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mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
Mainstream
@mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
920 followers 16 following 92 posts
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/
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mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
✍️NEW on the Mainstream blog:

Victor Anderson on the limitations of the Planning & Infrastructure Bill.

Read it below:
November 28, 2025 at 3:55 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
Our view on changes to the Employment Rights Bill 👇
Ensuring millions of workers have enhanced sick pay protection, defending improvements in collective rights, and progress on guaranteed hours are good outcomes from this compromise if it sticks. But we have to be clear: the delay in introducing this legislation, an unwillingness to use the Parliament Act, and the bad faith interference of those who would see Labour ditch the whole project have left unions high and dry in the wrangling of the last few weeks. It’s time for a change of direction and the development of a second Employment Rights Act which fulfils manifesto commitments on single worker status and sectoral collective bargaining - policies that are popular with the mainstream of the Labour Party and the country.
November 28, 2025 at 12:02 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
This Budget shows what's possible when Labour hears and heeds the voices of its mainstream.

Our view on today's Budget, and what we need to do next to build a new economic settlement that works for people and planet 👇
This Budget shows what’s possible when Labour hears and heeds the voices of its mainstream. Scrapping the two-child benefit limit, allowing local government to levy its own funds further, reforming property taxation to unlock revenue and promote fairness: these are the sorts of Labour policies that the country needs. Of course, we must go even further to tackle the cost of living and lay the foundations for a new economic settlement. At the very least and as a start, this will require: Further, transformative reform of our tax system Wider decentralisation and fiscal devolution Public, democratic ownership of essential utilities Winning a green, equitable and people-powered economy will only be possible if Labour embraces pluralism and debate, and draws upon the energy of its whole movement to build a transformative democratic socialist platform. We'll continue to fight for this, and for a more open and inclusive party to achieve it, together.
November 26, 2025 at 2:44 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
✍️NEW on the Mainstream blog:

As the Budget looms, Labour have lost the art of making the moral case for policy - but this could change with the two-child benefit limit, writes @chrleft.bsky.social Director Hannah Rich (@hannahmerich.bsky.social).

Read it below:
November 25, 2025 at 5:51 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
✍️NEW on the Mainstream blog:

With the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill back in the House of Commons, Chris Hinchliff MP (@chrishinchliff.bsky.social) makes the case for A Charter for Community Rights.

Read it below:
November 24, 2025 at 4:15 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
Our hopes for the Budget in @labourlist.bsky.social yesterday👇

This is a make-or-break Budget for Labour and for the country.

We must seize this opportunity to deliver urgent support for those struggling with the cost of living and lay the foundations for a new economic settlement.
The new soft-left grouping Mainstream described next week’s Budget as “make-or-break for Labour and for the country” and said the Chancellor must deliver urgent action to improve living standards and “lay the foundations for a new economic settlement… where people and planet come before profit”. Luke Hurst, Mainstream’s national coordinator, said: “This Budget must prove Labour is on your side. That means urgent funds for families fighting to make ends meet, and scrapping the cruel two-child benefit cap now. It means making the super-wealthy pay their fair share. It means taking back our water and energy from greedy profiteers. “We must recognise that prosperity won’t be generated from Whitehall and that power must cascade deeply and widely across the country. We need political reform and meaningful decentralisation to grow the economy.”
November 22, 2025 at 2:28 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
✍️NEW on the Mainstream blog:

Michael Jacobs (@michaelujacobs.bsky.social) gives us 'A Good Budget'.

Read it below:
November 18, 2025 at 3:21 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
It’s great to be at the @coopparty.party.coop Annual Conference today! 🤝🌹

Labour thrives on the creative exchange between co-operators, democratic socialists, trade unionists and all those in between.
Labour MSP Paul Sweeney in front of a Mainstream banner. A Co-operative Party banner. Miatta Fahnbulleh MP addressing the Co-operative Party Conference.
November 15, 2025 at 4:13 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
✍️NEW on the Mainstream blog:

Cllr Cai Parry (@caiparry.bsky.social) on 'Why Rachel Reeves Should Implement a Land Value Tax'.

Read it here: www.mainstreamlabour.org/blog/why-rac...
November 14, 2025 at 1:27 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
✍️NEW on the Mainstream blog:

Josh Westerling on 'The Real Lessons from Zohran Mamdani'

Read it here: mainstreamlabour.org/blog/the-real-lessons-from-zohran-mamdani
A red graphic which reads 'The Real Lessons from Zohran Mamdani. Josh Westerling' and showing a Mainstream logo in cream.
November 11, 2025 at 7:13 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
🌹We welcome that the Labour whip has been restored to Rachael Maskell, Chris Hinchliff, Brian Leishman and Neil Duncan-Jordan.

