are not a faction. This might feel from the outside like splitting hairs. But I believe what he means by this is again in his passion for how we do democratic socialism in a practical way. Those he would class in this bracket might range quite far across the centre left. But it is their approach to how those values can be applied in action that counts. And their willingness to change their mind about the personnel and the policy tools but never lose sight of the goal.

We talked about how Labour can be a party that has robust internal debate without these descending into angry factionalism. He acknowledged that this is “very, very difficult”. For him it is about what attitude  you come into the debate from. “If people or groups start out with fixed stances and their policy attitudes… their alignments with individuals in the Party or titles have taken on an almost religious devotion, getting productive exchange can be difficult.” But he believes the way for Labour members who understand their ‘comradeship’ “they take each other seriously, but not earnestly and they will recognise that the purpose of engaging in dialogue… is to get a better outcome.

If you’re both well-motivated (and that’s a pretty big ‘if’ sometimes) then you are seeking a result that is acceptable to both and will be better than either of you have committed yourself to before.” 

It is this consistent focus on outcomes that is at the heart of Kinnock’s socialism. It is never about the success of an internal grouping; it is never about being wedded to a specific approach or policy – however iconic. Instead, it is about Party members working together for the good of the people to improve the lives of those we seek to serve. 

When talking about the achievements of the New Labour years, he is clearly very proud of what was done including “the huge investments in education and health, Sure Start, massive reductions in pensioner and child poverty”. However, he also talked about his frustration that even these arch communicators were not telling the story of what they had done and as he saw it, the public started to take those achievements for granted to “believe that it was coming anyway” rather than being led to understand “it was the consequence of having a Labour government applying its serious progressive purposes, its values”.

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It was a passion for communication that led to the changes in organisation and communications from the Labour Party that brought it, late to the party, into the television age under Kinnock. It was these changes that eventually led to New Labour and the landslide victory of 1997.

Kinnock isn’t without his criticism of what has happened since Labour came to power in 2024. He described Labour’s communications in government as “almost absent”, adding: “I am sure there are people striving like hell. It’s not working. It’s got to be massively improved.”

Equally he says that “the good things that have been done since July 2024 have been obscured by “stupid, wrong, un-Labour things that were done which people remember very clearly because they felt seriously – desperately in some cases – let down.” He cites the winter fuel allowance and the delay in scrapping over the two-child benefit cap as examples. 

From all my reading, from all my researching, from all my watching of old speeches I think the reason that Kinnock remains such a giant figure for the Labour movement is twofold. 

Firstly, while he may change what the policy delivery mechanism are, he has never changed in his principles. How those can be applied has to change with the circumstances and the times. The environment in which we find ourselves. So devotion to individual policies or even individuals is not socialism in action – its dogmatism. 

But the other part is the man loves an argument. And let me be very clear what I mean by that. Kinnock will have a fight if a fight is needed. Frankly there are clearly times when he relished doing so (and revels somewhat in the memories). But it is in making an argument – from a core set of principles and using every tool of persuasion at his disposal – that Kinnock comes alive. And he comes alive often. 

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That art of persuasion – not just communicating a message that boils down to a three line slogan or focus tested mission statement – but making a principled, coherent stance that can demonstrate a central thread that doesn’t just parrot Labour values but makes the deeper case for them. That art is what Labour needs now more than ever. 

The old adage is “never meet your heroes’. Well, this week I met the man who has inspired my approach to politics for my whole life. And I say to anyone who says that – get better heroes. And then meet the hell out of them.

The post ‘It’s about winning elections for our cause’: In conversation with Neil Kinnock appeared first on LabourList.

While the Chancellor was talking trade in Washington, departments at home were making positive changes across housing, health, and the environment.

Here are the seven most exciting breakthroughs and announcements this week that you can use, whether you’re on the doorstep, sparring on social media, or debating in the pub.

1. Ending no-fault evictions

Labour is funding councils to enforce the Renters’ Rights Act, which kicks in on 1 May.

All local authorities are getting a share of £60 million, backed by a legal duty to enforce, which means councils that fail to act will be breaking the law.

The Act bans Section 21 no-fault evictions, rental bidding wars, and discrimination against tenants with children or on benefits. Rogue landlords face fines of up to £40,000, double what they faced before.

The government is also investing up to £50 million to modernise the civil courts for housing disputes, and £5 million a year in housing legal aid so renters facing eviction can get free legal support.

