I was thrilled to watch the coverage of Alistair Stathern taking his seat as the new MP for Mid Bedfordshire. It was a stunning win for Labour, and as Keir Starmer told the House of Commons:

“The first Labour MP ever to represent those beautiful towns and villages. He defied the odds, history and of course the fantasy Lib Dem bar charts.”

I spent quite a lot of time in Mid Beds campaigning for Alistair and Labour. I was struck by how energetic and positive it was. I was also struck by how engaged and tuned-in the electorate were. Yes, some were tired of the constant door knocking over four months, but the vast majority were listening and wanting to hear what the parties had to offer.

Mid Beds also points to how Labour CAN win in the expected Wellingborough by-election AND in seats like South Cambridgeshire, with our similar mix of beautiful towns, villages and commute-to cities. South Cambridgeshire is a three-way marginal, and we will be working hard to earn every single vote across our amazing constituency.

A fellow campaigner in Ely and East Cambs, Elizabeth McWilliams, sums up the Mid Beds campaign well. Here’s her report:

Labour built support one conversation at a time.

Labour’s fantastic candidate Alistair Strathern made himself visible and accessible with open meetings around the constituency and plenty of face-to-face contact on the doorstep.

While it was clear that the Conservative vote had imploded, we knew that voters wanted more than a campaign of ‘vote for us to stop the Conservatives’. We understood that people wanted a conversation about the Labour offer.

Labour was almost alone in avoiding attacks even when others chucked mud at us.

Labour focused on the difference a Labour MP would make

Labour listened to what concerned local people and then set about presenting what we would do about it. Alistair made promises of the exact actions he would take for local residents. Every Labour leaflet made it clear that it was from the Labour Party and had a Labour logo on it. We are proud of our party, and this honesty is something I am really passionate about.

Voters saw through fake newspapers, made up graphs and literature that forgot to include the party name. Mid Beds homes started receiving free newspapers and magazines: Mid Beds Courier, Mid Beds Chronicle, Mid Beds Life. These were fakes. It was party propaganda from the Lib Dems and Tories pretending to be independent publications.

The Tories knew their brand was toxic and they switched to promoting ‘the Local Candidate’ and forgot to mention he is a Conservative. The Lib Dems delivered their usual heap of bar charts and graphs, some with completely invented figures. If you can’t be proud of your party, you shouldn’t be in the business of politics.

The voters saw through this. We had plenty of feedback from former Tory and LD supporters confirming that they preferred Labour’s positive approach. Messages such as ‘nice to see policies rather than attacking the opposition’.

In victory, Labour recognises that our MPs are there to serve.

When we won, sure there were victory rallies. But it was notable that there were no triumphalist stunts. Keir Starmer spoke of Labour’s humility and gratitude and of the need to earn votes. Our newly elected MPs reiterated their pledge not to let people down, to keep listening and to serve.

These are the values of the changed Labour Party and I am proud of them.