We hope this email finds you and your loved ones safe and well. We’re emailing from Labour South East with an update for all of our members in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Below you’ll find some latest news and updates, training events and information about keeping in touch.

Hampshire MPs appointed to frontbench

Labour South East are proud that all eight of our MPs were appointed to Keir Starmer’s frontbench in Parliament. Congratulations to Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan who is now Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces and to Southampton, Test MP Alan Whitehead on being appointed as Shadow Minister for Green New Deal and Energy. You can read more about all of the appointments here.

On our website, you’ll find an update from Alan about his work and why his new frontbench role is important to Hampshire and the South East. Stephen has also written about his new role here. Stay tuned to our website for more updates from our elected representatives in the weeks ahead.

Keeping in touch

Like many organisations, all Labour Party staff are currently working from home due to the ongoing pandemic. However, the team remain on hand to help and support local members, CLPs and elected representatives. If you need to get in touch, please email southeast@labour.org.uk and one of the team will get back to you as soon as possible. You can also like our Facebook pages and follow us on Twitter to keep updated with all of the latest news and updates from the regional team.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, party meetings have been cancelled for the foreseeable future. Whilst meetings can’t take place, it’s a good time to learn a new skill or find out more about particular issues. Our Training Team have arranged a number of sessions for members in the coming weeks. They include:

Tuesday, 12 May 2020 14:00 – 14:45

Become a Councillor – Local Elections 2021

A session that guides you through the process of standing as a Labour Councillor. We will talk through the application process and share top tips to help you stand out.

Sign up to receive your invite

https://events.labour.org.uk/event/321690

Wednesday, 13 May 2020 16:00- 16:45

Looking ahead – Getting back on the doorstep 

Once it is safe to do so, we want every Labour members to be confident when speaking to voters. Join the team as we share with you techniques and top tips to ensure that you are having the best conversations you can with potential Labour voters on the doorstep.

Sign up to receive your invite

https://events.labour.org.uk/event/321692

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 14:00 – 14:45

Looking ahead – attending Labour Party conference 

We are hoping that Labour Party conference in Liverpool goes ahead this year in September. If you are a regular visitor or attending for the first time when not join us and share your experiences and find out more about training, fringe, exhibitions, receptions and so much more

Sign up to receive your invite

https://events.labour.org.uk/event/321693

Wednesday 20 May 2020 16:00 – 16:45

New Members – Welcome to the Labour Party

You’ve joined the Labour Party – thank you and welcome. Join us for this online training session to find out what it means to be a Labour Party member, and how you can get involved and play your part.

Sign up to receive your invite

https://events.labour.org.uk/event/321694

For more information on any of the sessions, please contact training@labour.org.uk.

For those members outside of Portsmouth, Southampton & The Isle of Wight, next year will see Hampshire County Council elections take place. As a party, we’ll be working hard to increase our representation across the County. As a team we’ve been working with colleagues across the party to set out an outline of a process that can begin in light of the current health pandemic. We will soon be contacting relevant CLP Chairs/Secretaries about moving forward in the weeks ahead. If you’re interested in standing as a candidate, please keep an eye out for an email with more details in the coming weeks.

Finally, we just wanted to take a moment to say a huge thank you to every key worker currently working to protect lives and keep everything going. And also to all our elected representatives and the hundreds of members who are volunteering to support local groups and charities helping those in need – your hard work is greatly appreciated.

Best wishes

Alex Mitchell

Regional Organiser