‘Labour council candidates – it’s tough, but all is not lost’

Labour Party councillors going into the May local elections must feel like they are between a rock and a hard place.

The woes of the national party and particularly the leadership are hitting electoral prospects hard. 

Many candidates are seeking to just campaign on the local issues, trying to shut out the soap opera going on at national level.

Increasingly, members are campaigning in spite of – rather than for – the Labour Party.

Prospective councillors are dropping out, causing selection panels to be reopened. It is a sorry state of affairs.

READ MORE: https://labourlist.org/2026/02/the-local-power-plan-is-launching-an-ownership-revolution/

The prospects certainly don’t look good. Many competent Labour Councils face threats from Reform on the right and the Greens on the Left. There is a feeling that the party leadership have become so obsessed about Reform that they have virtually forgotten about the Greens. 

Yet, the re-energised Greens, under Zach Polanski’s leadership, have not only occupied policy positions to the left of the Labour Party but also absorbed thousands of disillusioned Labour Party members.

Some of these members will now be knocking on doors to get Green, not Labour, candidates elected. 

The result of the Gorton & Denton by-election could be an early indicator of things to come.

The Greens are still rising, whilst Reform may have reached their peak and be in decline.

The jibe that the party is a care home for former Tory MPs is cutting through. It is a line that does not chime well with Nigel Farage’s claim that Reform is new and different from the mainstream parties.

Also, the haphazard performance of Reform, where they are actually in charge of local services, such as in Kent, is another warning sign for voters.

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So, what can Labour candidates do? Campaign on their local record, when in power, and on opponents ineptitude when seeking office. Also, highlight promises of a better deal for local government under Labour. This should go some way to holding seats.

In terms of countering the specific threat of the Greens, there would need to be an emphasis on Labour’s record of achievement in office locally – where that is the case. Also, some examples of where the Greens in power in local government has not worked so well. Proven governance versus untried newbies. This argument can, of course, also be deployed against Reform. 

But also just have a greater confidence in Labour’s record. One of the problems of the government has been a failure to communicate the good stuff they are doing (something that LabourList tries to counter). An almost universally hostile media has not helped. So, if Labour communicated more of what it has done and has been doing at local level, effectively, this could help win votes.

So a greater confidence all round on what Labour is doing rather than an over obsession about what other parties are doing or saying could also reap dividends. 

The head winds from the national shenanigans, cannot be easily deflected. Keir Starmer is not a vote winner, yet if he were to go, then another election contest for the leadership – running parallel to the local elections – wouldn’t play well either. 

So, Labour really are in a difficult place when it comes to these elections.

Heavy losses look likely, even where Labour has a good record in local governance.

A bleak picture but a time also to take stock, re-order the party from top to bottom and look to the future elections as a time when ground can be taken back. This will also mean focusing more on where the party is losing ground on the Left to the likes of the Greens and Liberal Democrats. Aping Reform is another factor contributing to the party’s present malaise. 

So much to reflect on, post May. But for the moment it is a case of hope for the best but expect the worst. All is not lost.

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