‘Strong candidates, campaign organisers and relentless focus: How Labour wins’

The dust might have settled by now, but one thing is clear. The 2023 local elections proved that Rishi Sunak could deliver on at least one target: the loss of 1,000 Tory councillors. Across the country, we saw really encouraging results, putting us on course for an overall majority at the next general election.

But as our national campaign coordinator Shabana Mahmood highlighted, perhaps more important than how many seats we won – it was more than 500, by the way – was where we won, taking key councils previously thought unwinnable.  I was lucky to visit some of these places such as Dover, Swindon, Blackpool and Brighton ahead of the locals and was struck by the progress we’ve made in such a short space of time, in terms of strategy, campaign techniques and messaging on the doorstep.

Lessons to be learned from our campaign in the South East

Given my role as the political lead for the South East, I was particularly thrilled to witness the results in that part of the country, where we now control as many councils as the Tories, with double their number in Kent. I have to admit that, ahead of the elections, I was sceptical whether we would be able to overturn councils that have been blue for more than 20 years. But after campaigning with local teams across the region, the question became not whether we’d win, but by how much.

These results were not just down to the work carried out over recent weeks or months – but over years. Without giving away all the secrets, strategies such as that used in Medway were created in 2019 and outlined the plans for everything from policy development to the social media approach.

Particular emphasis was also put on the candidate selection process to ensure the candidate pool was strong, diverse and motivated and, importantly, that they were selected in good time so they could build a campaign and develop relationships with those they wished to represent. Timelines for manifesto development, media output and candidate training were put in place.

However, anyone who has worked on a campaign knows that creating a strategy is one thing. Carrying it out is whole different ball game. That is why, crucially, the groups identified the importance of appointing campaign organisers (something that was often missing in 2019) to support the campaigns throughout the election period, helping to manage volunteers, organise campaign sessions and monitor data.

Our messaging resonated with voters – unlike the Tories’

Of course, the national picture cannot be denied. When I was on the doorstep, it often didn’t matter whether I was in Blackpool or Brighton, people were telling me that they were sick of the Tories. They feel poorer. They recognise the destruction done to our public services over the last decade. And things that used to be easy are now increasingly hard. Getting an ambulance is difficult. Getting a dentist appointment is even worse. And for many, getting a doctor’s appointment is impossible.

Our campaign resonated with voters because it was in touch with voters. We relentlessly focused on what mattered to them: cutting the cost of living, cutting waiting lists and cutting crime. While we opened and closed our campaign on the most important issue, the cost of living, the Tories didn’t spend one day speaking about it, instead picking issues that could fall into two categories: Westminster bubble or culture war.

With relentless focus, we can make more previously unthinkable gains

It was our relentless focus on strategy and message on the doorstep that delivered us key councils in the South East previously considered unwinnable. It will only be through a continued relentless focus that we will make gains in other parts of the country also thought to be unattainable.

2027 may seem like a long time away, but the seeds for what has grown in the South East were planted four years ago. There is no time to waste. We know that changing the country isn’t easy. Now isn’t the time for complacency. Now is the time to redouble our efforts. Now is the time to get to work.