You’ve got a friend in LabourList

I have now been Editor of LabourList for six months. It’s been an incredibly exciting time. In my first week we had a cabinet reshuffle and the launch of the contest to become Labour’s new deputy leader. In my second week we had the resignation of Peter Mandelson.  These two events have been the catalyst for so many of the stories that we’ve covered ever since, and much of the discussion about the political direction of the party.

When I started this job, I did so with two key thoughts in mind. Firstly, I wanted the website to be truly pluralist – to represent all the different parts of the Labour Party and to do so fairly. I wanted to publish every week pieces I disagreed with but found interesting and challenging nonetheless.

Secondly, I wanted to make sure that to the best of our ability within our capacity that our readers felt represented too. That’s why I instated our ‘letters to the editor’ feature that we publish every Sunday to ensure that you can respond to the articles that you agree and disagree with.

LabourList is where I got my start as a writer and I was determined to pay that forward by platforming new voices alongside our peerless journalists and Labour politicians at all levels. Nothing exemplifies this spirit of taking chances on up-and-coming writers than two of our new, two of our columnists, Ben Cooper and Stella Tsantekidou. Ben has a policy brain the size of a planet and will explore issues with a depth, understanding and clarity that helps us all to delve deeper into the world of policy. And Stella’s fiery polemics entertain, illuminate and enrich the site as she asks razor sharp questions of all of us. Nurturing talent like this is what makes LabourList special. 

READ MORE: Become a Friend of LabourList

Then there are our incredible reporters – Daniel Green and James Tibbitts.

Dan has been with LabourList for two years now and his nose for news is matched only by his political antennae. He has an ability to turn around vital breaking stories as fast as any in SW1 while at the same time working on long reported features and interviews that combine passion, colour and sumptuous writing.

And James work in getting our faces on camera and reporting on the ground from Gorton and Denton, Birmingham and the Fabian New Year conference has given LabourList a new lease of life. James infectious enthusiasm and care for the Party shines through in everything he writes and produces. 

Alongside all this, we have also published pieces about areas you simply wouldn’t see anywhere else, but that really matter to Labour members. Pieces on the organisational structures of CLPs, on the importance of the Cooperative movement and Party or on what it’s like to work for an MP and why these jobs matter to the success of everyone from the PM down. 

This depth and breadth is what LabourList is all about – bringing together the voices of people who understand the Labour Party and care about its future. Allowing us all to contribute to the debate in very different ways. 

LabourList is a vital resource for Labour Party members and those who want to deeply understand the party of government. But we also play a really important role in the broader progressive ecosystem. This is why I’m delighted that over the past six months we’ve developed and deepened our links with the trade union movement, with socialist societies and with other organisations with whom we partner with to ensure that we’re able to bring you up-to-date Labour members polling, information you won’t find anywhere else like our Labour Tribes work, focus groups and key policy ideas from across the spectrum. We work with partners across the party internally and across the left externally to ensure that we are a space for debating the very best of ideas, why they matter and who they matter to.

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During the past six months, myself and our incredible Business Manager Ellie Ormsby have been thinking deeply about how to ensure we are able to keep this content on the site and available to everybody and do so sustainably. But also how we can deepen and strengthen our relationship with our community of readers. 

We are so pleased that so many of you respond to our polling, engage with us on social media and talk to us when we’re out and about at events or on the doorstep. We are so heartened that, even when you don’t agree with everything we publish, you see the value in the platform and space we provide. Because of course being in the same party doesn’t mean we will agree on everything all the time. But it does mean we respect our different opinions, hold space for debating our differences and support each other regardless.

We are also so grateful how many of you choose to donate to us to ensure our work can continue. We are truly honoured that you see the value in what we do. Now we want to take that spirit and turn that relationship into something more mutual, something more cooperative, something that reflects the values of both LabourList and the Labour Party.

That’s why we’ve launched Friends of LabourList.

Becoming a Friend of LabourList will cost you no more than one coffee (and less than one pint!) a month. But what it means to us is that we can continue to provide an independent, non-factional Labour platform. One that understands the Party, that cares about the Party, that wills the party to succeed. But one that will never shy away from exploring where and why that isn’t happening and how that might be changed. Because Britain needs a Labour government and a Labour government needs LabourList to keep it on track.

Becoming a Friend of LabourList means that you will be playing a key role in creating and strengthening pluralistic debate and our role as a key hub in the Labour supporting ecosystem.

It also means you will get exclusive access to our live online ‘In Conversation’ events – and we have an incredible set of participants lined up for these. You’ll get our exclusive “Just Between Friends” email every Friday sharing a deep analysis of the events of the previous week and insight into the work of LabourList. You’ll get invites to exclusive in person events and early access to event like our fabulous conference karaoke – which sells out year after year. And you’ll get a chance to share your views as we develop platforms for Friends to connect with us and with each other. You even get a fabulous new LabourList mug! 

So what are you waiting for… be our friend!

Share your thoughts. Contribute on this story or tell your own by writing to our Editor. The best letters every week will be published on the site. Find out how to get your letter published.

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