2. Cancelling carers’ debts

Labour is writing off debts owed by tens of thousands of unpaid carers who were wrongly told they’d broken the rules.

Carer’s Allowance has an earnings limit (if you earn too much, you lose the benefit), but for a decade, the government’s own guidance on how to calculate earnings was wrong. That meant carers who were within the limit were told they’d exceeded it and hit with repayment demands.

Around 25,000 people are expected to have their debts reduced, cancelled, or refunded.

3. NHS scans closer to home

Labour is building or upgrading 36 new community diagnostic centres across England to offer faster tests, checks, and scans.

The £237 million investment will open four new centres in Gorton, Luton, Boston, and Bideford, and upgrade 32 existing sites with new MRI, CT, and ultrasound equipment.

The NHS carried out a record 29 million tests and scans in England last year.

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4. Rejoining Erasmus+

Labour has signed the legal text bringing the UK back into the Erasmus+ programme from 2027.

Over 100,000 people are expected to benefit in the first year alone, including students on placements, apprentices at European companies, and school groups on cultural exchanges. The UK secured a 30% discount on the default contribution rate.

The Conservatives pulled the UK out of Erasmus+ after Brexit, replacing it with the Turing Scheme, which sent around 28,000 students abroad each year. Erasmus+ is expected to reach more than three times that number.

5. Criminalising harmful pornography

Labour is criminalising the possession and publication of pornography depicting incest and adults roleplaying as children.

New amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill set maximum sentences of five years for publication and three years for possession. A separate amendment makes senior tech executives personally liable to imprisonment or fines if their platforms fail to comply with Ofcom enforcement orders to remove non-consensual intimate images.

This builds on earlier bans on strangulation porn and harmful nudification apps.

6. Building first nuclear reactors in a generation

Great British Energy has signed a contract with Rolls-Royce to build the UK’s first small modular reactors.

The three SMRs, compact nuclear power plants that generate low-carbon electricity quickly and cheaply, will be built on Anglesey. Each unit can power around 1 million homes, and together they’ll run for more than 60 years.

The project is expected to support 3,000 jobs at peak construction, with thousands more across the supply chain.

7. Reintroducing golden eagles in England

Labour is funding the return of golden eagles to England for the first time in over 150 years.

A feasibility study confirmed England has the capacity to sustain golden eagle populations, with eight potential recovery zones identified, mostly in northern England. The last golden eagle in England died in the Lake District in 2016, and juveniles could be released as early as next year.

It follows Labour’s decision last year to allow the legal return of beavers to the wild in England, and a record £60 million commitment to protect threatened native species.

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The post Delivering in Government: your weekly round up of good news Labour stories appeared first on LabourList.

An investigation by the Guardian has revealed that multiple sources suggest Mandelson was denied UK Security vetting in late January 2025. By this point Keir Starmer had already announced his appointment as the US ambassador. It is understood the Foreign Office then decided to overrule the security vetting recommendation.

The Guardian reports that concerns had already been raised internally about Mandelson’s past associations and the reputational risks attached to his appointment, but those warnings were ultimately set aside.

READ MORE: Keir Starmer: ‘I regret appointing Peter Mandelson’ but admits Epstein questions had been raised during vetting

The disclosure has triggered fresh questions about whether ministers, including the Prime Minister, knew that security officials had advised against the appointment. Many are also questioning if former Chief of Staff to the PM, Morgan McSweeney had any knowledge of this decision. The Guardian states that friends of McSweeney say he had no knowledge of the developed vetting process or outcome.

Opposition politicians are now demanding to know who authorised the override and whether parliament was misled when the government later said the proper vetting process had been followed.

On 5th February in Hastings, the Prime Minister responded to a question from a journalist about Mandelson’s appointment. The PM is quoted as responding “security vetting, carried out independently by the security services, which is an intensive exercise that gave him [Mandelson] clearance for the role. You have to go through that before you take up the post.” Before adding: “Clearly both the due diligence and the security vetting need to be looked at again.”

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Developed vetting is a standard process for civil servants. It is reported that most civil servants pass it, some may have mitigating recommendations but it is rare for an individual to have it refused. The FCDO are reported to have overruled this recommendation 48 hours after receiving it.

The Guardian states it has requested a comment from the Foreign Office, Downing Street, the Cabinet Office, and Peter Mandelson.

