Frequently Asked Questions

Short-term political decision-making is at the heart of many of the crises we face. At Labour for the Long Term, our aim is to work towards a Labour government that takes a long-term approach to policymaking and helps Britain to prepare for future crises instead of applying sticking plaster solutions. Britain faces significant future risks, including climate change, pandemics, digital transformation and geopolitical tensions. We think we need fair,  social-democratic answers to how to address these and other future policy problems, and need to prioritise advanced risk planning.

‍We are called Labour for the Long Term because it best describes our vision: a Labour party that takes a long term approach to policymaking, looking beyond short-term political considerations to create a lasting legacy that prepares Britain for the future and leaves behind a safe, just world for our children and grandchildren. Whilst we campaign for long-term thinking in policymaking, we are not affiliated with, and do not campaign for “longtermism” (a specific idea within academic philosophy). Labour for the Long Term is a broad movement from across the Labour party. 

‍Labour for the Long Term started off life as a group of Labour members who were concerned about the damage that short-term thinking in policymaking was causing the country. We’d witnessed over a decade of the government failing to think long term about extreme threats from climate change to pandemics like Covid. Following the pandemic, we felt that enough was enough and we decided in late 2021 to take action. We launched at the Labour Party conference 2022. 

Our aim is to help Labour develop policies that ensure a fairer and safer future. This includes tackling extreme risks as well as creating institutions that better protect future generations. Our policy recommendations span a range of policy areas, including climate change, pandemic preparedness, and technology and R&D, as well as taking a long-term view on other areas such as energy, housing and economic policy. 

Our work is focused on creating evidence-based guidance to help the Labour movement take informed decisions and develop effective policies for the long term. This includes collating research and writing high-quality briefings, filing CLP motions, organising and attending events, and communicating our work to decision makers, the media, and the general public. 

Labour for the Long Term is run by a committee of volunteers as well as a board of advisors made up of experts in particular areas. Our committee, supporters and advisors come from across the Labour movement, including Anneliese Dodds, Alex Sobel and Fleur Anderson. We are a network of Labour members working towards a Labour government that will deliver long-term change, and move on from Tory sticking-plaster politics which has left us lurching from crisis to crisis. You can view our committee on our about page, here. 

Labour for the Long Term is an unincorporated association funded by donations from individual Labour supporters. For more information on funding, or if you’d like to support us, visit our Donation Page or get in touch at committee[@]labourlongterm.org.  While we aren’t able to share individuals’ names, all our donors are Labour Party supporters and in line with Electoral Commission rules all donations above £500 are from individuals on the UK electoral register.

We want to support the next Labour government to think longer term, and start to fix the mess twelve years of Tory governments have left. One way to do this is by supporting Labour MP’s with expert staffers who can help research important policy issues for Labour decision-makers. 

Labour for the Long Term is currently supporting Labour with one part-time staffer in the Shadow Health Secretary’s office to work on long-term public health issues including NHS resilience, health inequalities and pandemic preparedness.

The NHS was on its knees before Covid-19, and is now in an existential crisis with waiting lists reaching a record 7.1 million. Social injustices were exacerbated by the pandemic, with BAME communities facing the worst impacts.  We want to support the incoming Labour government to think longer term when it comes to health, and implement interventions with long-term benefits that may materialise into the next decade and beyond.

The funding from our parliamentary placements come from the Labour for the Long Term association budget. As stated above, Labour for the Long Term is an unincorporated association funded by donations from individual Labour supporters. We are only able to offer placements where sufficient funding is available, and where a parliamentarian is seeking support from us. If you would like to express interest in being placed when such opportunities arise in future, feel free to get in touch with us at committee[@]labourlongterm.org