Rebuilding Labour’s reputation in Bermondsey

In 2002, Labour didn’t win a single seat in Bermondsey & Old Southwark and lost control of the council. In 2010, we reclaimed six seats and delivered a Labour majority. We have shown how a bottom-up campaign, led by local members working in the community can rebuild Labour’s reputation with the electorate.

Change wasn’t easy. As a constituency, we were faced with massive challenges that went far beyond the problem of declining support for Labour nationally. The incumbent Liberal Democrat, Simon Hughes, is a high profile MP with a long record in office here. Meanwhile we’d been leaking council seats under a growing view – stoked by the Lib Dems – that Labour sat on high in “Peckham Town Hall” ignoring the interests of working people in Bermondsey.

With no Labour councillors and a weakened constituency party, how would we reconnect with local residents, rebuild trust and restore Labour’s reputation in the community?

“We never see Labour around here” – reconnecting with our roots

A fresh leadership of the council’s Labour Group recognised that the council would only be won back if councillors got out of the Town Hall and started meeting residents face to face. Monthly borough campaign days were established in our target wards and every councillor and prospective candidate was expected to participate.

We had a strong core of members who lived out their Labour values in their daily lives – chairs of tenants and residents associations, leaders of community and faith groups, charity trustees and school governors.

We also had an excellent Labour London Assembly Member – Val Shawcross. As a former councillor, she understood the importance of building relationships with voters and really focused on building links with local community and faith groups. When she was selected as our Parliamentary Candidate it gave us a local figurehead who had already established herself as a champion for local people.

A positive message

In 2006, policy working groups and an annual borough conference were established to start building a 2010 local election manifesto that reflected both Labour values and local priorities. The pledges we made were tangible and positive – they worked better than negative campaigns based on crime and antisocial behaviour in the past. The pledge to introduce free school meals was particularly popular.

Strategy

Winning the campaign in Southwark wasn’t about magic – it was about targetting our resources and putting in a lot of hard work. It’s incredibly important to put full time campaign organisers in place as early as possible. Our materials were also well designed.

Playing the long game

This wasn’t a short campaign. The fightback started in 2004, when, against the odds, Val Shawcross held the Lambeth & Southwark London Assembly seat. In the 2005 general election, Bermondsey saw the largest swing to Labour in the country. The following year we seized back two council seats in the constituency, but it still wasn’t enough to win back the council. We kept building our campaigning capacity in the constituency, speaking to more and more voters and increasing our connections with the community.

Looking to the future

Our councillors and members must continue to act as ambassadors for the Labour Party in the community. We need to keep campaigning throughout the electoral cycle. People must keep seeing Labour – there can be no retreat to the Town Hall. We must deliver on our promises, and strive to serve all parts of Southwark – not just our Labour heartlands.

 by Rowenna Davis and Fiona Colley, Bermondsey and Old Southwark CLP