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The post Mandelson denied UKSV clearing before decision overruled by Foreign Office appeared first on LabourList.

It is not Blairites versus the soft left, as loyal readers of my LabourList column already know. It is Labour’s two archetypes: Evil Sociopaths and Pathetic Losers. The former schemes, the latter endures. They are both lacking brute courage.

Why is this happening? It’s because some of our powerfuls (Evil Sociopaths) convinced themselves that despite being tainted by an accused national traitor who fraternised with a paedophile, they can win a media image war. Their continuing to fight dirty is entirely sustained by the goodwill of the oppressed Labour class (Pathetic Losers) who turn the other cheek, rather than, I don’t know, ensuring Mandelson’s kryptonite name is kept in the news like the briefers are attempting to do with Angie’s taxes.

‘READ MORE: ‘Honest hooks, not silly stunts’

Personally, I am patient. They are still in the denial stage of mourning their lost identity as the sensibles, the grown-ups, the non-ideological professionals. It took the Prince of Darkness a whole life to learn that if you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

In ‘The Prince’, Niccolò Machiavelli, the original spinner, wrote that a ruler has to be both a ‘fox’ and a ‘lion’. In modern politics, a fox is an intellectual who manipulates narratives – a refined spin doctor. A lion is someone who goes for the jugular, who speaks plainly and doesn’t worry about who he offends – a brute populist.

Vilfredo Pareto incorporated these archetypes into his theory of the circulation of elites. The governing elite goes through periods of domination by either lions or foxes. Post-1945, the foxes have been dominating more and more: the lawyers, the diplomats, the civil servants. Trump and Brexit are the result of an electorate yearning for lions: authentic populists who speak off the cuff.

I don’t want Labour politicians to become money-grabbing, fascist-appeasers who vandalise our democratic institutions, but I do want them to stop being afraid of their own shadows and their non-idyllic personal lives. If we don’t change our tactics and continue showing up to a bar brawl with a lawsuit, we will end up bruised and humiliated.

A left version of the lion exists – if we could only stop culling them. You will recognise her by her copper-red mane (the care of which has also been the subject of much briefing).

When I am forced to read those dull, briefed-out stories for paper reviews, I think the briefer needs the fear of God instilled in them. The “but her taxes” line in particular reminds me of the “but her emails” attack on Hillary Clinton in 2016. I personally did not support that neolib hawk, indeed I actively campaigned against her as a field organiser on the Bernie Sanders campaign (and remain a Bernie-would-have-won truther). But the Clinton email saga, where she used a private server for non-classified emails, was laughable compared to the alternative. In the UK, the bar for soft-spoken men in linen is “accused of leaking market-sensitive state secrets to a paedophile,” and the bar for school drop-out teenage moms who defied all odds is “was given non-specialised tax advice on a notoriously complicated tax issue.”

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My favourite current Angela smear is about her not being ‘up to it’. This refers to the leadership rumours, but the briefers are not just damaging Angela’s leadership potential, but the reputation of one of Labour’s star players. Apart from being short-sighted with their aim, the briefers reveal their own pathetic political naivety. They warn us that the world is too dangerous and the economy too unstable, and voters want someone “serious” at the helm (i.e. a man). Do they live under a rock? Tell me, you strategy geniuses, you reckon Trump beat Clinton because he was more “serious” than her? Do you reckon Farage’s or Polanski’s popularity has anything to do with them being more “professional” than Keir Starmer?

Only boring men in suits believe this is what the public is attracted to in politicians. I, a girl in a crop top, however, speak to the public all the time! And they tell me in one voice: “Blair’s greatest asset was his vision and charisma, not his attack dogs. Negative briefings without a positive message is putting the cart before the horse.” Remarkably on the money, the public.

Parties need some discipline, but lions don’t lie. Ask Keir Starmer what good it did to him to pretend he is Santa Claus. Whatever you may think, no. 10, the whips, Rupert Murdoch or Middle England want to hear, a lobotomy will not serve your career in the long run. There are elegant ways to disagree with government policy without attacking your own prime minister. I recommend the master Emily Thornberry on Nick Robinson’s Political Thinking for this, where she makes her own values known without pretending the government has an easy job. John McDonnell is also a genius at staying true to his more ideological positions while remaining loyal to the Labour brand.

