The Labour Party is breaking data protection laws

I never thought requesting a copy of my own data would turn into a battle with the Labour Party - but here we are.

Back in August 2025, I submitted a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the Labour Party after my membership resignation. Simple enough, right? I expected a response within the one-month window the law allows under the UK's General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Instead, I have found myself stuck in a cycle of silence, chasing updates, and frustration.

Here's how it's gone so far:

• 5th August '25 - SAR submitted
• 29th August '25 - Request acknowledged by the party
• 1st October '25 - I emailed to follow up
• 25th October '25 - Another follow-up email
• 24th November '25 - Finally, an acknowledgement of the delay
• 16th December '25 - First phone call to the membership team
• 16th December '25 - Another email sent to chase
• 9th January '26 - Second phone call (133 days overdue)

I still haven't received the data I have a legal right to. At every step, I have been left in limbo unsure if my request will ever be dealt with. The repeated delays have caused a lot of stress and frustration.

What surprised me most wasn't just the delay, it was the lack of communication from the party. Under GDPR, organisations must at least inform you if they need more time. Even in their email on the 24th of November 2025, they didn't tell me that they needed more time, simply:

"The delay has arisen due to the complexity of your request and the volume of information that needs to be retrieved and reviewed. We are now working to complete our response to your request as a matter of priority."

I mean, what the bloody hell do they have on me for it to take over four months to sift through? I can't say that I expected much from the Labour Party, but this is a clear breach of the law that they seem unwilling to remedy. And we should expect better from the party in government.

One of the two phone calls I made to the party was particularly stressful. I spoke to somebody in the membership team who told me that even they couldn't contact the Data Protection Team except by the publicly-available email address which I have had no success in getting a response from since November. The only thing I can take away from that call is that the Data Protection Team are based in a small concrete box somewhere in Labour HQ with terrible Wi-Fi and no access to a telephone.

If there's a takeaway from this experience, it's to know your rights, keep records of every email and call, and don't be afraid to follow up. Waiting isn't just inconvenient for people - in some cases, it's unlawful behaviour.