What is the process of selecting Labour’s next general secretary – and who’s in the running?

Hollie Ridley’s resignation as Labour general secretary triggers the process for appointing someone new to replace her as the most senior employee of the party and secretary of the National Executive Committee.

LabourList has taken a look at the party rulebook for a closer look at the process of choosing a new general secretary – and who some of the runners and riders might be.

The general secretary of the party is elected by party conference on the recommendation of the NEC, meaning in effect that the NEC elects the general secretary, with their pick then rubber-stamped by delegates.

Longlisting and shortlisting for the process is usually done by a smaller body within the NEC, such as a panel set up for that purpose or the NEC officers’ group. The NEC makes the final decision via a secret ballot vote.

While Hollie Ridley was the leadership’s choice for general secretary, leaders are not always successful – with success dependent on the factional make-up of the NEC. For example, Ray Collins, Blair’s favoured choice as general secretary in 2005, lost out at the time to Peter Watt, while Iain McNicol was elected in 2010, although Ed Miliband favoured Chris Lennie.

According to the rulebook, the role requires the successful candidate to “devote their whole time to the work of the party and shall not be eligible to act as a parliamentary candidate”, with the general secretary remaining in office so long as their work “gives satisfaction to the NEC and party conference”.

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So who are some of the runners and riders being considered in the race to replace Ridley as general secretary?

Karin Christiansen

Karin Christiansen served as general secretary for the Co-operative Party for three years from 2012 to 2015 and is the current chair of the LabourList Board. Christiansen had been a candidate to replace Jennie Formby as Labour general secretary in 2020.

Joe Fortune

Joe Fortune is the current general secretary of the Co-operative Party and previously served as an executive member of SERA, Labour’s environmentally-focused socialist society.

Anthony Lavelle

Anthony Lavelle is the regional director for Labour North West and represents Croxteth on Liverpool Council.

John Lehal

John Lehal is Labour’s former chief operating officer and was previously in contention to become general secretary to replace David Evans when he stood down in 2024. He also ran Andy Burnham’s leadership campaign in 2015. 

Lisa Johnson

Lisa Johnson previously worked as director of external relations at the GMB union and has served as vice president of robotics company Starship Technologies since 2024.

Alicia Kennedy

LabourList understands that peer Alicia Kennedy is also in contention for the role of general secretary. She served as deputy general secretary between 2006 and 2011 before being elevated to the House of Lords in 2013.

Christina McAnea

Christina McAnea is the former general secretary of Unison and worked at the trade union for more than three decades. In her union role, she was influential in helping shape the Employment Rights Act.

Claire Reynolds

Claire Reynolds, Labour’s executive director of stakeholder relations, has served as an aide to both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and as a political director to Keir Starmer in Downing Street. Reynolds, wife of chief whip Jonathan Reynolds, has also worked as director of the Labour Women’s Network, credited with helping around 100 female MPs get elected at the general election.

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