General election: How does Labour select last-minute candidates in non-battlegrounds and retirement seats?

How does Labour select candidates once a general election is called?

The General Election is in six weeks. It all just got real. Labour planned to be ready for an early election and fast-tracked candidate selections.

After two snap general elections, the party understandably wanted to give members as much opportunity as possible to select prospective parliamentary candidates. But with six weeks to go, the process of selecting the remaining candidates will need to be accelerated.

In addition to the outstanding seats waiting for candidates, there are also expected to be several “late retirements”. If any MPs decide to stand down after the election is called, there is usually a special process for selecting their replacement. This is because these seats will be Labour held and considered “safe” (although the concept of “safe”, battleground and unwinnable seats have been turned on their head post-Brexit).

The national executive committee has tended to pick candidates

The pandemic has made everyone adept at online meetings and with online balloting used by CLPs across the country, people may wonder why we can’t continue to hold online selection meetings. Each selection is resource intensive and with just six weeks to decide the future direction of our country, staff need to spend as much time as possible campaigning in the key battleground seats.

In the past, this has involved applicants being interviewed by a panel of national executive committee members who will then decide the best candidate to represent Labour at the election.

The panel decision will be based on the applicant’s campaign record, local knowledge, policy and political background, trade union activity, life experience and leadership skills. Given the criteria, it is unsurprising that senior political figures, advisors and trade unionists often get selected for these roles.

I have helped prepare applicants for retirement seat interviews and have been delighted to see some really outstanding candidates selected from a genuinely competitive field. These retirement seat selections are highly competitive and strong candidates will often be expected to stand in a battleground seat to win a seat from an MP from another party.

My advice to any aspiring candidate is not to expect to be gifted a safe seat, be confident in your ability to win it from your opponents and make it your own through your hard work and dedication to your community.

Process felt rushed in 2017

As a member of Labour’s NEC, I selected candidates in previous snap elections. This was a surreal experience. The process has improved since 2017. Back then, two NEC members and one member of the regional board selected candidates in a region with the support of party staff. We spent a whole day on a conference call, deliberating over each seat in the Eastern Region.

We based our decision not on interviews but on application forms and CVs, as well as any local intel or recommendations. The whole process had to be rushed and completed in days, which put enormous pressure on party staff and made completing due diligence checks a challenge.

Selections have improved

Labour has learnt the lessons from 2017 and 2019 on many, many levels.

This includes the quickest, fairest and most effective way to select outstanding candidates. Applications have been sought earlier, there has been more candidate training and talent spotting, more due diligence and everything started earlier to pre-empty a potential earlier election.

Best of luck to everyone standing for Labour in 2024. See you on the Labour doorstep!

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