Mainstream

@mainstreamlabour.bsky.social

1176 Followers 20 Following

The home for Labour’s radical realists - united by values, driven by change. Join us to unlock the transformative potential of the Labour Party. http://mainstreamlabour.org/

A photo of Sean Laws with two colleagues at the Durham Miners' Gala.
On Andy Burnham’s Announcement as Leader of the Labour Party: Mainstream’s Interim Council sends its congratulations to Andy Burnham on becoming Leader of the Labour Party and, from Monday, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. We were proud to launch with his backing last year, and like the whole Labour movement, we are hopeful for this shared opportunity to write a transformative new chapter for the country. This is our final chance to defeat the forces of the authoritarian right, pull our party back from the brink and build a country that shifts power and wealth decisively back to the majority. To deliver on the promise of “change” we made in 2024, what comes next must be radically and meaningfully different. Business as usual must end. We face a growing inequality and climate crisis, which is feeding spiralling living costs and a basic sense of scarcity, injustice and unfairness across the country. To tackle it, Labour must be prepared to invest in the bonds that hold communities together, pioneering a new political economy and rebuilding our broken democracy. In our recent paper, The Productive State: A Framework for Manchesterism, we set out in detail how this new settlement can take shape. Facing international instability, Labour must champion solidarity, human rights, and collective action. We must reject the extraction, exploitation and grotesque inequalities promoted by domestic and global economic systems.
On the 2nd reading of the Immigration and Asylum Bill: The public rightly expects an immigration and asylum system that is fair, controlled and compassionate. We welcome the Government's determination to restore confidence in a system that today works neither for local communities nor for people fleeing war and persecution. As Parliament considers this Bill, we want to see reforms that address some of the system's biggest shortcomings, including faster, higher-quality asylum decisions, an end to the reliance on expensive and unsuitable accommodation (which would be easier if asylum seekers were allowed to take paid work after 6 months), and more effective and expansive safe and legal routes that help undermine the criminal gangs who profit from human misery. Those are essential ingredients of an immigration and asylum system that works for everyone. Unfortunately, this Bill does not offer them. Instead it will weaken the rights of asylum seekers in a number of ways.
A screenshot of a LabourList article that reads; Mainstream top CLP nominations for NEC elections. Daniel Green.
A screenshot of an article by Simon Opher MP: Devolution is the best medicine for the NHS. Manchesterism can deliver a place-based health service that reflects local requirements, while maintaining national standards.
A Response to Blair: Inclusive Wealth, A Resilient Future, and the Politics of Place. Barry Gardiner MP.
A cream graphic with a picture of Labour members gathered around a table and the following text: Beyond the Renters' Rights Act: Is it Time for Rent Controls? 6.00pm Thurs 2nd July, Online.
A graphic showing the cover of Mainstream’s new report, The Productive State: A Framework for Manchesterism, and the following text: 'The Productive State: A Framework for Manchesterism, By Mathew Lawrence and Alex Williams. The Productive State is the foundation for a different kind of economy - one organised around a principle that four decades of market primacy systematically suppressed: that the essentials of life should be provided for need rather than profit, and that economic security is the condition of genuine freedom rather than its enemy.’
A graphic with a quote from Yuan Yang, Labour MP for Earley and Woodley, and Member of the Executive Committee of the Tribune Group of MPs: ‘This excellent paper on the Productive State is an important contribution to the debate being had across the economic policy sphere right now. Its diagnosis of the problems of privatised utilities has direct relevance for the future of Thames Water, which has failed my constituents and many others. ‘Change requires a diagnosis and a solution that matches the scale of our challenges, and a broad consensus is emerging within the Labour Party on the need for bolder measures to tackle the cost-of-living crisis at its root, reducing inflation and ensuring sustainable growth in the long run.’
A graphic showing the cover of Mainstream’s new report, The Productive State: A Framework for Manchesterism, and the following text: 'The Productive State: A Framework for Manchesterism, By Mathew Lawrence and Alex Williams. The Productive State is the foundation for a different kind of economy - one organised around a principle that four decades of market primacy systematically suppressed: that the essentials of life should be provided for need rather than profit, and that economic security is the condition of genuine freedom rather than its enemy.’
