Labour’s National Executive Committee has elected Joe Fortune as the party’s next General Secretary, succeeding Hollie Ridley.
Fortune was the remaining candidate in the process and is understood to have the backing of Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Under Labour’s rules, the General Secretary is appointed on the recommendation of the NEC.
Alex Norris MP, Labour and Co-operative, welcomed the appointment:
“Very proud that our outstanding Co-op Party General Secretary is to become Labour’s General Secretary.”
“He’s a wonderful man and I can’t wait to see how he gets on!”
Fortune has served as General Secretary of the Co-operative Party since 2019, leading the sister party that organises co-operators within the Labour movement and maintains Labour’s historic electoral relationship with the co-operative movement.
He has also been a prominent figure across the wider labour movement, including through work linked to the National Policy Forum’s economic growth commission, and is widely regarded as an experienced organiser with deep roots in both parties.
As Labour General Secretary, Fortune will be responsible for the party’s organisation, staff and campaigning operation, and will act as secretary to the NEC — a central role in managing Labour as a governing party.
His appointment comes with Labour in government under Burnham and with the party’s annual conference in Liverpool later this month. The new General Secretary will take on the immediate challenge of strengthening campaigning and supporting local parties as Labour seeks to embed its programme in office.
The election also underlines the continued influence of the co-operative tradition at the top of Labour, framed by Norris’s warm welcome for a figure who has spent years building the Co-operative Party’s capacity alongside Labour.
Fortune now moves from leading Labour’s sister party to running the Labour Party organisation itself under Burnham’s leadership.
