This page is provided to give a handy one-stop list of useful information to both new and long-standing members. If you are not yet a member of the Labour Party and want to join (you’ll be very welcome), please visit this link: join.labour.org.uk

YOUR LOCAL PARTY
We are the Westmorland and Lonsdale Constituency Labour Party, commonly known as South Lakes Labour. Our CLP’s website address is: www.southlakeslabour.org.uk

MEMBERSHIP QUERIES
If you have a question about your membership, your first port of call should be the CLP Secretary whose contact details can be found on your Labour Party membership card. You can also check the status of your membership on My Labour (login required) or by email to labourmembership@labour.org.uk.

OUR VALUES
We are a friendly, welcoming, inclusive, campaigning party where views are respected. We encourage members to become active in a variety of ways, from on-the-street canvassing to online activism.

WHO’S WHO
Knowing who is who, putting a face to a name, makes coming along to meetings or to help campaign so much easier. To see who the CLP office holders are, (and that we are not at all scary!) why not check out our Who’s Who page.

Decisions within the CLP are made by its members, along with an elected Executive Committee (EC) of the CLP which oversees day to day work in between members’ meetings. The EC is made up of the following elected officers: Chair, Vice Chair, Vice Chair/Membership, Secretary, Treasurer, Policy Officer and Women’s Officer, all of whom are elected annually at the CLP AGM. Coordinators for community campaigns and diversity, membership recruitment and retention, and publicity are also elected annually, along with a press officer and a fund-raiser, all of whom are encouraged to attend the monthly EC meetings.

NEWS & EVENTS
News: We post local campaign news and events onto our website and our social media accounts, and welcome feedback and input from members.

To keep up with the news from the constituency visit our website news page or follow us on our social media accounts

Facebook: We have a public discussion page and a members-only private group. Members are encouraged to get involved in both of them.
Instagram: You can find us on Instagram too.
Twitter: We are active on Twitter too, so why not follow us if you have Twitter.
Events: Public events organised by South Lakes Labour will show up on the website events page and on our social media feeds.

GET INVOLVED
Local meetings: Regular members-only meetings are held in Kendal on the last Wednesday of each month except December. Details and the agenda are sent to members 10 days prior to the meeting date either by post or by email as appropriate. Constituency meetings are lively and interesting, and often feature either a guest speaker or a members’ discussion on a topical issue. We also discuss and agree motions to conferences, we can endorse candidates to the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and in leadership and deputy leadership contests, and hold an Annual General Meeting of the CLP in May at which officers are elected.

The CLP membership falls into two branches, one centred in Kendal, the other covers the Lakes and a part of Furness. The latter holds separate meetings periodically. In addition to members’ meetings, we also arrange social and fund-raising events. At members’ meetings, delegates are selected to represent the CLP at Annual and Regional Conferences, and on the Local Campaign Forum. Before a Parliamentary Election members can participate in the selection of our prospective parliamentary candidate.

Getting involved in the wider scene: The party’s websites have lots of information about national activities, campaigns and days of action across the country at and in the North West Region. 

Take part in generating Labour policy: Whether you’re a member or not, the Labour Party wants to hear your ideas on how the next Labour government should tackle the challenges facing our country, and how to build a more equal and prosperous Britain. Members’ meetings also have discussions about policies and current issues and feed back ideas into the party’s policy making forum.

CAMPAIGNING
The planning for our campaigning across the constituency falls under the remit of our Campaign Committee, which consists of members of the EC, along with candidates and the constituency agent. The CC organises door-to-door canvassing sessions for both local council and parliamentary candidates. We also campaign on key issues in and affecting Westmorland and Lonsdale.

DOOR-TO-DOOR CANVASSING
This takes place both in the run up to elections and in between times so we can discover voters’ concerns and lets us to know where our supporters are.

TRAINING FOR CANVASSERS
Our “Up the Garden Path” training sessions, to help members understand why and how we canvass, are held periodically.

PHONE CANVASSING
Phone canvassing will be taking place during election periods and members are encouraged to volunteer for this. Training and support will be given.

PARTY OVERVIEW
For those who are relatively new to the Labour Party, here is a quick overview of how we are organised locally…

Our Constituency: 
The Westmorland and Lonsdale Constituency Labour Party (CLP) covers a wide geographical area from Ulverston in the west to Garsdale Head in the east, and from Dunmail Raise in the north to the county border with Lancashire in the south. See map

Local Authority Wards:
The election in May 2022 elected councillors for the new Westmorland and Furness Council unitary authority which, in April 2023, took over the responsibilities previously carried out by South Lakeland District and Cumbria County councils.  The new authority area is split into 33 wards, with a total of 65 councillor seats.  Labour holds the second highest number of seats (15) on the new Westmorland and Furness Council.  You can find a list of Westmorland & Furness councillors on their website where they are listed by name, ward and by political party allegiance.

Local Campaign Forums (LCFs): 
Local Campaign Forums are based on council boundaries, enabling several CLPs that are part of the same local authority area to meet together to share ideas and resources and plan county wide strategies. This means that, along with the other 5 parliamentary constituencies in Cumbria, Westmorland and Lonsdale CLP elects representatives to Cumbria LCF.

Membership of the LCF comprises the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Labour Group of Councillors along with representatives from CLPs and trade unions. LCFs recruit and shortlist potential candidates for council elections, co-ordinate campaign activities and develop the election strategy. They also liaise with the Labour Group about local government issues and input into the manifesto for local elections.

MORE INFORMATION
We hope that this page covers things you want to know about South Lakes Labour, but if there is anything you want to know that isn’t covered please just ask!

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