Momentum appoints new political coordinator Andrew Dolan

Labour left group Momentum has appointed former Labour Party staffer Andrew Dolan as its new political coordinator, replacing Laura Parker who was national coordinator until last year.

Dolan was political adviser to Jon Trickett when the Labour MP for Hemsworth was shadow minister for the Cabinet Office under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the party.

He previously worked on The World Transformed, the festival that is supported by and closely linked to Momentum and has run alongside party conference every year since 2016.

Dolan is understood to be taking on the post as the role is redefined to be less public-facing, with the idea that it will work more in the background to deliver the organisation’s political objectives.

He is expected to support staff and help deliver the aims of Momentum members and the new national coordinating group, rather than represent the organisation via media appearances.

In an email to members this afternoon, he said Momentum will be “moving forward” in the socialist movement by “retooling our organisations and developing new strategies”.

The goal for the activist network is to be “led by members” and “actively engaged in struggles and campaigns inside the Labour Party and in our communities”, Dolan told members.

LabourList has been told that two high-profile former staffers of Corbyn’s office applied for the role of political coordinator at Momentum but were unsuccessful.

Momentum members in July chose to replace co-founder Jon Lansman with firefighter Andrew Scattergood and climate activist Gaya Sriskanthan as new co-chairs of the group.

Below is the full text of the email sent to Momentum members today.

I just wanted to drop you an email to introduce myself. My name’s Andrew Dolan, and I’m the new political coordinator at Momentum.

I’ve been a member and supporter of our organisation since its creation, and I know Momentum has an absolutely vital role to play in the years ahead. That’s why I’m so excited to get stuck in during this crucial time for the left.

For many of us the last year has been tough, and the significance of the December election defeat feels greater in a world turned upside down by Covid-19.

But between 2015 and 2019 we made huge advances. We smashed apart the consensus that ‘there is no alternative’ and pushed transformative policy into the mainstream. Together, hundreds of thousands of us campaigned for a new kind of country and came so very close, electing many fantastic MPs along the way.

Most importantly, we’ve built new organisations and institutions – foremost of which is our own, Momentum. We now have a genuinely mass socialist organisation, with national clout, a collection of vibrant local groups, and members everywhere – something that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago.

The socialist movement today is stronger than it was in 2015, but moving forward and building on this legacy will mean retooling our organisations and developing new strategies.

There is now an emerging consensus for change among the Momentum membership, and my role is to work with representatives, affiliates, staff and – most importantly – members to help deliver this.

Our goal is a Momentum that is led by members and is actively engaged in struggles and campaigns inside the Labour Party and in our communities, where the fight for social and economic justice is at its fiercest.

What is certain is that our future successes will depend on the actions of Momentum members, be that organising on the ground or taking a lead and shaping the work our organisation does.

I look forward to working with you all.

Andrew Dolan
Momentum’s new political coordinator