I think we all found the numerous acronyms and terminology thrown at us when we first join the party perplexing. Here is a handy list which will hopefully clear up any confusion you have about how The Labour Party functions.

PARTY STRUCTURE 

BLP Branch Labour Party
Your local party, based on ward boundaries for the election of Councillors. A lot of Labour Party activity takes place at branch level, it is from here that members take part in choosing local council candidates.

CLP Constituency Labour Party
You are in South East Cornwall CLP. CLPs are made up of several branches and based on the electoral area for the election of MPs. It is from here that you can help choose which members will represent you at Annual Conference. We have an all member structure which means one member gets one vote

Executive Committee 
These are your elected officers such as Secretary, Chair etc and are responsible for keeping the CLP functioning.

LGC
The Local Government Committee – sometimes referred to as Cornwall Labour – these are the committees that plan and organise election campaigning for different council areas. They shortlist potential local government candidates for members to vote on and work with CLPs and the national party to deliver winning campaigns.

NEC
The National Executive Committee is made up of elected representatives from every section of the Party – government, MPs, Councillors, trade unions and CLPs. Members vote for their CLP representative in a ballot every year. The NEC sets the Party’s objectives and oversees the running of the Party nationally.

PLP
The Parliamentary Labour Party is the group of Labour MPs in parliament.

FREQUENTLY USED WORDS & PHRASES 

GOTV – Get out the vote
You’ll hear a lot about this around election time. Throughout a campaign we identify Labour voters (through canvassing), we then encourage them to go and cast their vote on polling day.

Canvassing can refer to asking people for support at election time, but it’s also used to refer to the issues-based campaigning done throughout the year, not just at election time. We talk to people all year round so when it comes to election time, we know what matters to them, and they know why they should vote for us.

Voter ID refers to the process of gathering people’s voting intentions, whether face to face or over the phone. It’s simply asking people who they intend to vote for.

Doorknocking is an incredibly effective form of canvassing. It’s when a small team of volunteers will knock on people’s doors and have a conversation face to face.

Phone banking/dialogue is all about talking to electors over the phone, usually carried out by a group of volunteers and usually sticking closely to a Voter ID script.

Motions
These are proposals put forward to a branch or CLP meeting for debate and decision making, they must be a maximum of 250 words and ideally submitted at least 10 days before the date of your branch or CLP meeting. The proposer must move the motion and also have a seconder.

Annual Conference
This takes place every autumn and is one of the largest and most high profile political events in Europe. Delegates at Conference vote on policy documents brought by the NPF. It alternates each between being held in Brighton & Liverpool.

NPF
The National Policy Forum is made up of more than 200 representatives from all sections of the Party, with the largest part elected by ordinary members in each region and nation of the UK. Other members of the NPF represent Labour Councillors, MPs, affiliated trade unions, socialist societies and other groups.

More info can be found here https://labour.org.uk/new-members/jargon/

If you ever have any queries please don’t hesitate to ask either your CLP secretary – secretary.moorland.labourparty@gmail.com