The group behind the three-year battle plan, shown to a number of senior Labour figures, was a little known think tank Labour Together.
It was an obscure organisation then – but under Starmer, its main figures have now risen to become some of the most influential people in the party.
But who are Labour Together, how did they help propel Starmer to leadership – and what is likely to be their influence should the party get into government next year?
The battle plan that Labour Together started curating in 2017 was years in the making. It claimed to set out how to oust Corbyn as party leader , alongside policies needed to change the structure of Labour’s membership and a focus on a “voter-first” approach.
Its leading architect was Morgan McSweeney , who is now Starmer’s key election strategist, and another big player was Steve Reed, now the shadow environment secretary.
But Starmer was initially unconvinced. He had been asked by a current shadow cabinet member if he was thinking about running for party leader in the event of electoral defeat. Then shadow Brexit secretary, he was staying loyal to Corbyn in public at least.
Yet over the following months, further conversations took place. By the time Corbyn led the party to devastating defeat at the general election in December 2019, Starmer had been won over – and he would seemingly never look back.
Labour Together – originally called Labour for the Common Good – had been founded in the wake of Labour’s 2015 election defeat when the Dagenham MP Jon Cruddas decided to get like-minded MPs together to prevent Labour from fracturing. They included Reed and future leadership contender Lisa Nandy.
This story is from the October 27, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the October 27, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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