In the face of the growing electoral threat to the Labour Party, plummeting membership numbers and the rise of the far-right, members from across our Party’s progressive majority are uniting behind candidates for the National Executive Committee who will protect Labour’s values and future.

We stand against the insular, centralising approach of the current leadership that refuses to draw on the energy, talent and ideas of our whole movement, the continued underfunding of public services and local government, and the pandering to the talking points of the far right. Labour can only survive - and actually deliver for people and communities - if we choose a different path: fair taxation of the wealthiest, real investment in public services, taking essential services like energy and water into democratic ownership, and promoting peace and internationalism abroad. We welcome advances made by this Government, such as the ending of the two-child benefit limit, but we know that Labour must be bolder, braver and broader than ever before to rise to the immense challenges of the current moment.

We stand for rebuilding basic democracy, pluralism and fair process within our party. That means restoring genuinely open parliamentary and other selections, ending the suspension of MPs for legitimate scrutiny of the Government, and moving away from the kind of top-down control that prevents local members from choosing their own representatives and engaging in meaningful debate and participation. We support democratic policy-making and strong equalities structures. The Labour leadership must listen to the views of Labour members and affiliates.

Members are at the heart of any successful democratic party. When people feel genuine ownership, motivation and pride in the movement they belong to, the whole Party is stronger. Yet we are seeing too many members giving up on Labour in anger, or drifting away in disappointment. Rebuilding our membership - by valuing their voice and making space for real participation and engagement - must be a priority for Labour’s success.

We urge all Labour members who want a progressive, democratic, and pluralist Labour Party to vote for candidates supporting this statement.