Red Wall Caucus

Last updated

Red Wall Caucus
Leader Jo White
Founded2024
Ideology
Political position Conservative left
Soft left
National affiliation Labour Party
Parliamentary Labour Party
35 / 402
House of Commons
35 / 650

The Red Wall Caucus is a UK parliamentary caucus and pressure group of backbench Labour MPs who represent red wall seats in the House of Commons. Led by Bassetlaw MP Jo White, the caucus was formed in November 2024 and has 35 members as of December 2024, including MPs on the soft left and conservative left of the Labour Party associated with Blue Labour.

Contents

The Red Wall Caucus mainly focusses on opposing immigration, with the group arguing that immigration is opposed by the British people. It believes that opposing immigration is necessary to prevent the loss of red wall Labour voters to the anti-immigration right-wing populist party Reform UK, which has gained support in the region as a protest to high immigration numbers under previous Conservative governments. The group also focusses on issues which it sees as affecting Labour's traditional working class voter base in particular, such as the cost-of-living crisis, anti-social behaviour and crime, access to GPs and welfare benefits.

History

The Red Wall Caucus was formed in November 2024 to represent the interests of Labour MPs who represent seats in the red wall, a collection of constituencies in the Midlands and Northern England which traditionally voted for Labour until the 2019 general election, when most of these seats switched to the Conservatives over the issue of Brexit. [1] [2] At the 2024 general election, most seats in the red wall returned to Labour, though this was the result of the new right-wing populist party Reform UK splitting the Conservative vote out of protest against high immigration numbers under the former Conservative government rather than the Labour Party improving on its previous performance in 2019. [2] Reform came in second place behind Labour in 89 of the red wall seats. [3] The main aims of the group are to pressure the Labour leadership to take a tougher stance on immigration to prevent Reform from winning red wall seats at the next general election, and to give red wall MPs a louder voice to tackle a perceived lack of representation for their constituencies, and post-industrial red wall constituencies in particular, in the government. [1] [2]

Since its founding, the caucus has pursued a constructive approach to the Labour leadership and the government of Labour prime minister Keir Starmer, with the intention of improving Labour's public image with its traditional working class voters. [4] However, it is believed that the group will pursue a more aggressive approach as the next general election nears, in order to address the threat of Reform UK. [2] The group has held meetings with government ministers and senior figures in Starmer's team, including the work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall and Starmer's former chief of strategy Deborah Mattinson, to influence government policy. [2] [3] It has also met with senior party officials to discuss the most effective way to portray Labour's policy positions on issues important to the group such as immigration. [4]

Policies

The Red Wall Caucus has mainly concerned itself with opposing immigration, with the group arguing that immigration is opposed by the British people. [4] [2] Its leader Jo White has called on the government to introduce a new ID card scheme for immigrants to act as a deterrence against immigration, with immigrants required to have an ID card to use NHS services or have a job. [5] The group has also called on the Home Office to emphasise mass deportation initiatives. [1] To prevent the loss of votes to Reform at the next general election, it has called on government ministers to improve their messaging on immigration and other major issues. [2]

The Red Wall Caucus also focusses on issues which it identifies as affecting working class communities in particular, the traditional voter base of the Labour Party. Alongside immigration, these issues include the cost-of-living crisis, improving access to NHS GPs, tackling anti-social behaviour and crime and getting people off welfare benefits. [2]

Members

Since its launch in November 2024, the Red Wall Caucus had been led by Jo White, the MP for Bassetlaw since the 2024 general election. [1] [2] According to PoliticsHome , the group had "around a couple of dozen people within the Parliamentary Labour Party" in November 2024. [1] In December 2024, the group was reported by The Daily Telegraph to have 35 MPs as members. [2]

The Red Wall Caucus is a UK parliamentary caucus and pressure group in the Parliamentary Labour Party. [2] Members sit on the backbenches of the House of Commons and represent constituencies in the red wall, covering the Midlands and Northern England, and have included MPs on the soft left of the Labour Party and MPs associated with the conservative left and Blue Labour such as Jonathan Hinder. [3] [2] [6]

Reception

Ideologically progressive Labour politicians have opposed the Red Wall Caucus's focus on opposing immigration and fighting Reform. These politicians believe that doing so would alienate Labour's metropolitan voter base in cities like London to the benefit of the left-wing Green Party of England and Wales and independent politicians, who are believed to pose a greater challenge to Labour than Reform UK. [3]

With the formation of the group, the Labour leadership has directed more of its attention on addressing the potential threat of Reform UK. Labour leader and prime minister Keir Starmer has criticised high immigration rates under previous Conservative governments as an "open border experiment", as part of a shift toward focussing on tackling immigration. [3]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Rodgers, Sienna; Scotson, Tom (30 November 2024). "Northern Labour MPs Set Up 'Red Wall Caucus' To Fight Reform UK". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Gibbons, Amy (25 December 2024). "Red Wall MPs tell Starmer to get tough on immigration or we will lose our seats to Reform". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Scotson, Tom (21 December 2024). "Farage-Wary Labour MPs Urge Keir Starmer To Be Vocal About Immigration In 2025". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "Labour Party Faces Internal Struggles On Hunting And Immigration Policies". The Pinnacle Gazette. 26 December 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  5. ↑ "Counter-terror powers will 'make the difference' to border security – Labour MP". Darlington & Stockton Times. 30 December 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  6. ↑ Rodgers, Sienna; Scotson, Tom (1 February 2025). "Blue Labour v Reform: The Pro-Worker, Anti-Woke Plan To Beat Farage". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
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