There are many ways you can get involved in the party, but the three most common activities are campaigning, attending local meetings and coming to socials or fundraisers. The constituency always tries to ensure that we have a programme of activities that interest everyone. Look out for emails from the local party as the best way to stay up to date.

Campaigning

The most important responsibility for the local party is to organise campaigns to elect Labour candidates in local, regional and national elections. In addition, the local party organises a wide variety of campaigns from big borough or London wide campaigns on issues that are going to affect our constituents to smaller more focused campaigns within each ward. Campaigns can include a number of activities from leafleting, to street stalls to knocking on doors and community surveys.

One of the most important activities is canvassing, especially in the period in the run-up to an election. This involves talking face to face with voters by knocking on doors and allows us to identify existing Labour supporters to encourage them to vote and so we can speak to undecided voters about Labour’s platform and our candidates. Knowing where our supporters are means that there is a greater chance of getting them out to vote on election day.

Campaigning is a great way to support the local party and meet fellow members. If you have not campaigned before you will usually be paired with someone more experienced for your first couple of sessions. Most people find they quickly get the hang of it and find it a fun and interesting way to speak to voters.

If you want more information about upcoming campaigning sessions or want more information about how you can be involved, contact our organiser at hstplabourorganiser@gmail.com

Branch and GM meetings

The first port of call for many members is attending their local branch meetings. These will typically be held every month and all the members of that branch will be invited. These meetings will often involve a mix of local politics and smaller policy debates. They will also cover local activism and campaigns. Any member of the ward is invited to attend and participate in a ward meeting. These meetings are currently being held virtually.

If you have practical suggestions about what your branch or the constituency should be doing or discussing, you should contact your branch chair and secretary. Branch meetings can in theory consider any matter, and in practice there often a mixture of local matters and national policy which are discussed alongside more practical matters like planning fundraising and campaigning activities.

If you’re not sure who your branch chair and secretary are, please get in touch with our organiser at hstplabourorganiser@gmail.com.

Once a month, all Holborn & St. Pancras constituency members are invited to attend General Meeting (GM). These meetings are much bigger than branch meetings and often have speakers or debates about policy. They are often attended by the local MP Keir Starmer who will provide a report back from Parliament and take questions (when he is not preparing for Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) which take place on Wednesdays) and by the leader of the council Georgia Gould who reports back on Camden Council activity. They are a great way to meet other members from across the constituency. These are  held on the 4^th Tuesday of the month. Although all members are invited to attend, only delegates that have been elected to represent their branch are able to vote on constituency business.

Social and fundraising events

Throughout the year the CLP runs a variety of social and fundraising events, such as dinners, barbeques, quiz nights, drinks and other special events. Smaller, local social events are organised by branches. Social and fundraising events are a great way to meet and get to know other members of the local Party. Money made from fundraising efforts goes towards the cost of campaigning and towards running the local party.