 | A major contributor to this article appears to have aclose connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularlyneutral point of view. Please discuss further on thetalk page.(February 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | |
| Formation | 2015; 10 years ago (2015) |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Political advocacy |
| Location |
|
Co-Chairs | Tessa Milligan Amen Tesfay |
| Affiliations | Labour Party |
| Revenue | £3,114[1] (2018) |
| Expenses | £1,147[1] (2018) |
| Website | openlabour |
Open Labour is an activist group in the BritishLabour Party which acts as a forum for members to discuss ideas, tactics and campaigning. It is in thesoft left political tradition, to the right of left-wing groups likeMomentum and to the left ofNew Labour groups such asProgressive Britain.[2]
Open Labour was founded in 2015 following the2015 Labour Party leadership election with the aim of giving voice to thesoft left tradition within the Labour Party, and their interests, which many of its members felt had been sidelined.[3][4][5]
The soft left tradition within Labour traces back to, at least, the 1980s. While many Labour MPs, including the recent Labour leaderEd Miliband, had at times been characterised as coming from the soft left politically, there had not been an internal group advocating for this strand of politics sinceCompass unaffiliated from the party in 2011 in order to open up its membership to those from other political parties.
Since 2015, Open Labour has produced and published a number of essays across a range of topics on its website, and has held meetings and conferences routinely to establish its strategy and political positions. It has also held a number of political fringe events at Labour Party conferences. Open Labour has offered its backing to candidates in internal party elections and candidate selections for local and general elections. Several Open Labour activists and members were elected to Parliament in the2017 United Kingdom general election, including Open Labour TreasurerAlex Sobel,Jo Platt,Emma Hardy,Anna McMorrin,Paul Sweeney,Marsha de Cordova, andLloyd Russell-Moyle.
Founding committee memberAnn Black was a longstanding member of Labour'sNational Executive Committee, with the group backing her in her failed re-election bid in 2018.[6]
In the2019 General Election a number of Open Labour supporters and members were elected to parliament, includingNadia Whittome,Olivia Blake,Feryal Clark,James Murray, andAbena Oppong-Asare.
Open Labour made no endorsement during the2016 Labour leadership elections. During the2020 Labour leadership elections, Open Labour endorsedLisa Nandy for Leader andAngela Rayner forDeputy Leader after an extensive ballot of its members.[7]
In the 2020 National Executive Committee elections, its members voted to endorseAnn Black andJermain Jackman for the CLP section, George Lindars-Hammond for the new disability section and Alice Perry for the local government section, with Black and Perry winning election. In 2021, the organisation said its membership stood at 1,500 and it plans to make a number of endorsements for upcoming local and devolved elections.
Coming politically from thesoft left tradition within Labour, Open Labour looks to recast this ideology as the "open left", defining it as "a practical, open-minded and tolerant type of democratic socialism". The group promotes a "democratic, participatory and pluralist culture".[8]
Their beliefs include advocating an economic platform of transforming the UK economy to a higher-investment, environmentally conscious and more democratic model. They are also generally pro-European, and call for Labour to maintain a close relationship with Europe and its sister parties on the continent, and for solidarity with those campaigning for social justice here and internationally.
Open Labour has roots in the history of organisations like theTribune Group and theLabour Coordinating Committee, but also through local government and throughtrade unions.
In an article about the 2017 Labour Party Conference,Isabel Hardman described the group as"[carrying] the Corbynite flag", arguing that it and the wider soft left in Labour had shifted to the left afterthat year's general election.[9]
In September 2025, Open Labour launchedMainstream Labour, a centre-left network inside the Labour Party alongside the think tankCompass. The group, backed by several senior figures including Andy Burnham, claims to be a home to "Labour's radical realists" and wanted to change theincumbent Labour government's direction.[10][11]
