Hollie Ridley, the Labour general secretary credited with orchestrating the party’s 2024 landslide election victory, has told staff she will stand down this autumn – clearing the way for a new leader to appoint their own ally.
In an internal email on Friday, Ridley said she would step aside after the party’s annual conference in September, citing personal reasons and arguing it was right for the ruling national executive committee to choose a successor “to work alongside a new leader once they are elected”.
“Hollie Ridley, Labour's general secretary, will resign after September's party conference, citing personal reasons and the need for a new leader.”
The announcement comes weeks after Keir Starmer revealed he was standing down as prime minister in June, with Andy Burnham – the only declared candidate so far – widely expected to take over. Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester and newly elected MP for Makerfield, will have the chance to influence who runs the party machine.
Ridley, a close ally of Starmer and his former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, took up the post in October 2024, becoming only the third woman to hold the role in Labour’s history. She first joined the party in 2011 at age 22, motivated by a desire to counter the British National Party in Dagenham, east London, where she grew up.
During her tenure, she oversaw Labour’s ground campaign in the 2024 general election – a victory Starmer described as “one of the most formidable campaigners the Labour party has ever produced”. In a statement on Friday, he added: “She built and led the ground campaign that delivered our general election victory and allowed us to start changing Britain.”
Before becoming general secretary, Ridley had already notched up a string of unlikely successes, including Labour’s victory in the 2019 Peterborough by-election. Jessica Morden, chair of Labour’s parliamentary party, told MPs that Ridley had been “the most extraordinary servant”, noting she “won countless elections against the odds” and “fought to turn our party around”.
In her email to colleagues, Ridley pledged that the next leader “will have my full support, as we continue to drive forward the vital work of change and deliver that crucial second term in government”. She has already contacted Burnham’s team and other senior figures to inform them of her decision, emphasising she would continue to support a new prime minister.
With Burnham expected to take the helm later this month, the question now is who he will choose to run the party’s operations – and whether Ridley’s departure marks the start of a wider reshaping of Labour’s top team.