By Cllr Asma Begum (Bow West and Shadow Cabinet member for the Environment) How do we balance the need for local authorities to raise funds for vital services (in an era of budget cuts and austerity) against the fundamental right for residents to access the green spaces they collectively own? This delicate question comes to […]
We are a member-driven and people-powered organisation.
Labour activists are the lifeblood of our Party and the engine room of our campaigning.
Labour’s messages on social media — whether from the party or our people — are an important part of Labour’s digital campaigning and something you can easily help with from home. Hearing direct from people like you in virtual community groups and other online spaces about the issues that matter locally is an important way to amplify Labour’s messages. In times where there can be mistrust of politicians, posts from friends, neighbours and local stakeholders can help voters to connect with Labour values and local track record where other media fails. We can help you to use social media as a campaign tool for Labour, with training provided for those who want to take it further.
Labour leaflets help us keep in touch with residents, and ensure our representatives and their work are widely recognised. The local team produces and prints Labour literature and organises it ready for distribution by local teams within neighbourhoods. Could you volunteer to take a delivery round in your local patch? Our leafleters play a vital role in Labour campaigns, and you’ll be given everything you need, including a map of the streets you’ll be covering. Getting started couldn’t be easier!
Dialogue is Labour’s online system for telephone canvassing. It’s a crucial way to connect with voters and provides vital information that helps us at election time. You’ll need an internet-connected device and a mobile phone. Connecting to the system via your Labour membership details means that the calls cost you nothing. Once logged in, you’ll be connected automatically with the voter and can see a script to work through and input responses. We often run ‘phone banks’ to work together, either in person or virtually, and it’s a great way to volunteer when the weather isn’t great for door-knocking.
Traditionally, the Labour Party is known for people-powered campaigning, with door-knocking at its heart. Canvassing is all about collecting information on the thoughts and voting intentions of local residents, as well as connecting them with Labour values through thousands of positive conversations and face-to-face interactions (and not just at election time!). We work in local teams, and your organiser will have an app called Doorstep that directly inputs the information you collect into Labour’s systems. Door-to-door canvassing is the most powerful form of volunteering for the Labour Party and a great way to meet fellow activists in your area.
Beyond talking to voters, there are other ways to help Labour and your community. This could include signing and sharing Labour-led petitions, completing and helping to promote one of our surveys, or co-signing a letter pressing for action on an important topic and encouraging others to do the same. Please look out for opportunities to put your voice behind Labour’s campaigns as we build up the pressure for better ways to address the big issues that face us.