A graphic with a quote from Clive Lewis, Labour MP for Norwich South and a leading member of the Mainstream PLP group: ‘Every transformational political project needs an economic spine running through it, holding up its vision of the good society. ‘The Productive State: A Framework for Manchesterism is precisely that, with ideas to spare. What it does is articulate a truth known instinctively for some time: that the foundations we all rely on - the buses, the homes, the clean water - should be built for the public and owned in common, run by bodies that earn their keep, and answer to voters rather than shareholders. ‘It really is the tonic for a country told for 40 years that decline was the only realistic option.’
A graphic showing the cover of Mainstream’s new report, The Productive State: A Framework for Manchesterism, and the following text: 'The Productive State: A Framework for Manchesterism, By Mathew Lawrence and Alex Williams. The Productive State is the foundation for a different kind of economy - one organised around a principle that four decades of market primacy systematically suppressed: that the essentials of life should be provided for need rather than profit, and that economic security is the condition of genuine freedom rather than its enemy.’
A graphic with a quote from Lord Stewart Wood, Labour peer and former economic advisor to Ed Miliband: ‘Since the 2008 Crash, Labour has been unable to develop a sustainable political economy to replace the approach developed in the New Labour years under Blair and Brown. Mat Lawrence and Alex Williams’ excellent essay makes an important contribution in trying to respond to this challenge. ‘They set out the rationale for a role for the state in supporting the long-term productivity of public services, helping to build new infrastructure and helping to produce public goods that are vital to thriving communities. It is a valuable contribution to rethinking a social-democratic case for a more active state that helps to generate wealth and improve lives across the country.’
A graphic that reads: On Keir Starmer’s Resignation as Leader of the Labour Party. A Statement from Mainstream’s Interim Council. The Labour Party now has a chance to turn a corner and make good on our 2024 promise of ‘change’. But we must be clear: this is our final chance. What comes next must be a genuinely transformative political project. It must be bold in its offer to the country, and resolutely opposed to the internal culture of insularity and factionalism that has taken Labour to this point. We will be consulting our members about what they would like to see happen next.
A graphic showing the cover of Mainstream’s new report, The Productive State: A Framework for Manchesterism, and the following text: 'The Productive State: A Framework for Manchesterism, By Mathew Lawrence and Alex Williams. The Productive State is the foundation for a different kind of economy - one organised around a principle that four decades of market primacy systematically suppressed: that the essentials of life should be provided for need rather than profit, and that economic security is the condition of genuine freedom rather than its enemy.’
Andy Burnham's victory in Makerfield is a victory for mainstream Labour values. The people of Makerfield chose hope, unity and a radical change of direction. He won by offering a bold and popular left programme that can transform lives, raise living standards, and redress the imbalance of power and wealth that plagues the UK. Andy won because he united voters around a positive vision for the future. He has proven that Labour succeeds when we are confident in our values, ambitious in our offer and willing to speak to the hopes and fears of communities too often taken for granted by our distant and centralised politics. He has also shown that Labour wins when it draws upon the energy, ideas and talents of our whole movement. The route back to political strength is a confident Labour politics that unites, inspires and offers a new political and economic settlement. Labour should reflect carefully on what happened in Makerfield. The country is asking for a new chapter. The sooner we listen, the sooner we can build the broad coalition needed to defeat the politics of division and deliver the radical change that Britain needs.
A group of Mainstream and Labour activists stopping for a picture and holding a sign that reads: Vote Andy Vote Hope.
A pink and red graphic reading: Makerfield Campaign Day with Tony Vaughan MP, Weds 17th June, 12.30pm. It shows a picture of Tony Vaughan and the Mainstream logo in white.
Kerry writing her name on the wall of activists’ names.
