Why did you join the Labour party? To part with subs each month in exchange for desperate pleas from party hacks to deliver election leaflets to your neighbours’ homes? Or to wear a red rosette outside your local polling station once every few years? I expect not. Most people join the party because they care deeply about the political direction of this country, the world we live in and share a desire for social justice and a genuinely egalitarian, progressive society.
Our annual conference effectively launches Labour’s campaign to win an historic third term but we urgently need to improve communication with our own members first. Iraq and PFI have disillusioned some members but now is the time to focus on the positives, on what Labour is achieving in government. Otherwise we are simply playing into the hands of the opposition.
Yes, we can always do more, but I’m immensely proud of what Labour has achieved in government and sick to the back teeth of those Labour members who seem to only criticise, denouncing Tony Blair and the government as nothing more than Tories in disguise.
Have I been living in a different country to these detractors? What about the record investment in the NHS, with an unprecedented increase of 35 percent over five years from £45 billion to £68 billion in spending? What about the 23 percent more money for each school pupil? These are Labour’s core values put into practice, making a difference on the ground. Who can deny Labour is working for Britain when the UK is enjoying the lowest unemployment for 23 years, lowest inflation for 30 years and the lowest interest rates for 35 years?
Labour’s raised the average income for pensioners by £1,150 a year through higher pensions, Winter Fuel Allowance and, Pension Credit. Would we witness such changes under Tory rule, with their zeal to slash spending?
Having strong, punchy facts at our fingertips like these – of Labour’s successes in government – make us more effective and confident campaigners. Nigel Griffiths has produced an excellent leaflet on 300 of Labour’s achievements since 1997, which can be found on his website www.nigelgriffiths.co.uk (or call 0131 662 4520) and CLPs could use this information to produce campaigning crib sheets.
In addition, the Parliamentary Labour Party has a support unit for MPs, offering a range of campaign tool kits around different policies. Each CLP could ask an active member to prepare tailor-made local campaigns using the briefing materials each month.
Ask any charity or commercial organisation and they will tell you the key to lasting success lies in relationship-building. We need to re-engage with our own grassroots before we go out and speak to the public.
The most active members in each ward, along with their MPs and Councillors, must take the lead: visit members in their homes, ask for their reactions to recent policies and make them feel more valued and involved. It is also easier to ask members to help after making personal contact.
We need information on voter intentions and voting history, so knowing where Labour’s supporters live is vital. Voter ID is the crucial campaign component in marginal and safe seats alike. We need to motivate our members now to have the foot soldiers ready in each ward to go out and canvass their areas to collect this data. Telephone canvassing is also essential and has a quicker hit rate.
If you start early with a survey on local issues, which asks about voting intentions more discreetly at the end, you will be in a stronger position to get the Labour vote out come Election Day.
The bottom line is this: before we can ‘woo’ the public, our own members need to be wooed. It’s not enough to expect members’ subs to be paid each month and a willing pair of feet to follow, to knock on door after door or deliver hundreds of leaflets, without some serious effort being made to encourage members to want to give up their precious time.
Having a social element to party membership is also crucial to encourage active membership. An emotional attachment to the local party is more likely if the MP or Prospective Parliamentary Candidate has taken the time to get to know members at social events, or where friendships are forged between members over a drink or meal. Have a Christmas party, throw a fundraising summer barbeque or make ward meetings more friendly by having them in members’ homes.
The message is simple: Labour’s strong public investment is rebuilding Britain. So we should work now to bring members fully on board for the campaign ahead, to be ready to go out and tell the public of Labour’s successes loudly and clearly.