We sat down with Sophia Adams Bhatti following her campaign as a Labour candidate in the general election, asking about her experiences, as well as on key issues within this election.
Adams Bhatti ran in the St Albans constituency, ultimately placing 3rd with 5,189 votes, with Liberal Democrat Daisy Cooper retaining the seat. Before standing in the election, 48 year old Adams Bhatti held many jobs across the public and private sector, including the United Nations, and Director of policy for the Law Society of England and Wales.
Deciding to run in the election
Adams Bhatti has always been interested in politics. Born in Stoke to immigrant parents, she developed strong political values due to her upbringing. Whilst studying law, she became more involved in university politics, leading her to study geopolitical issues as a part of her International Relations Masters.
Following her studies, Adams Bhatti held a number of roles in the civil service, requiring her to maintain political neutrality, whilst focusing on public policy. Brexit, where “the decline of quality of political debate” and what she viewed as harmful Conservative policies, led to her heightened interest in politics. Believing that the “wrong people” were in power, she wanted to stand up for what she believed in, and decided that running in the election was a viable option given her expertise.
In this “once in a generation election”, Adams Bhatti wanted to run for the Labour Party. Looking at Parliament, she was unimpressed, feeling that the legislature contained some low quality individuals, with no sense of meritocracy or little recognition of public service and knowledge. In this make-or-break election, Adams Bhatti emphasised that the result would either save the country’s democratic credentials or ruin them. This motivated her to run.
Being selected as a Labour candidate was a “tortuous” process for Adams Bhatti, originally applying to run in Hertford and Stortford. This seat was allocated by the NEC to another candidate using a ‘one person shortlist’ process. Although disappointed, Adams Bhatti persevered, being chosen for the St Alban’s seat, a constituency which was seen as a long shot for Labour, and as such not an attractive proposition for those focused on becoming an MP. She agreed to run in the seat with the knowledge victory was unlikely, due to it being a Liberal Democrat ‘safe seat’. But she was still empowered feeling that she could have an impact on the election.
Running in the Liberal Democrat ‘safe seat’
As a Labour candidate campaigning in a Liberal Democrat ‘safe seat’, Adams Bhatti needed to be tough. With her seat being a non-battleground seat, there was an absence of central support and local Labour Party structure. Wanting to deliver a good campaign, she knew she needed to be resilient, attending hustings and canvassing across the constituency.
This “hard graft” of campaigning allowed her to hear issues important to voters. She found this to be a “humbling experience”. Going from the top of her profession down to the starting point of politics allowed her to focus on the reasons why she was campaigning. She understood how campaigning was not about herself but about the bigger electoral picture, giving her the opportunity to learn a lot about herself.
A key focus for Adams Bhatti was helping other Labour candidates in surrounding constituencies. Through combined campaigning efforts, this allowed Labour to gain the Harlow and Hemel Hempstead seats from the Conservatives. Adams Bhatti’s sacrificing time from her own individual campaign allowed the Labour Party’s bigger election picture to benefit, gaining two more seats.
Key voter issues within the election
Through canvasing and campaigning, Adams Bhatti found immigration, the cost-of-living crisis, and voter apathy were the three most prominent issues for voters.
During conversations on immigration, she found that many voters held uninformed views on the topic, with a lack of accurate factual knowledge on immigration and “racism” being a feature of some of their views. Many people were unaware of the legal working routes to migrate to the country, some unaware of the numbers, or simply not believing them. She explained how the success of Reform UK was down to the populist politics of the party, drawing on issues of immigration that help them succeed in winning seats. The areas in which Reform UK received the most votes paralleled with immigration being a significant topic that the constituents raised.
As well as this, for many voters, the Liz Truss Mini Budget and cost-of-living crisis were the ‘nail in the coffin’ for their views on the Conservative Party, influencing their vote.
However, the most consistently heard issue for voters was voter apathy. Many voters expressed that “nothing will help me”, viewing voting as having no impact. This view was varied across the three constituencies Adams Bhatti campaigned in, noting that following this election, “Labour needs to deliver to show people that Westminster matters”. This issue of apathy was reflected across the nation, with turnout decreasing to 60%, the second lowest turnout since 1885.
Why were Labour so successful in the election?
Adams Bhatti explained the context in which Labour’s success grew, with the incumbent Tory government being in power for 14 years, and slowly running out of steam in the run up to the election. With the Conservatives vacating the centre ground of the political spectrum and therefore losing voters, she explained how the party could not support its record in office in the last series of governments.
She found that much doorstep feedback from voters consisted of statements such as “nothing works” and that “everything’s broken”. Voters wanted a “grown up” to offer safety, not a “clown”, wanting a competent person in office. The Labour Party manifesto did not promise radical changes, satisfying the centre ground of voters, however the Party aimed to gain legitimacy and build on it.
Adams Bhatti explained how the use of canvassing during an election works, with tripled efforts in each constituency to further Labour’s campaign. The contrast of the stability and strategy that Labour showed during the election, aided by the self-destructive nature and “incompetence” of the Conservatives, helped Labour’s success. She also emphasised that the Reform UK vote helped enable the Labour triumph, with the right-wing vote split. Adams Bhatti argues this rise of Reform UK, and the right-wing across Europe, is a significant cause for concern and should be something that is taken seriously .
What advice would you give to a young person entering politics?
Adams Bhatti recommended that life experience is really important when entering politics. Having jobs in both public service and the private sector helps give a deep understanding of how policy in Westminster affects people, a useful skill for a hopeful MP. She also suggested joining the local constituency party and debating societies, as well as getting involved in grass roots activities or by-elections. With political debates being the “substance of political and mechanics of parties”, making politics less tribal brings people together, making joining or getting involved in political issues so important.
If she were to roll back the clock and see herself as a young person again, Adams Bhatti would want to work as a research assistant, doing case-work for an MP. She explained how typically those in that job “all look the same” and stressed that a variety of young people should be entering this job.
Her main message – do it, it is worth it.
We would like to thank Sophia Adams Bhatti for giving up her time to complete this interview with us.
By Ella Weatherburn