It’s only by hitting the phones or the doorstep during an election campaign that you find out what people really care about. If you read the papers you might think that foxhunting and the basket of ‘countryside issues’ were sometimes just about the country’s main concern. On most doorsteps it’s down there with the Schleswig-Holstein question and steam engine repair.
That is confirmed by a Mori list of people’s main concerns, where the countryside never attracts more than three per cent, and usually a big, fat zero. The story laid out by the Mori list shows great shifts. In the 1980s, unemployment was the overwhelming concern; in the 1990s, it was the public services, health and education. Now, as we approach another election, the picture is far less clear. Issues such as defence and immigration have come from almost nowhere to top people’s concerns. Health and education are still hugely important but they sit amid a nest of other issues.
If this pattern is reflected at the doorstep then Labour activists have a challenge that is, on the face of it, daunting. With an election fought on a grab bag of issues – many, such as defence and immigration, usually associated with right-of-centre parties – what is to be said on the doorstep? Also, after eight years in power can Labour really keep on pointing to the mess the Tories left in 1997?
The guide we give below is to encourage you off the defensive. It is light on numbers, statistics and attacks on the Tories. It’s heavy on attitude and clear thinking. These are not lines to parrot, but approaches to think about. Nothing here is a script. Above all it is about having a conversation with people. Take a pen and paper to record follow-up casework and inquiries.
Crime is soaring – I just don’t feel safe anywhere
Where are the particular local problems? With record police numbers and new powers for councils whoever you are talking to should have the expectation of feeling safe. Crime need not be a discussion about the moral state of the nation but a chance for the local party and the candidate to do some local campaigning directed at the police and the council about trouble spots.
The world feels out of control with terrorism and everything else. It’s just not a safe place to bring a child into
The world is much more open than ever before. Would anyone really have it any other way? British people can travel and even work almost anywhere they want. But the flipside is that we have thrown our lot in with each other much more than ever before. Poverty, pollution, tyranny and terrorism have their effects here. There are two priorities: first, to be safe now by fighting terrorism; second, the long-term fight against global poverty, against terrorism and against global warming.
How many local schools have been modernised, refurbished or rebuilt in your area? Schools were a disgrace in 1997. Enough new teachers have been employed to populate the Isles of Shetland and those of Scilly, and enough teaching support assistants to fill up Basildon (that’s 27,000 and 105,000 respectively for those who like their statistics to come in figure form). So it is not surprising that pupil achievements in the basic tests of reading, writing and arithmetic are up across the board in all areas. The British people made the decision in 1997 to invest their government’s money in education and that has paid off.
It’s right that teachers should constantly push government to reduce their paperwork. But it’s also right that the government demands to see proof of rising standards for your money spent. Surely there should be a discussion there?
What has happened at your local hospital? Does it have a new A&E department? Has it been rebuilt? In almost every case it will have been. The Labour party website will give you the number of new doctors and nurses employed in your area but that is a statistic, more useful as a backup. Has the person you are talking to had a particular problem? What have they heard recently from their friends about their local hospital? As soon as you get down to local issues you will discover specific concerns that the candidate can address and stories of improvement.
Why not challenge people on how immigration has affected them? Is this really a problem with housing, access to healthcare or transport? It may also be worth asking people at what point Britain became too full. But while Labour will not be lax in enforcing the rules, equally it can never be a racist party or a party for racists. If you are not getting through, then move on and knock on another door.
The total the government takes from the country has been much the same for more than 30 years. It is the same now as under Mrs Thatcher. When Labour raised National Insurance to put the NHS on a stable footing, it was widely discussed and could not have been less stealthy. Labour has proved that it can manage a stable economy. The Tories failed to find these ‘cuts’ during almost 20 years in government. They are just looking for excuses to give vast tax cuts to the very rich and plunge the country into the red.
Why do we need to sign over all our powers to Brussels?
Everyone will get the chance to debate the euro and the EU constitution in full, in each case leading to referendum. That’s only under Labour. The Tories will take away the casting vote for the British people. The general election is not about the EU constitution and it is not about the euro.
Labour’s destroyed private pensions, what are you going to do about it?
Labour is managing the economy to keep inflation low and to create a stable environment for savings to grow. Pensioner poverty has been squarely tackled by the pension credit. Labour has also introduced the pension protection fund to make sure that workers whose firms go bust do not lose their pensions. The only firm guarantee of private pension growth is a stable, growing economy. Labour has proved that it can deliver that.