A lion labours out of love. If you hated recording your TikTok, the Zoomers hated watching it. If you hated drafting your local newspaper column, your constituents didn’t read it. In 2015, Ed Miliband looked like a hostage. In 2026, he could start his own cult if he liked and I would follow him. Look at Mike Tapp ordering his 56th full English breakfast of the month (where does he put them?) or Jake Richards taking his right-wing trolls for a ride. Our Labour TikTok Zoomerati (e.g. Political Princess, Wiliband) are so popular because their passion is organic, not ordained from above. Live every day you are an MP like it could be your last – polls say that will be the case for some of you.

A lion ignores the blob. Nobody cares about the Times. At this stage, they are a Westminster version of PopBitch. The reader will know I feel Labour Together betrayed the pure love of our Labour members for the highly conditional approval of the rags. So I sat up when I saw the headline about Josh Simons claiming he didn’t read his contract carefully because he was ‘only 30’. As a millennial girlboss myself, I can confirm that 30-year-old men are indeed tall children, but read the actual article under the hubristic headline, and he was by no means offering that as an excuse; it was context in a wider answer he gave on a live interview.

Should you stop going on live shows because your blubbering will be twisted into a “story”? No, you should double down. Flood the zone. The Daily Mail found a photo of you in a bikini when you were 19, doing Jell-O shots in Magaluf? Good. Your hero voters can relate. Tell your ex to leak the whole album if he fancies. We are lions. We are not afraid of rats.

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Repeat after me: the Dark Arts are dead. Get ready for active combat. Spinning the news is spinning your wheels. Man up, learn to fight; a lion is not afraid to speak truth to power.

Stop briefing, start talking. And if any Labour MPs find themselves in the metaphorical dock after one too many Stellas loosened their lips, they will find me on the steps of the court of public opinion, placard in hand with ‘WHERE’S THE LIE’ written on it. 

The post Stella Tsantekidou column: ‘The dark arts are dead’ appeared first on LabourList.

But we – as Labour MPs from the broad centre – will not passively accept our nation fracturing and falling. Instead, we step up to this challenge with courage and conviction. That is why we have come together to do the hard thinking on how we meet this moment and build a stronger nation true to our values. We set this out in our Fabian Society pamphlet Common Endeavour.

Our central argument is this – while the old world may be fading, we progressives are the only ones that can step up to build the new. It is our founding values matched with deep thinking that can guide us at this moment. As set out in Clause IV, on the back of our membership cards:

“By the strength of our common endeavour, we achieve more than we achieve alone”.

READ MORE: ‘Both Farage and Polanski are wrong about Britain – it is not what divides us that defines us’

In our fractured world, the strength of our common endeavour is more important than ever. If we stand together, we can withstand the hurricane and build a stronger nation from it. But if we divide into our weaker parts, we will be blown away.

Consider where we are today. An affordability crisis, decades in the making, is causing people to draw inward, away from one another. Populists from across the globe are exploiting this crisis to divide us further. They argue for more cuts to stop funding going to “those people” over there, which then lead to a downward spiral: a weaker state feeding even more division. Divided nations are finding it ever harder to confidently assert their interests in this new era of ‘Great Power Politics’. Unaffordable lives, a less capable state, and declining solidarity make us weaker, more divided and unable to protect our position in the world. These are the great interlocking challenges that we must meet in this moment.

To do so takes hard thinking and a commitment to our values.

Strength from our common endeavour is the value that has underpinned all successful Labour governments through history, especially at moments of peril. From Britain’s darkest hour in 1940 to the defeat of fascism by Bevin’s alliance of labour and capital; from blitzed out cities to building the welfare state; from four hundred years of turmoil to peace in Northern Ireland. All seemingly impossible achievements stemmed from us uniting with courage, compassion and the conviction needed to build a stronger nation.

Values, when matched with hard thinking, have helped this government make historic achievements. The largest energy transition since we stopped burning wood; extending the compassion of the state to children living in dire poverty; ripping up the arcane planning rules that have stifled our country; and shifting the balance of power decisively towards workers and renters. We are proud of this government and our Prime Minister.

But there is more for us collectively to do. We have had the space to do the deep thinking needed to meet this moment, producing ideas, refined by debate, to help define a vision that can be clearly communicated to the British public. That is what we, as Labour MPs, have done in Common Endeavour.

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Consider how our approach to the affordability crisis can be seen as an example of our values in action. Our Labour values are this: to make sure every person can live a good life. And to do this, we must make life affordable for all.

