Learning Lessons: Fresh Start

This is part two of our series ‘Learning Lessons’ series which provides a space for candidates from across England, Scotland and Wales to share both what they heard on the doorstep and where they think Labour should go next.

We have to listen carefully to what our residents are telling us, even when that message is uncomfortable. Because behind the headlines, behind the noise, there is a clear signal about trust, opportunity and what people expect from those elected to serve them.

There has been a great deal said about Oldham in recent weeks and months. As ever, not all of it has been grounded in reality. But living and leading here means I cannot treat these narratives as abstract. When our town is misrepresented, it affects the confidence of our residents and the way people feel about where they live. And after these elections, that confidence matters more than ever.

The results did not emerge in a vacuum. Oldham has operated with no overall control since 2024, with shifting alliances and a council chamber that is rarely quiet. While politics may have become more fragmented, our responsibility has not changed. Residents do not judge us on who wins arguments. They judge us on whether their lives feel better.

That is where Labour must start. Because when you speak to people across Oldham, you hear a familiar story: a story of hardworking families who feel they are doing everything right but are still struggling to get ahead. It is the young person who cannot access opportunities without leaving their community; the parent balancing work and childcare with no room to progress; and the worker stuck in insecure employment that offers little stability or hope for the future.

This is what I have described before as the ‘class ceiling’. It is not about a lack of aspiration. It is about a lack of access. And when that ceiling remains in place, it creates a sense that the system is not built for you.

We cannot dismiss our residents’ frustration or explain it away. We must respond to it. Because when people feel unheard or overlooked, they will look for alternatives or disengage from politics altogether. That is one of the clearest lessons from Oldham for Labour nationally: loyalty cannot be assumed. It must be earned and re‑earned through visible action.

Because one of the most striking features of the current political landscape is how easily division can take hold. People are told that services only work for others, that investment benefits someone else, that they are being left behind. In the aftermath of the elections, I was clear that we must not allow that narrative to go unchallenged.

When a town centre is being rebuilt, when services improve, when opportunities are created locally, it becomes harder for those messages of division to stick. Progress that people can see builds confidence in a way that debate alone never will.

For Labour, this is a crucial insight. We are operating in a more fragmented and contested political environment than at any point in recent decades. Oldham is not unique. It is an early example of what many places are beginning to experience. In that context, the answer is not to retreat or to simplify our ambitions. It is to be bold about what we stand for and more relentless in delivering it.

That means investing in skills and apprenticeships that lead to real careers. It means creating good jobs in towns like Oldham, not just in the most prosperous parts of the country. It means ensuring that regeneration is tied directly to opportunity so that people feel the benefits in their own lives.

It also means challenging the barriers that still exist, the assumptions about who belongs, the financial obstacles that prevent people from pursuing education or training, and the cultural pressures that shape the choices available to different communities.

The political landscape may have shifted, but our purpose has not. Labour exists to expand opportunity and to ensure that no one is held back by the circumstances of their birth. The lesson from Oldham is not simply that politics has become more difficult. It is that in difficult times, our response must be stronger. We must listen more carefully. Act more decisively. And above all, deliver more consistently. That is the foundation on which Labour’s future depends.