"Graphic showing this year's slate of Mainstream candidates for the NPF, alongside their voting codes. With caption: ""This year, vote to reconnect Labour with its mainstream."" Candidates include: - EAST MIDLANDS Jennifer Walker, L1398532 - EAST MIDLANDS Michael Durrant, L1820520 - NORTH WEST Liz Grey, L0138116 - NORTH WEST Scott Brerton, L1150299 - EAST OF ENGLAND Kevin Hind, L0043592 - LONDON Emma Whysall, L0079841 - LONDON Panny Antoniou, L1870365 - NORTH Sean Laws, L1209508 - SCOTLAND Nairn Angus-McDonald, L1198013 - SOUTH EAST Josh Constable, L1260342 - SOUTH EAST Emily Brothers, A203451 - SOUTH WEST Sam Barnes, L1965192 - WALES Ed Stubbs, A958902 - WEST MIDLANDS Lauren Davison, L1593915 - WEST MIDLANDS Muhammad Ali, L1751340 - YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER James Driver, L1781145"
Graphic showing this year's slate of Mainstream candidates for the NEC, alongside their voting codes. With caption: ""This year, vote to reconnect Labour with its mainstream."" Candidates include: Cat Arnold, L1452611 / Kerry Postlewhite, L1212372 / Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, L1232610 and Councillor Elizabeth Dennis, L0145211 (for local government).
A photo of Labour members stood in front of a building. The members at the front hold a Welsh flag.
Graphic showing this year's slate of Mainstream candidates for the NPF, alongside their voting codes. With caption: "This year, vote to reconnect Labour with its mainstream." Candidates include: - EAST MIDLANDS Jennifer Walker, L1398532 - EAST MIDLANDS Michael Durrant, L1820520 - NORTH WEST Liz Grey, L0138116 - NORTH WEST Scott Brerton, L1150299 - EAST OF ENGLAND Kevin Hind, L0043592 - LONDON Emma Whysall, L0079841 - LONDON Panny Antoniou, L1870365 - NORTH Sean Laws, L1209508 - SCOTLAND Nairn Angus-McDonald, L1198013 - SOUTH EAST Josh Constable, L1260342 - SOUTH EAST Emily Brothers, A203451 - SOUTH WEST Sam Barnes, L1965192 - WALES Ed Stubbs, A958902 - WEST MIDLANDS Lauren Davison, L1593915 - WEST MIDLANDS Muhammad Ali, L1751340 - YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER James Driver, L1781145
Graphic showing this year's slate of Mainstream candidates for the NEC, alongside their voting codes. With caption: "This year, vote to reconnect Labour with its mainstream." Candidates include: Cat Arnold, L1452611 / Kerry Postlewhite, L1212372 / Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, L1232610 and Councillor Elizabeth Dennis, L0145211 (for local government).
Graphic which says: "This year, vote to reconnect Labour with its mainstream." encouraging people to nominate Mainsteam NEC and NPF candidates at their next CLP meeting.
Makerfield Campaign Day with Alex Sobel MP. Sat 6th June, 12.30pm. A picture of Alex Sobel MP is shown against a pink and red gradient background.
With Tony Vaughan MP WEDS 17TH JUNE 12.30PM With Miatta Fahnbulleh MP THURS 18TH JUNE 11.00AM With Alex Sobel MP SAT 6TH JUNE 12.30PM With Simon Opher MP 11.00AM TUES 16TH JUNE With Mark Drakeford TUES 9TH JUNE 11.00AM With Chris Hinchliff MP WEDS 10TH JUNE 11.00AM
A red and pink graphic showing Clive Lewis MP, the Mainstream flag logo and the following text: May Organising Forum With Clive Lewis MP. Weds 27th May, 6.00pm, Online.
A photo of Kerry Postlewhite (Mainstream Chair), Lorraine Beavers MP, Rachael Maskell MP, Paula Barker MP and Jackie Jones in Makerfield with 'Vote Andy For Us' posters.
Graphic that reads: Makerfield Campaign Days With Paula Barker MP TUES 26TH MAY 10.30AM With Dr Simon Opher MP 10.30AM TUES 16TH JUNE With Mark Drakeford TUES 9TH JUNE 10.30AM With Chris Hinchliff MP WEDS 10TH JUNE 10.30AM With Alex Sobel MP SAT 6TH JUNE 12.30PM With Dawn Butler MP FRI 29TH MAY 12.30PM ... and more to be announced.
A red and purple gradient graphic that reads: Join Mainstream. Rebuild Labour.
