Foreword

If you are here hoping to get a scoop or to pinch campaigning secrets - I’m sorry to disappoint. You’ll have to catch me off-the-record for anything more juicy.

Working with Keir was a privilege, he is frighteningly driven and genuinely kind. The difficult decisions of his pragmatic policy and presentational choices, I believe (having worked under the Tories as a civil servant for six years), are just what the Party and country needs. He’s a good man and I trust him to balance progress and polling.

You may have gathered this isn’t going to be an objective account…

Sticking with media convention, I haven’t mentioned any behind-the-scenes Labour staff by name. Some ‘above-the-line’ staff aren’t so lucky.

I wrote these below notes in July ‘24 and I’m uploading them a year later, so the tense may wander all over the place. If I’m around for ‘29 I promise to get my notes down each night.

I’ll wrap up with some reflections (tailored mainly to filmmakers), but until then enjoy the day-to-day of life on the road as a videographer during an election campaign.

As the day progressed it became clear the rumours, this time, had legs.

Journalists described not getting the official denials they had previously been given. We found later that Morgan's McSweeney had taken changes in the betting market as confirmation. We'd been on campaign footing for some time, but hit go on buying ad space, finalising launch assets and sorting our first days of campaigning. 

I was working on a massive edit for Anneliese Dodds (which ended up never seeing the light of day) when I was called to The Savoy, getting there ahead of Keir I got my camera ready for his launch speech.

I wanted to see him watching the Rishi’s announcement - hoping for an iconic moment. While we waited Keir rehearsed his speech - as the then Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, walked out into the rain - I called Keir through to the television.

He watched in silence.

Launch Speech & Change Video Views

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