People in politics often talk about ‘tribes’, and after 14 years in the Labour Party I am putting myself forward for the National Executive Committee to represent the voices of my tribe. They’re the people who used to vote for us. The working class.
The 6:30am shift at the sauna in Dagenham is full of cockneys. Mainly in their 60s and 70s but also a younger more diverse cockney in their 40s. I’m the youngest one there, albeit not by much. They all work, or have worked, in manual jobs and most have the crossed hammers of West Ham tattooed on them. These things form part of who they are.
Being a cockney isn’t just about being an Eastender and speaking with a heavy accent or in slang. It’s more than that, it’s broader and more inclusive. It’s a class-based solidarity centred on community, with Labour values at its core.
The older men are mostly white British, but there are also second-generation Indians and Afro-Caribbeans. Cockneys are a unique social group and much to the disappointment of political commentators, it has nothing to do with the colour of your skin, it’s determined by experience – family life, work, and normally, the pub.
When I first started visiting the sauna I listened as those coming in and out spoke passionately about work, family, football and politics. Always in that order, which is telling of their priorities.
Each and every one of them used to vote Labour, their families all voted Labour too. They all voted for us in 2024 after, in some cases, not voting at all for a number of years. Yet as it stands, none of them will vote for Labour again. They don’t care much for our talk of niche politics or labels, and like most people they just want to know where they stand.
Working class communities going back hundreds of years have a wonderful tradition of oral storytelling, and if we ever want to win these people back it will take a compelling narrative that rekindles a long broken emotional connection. I would argue that empathy, understanding, and the ability to find common ground transcends left and right and individual policy positions. Working class communities need to believe that the future belongs to them.
Most of the sauna crowd are planning to vote for Reform UK at the local elections. The reasons they cite all culminate in a deterioration of civic pride and community, the closure of pubs, a breakdown of law and order, and a feeling that Labour in government have somehow betrayed their trust and no longer speak to them, or for them.
There is one old boy who lives in my ward; he knows I’m his councillor but never lets on in company – the only acknowledgement is a knowing lift of the eyebrow when, every morning, the subject moves to politics with talk of Labour accompanied by the liberal use of expletives.
When I’ve spoken to him alone, he said he will vote for me and my ward colleagues, because he considers that we “give a shit” (in his words), share the frustrations of the community, and there is a recognition that whilst we don’t always get the outcomes people want, we fight for them.
Winning back our historic base is not about pandering or chasing votes, it is about fulfilling the contract our Party was built on. Representing the interests of the working class with dignity in labour, family, belonging and pride in place at the heart of everything we do.
To weather the gathering storm our Party needs an authentic, pragmatic, and experienced working-class voice on the NEC, representing the views of not just our grassroots CLP membership, but of ordinary people from communities across the country.
If, like me, you feel this is important then please consider nominating me at your CLP meeting before 26th June (Andrew Achilleos | L1191541), and together we can put working class values back at the heart of our Party.