On the forthcoming Makerfield by-election: Uniting behind the strongest possible candidate and running a positive, hopeful campaign with an offer of transformative change at its heart is how Labour will earn the kind permission to continue representing the people of Makerfield in parliament. That is why we hope Labour’s National Executive Committee will ensure Makerfield CLP is free to choose from the widest possible field of candidates for this by-election - a field that should clearly include Andy Burnham. Let us seize this opportunity to show the Labour Party at its best and put country before party.
A red/purple gradient graphic with Mainstream's regional NPF candidates named and their membership number and region attached. Your candidates for the NPF. L1820520 Michael Durrant East Midlands L1593915 Lauren Davison West Midlands L1260342 Josh Constable South East L1781145 James Driver Yorks and Humber Samuel Barnes South West L1965192 L1398532 Jen Walker East Midlands L0138116 Liz Grey North West A958902 Ed Stubbs Wales L1209508 Sean Laws North L0043592 Kevin Hind Eastern L0079841 Emma Whysall London L1751340 Muhammad Ali West Midlands L1150299 Scott Brerton North West A203451 Emily Brothers South East L1870365 Panny Antoniou London L1198013 Nairn Angus-McDonald Scotland This year, vote to reconnect Labour with its mainstream.
A red/purple gradient graphic with Mainstream's NEC candidates pictured and named with their membership numbers attached. Your candidates for the NEC. Kerry Postlewhite (CLP section) L1212372 Jovan Owusu-Nepaul (CLP section) L1232610 Cat Arnold (CLP section) L1452611 Elizabeth Dennis (Local Gov section) L0145211 This year, vote to reconnect Labour with its mainstream.
Defeat is not inevitable. Join Mainstream.
On Friday, we issued a statement calling for an orderly transition and an open, democratic contest in the event of a leadership challenge after Labour's results on 7th May. Tonight, we restate the need for a timetable for an orderly transition to a new leadership. This must include a meaningful debate, with all of Labour's best players on the pitch, about our party's future and our offer to the public. For the sake of the country, we must get this right.
A red and purple gradient graphic reading: Join Mainstream. Rebuild Labour. A white Mainstream flag logo is displayed in the top right.
A pink and red gradient graphic with a picture of Dawn Butler MP, Mick Antoniw, and Sienna Rodgers. It reads: Rebuild: Labour's challenge after 7th May, Mon 11th May, 6.00pm, online. The Mainstream logo is shown in the bottom right.
A pink and red graphic graphic that reads: Defeat is not inevitable. Join Mainstream. It shows a white Mainstream flag logo in the top right corner.
Today, ordinary Labour members and hardworking candidates are paying the ultimate price for a crisis they did not create. In every nation and region of the UK, these painful results show that communities are turning away from Labour to Reform, to the Greens, and in Wales to Plaid Cymru. To our left and to our right, voters doubt our vision, question our values, and are rapidly losing faith in the promise of change we made in 2024. This crisis is the terminus of a failed political experiment at the top of the Labour Party that has put control, centralisation, and factional advantage before the founding principles of our movement. It is, fundamentally, a crisis of purpose. In every major test since 2024 - in Runcorn and Helsby, Caerphilly, Gorton and Denton, and now in elections across Wales, Scotland and England - the public has rejected this approach.
A yellow background graphic with the following writing in red: Polls are now open. Open from 7am to 10pm. Vote Labour. Don’t forget your photo ID.
A photo of a large group of Labour activists stood on a sunny street holding signs reading 'Vote Labour', 'Labour Unions' and 'Labour's New Deal for Working People'.
A picture of 6 Labour activists holding campaign materials under a tree in Birmingham.
A red and purple gradient graphic with a picture of Councillor Matthew Brown, the Mainstream logo and the following text: April Organising Forum, with Cllr Matthew Brown, Leader of Preston City Council. Thurs 30th April, 8.00pm, Online.
Labour campaign group Mainstream said Tuesday’s revelations showed a “culture of centralisation and patronage” at the top of Labour was enabling “catastrophic mis-steps and undermining our relationship with the public”. “An already difficult set of elections may now become even harder for the hardworking Labour members and candidates out canvassing tirelessly before May,” the group said in a statement.
A pink and red graphic with a picture of Mayor Helen Godwin, the Mainstream logo in off-white and the following text: 'In Conversation With: Mayor Helen Godwin. 6PM Weds 22nd April, Online'.