But to make life affordable for all, in pursuit of our values, we need deep thinking too. Since the 1980s, we’ve been living in a capital-based, London-led economy, where growth went to those who could get jobs working with new information technologies, clustered in the greater London area. Skyrocketing house and asset prices meant holders of wealth became wealthier while others were locked out of prosperity. Rising housing and energy costs make life unaffordable for all.

If we want all to share in prosperity, we must help every person and place share in producing it, by creating an economy that is worker-based and community-led. We are doing this by helping to create good, well-paying jobs for all outside London, investing to get costs down, providing universalist social security, and giving places outside London the powers and cash they need to thrive.

Making life affordable helps to unite this nation, with each of us having a stake in our nation, because it has a stake in us. A nation where we produce prosperity by our common endeavour, is a nation that can stand together, united and stronger.

These are values that our opponents stand against with their embrace of ethnocratic division and plutocratic Thatcherism. Their values will make us weaker by dividing us ever further. They would have us draw away from like-minded allies in Europe and leave us more dependent on mad fossil fuel-obsessed dictators from abroad. And they’d indiscriminately deport our friends, neighbours, and those that sit by our relatives’ bedsides as they suffer. They’d make our nation weaker, because they do not think we achieve more together than we achieve alone.

Our political opponents are circling, looking to exploit the dangerous and difficult times we are living in. But we, as progressives, will not shy away from this moment. Instead, we face it head on with the compassion of our values matched with the confidence that comes from hard thinking. Previous generations of Labour MPs, facing perilous times like we do today, built a stronger nation by uniting our nation in one Common Endeavour. So will we. 

The pamphlet Common Endeavour has been published by the Fabian Society.

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The post ‘How do we transform our nation? It’s written on our membership cards’ appeared first on LabourList.

I recently met with co-founder Hannah O’Rourke to discuss the work Campaign Lab have published to support Labour activists and candidates for the upcoming (and future) elections. Across my time with Hannah, it became incredibly clear that the team at Campaign Lab have some of the most important minds for the next generation of the progressive movement. The responsibility that comes with that is unavoidably heavy.

The co-founder gave me a walk through of the ‘Winning in May’ briefing packs which offer a series of six short guides and tools that offer a more effective and efficient way for candidates to campaign. They are designed for all levels of campaign experience, with some targeted specifically for first-time volunteers or candidates and others for those already running sophisticated operations.

READ MORE: ‘Sarwar won’t waste a minute as First Minister’: Monica Lennon on campaign in Rutherglen

Tips and Tricks for local campaigners is the first pack to browse for those hitting the doors over the next few weeks. The pack stresses the necessity of hyper-local campaigning as the most effective method for Labour activists.

“Hyper-local campaigns aren’t just national or council wide issues wrapped in local language… you have to literally go street-by-street.” Hannah explained the importance of this, supported by data Campaign Lab had collected from an experiment they ran. The organsiation used QR codes on 900 leaflets to test the issues and languages people would engage with from campaign literature. 

“The people that scan the QR codes lived within 500 metres to a kilometer of each of the issues. That was all the scans.” Political salience, Hannah explained, is highly localised, whereas generic party messaging was more ineffective.

Leaflets telling individuals to scan so they could ‘Find out about Labour’ were pointless: “nobody scanned that. Nobody cares.” Whereas specific local concerns such as “do we need a crossing at this local school?”, would prompt engagement. This led Hannah to a clear strategic conclusion, “if you’re going to do hyper local campaigning, you have to actually get local.”

The pack then encourages candidates and activists knocking on doors, to lead with place based questions and use both local Facebook groups and local press to find the most effective problem for an area to campaign on.

“Mapping where you’ve got local groups…if you’re trying to reach people this has lists.” Campaign Labs have created a tool to help candidates find their local Facebook groups, which can be found in the pack. We then discussed constituency and community mapping in more detail, where I was able to see another tool in action.

The ‘constituency explorer’ aggregates local institutions for strategic positioning, Hannah explained. It provides information for candidates on “local community centres, churches, local media, schools, charities…trying to understand how [the candidate] can get to where people are.”

One question Campaign Lab understands progressives are struggling to answer, is how best to hold Reform UK candidates to account. They’ve created a selection of tools to support candidates with attack lines and methods to do just that. Campaign Lab have identified that pointing out poor behavioural patterns, highlighting risk and demonstrating incompetence in local reform candidates is a more effective attack strategy than relying on talking points related to their national party.

