Revealed: The battlegrounds attracting most activists as 17,000 sign up

More new volunteers have signed up to canvass in the ultra-marginal Bury South seat than any other key Labour battleground, LabourList analysis of Labour data reveals.

Almost 78,000 people have now signed up to campaign to help Labour get elected across the country through a sign-up tool on its website, which appears to have been launched in 2019.  More than 17,000 have signed up since the election was called on May 22.

Through extensive research, LabourList can reveal that among the more than 250 constituencies the tool dubs “battleground areas”,  some 190 have had more than 100 volunteers sign up via the platform.

The tool reflects only a fraction of all Labour activists as canvassing sessions are organised in multiple ways and many of those using it are likely to be newer recruits, but it still provides revealing clues about the areas likely to be seeing most new volunteers. The sign-up tool directs activists to the battlegrounds close to them.

READ MORE: The top 20 donors to Labour this year in the lead-up to the general election

Bury South, won by the Conservatives by just 402 votes at the last election, has had 851 activists signed up to campaign via the tool.

The seat is being contested by Christian Wakeford, who was elected as the Tory MP for the constituency before defecting to Labour in 2022.

Five other constituencies saw more than 500 volunteers sign up using the platform, including some which the party is defending like Sheffield Hallam, Bristol Central, Bethnal Green and Stepney and Canterbury.

Top 20 ‘battleground areas’ by new volunteer sign-ups

1. Bury South: 851
2. Calder Valley: 775
3. Southport: 766
4. Sheffield Hallam: 563
5. Bristol Central: 557
6. Brighton Pavilion: 525
7. Bethnal Green and Stepney: 492
8. Rother Valley: 484
9. Canterbury: 458
10. High Peak: 452
11. Rushcliffe: 449
12. Lancaster and Wyre: 436
13. Earley and Woodley: 435
14. Hastings and Rye: 373
15. Shipley: 371
16. Colne Valley: 363
17. Wimbledon: 362
18. Cities of London and Westminster: 341
19. Beckenham and Penge: 336
20. Finchley and Golders Green: 332

LabourList exclusively revealed last week the 252 constituencies labelled as “battleground seats” by the party on its website, including almost a dozen constituencies once thought unwinnable.

These include the seats of Jacob Rees-Mogg (North East Somerset and Hanham) and Penny Mordaunt (Portsmouth North).

Around 230 seats are constituencies Labour hopes to gain at the general election, suggesting the party is aiming to secure a sizeable majority in Parliament.

Some 178 of these were either Conservative-held or would have been won by the Tories on the new boundaries in 2019, while 48 were won by the SNP and two by the Liberal Democrats.

Labour also hopes to pick up a seat each from the Green Party and Plaid Cymru.

Read more of our 2024 general election coverage here.

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