John McDonnell set to host biggest political call of its kind in the UK

John McDonnell is set to host the biggest political call of its kind in the UK tonight, with 5,000 Labour supporters already signed up to join the discussion starting at 7pm.

The Shadow Chancellor will co-host the video call with Faiza Shaheen, Labour’s candidate for the key target seat of Chingford and Woodford Green, and Grace Chatto from electropop band Clean Bandit.

They will be talking about general election strategy, and introducing party activists to Labour’s new phonebanking app. Those on the conference call will be encouraged to use it to create “phonebank parties”.

The Labour Party is creating digital tools to maximise the ‘people power’ of its activists and ensure that they are a step ahead of the other political parties when it comes to modern forms of campaigning.

Similar video calls using ‘Zoom’ technology are expected to be held every week in the run-up to polling day on December 12th. A variety of voices will feature in each one, and supporters will be offered a motivational boost as well as campaigning tips.

Corbynite activist network Momentum is also hosting regular mobilising calls with updates for activists on events and digital tools. Two weeks ago, it held one with Jeremy Corbyn that was joined by over 2,000 Labour supporters.

Speaking ahead of the call, John McDonnell said: “I’m proud that the Labour Party is setting out to make this the biggest people-powered election campaign this country has ever seen – using all kinds of new tech, tactics and training.

“In 2017 we put young people at the forefront of our campaign and we are doing that again by making sure they help shape our election strategy – from inputting ideas to our manifesto to attending mass video calls about our election plan. While the Tories have billionaires, we have people. This is how we’ll win.”