A smooth campaign is built on good planning and organisation, not to mention a fair number of clipboards, rosettes, rubber bands, pens…
Read our experts’ tips on how to campaign well. Some of the tips will be useful in the run-up to the full general and local election campaigns, and others are also good for planning Labour activity, campaigns and socials, after the election.
Paul Richards, Progress columnist:
1. Campaigning is about maintaining a relationship with voters over many years, so keep data from election to election, target areas you need for council elections, and be seen when there’s not an election on
2. Because political parties are an increasingly minority activity, you need to engage with non-party members who are your supporters, especially when it comes to getting people out to campaign
3. Put the social into socialism – if you can make politics fun and engaging, with fundraising and campaigning events people want to take part in, rather than feel guilty if they don’t
Theo Blackwell, Labour councillor, campaigner and Progress columnist, offers his top tips for campaigning:
1. Voter identification is not campaigning. Campaigning is about issues.
2. Don’t go in empty handed. Always come armed with literature explaining what your programme is, in case people ask for more detail.
3. Stick at it. The first three doorknocks of the campaign are invariably the worst.
4. Don’t rise to negative letters from opponents in local press unless factually incorrect, it makes you look petty. Respond via more leaflets.
Luke Akehurst, Labour blogger and councillor, gives his three top tips:
1. A proper written plan is the first step to getting
anything to happen. You need to write a grid or calendar
showing what activity will happen where on every day of the campaign, and what materials will be produced, and get that signed off by the CLP or LGC concerned. This gives you the authority to get on with organising, helps you not to forget what needs to happen when, and answers the zillion questions your candidate(s) and activists will have.
2. Trust the numbers and use them to guide where you put resources. Canvass returns aren’t an accurate indicator of the final result but they do show trends (e.g. are there people switching to us or away from us from when they were last canvassed) and they show the relative position between different wards, which helps you target people and materials.
3. Double-sided sticky tape! Little tabs of it in the corners of window posters. Most people don’t have blu-tack sat around the house, so making the posters self-sticking doubles the chance they get put up.