The Labour leadership says the party is on a general election footing. Joan Ryan examines the claim  

Just a few days ago, an important deadline passed. By 20 February 2017 potential Conservative candidates had to put their names forward for the initial process of selecting parliamentary candidates in 44 seats. If any further confirmation was needed, this was it. The Tories are on an election footing. That is not to say, of course, that an election is imminent. Indeed, with Theresa May’s first anniversary as prime minister fast approaching and the bill giving the government authority to invoke article 50 having been approved by parliament, the likelihood of a snap, or even early, election is probably reasonably slim. But it is a sign that the Conservatives are beginning to gear up for the general election – and are planning an all-out assault on the Labour party. Are we ready for it?

Well, we should be. For one thing, at Labour party conference last year our leader Jeremy Corbyn announced that he was putting Labour on an election footing – ready for an election this year or whenever it might come. For another, and probably more importantly, anyone who has ever fought a campaign before will tell you that an election is won and lost not in the so-called ‘short campaign’ between parliament being dissolved and polling day itself, but in the months and years before that. While 2020 might still feel a long way off, as we approach the midway point of the parliament at the end of this year, there is much less time than many people might appreciate and the terrible result in Copeland shows we are well off the pace.

But what does being on an election footing actually mean in practice? What does Labour need to be doing, and how are we doing? As someone who has won a seat that was once described as ‘unwinnable’ for Labour, held it narrowly in two difficult elections, lost it once, then won it back again for good measure and – more than anything – as someone who wants to see Labour in government again, here is what being on an election footing means to me.

First, it means having strong and effective leadership that the country can believe in. Good local organisation, a strong national campaign, and a persuasive story about where we want to lead the country will only take us so far. People also need to have confidence in the people telling that story and taking us on that journey – to believe that they can be trusted, that they are ready for the inevitable tests that any government and any prime minister faces, and that the country and all our futures are safe in their hands. Corbyn has certainly managed to enthuse many Labour party members and supporters – but I think even he would accept that far, far less progress has been made at inspiring anything like similar levels of confidence among the public as a whole. The members’ vote has earned Corbyn the right to lead the Labour party. But with that right comes the responsibility to do everything possible to put Labour in the strongest position to win the next election.

Second, it means having a story to tell in each constituency and to the country. Not a litany of policies, important though those obviously are, but a story. One which has emotional resonance with the voters whose support we need. However disingenuous we feel the ‘Leave’ campaign may have been, there can be no doubt that the story it told – expressed most clearly in its strapline ‘take back control’ – was one which had far greater emotional resonance than any number of statistics or experts that the ‘Remain’ campaign could muster. Likewise with the Trump campaign last year. Progressives may despair at the 45^th president of the United States – and the ‘alternative facts’ he uses, but ultimately, ‘I’m with her’ was no match for ‘make America great again’. And while the Oxford Dictionaries may have anointed ‘post-truth’ as their word of the year for 2016, in politics, feelings have always mattered just as much as facts. At the moment, Labour has a number of important, and indeed popular, policies in some areas, but these do not yet add up to a compelling story, let alone one that is in sync with the national mood.

Third, it means having the funds to tell that story. Uncomfortable though it might be, the hard truth is that you cannot have politics without pounds. At the last election, just as the one before, the Labour party was seriously outspent by the Conservatives. Much though we might legitimately decry the influence of big money in our politics, by failing to properly fundraise for ourselves we betray not just a lack of seriousness about winning but, more to the point, the very people that most need a Labour government.

Fourth, it means getting our local campaigns into shape in the key seats we will be defending or hoping to gain at the next general election. That means spending time talking to voters. At this stage of the parliament, to have any hope of visiting every house and phoning every home before the next election, this really needs to be a minimum of three hours a week on the doorstep and two hours on the phones. For most of us, this might be more of an aspiration than a reality at the moment, but it is certainly something we should all be aspiring to. It means doing more than voter identification too. The public are not stupid. If all we do is ask them which party they plan to vote for, we should not be surprised that so many people think politicians are only in it for themselves. In Enfield North I have always said that the most important part of my job is listening – and I really mean it. Without properly listening – and actually hearing what people have to say, how they feel about our community, and what they want from life and for their children – there is no way I can hope to effectively represent them in parliament or earn their support come election time. That is what my coffee mornings have been and always will be about.

Of course, no one person can deliver this sort of campaign on their own. It takes a team – and teams take time to build. But assembling an army of volunteers – and someone is only a volunteer once they have actually helped with something – is undoubtedly one of most important, and rewarding, parts of fighting and winning any election. Labour now proudly boasts not just the largest number of members in modern times, but also the largest membership of any political party in western Europe. But converting these members into active volunteers, who are confident campaigning in our communities as well as attending constituency Labour party meetings, remains a big job for all of us.

Fifth, it means each of us taking and accepting the responsibility to do what we can, no matter how challenging the times are for Labour. When times are difficult, as they are now, all of us face a choice. Either we give up and give in, or we can give it everything we have got. Back in 2010, the odds were stacked against us in Enfield North, but we fought just as hard as we always had. Even though we were still defeated, that defeat was not in vain. The work we did then helped to get a Labour council elected in Enfield, it kept us within touching distance of the Tories and, crucially, it laid the groundwork for everything we subsequently did that culminated in us winning Enfield North back for Labour in 2015. In every election there are always surprises. People who win against the odds. Defeats that come as a shock. We must always strive to win – we owe it to ourselves, to our party and, most important of all, to the communities we seek to serve.

Winning an election is hard work. But losing is even harder. There is no question that, in the right circumstances, May and her Conservative party are beatable. That does not mean doing so will, or should, be easy. A leadership team capable of forging an emotional connection with the public, a Labour policy programme that is in sync with the moment, a message that is consistent with our values and resonates with as many voters as possible, allied with a smart, well-resourced campaign: now, that really would put Labour on the front foot.

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Joan Ryan is member of parliament for Enfield North and former vice-chair for campaigns of the Labour party. She tweets at @joanryanEnfield

Photo: Dominic Campbell