“Attacks on Nigel Farage might land…but [attacks are] more effective if you know the local candidate has done something really bad.”

The emphasis is on behavioural credibility rather than ideological disagreement: “it’s more about their behaviour than what they say,” Hannah explained.

Tools such as “Reform Exposed” databases and attendance trackers enable this strategy by aggregating negative information:“you can very easily… identify dirt… in a location-based way.”

Campaign Lab’s provide their own ‘Dirt Digger’ tool – a website that collects negative local news stories about Reform Councillors. They have also created an attendance tracker, showing when Reform and Conservative councillors are trying to skip out on their duties of local representation.

WardWatch is another of their tools I was able to spend some time using. WardWatch is an AI-driven research tool that generates summaries of local political performance. Hannah explained it as “AI research on councillor performance” designed to “very quickly be able to figure out what they’ve done.”

Not only is this effective for aggregating a selection of Reform based attack lines for candidates to communicate, but also helpful in keeping track of their own wins.

“Councillors are being really bad at telling you what they’ve done” says O’Rourke. This tool will help them do just that.

Outputs include synthesised achievements tailored to voter segments. For example: “it will come up with like the ten achievements in that ward that would appeal to the group that we’ve selected.” 

To test this, I used the tool to find out what has been happening in the ward where I grew up, in Bolton. Admittedly I was not necessarily the best case study to provide anecdotal evidence, having moved to London almost two years ago.

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However, I was still very impressed with the way the AI tool could scrape the relevant council channels to provide information on what my local councillors are up to. For example, I did not know about beneficial initiatives on the local environment that had been occurring while I was still living there.

The tool certainly helped to demonstrate not only the wins Labour councillors and candidates could be shouting about, but also identify areas that they have failed to discuss.

Campaign Lab have also identified an issue with mobilisation for this election. “Lots of people are struggling with getting members out,” which creates a significant operational challenge when trying to engage with residents.

To address this, Campaign Lab provides a pack specifically on identifying the best methods to mobilise your campaign, including tips on context and framing for members.

One tool they provide to support on this is their ‘Canvas Coach’ where users can “practice having a conversation on the doorstep with AI.” Canvas coach will provide a chat bot for users to try out their techniques and messaging.

It provides you with the information of the voter, in my case it was ’37 year old Michael Davis’ I had to converse with. At the end of the conversation, the AI provides a score out of ten for the user and tips on how to improve for that voter. This is to especially helpful for first time campaigners, with the simulation aiming to remove any pre-existing fear around the prospect of doorstep conversation. 

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The remaining packs on the website focus on voter persuasion, turning out your voter base and campaigning on social media.

“I mean, in an ideal world, all our councillors would know what they have to do and what they’ve done… I think where you’ve got good councillors, they should just know this. But where you’re starting from scratch or you’ve got a situation where, say, you’re taking over from a councillor and there’s not many notes, you might want to start with this as a starting point. Or, if you’re, say, trying to attack a record. This might be a good starting point.”

For any local councillors, candidates or activists who want to learn more about the tools, then visit: https://campaignlab.uk/project/campaign-lab-winning-in-may/

The post A guide to ‘winning in May’: Interview with Campaign Lab appeared first on LabourList.

At LabourList we are honest when we think the government are getting things wrong. But this situation does not appear to be one of them – no matter how often the populists will try to convince you otherwise.

Of course a government must take responsibility, it is in charge of the decision making, I am not trying to suggest that is not true.

READ MORE: ‘Marginal gains’

However, it is important to place things in the wider context of how we ended up in a system that feels so broken, and why the government appears so snookered as it looks for a way out.

Seven crises led to this mess. The financial crash, austerity, Brexit, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, Liz Truss’ mini-budget and now the war in Iran have all created conditions that impact working people and place great pressure on this government to do more with less. Funding that was once there has gone, the growth needed to replace it has slowed. Public services have edged closer and closer to being on life-support.

Not a single one of those catastrophic moments of the last two decades is Keir Starmer’s fault – though he may be the one who ultimately pays the price for them.

Populists thrive on broken conditions. Once the public becomes so fatigued by them, the ‘roll of the dice’ becomes more tempting with each day. Reform and the Greens are both aware of this but neither are offering a credible plan to clean up the mess these factors created.

