Hywel Lloyd
We hope all of you, our friends, followers and supporters have had an opportunity for a restful summer, enjoying being governed by a Labour Government that not only wants to govern but to govern well. That is a great platform for making progress for everyone in the UK, be they in a community of the coast, country, or city too.
All of which bodes well, given the next 20 months will see almost all of the UK involved in a sort of slow-motion general election… with the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Senedd, London boroughs holding elections in 2026, and first up in May 2025 thirty English Country Councils holding their once every four-year all out elections.
The platform that Labour has won is made all the more encouraging, and potent, when we see quite how many coast and/or country communities have elected Labour MPs, in some cases for the first time. From this fine ensemble of our endorsed and adopted candidates, over 50 are now MPs; and we’ve connected with dozens more since the election was triggered. (We weren’t the only ones expecting the summer to give us more election prep time … just imagine how feverish election speculation might be now.)
The election success of July now also means that for 14 of these 30 Counties Labour now holds 50% or more of the Parliamentary seats and, in over a dozen Counties, voters have returned four or more Labour MPs. This, and the results of the PCC elections in May offer a fantastic opportunity to turn the County Council map red – so we are thrilled to see the Party already organising and fundraising to do just that.
While much of what we have to do is apply the campaigning practice, and the learning from 2023/4, Labour is clearly now the Government too, so what it does and says as the Government, the choices it does and doesn’t make, add a powerful dynamic to the County Council election mix.
It’s clear to us that two elements of the Manifesto, and the balance between them, are going to be key – Taking Back Control, and the benefits of Growth.
As the Manifesto highlights the country needs to grow the economy if it is to afford the sort of civilised, progressive future Labour represents, and that so many people voted for.
Much of that growth and the wider improvements to what works for communities of the UK will come from more and better homes, upgraded infrastructure that reflects the climate changed world we are experiencing, where we will need to build resilience, produce more of our own food and energy, while undoing the environmental damage of tory policies.
Which is why Taking Back Control is so important – we can all appreciate the UK is hugely centralised, denying agency to so many people and communities – in part why this past 14 years has been so disastrous for the country. Clearly Labour needs to avoid repeating these mistakes, of Westminster and Whitehall decision-making that does to communities.
With Take Back Control Labour can give communities the agency and opportunity to act for their future, and in turn the country’s future. It is good that Angela Raynor has asked for devo proposals to come forward from all those areas without, though we would hope that with likely election success in May 2025, she should then ask those new, Labour, Counties again. In the meantime, with the help of all of you we are ready to help.
Taking Back Control will be particularly important for communities of coast and country – while our growth ambitions are for every part of the country, and the country as a whole, most of what actually needs to happen will take place in their places – most cities can neither feed nor power themselves; they and we will be dependent on these communities for land for new homes, reservoirs, grid et al; as well as the space for nature, green spaces and food production we need for our health and wellbeing.
Communities of coast and country need a voice in how and what happens if Labour is to succeed in helping us all to truly thrive across every part of the UK.
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