‘The radical right are innovating. Progressives must do the same’

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Derbyshire. Doncaster. Warwickshire. Lancashire. The loss of hardworking councillors across the country in May confirmed the threat posed by Reform is no longer merely hypothetical. Labour’s historic victory has already delivered desperately needed relief from the Tory government to millions.

But the radical right’s rise since has made one thing clear: victory must be defended. Across our communities, from grassroots flag campaigns to AI generated tiktoks, the radical right are more organised than ever and gaining ground.

Within Reform too, they are innovating. In Runcorn and other by elections, Reform have managed to turnout new voters and close the voter ID gap with Labour in creative ways. In Blackpool, they are embedding themselves in the community and have opened their own pub. Across the country, Reform are testing new community-rooted tactics – in Staffordshire they are cleaning up flytipping in the community, in Hampshire they are starting petitions about post office closures – all exploiting people’s frustrations with the status quo in real time.

Sharing best practices

We need to fight back. And we already know that traditional methods are not enough – beating Reform, and beating back the broader regressive ecosystem of which they are a part, demands innovation of our own. To win, progressives must leverage the latest tactics, techniques and technologies in campaigning. That means spreading what works across our movement, and learning quickly from what doesn’t.

This is exactly why this year at Labour conference we’ll be convening The Campaign Fringe – a place for campaigners to come together, share best practices and learn about the latest innovations. It will be an all day event on Sep 29th bringing together 20+ of the most innovative organisations in progressive campaigning to share what works. We’re hosting a Campaigns Expo showcasing tools, tactics and tech from across the movement, and an events space for talks, discussions and practical sessions throughout the day. Our goal is both to ensure no mistake is made twice and that our entire movement is equipped with the best practice identified at the cutting edge of campaigning.

Cutting through where Westminster can’t

According to the BES, in 2014 58% of voters said they had little or no trust in politicians. Today it’s 80%. The collapse in political trust is essential context for the political moment we are in – centralised, national messaging holds less sway than it once did. Our response to this must focus on the hyperlocal, leveraging political representatives visibly rooted in the places they represent.

At The Campaign Fringe at Labour Conference, we’re equipping activists with Constituency Deep Dive briefing packs, giving them the data they need to tell their politics through local stories. We’ll also be sharing insights from the Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) – by some distance the largest in British political history – we ran at the last general election. Unsurprisingly, the results suggest that political messaging that evokes pride of place and makes concrete, tangible claims is more likely to be effective at influencing political behaviour.

READ MORE: Labour Party Conference 2025: Full LabourList events programme, revealed

Building trust in our messengers

So much of Reform’s effectiveness comes from a lack of trust in Labour and our messengers. Rebuilding this means having richer conversations on the doorstep and training our members and our representatives to build relationships – here technology can help. At the Campaign Fringe we’ll be showcasing CanvassCoach – an AI-powered tool which simulates different voters, who you can have a doorknocking conversation with and then receive a score and feedback based on best practices. During the day we’ll have a CLP leaderboard with collective scores so come along, represent your CLP and sharpen your persuasion skills in the process.

How technology can turbocharge campaigning

Beyond tactics, technology will also play an increasingly important role as AI access and fluency become more widespread. Administrative tasks that once consumed vast quantities of campaign hours now face the prospect of near total automation, whilst design and comms capacity hitherto the preserve of campaigns with serious financial firepower have become ubiquitous.

A decade ago, generating an incumbency defence pack which listed in detail achievements in every ward and settlement in your area was a mammoth endeavour. Not for lack of achievements – but because the fragmented nature of the information required made it nearly impossible to collate. Doing so today takes only the volunteer time required to write the necessary prompt. At The Campaign Fringe, an expert panel will discuss how to capture AI’s opportunities while mitigating risks, ensuring our movement can campaign with maximum efficiency.

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Building a smarter progressive ecosystem

Innovation is happening, not just at Campaign Lab but right the way across the movement. Unions are experimenting with novel ways of producing digital solidarity, progressive organisations are investing seriously in community organiser programmes and persuasive canvassing whilst Labour MPs are exploring new ways to become closer, and more available, to their constituents. The bad news is that too many of the learnings from this innovation remain siloed; at massive resource cost we constantly reproduce the lessons already learnt elsewhere.

So join us at The Campaign Fringe and meet the effective campaigners sharing what works. Learn how to leverage the latest technologies; represent your CLP in an AI-powered canvassing competition; hear from unions, organisers and experts on topics ranging from campaigning as spectacle to winning in the digital age; take part in an afternoon of trainings led by the team behind Labour’s general election victory at 411 and, above all else, go home with new tactics, insights and skills that you can actually use.

Reform are organising – but so are we.

Come down to The Campaign Fringe and be part of the fightback.

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