When running a phonebank, careful attention needs to be paid to the set-up of the phones, which needs to be legally compliant. Unlike calling with Dialogue, members cannot use their own phones for this kind of phonebanking.  

The guide below details how to set up your phonebank in a legally compliant way.  

The law around phone banking 

Since the law changed in 2016, all telephone calling carried out by (or on behalf of) the Party must be carried out from numbers that have Calling Line Identification in place (that is, people can see a real number when the phone rings).  

This means you should not use personal mobile phones or home landlines, in any circumstances. You can buy mobile phones solely for phonebanking use but you must set up call diverts so that incoming calls to that phone are routed to a message which explains why people are being called.  

The Labour Party has established a set of numbers to which you should divert calls incoming to phones being used for phonebanking. These will give a recorded message explaining that the call came from the Labour Party, and where to obtain additional information. You must ensure the number is not withheld. As in the general guidance, you must never leave voicemails.  

Phonebank checklist  

DO  

  • Only use phones provided by local CLPs. These can be contract or topped-up phones.  
  • All phones to be used for phone banking must be set up so incoming calls are diverted to 0191 246 5061.  
  • To activate dial **21* 0191 246 5061 # then press call.  
  • To cancel the call divert, dial  ##21# then press call.  
  • To check status of call divert, dial *#21# then press call. 
  • Use either Doorstep App codes or printed voter ID sheets from Contact Creator. The report to use is ‘Win 24 In-person phonebank’.  
  • Make sure all sheets are returned to the person who gave them out. If these need to be sent electronically, you must ensure they are encrypted in a password protected ZIP file with the password sent to the recipient separately to the email. You should also ensure that the recipient is aware that any electronic files should be permanently deleted after they have been used.  
  • Any notes you make whilst on the phone need to be shredded.  
  • Keep any voter ID sheets/app codes safe and ensure they cannot be seen through front windows etc.  
  • If an elector asks to be taken off the list so they are not called again make a note of it and let the person running the session know so they can mark the electors record on Contact Creator accordingly.  


DON'T  

  • Volunteers must not use their own phones to call electors even if they have free minutes.  
  • Do not leave voicemail messages under any circumstances.  
  • Never withhold the number you are calling from.  
  • Do not pass on any information from the voter ID sheets/apps.  
  • Do not keep voter ID sheets longer than you need them, and make sure they are returned or deleted as appropriate after you have entered the data into Contact Creator.  
  • Do not use voter ID sheets for anything other than phone canvassing.