Constituency Report (June 2017) General Election After seven exhausting weeks, the General Election campaign is over, with the biggest increase in the Labour vote since 1945. I visited at least at least 30 different constituencies and met thousands of people, from Edinburgh to Southampton. I spoke at more than 60 hustings and debates, and did more than 100 media interviews, and drank goodness know how many cups of coffee to keep me going. The horrifying terror attacks in Manchester and London and the catastrophic fire at Grenfell Tower have raised all manner of questions about safety, the state, austerity and civil society. It has prompted a slew of rehashed rhetoric from Theresa May. She claims enough is enough, and blames Internet companies and the Human Rights Act for allowing terrorism to continue, with no mention of the cuts of 20,000 police officers made under her watch. Despite attempts to disrupt the democratic process we continued to campaign right up until the polls closed. Thanks to the hard work of our activists tirelessly campaigning up and down the country we managed to gain 30 seats, and my majority in Islington South and Finsbury was increased by over 7,600. While we were unable to form a government the Conservatives lost their majority, and with it their mandate for austerity and a damaging hard Brexit. Phone canvassing at Labour HQ, 2 Jun Women s Canvass Islington South, 28 May On the way to Jeremy s Brexit speech, 1 Jun
The National Campaign Campaign visits 23 Apr: Hornsey & Wood Green 29 Apr: Sheffield, Dewesbury and Batley & Spen 1 May: Reading and Southampton 3 May: Brentford & Isleworth 4 May: Stevenage 6 May: Tottenham My campaign launch, 6 May 7 May: Hammersmith 8 May: Lancaster & Fleetwood 9 May: Manchester, Heywood & Middleton 13 May: Westminster North 15 May: Wirral West and Ellesmere Port 16 May: Bradford 20 May: Swansea, Gower and Hackney 26 May: Cambridge 27 May: Newcastle Under-Lyme, Edgbaston and Wolverhampton North East 29 May: Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire May Day Rally in Reading, 1 May 2 Jun: Canterbury 3 Jun: Middlesbrough and Bishop Auckland Visiting Yorkshire MPs Tracy Brabin and Paula Sherriff, 29 Apr Meeting a local Labour supporter in Bradford, 16 May
Campaign Diary Week 1 Once the snap election was called it was clear that the Labour Party had to present itself as a party ready for government. One of my first actions was to head to Gibraltar and reassure the government that no transfer of sovereignty would be taking place under a Labour Government. Once back in the UK I spoke at the Fabian Society conference in Sheffield, and at a town hall meeting in Dewesbury. Week 2 In Gibraltar to discuss Brexit, 27 Apr Things kicked off with a May Day parade through Reading town centre. Later that day I visited Southampton Test to canvass for Alan Whitehead MP, and speak to the local Hazara community from Afghanistan. The next day I was back in the constituency campaigning in Clerkenwell, and spent the next two days supporting Labour candidates in Stevenage and Brentford & Isleworth. On the 6th of May I attended David Lammy s campaign launch, and held my own later that day. Week 3 I started this week up North, campaigning in Lancaster & Fleetwood. I stayed in Manchester for the national Labour campaign launch the next day, and then canvassed in Heywood & Middleton later on. I spent the rest of the week canvassing in the constituency, and in Westminster North for Karen Buck. Canvassing in Southampton Test, 1 May This week I also worked on the Foreign Affairs section of the Labour Manifesto, and attended the Clause V meeting in which the Labour Party decided on the manifesto to fight the election on. Campaigning for Karen Buck with MPs Chuka Umunna and David Lammy, 13 May Week 4 I went back up to Yorkshire for the Manifesto Launch in Bradford. While there I campaigned in Wirral West and Ellesmere Port and Neston. After coming back and spending a couple days in Islington I was off to South Wales, visiting the candidates for Swansea East, Swansea West and Gower. The next day I participated in a local hustings at St Mary s Church. Working hard in Wirral West, 15 May
Campaign Diary Week 5 At the beginning of this week, on Monday 22nd of May, there was a horrific terror attack in Manchester Arena. National campaigning was suspended during the week as a mark of respect. At the weekend, I went to Cambridge to canvass for Daniel Zeichner, and then across the Midlands in Newcastle Under-Lyme, Wolverhampton North East and Edgbaston. Week 6 Heading into the end of the campaign, I took part in a national foreign policy debate at the Royal United Services Institute. I then went to Derbyshire, to campaign in the constituencies North East Derbyshire and Chesterfield. I went to Canterbury to speak at a rally and support our Candidate Rosie Duffield, who became the first ever Labour MP for the constituency. The next day I went back up north to support our candidates in Bishop Auckland and Middlesbrough South East. In Gower with our new MP, 20 May Week 7 In the final week of the election campaign London was once again hit by a horrific terror attack. I spent this week in London doing interviews and canvassing around Islington. On the night before the election I spoke at a rally with Jeremy Corbyn to rouse members and supporters, and thank them for their hard work throughout the campaign. I spent election day knocking doors up and down Islington South, making sure as many people as possible got out to vote Labour. Giving a speech in Canterbury High street, 2 Jun Canvassing in Middlesbrough South and Cleveland, 3 Jun Election day campaigning in Holloway, 8 Jun
Constituency campaigning and media appearances While I spent much of the campaign supporting Labour candidates across the country, I made sure to campaign across Islington South too. I participated in two local hustings, one organised by the Islington Gazette on the 21st of May, and one organised by Fair Funding for All Schools on the 22nd of May. On the 28th of May we had a fantastic Women s Canvass session where plenty of first time and veteran campaigners came out to support Labour. It s always great to see young women get involved in politics, and I m sure all of them will be back on the campaign trail next time. Door knocking is great a staple of any election campaign, and I certainly did my share of it this time. But I had just as much fun speaking to parents and their children outside of schools in the area, and handing out balloons and stickers to enthusiastic young supporters. Media appearances have included 30 Apr: Westminster Hour 4 May: LBC Iain Dale 5 May: BBC Local Elections Programme 5 May: Sky News 5 May: BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine Show 5 May: BBC Radio 4 Any Questions 7 May: Peston on Sunday 11 May: BBC Question Time 14 May: Marr Show 16 May: Channel 4 News 19 May: LBC Call-in show 29 May: Victoria Derbyshire, BBC 31 May: Sky News 31 May: BBC News 31 May: BBC Newsnight 31 May: BBC News 24 1 Jun: TalkRadio / The Sun Election Debate 4 Jun: Sophy Ridge 4 Jun: Marr Show 4 Jun: Peston on Sunday 5 Jun: BBC Breakfast 5 Jun: BBC 5 Live 5 Jun: LBC 5 Jun: Sky Sunrise 5 Jun: BBC Radio London 5 Jun: ITV News 6 Jun: BBC Women s Hour Debate 6 Jun: Evening Standard Hustings House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA thornberrye@parliament.uk 020 7697 9307 (2-5pm on Mon, Tues, Thurs)