Labour has to offer the public a response to the situation it finds itself in and it must be one rooted in visible ideas for change. Incremental tweaks in the right direction, while important, are much more difficult to cultivate public support for when the nation is so desperate.

Due to the nature of the challenges economically, it can feel like incrementalism is the only sensible course of action. However, it should not be the shop front of the operation. Rather an incremental approach to change should be important foundational work happening in the back offices of government to support the message being communicated directly to the public. ‘Change’ must evolve into a narrative with meaning.

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Labour activists are currently pouring their hearts, souls and shoe leather into convincing the public over the coming weeks to vote for Labour in May. Regardless of how successful this endeavour proves to be, it will be followed almost immediately by the King’s speech. This will provide the timely opportunity for the party to come together and work out what change means for the public.

It has to be bigger than incremental tweaks. It must be a feeling of hope and optimism that things will improve and the relief voters are desperate to see is being undeniably provided.

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The post ‘The cost of everything’ appeared first on LabourList.

Almost three years on from that result, Rutherglen’s by-election, along with a Scottish Parliament by-election in the nearby Hamilton constituency, are almost talismanic for Scottish Labour activists and politicians. For them, both results – and the general election victory – prove that Scottish Labour can beat the odds in May and get Anas Sarwar over the threshold of Bute House.

As the Holyrood elections draw nearer, my colleague James and I made the trip to the new Rutherglen and Cambuslang constituency, to meet MSP Monica Lennon, who is seeking a third term in the Scottish Parliament.

‘Everything feels broken under the SNP’

“Do I want a change in government? Absolutely,” she said.

“The SNP have had 19 years and the overwhelming mood is that people are working hard, are paying more and getting less.

“It feels like everything is broken under the SNP, because no matter what the weather, they just want to be an independent country and they’re not willing to cooperate with any UK government.

“I do hope come May 8th that we’ll have two governments that can work together for the benefit of the people of Scotland – and that’s how you start to improve people’s lives.”

‘Anas Sarwar as First Minister is not going to waste a minute’

She stressed that Sarwar, if elected as First Minister, would hit the ground running to deliver for Scotland.

“We have the right policies that have been costed, that have been stress tested, because we’ve been working with experts, trade unions, people with lived experience. We haven’t been talking to ourselves.

“We’ve been in opposition forever in Scotland, we’ve had a lot of time to work with people – and Anas Sarwar as First Minister is not going to waste a minute.

“I think in the first 100 days you’re going to see big changes happening and people feeling there is a sense of mission, a sense of direction.”

‘People are looking for somebody with a bit of backbone’

Lennon has been one of the most vocal supporters of Anas Sarwar in his call for the Prime Minister to stand down. She told us of her disappointment in Starmer’s leadership since he came to office, and compared it to the mood when Labour swept into office in 1997.

“I was 16 when Tony Blair came to power and I remember the optimism – it was exciting and that felt real. You could touch it, you could feel it.

“The Labour Party has let a lot of people down. People wanted to get the Tories out, they voted for change. They put their trust in Keir Starmer and, sadly, most of them don’t like what they’re seeing.

“I think sometimes, as Labour candidates, we probably feel a bit sorry for ourselves, because if this had been 18 months ago, things could be different. But we’re not the ones that need sympathy. [It’s the] people out there crying out for real change, a change of government. We’re so close to delivering that, but we need people to think hard about whether they feel better off under the SNP, do they deserve another five years – or do they want to see something different.”

She said that since Sarwar called on Starmer to resign, voters have given him “enormous credit for doing so” and said: “People are looking for somebody with a bit of backbone, somebody with the courage to say how it is.”

‘It’s up to us to talk about why this election is important’

One big challenge that all parties are likely to face at the election is apathy. Lennon explained that she had met several people on the doorstep in recent weeks who said they don’t plan to vote.

“There’s just not a lot of enthusiasm for the election, but of course it’s up to us to be out there and talk about why it’s important.

“I was speaking to a gentleman and he thought it was a UK election. These conversations are happening up and down the country – and it’s not that people don’t understand, but people are busy working hard, feeling like they’re getting less. People don’t have time to monitor the news and study up on manifestos and candidates. That’s why, for me as a candidate, I’m getting out, meeting people, listening and chatting to as many people as possible.”

