Operation Here We Go Again: How Labour Is Already Preparing For The Next Election

8 min read22 September

The next general election campaign is already underway. At least it is in Labour party HQ, Tali Fraser reports, where MPs were told they should be continuing to campaign from the first day of being elected

Operation Here We Go Again. That is the working title for Labour’s campaigning machinery grinding its gears again as the party already starts working towards the next election. Or to go by its alternative name: Operation Don’t Screw It Up.

As Conservative headquarters is forced to make cuts and redundancies, the Labour Party has been focused from day one of its government on how HQ campaigning and a fresh set of new MPs can secure a second term in government. A summer incumbency campaign guide sent by the party to Labour MPs began: “We are clear, our re-election campaign has begun, and the hard work starts now.”

Although the party spent much of its resources over the election, with increased funding secured by Rachael McCaffrey and Labour peer Lord Alli, it has managed to streamline its organisational structure and retain groups of those hired by the party on temporary election contracts as full-time employees.

Campaigning veteran Hollie Ridley, the party’s new general secretary who has been with Labour for around 14 years, is beginning the work on the second chapter of Labour’s latest election tale. Head of field campaigns during the election, she immediately took on some of the former responsibilities of head of political strategy Morgan McSweeney upon his entry into No 10.

Now with the entire party under her remit, her ambition – alongside Marianna McFadden, the election campaign’s deputy director and wife of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden – is working out how to create their own incumbency factor now they are no longer campaigning in opposition.

Labour Party chair Ellie Reeves works alongside Ridley and updates the PLP on their progress to make sure MPs are onside. Her appointment, one senior Labour figure says, is “a signal from Keir of the high value he places on campaigning”.

The party has been testing and trialling its campaign practices since even before the general election, using a series of by-elections as training sessions that allowed activists to run a paperless operation on July 4. The big polling day saw Ridley sat alongside a data specialist, using real-time data to see which areas needed what resources and allocating troops accordingly.

“The worst thing the Tories did was allow loads of by-elections for us to learn from,” one insider says.

Now Ridley and Reeves are reviewing how the campaign went, embedding their processes and working out how to campaign in government rather than opposition. Along with events director Carol Linforth, they helped organise a big campaigning weekend to end the summer recess.

A No 10 source said: “The campaign days are really important, because they do bring all the strong campaigning messages of the party together and give the party a focus.

“We were all in the same room for most of the election and now we’re all split up across the entire party and across Whitehall so it’s really important that we find big hooks we can bring people together around.”

Reeves spent part of the summer encouraging MPs to put themselves forward within the PLP to represent each of Labour’s five missions (clean energy, economic growth, NHS, opportunity and crime), appointing a set of 27 “mission champions”. One Labour adviser says: “She is making sure that that the PLP is pushing forward that mission-driven government.”

“I think it was very much shaped by Morgan, Ellie and Pat, in terms of no complacency and getting ready for the next set of elections,” they added.

“The fact that people are already serving the 2028/29 election machinery is very indicative of what the mindset of the party is right now.”

For the first time, the Labour Party has appointed permanent regional digital officers who will oversee and build content with MPs. This is designed not only for X (Twitter) but to be shared on local Facebook groups, where MPs are encouraged by party officials to introduce themselves, as well as post updates on the neighbourhood app Nextdoor.

A set of digital plans has been offered by Labour to all its MPs with a view towards the next election. Options range from a £700 core package to upgrades of up to £1,850 per month that include relationships with online social media creators in “a comprehensive local influencer programme”, alongside access to a “counter-digital threats” programme.

It is understood that Labour’s local influencer programme won’t be quite like those in US politics, which feature high-profile, high-following social-media content creators producing videos to support parties. Take Awa Sanneh, a 23-year-old who made a name for herself posting beauty tips on TikTok, who was invited to the White House with a dozen other social media influencers to watch the State of the Union address and meet President Biden. Instead, local businesses and community figures will be engaged to provide endorsements under this ‘influencer’ package. They would not be paid.

The expectation is that much of what is offered in the digital packages will be outsourced to agencies like We Are Civitas and 89Up, along with a new business being set up by some of Labour’s previous digital team called 411, presumably a cute reference to the number of Labour MPs elected in July.

To take up these packages, Labour MPs are advised to set up regular fundraising plans for a constant income stream. A number of new Labour MPs are already working with the party on these digital packages, although it is unclear how many will be purchasing them.

Some Labour figures are left cold by the hard sell from the party, especially while they are only just getting their feet under the table.

One senior Labour MP laughed aloud when shown the document setting out the ‘local influencer programme’. “Good luck trying to find those in my constituency,” they said. “This’ll be the work of some 20-year-old so, no, I probably won’t be getting that.”

A new MP similarly rejected the idea. “I’ve received some bumf and won’t be buying anything at the moment… I’ve still not got all my staff through the door and this kind of package requires a serious fundraising plan.”

Another new Labour MP, while commending Labour’s digital efforts in the election, said they were not certain of purchasing any options either – and while the party were pushing continual campaigning, they were focused simply on setting up an office.

“The party was great during the campaign and I would certainly look at stuff but I genuinely haven’t thought about it.”

Another was interested in the programme but said they wouldn’t be buying any packages as the number of communications officers on MPs’ staff means they can do the work in-house.

But in the document setting out the plan, sent to MPs over the summer, the emphasis is clear: “Like traditional campaigning techniques, thinking about [digital] only during election periods isn’t enough – you need to start planning now. Using our strategy and tools, you’ll be… in the best possible place for the next election.”

Soon after polling day, Labour created ‘thank you templates’ for MPs to send out to voters “as widely as possible”. Sending these out over the summer, they were told, “needs to be a priority”.

The newly elected MPs were urged to write personal thank you notes, make phone calls and host thank you events for members, volunteers and endorsers as soon as possible. The party’s suggestions also including getting volunteers to deliver thank you cards “to keep them in the habit of active campaigning”.

But the attitude has produced criticism, with one new Labour MP saying: “There is a level of control freakery that doesn’t actually always pay off. That manifestation of getting ourselves ready for the next general election is making people very aware of it.”

The party’s overarching aim is to create a campaigning culture that allows the party to flex up again whenever needed. MPs have been told they need to “make sure the campaigning infrastructure that you built for the general election is retained”.

Labour MPs are being encouraged to think about grouping together with neighbouring colleagues to part-fund an organiser and keep their local campaigns going.

The summer guide states that MPs should be scheduling regular canvassing sessions with members to keep “on a campaign footing” and show they are “present, active and listening”.

They weren’t ordered back out onto the doorsteps over the summer, however. “That would’ve been too cruel,” a senior Labour source says.

Discipline will be key. Over the election there were residential workshops with candidates, digital teams and regional directors to build those relationships and wargame situations together – “and it is something we hadn’t had for a long time”.

Each part of the party, from within Labour HQ to No 10’s Henna Shah and secretary of the Parliamentary Labour Party Matthew Faulding – the man responsible for parliamentary candidate selections – is working towards enhancing that.

“It is all about working as one,” the senior Labour source adds.

“We don’t want that campaign rhythm to just stop” is the party’s HQ message.

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