We are clear: only by drawing upon the energy and talents of our whole movement will Labour succeed in transforming the country and taking on Reform.
Mainstream’s Interim Council welcomes that the Labour whip has been restored to Rachael Maskell, Chris Hinchliff, Neil Duncan-Jordan and Brian Leishman. Our two co-founding organisations, Compass and Open Labour, strongly opposed the withdrawal of the whip from the four MPs, whose only crime was defending the commitment to social justice that our party was founded on. The suspension of the whip from members of the PLP must only ever be an absolute last resort. To transform the country and take on Reform, Labour must draw upon the energy and talents of its whole movement. Only then will we make good on our promise of change, taking action against the scourge of child poverty, tackling climate chaos, improving living standards and ensuring communities across the UK feel hope again.
November 7, 2025 at 8:34 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
🌹🤔🤯Labour needs big, bold ideas fast, and we know that the mainstream of the party is brimming with them.

Pitch your submissions on Labour Party policy, strategy and culture to the Mainstream blog: actionnetwork.org/forms/whats-...
A yellow graphic with the Mainstream logo in red, which reads: ‘What’s your big idea? Write for the Mainstream blog.’ It shows a collection of people gathered around a table upon which a Labour rose is growing.
October 31, 2025 at 12:01 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
We can't wait to meet Mainstream members and supporters in Sheffield tomorrow! 🌹

Register here: actionnetwork.org/ticketed_eve...
A purple and red graphic promoting Mainstream’s upcoming event in Sheffield, ‘From Crisis to Renewal’. It includes the following info: 30th October 2025, 7.00pm-10.00pm, Crookes Social Club, Mulehouse Road, Sheffield S10 1TD. It also includes the names of speakers: Olivia Blake, Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam. Neal Lawson, Mainstream Interim Council. And local campaigners from across Sheffield. There is an image of a Labour rose growing out of a collection of hills, hospitals, roads, council housing and buses.
October 29, 2025 at 12:12 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
What does Lucy Powell’s election as Deputy Leader mean for Labour? After the historic loss of Caerphilly, what should Labour’s electoral strategy look like?

2/2
October 26, 2025 at 12:28 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
🎧 LISTEN: Member of Mainstream’s Interim Council, Neal Lawson, and our National Coordinator, Luke Hurst, were on the airwaves yesterday making the case for a broader Labour Party reconnected with its mainstream.

Only then will we be able to transform the country and take on Reform. 1/2
October 26, 2025 at 12:28 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
🌹Mainstream's Interim Council sends its congratulations to
@lucympowell.bsky.social, whom we endorsed after a ballot of our members.

This result must mark a shift toward a broader, bolder politics within Labour - so that we can build a democratic socialist programme to inspire the country.
Mainstream’s Interim Council sends its congratulations to Labour’s new Deputy Leader, Lucy Powell, whom we endorsed after a ballot of our members. Lucy ran a positive campaign advocating for pluralism, democracy and a cultural course correction, pledging to bring members, affiliates and communities into Labour’s decision-making. Ending the two-child benefit limit, which we campaigned for at this year’s party conference, was also central to her campaign. Lucy’s victory today is a win for Labour’s mainstream. It shows that the majority of our movement wants Labour to be open, participatory and inclusive. Members have rejected the hyper-factional, top-down culture culpable for the missteps of our first year in government. The failed experiment in political centralisation being pursued by a tiny group at the top of the party must now end. The low turnout in this contest is a sign of the disillusionment and plummeting morale that this culture is provoking. The result of the Caerphilly by-election, where Labour went from first to third place, is a straw in the wind of what will happen next May and in the 2029 General Election unless the party has a major reset. This result must mark a shift toward a broader, bolder politics within Labour. Only then will we be able to construct a transformative, democratic socialist programme for the country. Mainstream will organise to make this a reality. The alternative is a Reform-led government.
October 25, 2025 at 9:31 AM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🌹A statement from Mainstream's Interim Council on Labour's tragic loss in Caerphilly.

We will be wiped out in Wales next May without a major reset.
Labour’s historic defeat in Caerphilly is a tragedy, but not a surprise. So long as UK Labour governs without a clear vision and story to tell people who we are, detached from its moral purpose and democratic socialist foundations, losses like this will only become the norm A majority of voters in Caerphilly turned to Plaid Cymru and a significant number to Reform because they want change. The only way to resist this is by offering a popular, principled and practical left politics that can transform the country by raising living standards, redistributing power and wealth, and securing a stake for everyone in a national community that guarantees the essentials of a good life for all. That requires rejecting the hyper-factional culture determined to concentrate power at the top of the party. Instead, Labour must draw upon the wisdom, talent, and energy of its whole movement to build an offer that can inspire the public. Time is short. We promised the British people a decade of national renewal. Their patience is wearing thin, and their faith in Labour is slipping away. To win it back, we must reconnect Labour with its mainstream. The result is clear - Labour will be wiped out in Wales next May without a major reset.
October 24, 2025 at 8:00 AM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
TODAY: vote for a broader, brighter and bolder Labour Party 🌹

Voting for Labour’s next Deputy Leader closes at MIDDAY today.