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The mood on the doorstep firsthand

After our chat, we drove with Lennon to a nearby neighbourhood to see the mood on the doorstep for ourselves. One woman I met said she had been an ardent SNP supporter, even boasting a party sticker in the back of her car. However, she now expressed disillusion with them over their failures on public transport and plans for a congestion charge zone in Glasgow – which she feared would hit her daughter, who works as a nurse.

Time on the doorstep with the deputy head teacher of a special educational needs school also exposed the lack of love for the SNP on the doorstep. She said she would not vote for them, saying they had promised a lot on education but failed to deliver.

Others were also clear they intended to vote Labour or were at least open to the prospect.

The one thing that was demonstrated clearly, however, is the number of undecideds there are. Even among those who knew who they wouldn’t be voting for, people told us they wanted to take the time to look into policies and manifestos before making their mind up.

A positive for political engagement, even if it leaves canvassers and journalists like us wanting more concrete answers.

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The post ‘Sarwar won’t waste a minute as First Minister’: Monica Lennon on campaign in Rutherglen appeared first on LabourList.

At first glance, this looks like straightforward climate policy. In reality, it is much bigger. Done well at scale, it can reshape how energy is produced, owned and paid for to provide local, affordable energy that withstands global economic shocks, delivering on the cost of living, local democracy and economic fairness.

In many ways, we have been here before. The fossil fuel age delivered extraordinary benefits: abundant energy, industrial growth and rising living standards. But it also locked us into a centralised, extractive system built on combustion and emissions. As we now replace that system with renewables, the risk is not failure — it is repeating the same structural mistakes.

READ MORE: ‘Stay the Course: Why Miliband, Reeves and Starmer Must give the UK Clean Energy Independence’

The first wave of renewable deployment relied on subsidies such as feed-in tariffs and renewable obligation certificates. These were necessary to get the industry off the ground, and they worked. Costs have fallen dramatically and solar and wind are now the cheapest forms of new electricity generation.

But they also shaped the system in unintended ways. Many community energy projects became, in effect, investment vehicles — balancing returns for shareholders against benefits for local consumers. In some cases, “green” credentials justified higher prices rather than lower ones. The lesson is clear: clean technology alone does not guarantee fairness.

The Local Power Plan gives us a chance to correct that.

A key insight, increasingly accepted even within the system, is that energy should be generated as close as possible to where it is used. Rooftop solar is central to this. The UK has vast untapped capacity on homes, schools and commercial buildings — enough to meet a significant share of daytime electricity demand. This does not solve everything, particularly winter supply, but it  enables a fundamental shift in the economics of energy, which the Local Power Plan can optimise. 

Not every household can install solar. Not every roof is suitable. And many people cannot afford the upfront investment. But these barriers disappear if we think collectively. Instead of treating each building as a separate unit, communities can aggregate their rooftops into a shared resource.

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At scale, this unlocks everything: cheaper finance, bulk procurement, coordinated installation and integrated storage. Add smart meters, local balancing and emerging digital tools, and energy can be distributed more efficiently and at lower cost. Electric vehicles, increasingly acting as mobile batteries, would further strengthen the system.

The result is not just cleaner energy, but cheaper energy.

The underlying economics are already striking. The cost of solar hardware continues to fall sharply. Over its lifetime, a modest installation can produce electricity at a fraction of current retail prices. The question is no longer whether cheap energy is possible, but who captures the benefit.

This is where energy ownership matters.

If the new system is dominated by the same commercial structures that shaped the old one, the gains will be diluted. But if ownership is rooted in communities — through co-operatives and local institutions — the benefits can flow directly to households. Lower bills, greater resilience and a stronger local economy become reinforcing outcomes rather than competing priorities.

There is also a democratic dimension. A constituency that collectively owns a significant share of its energy supply is not just more resilient — it is more empowered. It is less exposed to price shocks and less dependent on distant corporate decisions. In a political system often skewed by concentrated interests, that matters.

None of this will happen automatically. Incumbent systems rarely yield ground easily. But the direction of travel is clear. As with previous technological shifts, once a cheaper and better model emerges, it scales rapidly.

The Local Power Plan is, in that sense, a strategic opportunity. It allows Labour not just to support renewables, but to shape the structure of the new energy economy — aligning decarbonisation with fairness, affordability and democratic renewal.

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The prize is substantial: abundant, low-cost, clean energy, owned and shared by the communities it serves – a Labour vision. We must ensure that the Local Power Plan seizes it. 

The post ‘Community energy is Labour’s opportunity to win the future’ appeared first on LabourList.