A graphic reading: Nominate Cllr Elizabeth Dennis, L0145211. Labour is strongest when united around delivering change that restores power, dignity, and opportunity to every community. As councillors, we see how Labour in office improves lives and how far trust must still be rebuilt. I’m standing because councillors deserve a strong voice at the heart of our party, shaping the decisions that affect those we serve.
A graphic reading: Nominate Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, L1232610. I’m Labour through and through. I’ve campaigned for Labour, worked for Labour and stood for Labour as our 2024 parliamentary candidate against Farage. Labour governments only succeed when we are a broad church, and when all across our movement feel empowered to build our vision together. I will be a voice for every member and tirelessly defend Labour values.
A graphic reading: Nominate Kerry Postlewhite, L1212372. These elections matter. The NEC must reflect Labour’s core principle: by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone. As CLP representative, I would speak up for all members. Winning in 2024 was huge - now we must step up, be bold, tax wealth, bring essential services into public ownership, end child poverty and deliver the change we promised.
A graphic reading: Nominate Cat Arnold, L1452611. As an NEC member of two years, I’ve celebrated our wins, but challenged too. My views have been grounded in good governance, democracy, and Labour Party values. Values of social and environmental justice, equity, and transparency. I will continue to uphold members’ views, representing them effectively, alongside my Mainstream colleagues.
A team of 10 Mainstream and Labour activists smiling with Welsh Labour leaflets in Cardiff.
A pink and red gradient graphic with a flag shaped picture of Mayor Helen Godwin, the Mainstream logo in off-white and the following text: 'In Conversation With: Mayor Helen Godwin. 6PM Weds 22nd April, Online.'
An aerial image of London with an off-white box displaying the text: 'TOGETHER MARCH, Park Lane, Central London, 28th March @ 12pm'
A screenshot of a Guardian article with the headline 'Rachel Reeves urged to raise taxes on companies profiting from war on Iran' and further text reading 'Charities say taxes should rise for banks, defence and energy companies which stand to make windfall profits'. The screenshot shows a picture of Rachel Reeves in the House of Commons.
“Angela Rayner MP at Mainstream's Spring Reception: We cannot talk about earning a settlement if we keep moving the goalposts. Because moving the goalposts undermines our sense of fair play. It’s un-British.”
A red graphic reading: For a fair migration system rooted in community, solidarity and social justice. Sign the petition.
Members are at the heart of any successful democratic party. When people feel genuine ownership, motivation and pride in the movement they belong to, the whole Party is stronger. Yet we are seeing too many members giving up on Labour in anger, or drifting away in disappointment. Rebuilding our membership - by valuing their voice and making space for real participation and engagement - must be a priority for Labour’s success. We, the undersigned members from every section of the Labour Party - parliamentarians, councillors, internal election candidates, members and trade unionists, pledge to reset the Labour Party.
We stand for rebuilding basic democracy, pluralism and fair process within our party. That means restoring genuinely open parliamentary and other selections, ending the suspension of MPs for legitimate scrutiny of the Government, and moving away from the kind of top-down control that prevents local members from choosing their own representatives and engaging in meaningful debate and participation. We support democratic policy-making and strong equalities structures. The Labour leadership must listen to the views of Labour members and affiliates.
We stand against the insular, centralising approach of the current leadership that refuses to draw on the energy, talent and ideas of our whole movement, the continued underfunding of public services and local government, and the pandering to the talking points of the far right. Labour can only survive - and actually deliver for people and communities - if we choose a different path: fair taxation of the wealthiest, real investment in public services, taking essential services like energy and water into democratic ownership, and promoting peace and internationalism abroad. We welcome advances made by this Government, such as the ending of the two-child benefit limit, but we know that Labour must be bolder, braver and broader than ever before to rise to the immense challenges of the current moment.
In the face of the growing electoral threat to the Labour Party exposed by the Gorton and Denton by-election - and ahead of difficult elections across Wales, Scotland and England in May - members from across our Party’s progressive majority are uniting behind a call to urgently reset the Labour Party. The upcoming National Executive Committee elections are an opportunity to do just that.