Over the last few years Labour has seen its presence within local government wither as one council after another falls to a resurgent Conservative Party and locally focused Liberal Democrats, not to mention the surge in support for the SNP and electoral changes north of the border.
The Labour Group in Southwark has been largely insulated from this collapse in support due to an active, campaigning Labour Group and an unpopular Lib Dem-Conservative coalition running the council. In 2006 most Labour candidates in Southwark saw their vote increase due to aggressive campaigning and high levels of voter contact. Indeed, with a little more resource and a better national prevailing wind we believe we would have won back Southwark rather than simply confirming our position as the largest party on the Council.
But what are the lessons to be learned from this experience and twenty years of actively campaigning in local politics right across the country?
Firstly, we have to set clear organisational objectives, build campaigning capacity and remain active all year round within Borough Groups and CLPs. All CLPs and Labour Groups should be setting themselves stretching targets each year to contact more voters, deliver more leaflets and, most importantly, to recruit more members as a measure of their success.
Building capacity before the next set of elections is vital for all CLPs and Labour Groups. Indeed, the immediate month or two after any election should be spent visiting local supporters to ask them to join the party and accept a leaflet round. Early engagement with supporters and a regularly active local party can help produce a growing membership and keep activists enthusiastic.
Local elections, particularly when Labour is in opposition, are won on the streets, not in the Town Hall. However, too many Labour candidates and activists get tied up in endless meetings, focusing their energy on speaking to other Labour members and not getting out and talking to voters.
Secondly, Labour needs clear and comprehensive campaign messages during any election campaign, targeted, with perhaps subtle variations, to a segmented electorate ready to receive them.
A campaign should have one main theme and three or four messages that reinforce it, with different sub messages targeted at different segments of the electorate. Long before the formal campaign begins the local party should discuss possible issues, allowing those running the campaign plenty of time to decide which to focus on. Election materials should actively reflect the chosen themes and messages so that the party can run a cohesive campaign.
To ensure that these messages are not lost the local party must be in active dialogue with the wider community ahead of any election. Leaflets should include response mechanisms, meetings should be held with groups beyond the Labour Party membership and local Labour figures should be engaged with community events and meetings.
This takes time, but investing in engagement with your local community and their special interest groups ensures that, come election time, the party’s messages will be listened to because the people promoting them are known and trusted. A lot of local elections are won on the basis of the local community supporting the politicians they believe to be the most active and not on purely ideological lines. Appearing every four years for a couple of weeks rarely does the job unless other factors interfere.
Finally, Labour must be seen to be part of the community and not apart from the community. All leaflets and materials should include pictures and comments from local people, not just the candidates or other politicians. Being seen to be part of the community and working to benefit them will bring people along with you. Leaflets should include items of local interest such as the result of planning applications and your Labour representatives’ role in securing a decision one way or the other or notices of local events and your plans to improve the local community.
The more that Labour can be seen to be leading and in tune with local thinking the better it will be for the party at a local and national level.