Labour has kicked off its election campaign with a number of key pledges on the party’s heartland issues, including increasing NHS funding, building more affordable homes, kick-starting a Green Industrial Revolution and investing in jobs and skills across the UK. The welcome clarity of the party’s position on Brexit at September’s annual conference has been a major boon to activists – expect canvassers at your door to make the point that Labour is the only party that will give the public a final say on Brexit.

Current polling numbers for Labour are lower than the Party would like at present, averaging between 25% and 30%. However, Labour’s ground campaign has always been one of the strongest of any political party, and a significant chunk of its half-million members will be out on the doorstep in the coming weeks. Many activists are hopeful that, as the election draws nearer and the binary choice of a Conservative or Labour Government becomes clearer, Labour will regain Remain-supporting voters currently considering switching to the Lib Dems or Greens in metropolitan seats, as well as mobilising younger people who are less likely to vote at all.

However, the shock departure of Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, on Thursday will have been a blow to those on the Corbyn-sceptic wing of the party. His resignation in the middle of an election campaign makes it almost impossible for other Labour MPs to split from the party and start a new centre-left movement, as has been rumoured for months. Rather, it indicates that the Corbyn project will continue to drive Labour’s policy positioning into 2020 and beyond, bolstered by a more left-wing parliamentary Labour party post-election. Candidates from Labour’s next generation who are likely to play key roles in the future include Ilford South’s Sam Tarry, TSSA Political Officer and former Corbyn adviser; Luton North’s Sarah Owen, GMB Political Officer and NEC member and Streatham’s Bell Ribeiro-Addy, adviser to Diane Abbott.

Labour’s NEC is meeting this weekend for the crucial Clause V meeting to agree the party’s manifesto. We’re expecting that many policies will be carried over from the 2017 manifesto, but with an even greater emphasis on the Green Industrial Revolution, following Labour’s declaration of a climate emergency earlier this year. Jeremy Corbyn has already outlined that a five-year Labour Government should be judged on its ability to end in-work poverty, food bank use, rough sleeping, and tuition fees, as well as deliver a million new affordable homes, reduced NHS waiting times, smaller class sizes and a Green Industrial Revolution. It’s an ambitious agenda, designed to galvanise activists and voters alike, but communicating this through the media and on the doorstep will be key in the coming weeks.