Failed candidates highlight Labour’s southern discomfort

While the Labour leadership contest is in a miserable state, other parts of the party are trying to get on with working out how it can recover in 2020. Two big questions are how to deal with Ukip and how to make Labour a winning force again in the South of England and I look at the senior party figures who are trying to get going with answering these questions in this week’s politics column.

So anxious are those who actually fought the general election in the South that they’ve written a letter to all four leadership candidates and deputy leadership contenders to remind them of the importance of making Labour a winning force in the South West, the South East and East of England. The letter, signed by 13 candidates who failed to win in May, says:

‘Nearly a third of our target seats in 2020 will be in the South West, South East and East of England. But too often the party has failed to reach out to Southern voters. This needs to change.

‘We have to show, through our language and message, that we are rooted in the South and share, day to day, the concerns of Southern voters. We need to show that our policies directly address the issues and problems of people in the South, and have been developed with them.

‘Establishing Labour as a Southern party, with a tradition of support, will require a consistent strategy over many years, and one that looks beyond the ultra-targeting in key seats. Constituencies do not exist in isolation – Friends, family and (increasingly) colleagues live in neighbouring ‘non-target’ constituencies. Labour needs to recognise, support and encourage activism across the whole of our regions if we want to build our presence, be a party for the whole of the South and the UK, and win.

‘We need to build an organisation that demonstrates that we are an integral part of communities across the southern regions, and the effective media and communications that needs to accompany it.’

It asks the candidates to explain how they plan to win in the South and if they will commit to a series of pledges before 14 August, when voting begins. The pledges are:

• Ensure Labour champions Southern voices in its national and media coverage. Labour’s national and media coverage often lacks a strong and identifiable ‘southern’ voice, reflecting the predominantly northern make-up of our MPs. Measures should be taken to make more effective use of Labour’s southern Parliamentary and local government representation.
• Ensure Labour supports campaigns in every constituency in the South The Party should support ‘non-target’ constituencies – helping them identify areas which demographically offer most immediate opportunities for Labour as well as providing them with data on membership, fundraising, voter contact and other measures which will enable them to set their own targets and priorities for future activity – be that an effective campaign, a council seat, increasing the size of the Labour group, etc.
• Ensure Labour gives activists the tools they need to build their voice in local media. We encourage the Party to identify key contacts in each area and to provide support and training in communicating Labour’s message. PLP briefings should be made available, at the discretion of Regional Directors, to party members in areas where there will otherwise be little or no media profile for the party. Well planned front bench visits need to reach those areas which may be less accessible from London, including Cornwall, North Norfolk etc.
• Give Southern Labour Party members an input into Labour’s policy platform. The party should run a series of consultation meetings with Labour party members across the South and East of England to help ensure the party’s policy and messaging is rooted in the lives, aspirations and challenges of people in the South.
• Work to encourage campaigning networks across the South. The Party should establish secure networks to encourage and facilitate networking between activists and constituencies with similar challenges and experiences. Coordinated campaigning is valuable for our media profile and for strengthening the collective identity of southern Labour Parties. In parts of the South, parish and town councillors are Labour’s only elected representatives. We recommend that the Party, as a trial, acknowledges the role of these councillors, encourages networking between them, and holds meetings for them at regional conferences.

Given the leadership contenders haven’t said a great deal so far about the South, they had better collect their thoughts quickly before tomorrow’s deadline. It will be quite telling if certain candidates fail to respond at all.