Labour has already fired the starting gun on the 2025 local elections, with a fresh fundraising drive to boost “seriously depleted” reserves calling on supporters to help “put as much red” on the map as possible.
The party emailed members on Sunday saying the Tories retain a “tight grip” on counties holding elections next year, with many Conservative administrations and some in no overall control.
An email from party HQ reads: “Tom, the 2025 local elections are on the horizon, and we want to show you the county council seats that are up for grabs:
READ MORE: Sign up to our must-read daily briefing email on all things Labour
It adds: “Notice anything about this map? The Tories have a tight grip on these counties. None of them have Labour administrations.
“This is important…County councils are responsible for education, transport, planning, social care and many more services across the entire county.
“We need to put as much red on this map as possible – we need Labour councils working with this Labour Government to deliver change as effectively as possible.
“We really didn’t want to make a fundraising ask so soon after the general election, but we have no choice but to send this appeal today – we’re starting to build our campaign fund from scratch and the truth is that we can’t do this without your support.”
At HQ, we allocate campaign resources based on the resources we have at our disposal, which in turn is based on the funds we have available to us. If we lack the funds, we have to start making difficult decisions about where we send resource and where we don’t.”
We threw everything at the general election and it was worth every penny, but our resources are seriously depleted now. So it’s on us to build our campaign fund back up from now.
SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour or the election – contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected].
SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning.
DONATE: If you value our work, please donate to become one of our supporters here and help sustain and expand our coverage.
PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or content, email [email protected].
More from LabourList
Revealed: Labour’s most marginal seats against Reform UK
What were the best political books Labour MPs read in 2024?
‘The Christian Left boasts a successful past – but does it have a future?’