An End of Year Message from Mainstream's Chair

What began as the vision of a few has quickly become a vibrant, growing movement of members committed to a pluralist, democratic socialist Labour Party, one that takes on poverty, inequality and the climate emergency, and one that seeks to lodge power in communities across the country.

Building our Foundation

Since September, we have:

• Launched successfully with 2,000 members the length and breadth of the UK, who share our determination for change.
• Endorsed Lucy Powell’s successful bid to become Labour’s Deputy Leader, after a ballot of our members' views which had a brilliant turnout of almost 80%.
• Held our first members' Organising Forum in December, where we shared our aspirations and co-designed our local organising structures.
• Held our first parliamentary meeting to brief Labour MPs and Peers ahead of November's Budget.
• Mobilised members in local parties to challenge Labour’s Conference Arrangements Committee when it initially decided to block consideration of a debate on the two-child benefit limit - and we won.

You can read a summary of Mainstream’s organising progress on our website by clicking the button below.

Read our Organising Report

The Interim Council

When we launched, we sketched out the plan for Mainstream’s governance and democratic structures over the next twelve months. At the end of our first year of activity, Mainstream members will be invited to elect a Council, which they'll also be able to stand for election to. That Council will appoint an Executive Committee to fulfil the operational functions of Mainstream.

In the meantime, Mainstream is being steered by an Interim Council who are listed in full on our website. At the Interim Council’s full meeting in November, the other Council members voted for me to fulfil the role of Chair.

I’m thrilled to play this role in Mainstream at this crucial time for our politics, and to work hand-in-hand with our membersand supporters as we build toward a bolder, braver and broader Labour Party.

Looking Ahead: 2026 and Beyond

As we enter 2026, we do so with clarity of purpose and momentum. Our priorities for the year ahead include:

1. Getting great Mainstream candidates elected to Labour's National Executive Committee and National Policy Forum, to ensure that the party hears and heeds the voices of all of its members. In due course, the Interim Council will suggest several Mainstream candidates for the NEC whom our members will be asked to accept or reject by ballot.
2. Stemming the tide of members leaving the Labour Party by engaging and empowering them in their towns, cities and regions through participatory grassroots organising and securing change within Labour.
3. Building to defeat the divisive and destructive rise of the far-right by mobilising Mainstream members to campaign in the crucial elections that will take place in 2026.
4. Growing Mainstream and showing Labour what a truly members-led movement can look like, modelling how we want Labour and the country to be - open, pluralist and democratic.

The work of building a movement that truly represents mainstream Labour values has only just begun.

With critical elections taking place in Scotland, Wales and across local authorities in England on the horizon, our voice, our vision and our values will be more important than ever.

Highlights from the Mainstream Blog

The Mainstream Blog has been live for little more than a month, but it’s already showcasing powerful ideas and reflections on Labour’s strategy, policy and culture.

Some brilliant recent contributions to the Blog include:

• Why We Need A Charter for Community Rights by Chris Hinchliff, Labour MP for North East Hertfordshire.
• Why Rachel Reeves Should Implement a Land Value Tax – A Wealth Tax That’ll Actually Work by Cllr Cai Perry.
• Moral Courage and the Two-Child Benefit Limit by Hannah Rich, Director of Christians on the Left.
• Togliatti’s New Party: Lessons From Postwar Italian Communism by David Fisher, author and educator.

Updates to our Website

We’ve made a number of updates to the Mainstream website that we encourage you to check out.

Under the Latest section, you’ll find the Blog, events, updates from the Interim Council and a collection of Mainstream’s appearances in the press and media.

View Mainstream's Latest

A Call to Action This Christmas

As we pause for Christmas, I want to thank our members for their faith in this project and their commitment to making it a success. But this is also a moment to renew our energy and broaden our reach.

In 2026, we encourage our members to:

• Recruit at least one new member to Mainstream.
• Get involved in our local organising structures and activities.
• Share our message in their CLPs.

Gratitude and Optimism

I want to personally thank the other members of our Interim Council, whom you can see listed on the About page of our website, for all their efforts in getting us off the ground, everyone who signed our founding statement and contributed to our incredible launch - and Luke, our National Coordinator, who has worked so hard to get us here. Thank you!

We've proven in just a few months that there is appetite, energy, and necessity for what Mainstream Labour offers. As we look to 2026 and beyond, I'm confident that together we will build a movement that shapes Labour's future and delivers for the communities we serve.

What strikes me most powerfully is not just what we've achieved, but how we've achieved it. This spirit of collaboration and shared purpose is exactly what Mainstream Labour is about.

The energy and optimism that members who attended our first Organising Forum expressed buoyed me and gives me the confidence that we can build something new.

Thank you for everything you've contributed so far. Have a wonderful Christmas, and let's make 2026 the year Mainstream Labour truly takes flight.

In solidarity,

Kerry

Chair, Mainstream