Labour supporters urged to join polling day ‘ringathon’ to make history

Good morning. It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for, as voters head to the polls in Selby and Ainsty, Somerton and Frome and Uxbridge and South Ruislip. Could Rishi Sunak become the first Prime Minister since Harold Wilson in 1968 to lose three by-elections in a single day? Given the variety of these three Tory-held seats – spreading across north and south and suburban and rural – such a result would show the Tories are haemorrhaging votes across the board, with MPs even in supposedly safe seats vulnerable. Keen to play your part in making that happen? Details for canvassing in Selby, Uxbridge and Somerton and Frome can be found here, and you can sign up last-minute to join a “polling day ringathon” here.

LabourList’s Morgan Jones has been out and about in Uxbridge speaking to voters ahead of polling day. Boris Johnson’s former seat, it had been seen as a Labour target since before the ex-Prime Minister’s abrupt exit from parliament last month – with Johnson’s most recent majority standing at 7,210 votes. Morgan heard mixed things about the seat’s former MP during her visit, with one interviewee saying it was a shame he had stood down (though her dislike for Sunak means she plans to vote Labour today), while another accused Johnson of having “ruined this country”. The latter interviewee also made a decisive prediction that the Conservatives will “never get in in Uxbridge again.” Labour’s candidate – Camden councillor Danny Beales – got a largely positive reception, though Morgan came away thinking the picture in the seat is “mixed” – but certainly “not positive for the Conservatives”.

Elsewhere, LabourList is hugely excited to unveil the unmissable set of events we’ve got planned for Labour party conference. We’re hosting a string of panel events inside ACC Liverpool, unpacking the big issues of the day with the big names – from shadow cabinet members like Wes Streeting and union leaders like Mick Lynch to experts, campaigners and industry leaders. And we can’t wait to hear top Labour figures get fired up on how we mobilise now to win at our annual rally event at Revolucion de Cuba on Monday afternoon. Here’s what we’ve got in store so far, with more to come.

Morgan has also found time to sit down with one of Labour’s recent by-election winners, Andrew Western, who succeeded Kate Green as MP for Stretford and Urmston in Greater Manchester back in December. His advice on how to emulate his by-election victory may not be the most comforting for Labour’s candidates in today’s contests, however: “Start with a seat that we’ve never lost.” Western – a former leader of Trafford council – told Morgan about his “long-standing interest in housing and regeneration” and his experience of watching friends and family being priced out of their local area. He said his interest in housing stems from his own experiences and passion for tackling generational inequalities, which he described as “off the charts”. The MP has a clear idea of what needs to change to fix the issues in the housing sector, telling Morgan: “We should scrap the planning system. It’s not fit for purpose, it’s not delivering the homes we need.”

On LabourList this morning too, we’re delighted to be welcoming the Fabian Society’s general secretary Andrew Harrop as a new columnist, writing for us every month or so. He’s kicked off with a piece arguing that a Starmer government will have to plan for both “patient, long-term rebuilding” and “immediate turnaround”, concluding that, though Labour “must spend prudently, within the economic constraints of sensible fiscal rules”, the party “cannot rule out essential short-term spending just because of pre-election nerves” – with welfare spending key.

Elsewhere in Labourland, Gingerbread – the charity for single-parent families – has written to Labour MPs following Keir Starmer’s announcement that the party does not plan to scrap the two-child limit on benefits, urging them to join the charity in “calling for an end to this toxic and damaging policy”. They say the limit is “directly responsible for plunging over a million children into poverty (or deeper poverty)”.

And finally, with all eyes on inflation and the Bank of England this week, entrepreneur and Labour donor John Mills’ Institute of Prosperity has released a paper calling for Labour and the Tories to back overhauling the BoE’s mandate. An unorthodox proposal, he argues replacing its inflation target with a growth mandate would help Starmer make Britain competitive, tackle inequality and boost the economy.