Only Stand to Win
The Labour Party
Labour’s purpose is to be in government to create a better society. It has failed at the last four attempts. It’s time to get smart. It’s time to only stand to win.
As things stand Labour contests every seat. In the vast majority of places this makes sense but in a small number of seats it doesn't. These are the seats in which Labour cannot win but the Tories can lose.
By standing in these places Labour helps split the anti-Tory vote and denies scarce resources being deployed nearby where it can win. In 2019 there were more than 60 tragedies where broadly progressive parties won the majority of votes but the Tories won the seat.
We propose that local Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) decide whether to stand a candidate – or whether to focus resources elsewhere, in a seat Labour can win.
This will allow Labour to maximise the anti-Tory vote where it can’t win and maximise its own vote where it can.
Local members on the ground, not party bureaucrats, are best placed to decide where and how to focus resources. This is about extending democracy to the grassroots – not doing private deals.
Until we have a voting system that reflects the will of the people, there is simply no point in standing in places that only help Tory candidates win.
In the words of a previous Chief Scientific Advisor, the climate emergency means ‘what we do in the next three to four years will determine the future of humanity’. We need to do what it takes to get the Tories out and ensure a Labour-led progressive government – before it’s too late.
We often criticise the Tories for putting party ahead of country. Now is the time for Labour to show that it's better than that.
Now is the time to only stand to win.
To:
The Labour Party
From:
[Your Name]
We the undersigned will do everything we can to help elect Keir Starmer prime minister – leading a government with the support of all progressive parties that can transform our country.
The progressive vote is divided. To win a majority of just one, Labour needs to gain 124 seats and a poll lead of 12 points or more. We believe that progressive votes and campaigns need to be focused where they can best defeat the Tories.
Therefore we call on the Labour Party to change its rules to allow Constituency Labour Parties to decide through due process whether to stand a candidate or not – and so maximise votes and resources against the Conservatives.
