This is the easy bit. Make sure your Facebook Page, Twitter biography and any other social media profiles refer to you as ‘Labour & Co-operative’.

• For Twitter you can also write it so that it mentions the Twitter accounts of both parties, e.g. ‘@uklabour and @cooppartylocal’
• On websites, you can refer to yourself as ‘Labour & Co-operative councillor for [ward]’, as well as linking to https://party.coop/about, so that visitors have the opportunity learn more about what that means.

It will vary from council to council, but in most cases there will be a Head of Democratic Services  / Member Services / Monitoring Officer who will be responsible for maintaining a record of the party affiliations of sitting councillors, and so if your status as a ‘Labour & Co-operative’ councillor is not currently reflected in official council records or publications, they should be your first point of contact.

An example letter of what you might wish to include is below:

For any newly-elected or re-elected councillor, it’s never a bad idea to introduce yourself to any local media contacts who may later be helpful in publicising your local initiatives or campaigns.

For Labour & Co-operative councillors, this can also be a great opportunity to mention that you have been elected as Labour & Co-operative, and to explain to them what that means, and why you chose to stand to represent both parties.

If you have included any of our 12 ideas or other co-operative policies in your manifesto, this is your chance to mention that too.

During the campaign, you may have received a package from us containing Labour & Co-operative posters, stickers and other printed materials.

Now that the campaign is over, feel free to continue using them as you go about regular canvassing and other party political activity. If you’d like more branded materials, you can order more here.

And as during the campaign, we encourage you to also continue using the joint ‘Labour & Co-operative’ emblem on leaflets, outcards and other printed campaigning materials. You can find the logos on Labour’s Contact Creator software, as well as downloading them here

As an elected councillor, there will be rules restricting how and where it is permitted or appropriate to use party political logos and designations. Be sure to familiarise yourself with these rules, and to bear them in mind!