Mainstream recommends a vote for @lucympowell.bsky.social - who won 82.2% of the vote in a ballot of our members.
A graphic reading: Mainstream backs Lucy Powell. Members of Mainstream have voted by 82.2% to endorse Lucy Powell to be Labour's next Deputy Leader.
October 23, 2025 at 9:57 AM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
We asked Mainstream supporters why they're backing us to reconnect Labour with its core values and transformative potential.

Here's Christine's response 👇
A graphic reading: ‘Why does Mainstream’s mission matter to you?’ “The country desperately needs a real alternative to the right-wing politics of fear and alienation.” - Christine. It shows a red rose growing out of built infrastructure and rolling hills, and Mainstream’s logo in red is displayed at the top.
October 16, 2025 at 4:25 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
🗳️ 🗓️ Voting for Labour's next Deputy Leader is open until 23rd October.

After winning 82.2% of the vote in a ballot of our members, Mainstream recommends a vote for @lucympowell.bsky.social well.

Labour members should receive a link to vote by the end of today.
A yellow graphic showing a red rose growing out of a ballot box. Red text reads ‘Voting for Labour’s Deputy Leader is open until 23rd October’. A red Mainstream flag logo is in the bottom right corner.
October 13, 2025 at 11:32 AM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
Mainstream's Interim Council on today's news of an imminent ceasefire and hostage release deal 👇
A red and purple gradient graphic with the Mainstream logo which reads: We welcome today’s news that a ceasefire and hostage release deal is taking shape, which we hope will begin to bring an end to the killing in Gaza and untold suffering in the Middle East. The government must do all that it can to ensure that the deal holds together. We must also redouble efforts along diplomatic channels to ensure the international recognition of Palestine, and humanitarian aid must flow freely into Gaza immediately. Actively working to achieve a sustainable, long-term end to this conflict must be a priority for Labour. But we must then grapple with some difficult questions. How has the sale of arms to Israel been allowed to continue? What could have been done to reach a ceasefire before now? Looking to the future, Labour should construct a foreign policy with moral purpose, remembering the vision and values of the late Robin Cook, which takes seriously the pursuit of human rights and economic, social, democratic and climate justice internationally.
October 9, 2025 at 2:59 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
Mainstream is coming to Sheffield! 🌹

Join us on 30th Oct at 'From Crisis to Renewal' for an evening of discussion and debate about how Labour can correct course and deliver the decade of national renewal we promised last year.

Tickets👇
actionnetwork.org/ticketed_eve...
A graphic reading: ’From Crisis to Renewal. 30th October 2025. 7.00pm to 10.00pm. Crookes Social Club, Mulehouse Road, Sheffield, S10 1TD. With: Olivia Blake, Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam. Neal Lawson, Mainstream Interim Council. And local campaigners from across Sheffield.' A rose growing out of infrastructure, hills and streets of happy people is displayed above the Mainstream logo on a red and purple gradient background.
October 9, 2025 at 2:01 PM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
🗳️🌹Voting in the contest for Labour's next Deputy Leader opens today.

After winning 82.2% of the vote in a ballot of our members, Mainstream is endorsing @lucympowell.bsky.social.

We encourage those with a vote in this election to back Lucy. The contest closes on 23rd October.
A graphic reading: Mainstream backs Lucy Powell. Members of Mainstream have voted by 82.2% to endorse Lucy Powell to be Labour’s next Deputy Leader. It shows the Mainstream logo against a red and pink background, with an image of a rose growing from a collection of houses, hills, solar panels and hospitals.
October 8, 2025 at 10:40 AM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
After a ballot of our members, Mainstream endorses @lucympowell.bsky.social to be Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

Thank you to all of our members for participating in this ballot.

Labour must be reset in line with pluralist, democratic socialist values. Mainstream backs Lucy to do this.
A graphic displaying a pie chart with three results: (1) endorse Lucy Powell, 82.2%; (2) make no endorsement, 9.1%; (3) endorse Bridget Phillipson, 8.7%. The graphic states: Mainstream backs Lucy Powell. Members of Mainstream have voted to endorse Lucy Powell to be Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
October 6, 2025 at 8:25 AM
mainstreamlabour.bsky.social
And finally, Neal Lawson, another member of Mainstream's Interim Council, reminded us what this is all about: winning the transformative programme Labour needs to defeat Reform and change the country 🌹
October 3, 2025 at 3:59 PM