Gisela Stuart reveals seven steps to electoral success
Supermarkets complain that consumers no longer feel loyalty towards the brand. When they offer ‘three for the price of two’ shoppers still feel cheated. And if they want to buy cheap they do not go to the ‘own brand, value for money’ section, they head for the real discounters like Lidl and Aldi.
This is a bit like political parties. The number of those who will vote for one party, come what may, is dwindling. Political promises are viewed with deep suspicion. And into that vacuum, where politicians just ‘hear’ but do not ‘listen’, step populist parties, which give permission to say things and appear to offer certainties, like the United Kingdom Independence party.
Labour lost in 2010 and, let’s face it, we lost badly. But we should not forget that David Cameron did not win as well as he might have. And here we are, ahead in the opinion polls less than year away from the general election, after just one term in opposition, and we are indulging in speculation about what Ed Miliband might or might not do if we lose in 2015. It is time to stop this nonsense and concentrate on the job at hand, which is to win the next general election.
How do we do that? There is a short answer and a long answer.
Let me start with the short answer. We have to make sure that those who voted for us last time will do so again and then persuade some of the people who did not vote for us to do so this time.
Newspapers are full of advice about what Miliband and the team should or should not do. Let me not add to the cacophony of voices other than to say ‘Remember the 1997 pledge card’ – a simple, precise and deliverable message. People understood what a Labour government would do, understood the context and the general direction we would take. Keep the message and the language short and punchy.
I want to focus instead on what local candidates who are fighting a seat which Labour lost to the Tories should do to win this time around.
Birmingham Edgbaston was a Tory seat from 1885 to 1997. We won in 1997 and 2001 as part of the Labour landslide. We should probably have lost in 2005 – but certainly should have been out in 2010. The Tories had 70 target seats – we were about number 32 on their list and the only one they did not take. In 2010 David Cameron gave me the Spectator Survivor of the Year Award. In my acceptance speech I apologised to Cameron for depriving him of his overall majority, commiserated with Michael Ashcroft for wasting money in Birmingham, and thanked my opponent for still not having worked out why she had lost.
Lesson number one, then, is to work out why you lost. In Edgbaston the Tories thought that the 1997 result was the result of a temporary fit of insanity by the electorate. To win the seat again all they had to say was, ‘We are here, come back to us.’ Their 2010 campaign was just like the 2005 campaign, and not much different from the one in 2001, just more leaflets, more letters – but no change in message or widening of the volunteer base.
For our part, we must not assume that the council house estate must be Labour. They are only ours if we offer them policies which chime with their lives and aspirations.
And I go through the roof when I receive a mailing addressed ‘Dear older woman voter’. Yes, I am a woman, and, yes, I will be 60 next year. But do not dare assume that my age and gender tell you anything about my politics.
Start with an objective assessment of why the seat went to the Tories last time. A particular local issue, the incumbent, not enough people on the ground. Do not fall into the trap of blaming the Tories having more money as the sole reason. Money is important but volunteer networks matter more.
Lesson number two is to understand that there is a national as well as a local message. At a time of distrust in institutions, the local is becoming more important. National messages tend to be generic – local ones can be tailored to the particular community. Local consultation on particular policy issues is a genuine way of listening to voters, but also gives authenticity to the process of decision-making.
In the run-up to 2010 we did several rounds of mailings and meetings based on legislation going through the House of Commons on immigration. We did not tell people what to think, we provided a space for them to say what they thought. In the end we reached a consensus which was far more thoughtful and considered than press hysteria on the subject would have suggested. We now are doing something similar on welfare. So far, views are deeply divided, apart from a general sense that the contributory principle should play a larger part.
Lesson three: do not talk at voters, but talk to them and listen to what they have to say. They look for authenticity both in the candidate as well as the decision-making process. You are the local face of Labour and if you can show that, on your patch, you go out and listen before you reach a decision then even if people do not agree with you on every aspect they know they were part of the process. You will learn things too: I thought the end of independent taxation for women in the light of taxing child benefit was a big issue. It was for me, but not for my voters.
The fourth lesson is to define yourself before your opponents do it for you. The temptation is enormous to respond to every single issue that comes your way with a press quote, a Twitter message, a Facebook entry and a leaflet. Think about the three things you are going to fight for on behalf of your constituents. Surprisingly, deciding what not to do can be much harder than deciding what to do. The key things I have been working on in Edgbaston apart from welfare are skills and unemployment as well as getting a fairer funding deal for the city. Make sure you know what makes you get out of bed in the morning because you want to fight for it – and then tell your voters.
Lesson number five is that volunteer networks are as important as voter identification and more important than money. The Labour party started life as a movement. We need to become a movement again. That means people who come together to try and achieve something that is important to them. Delivering leaflets is not about the piece of paper. It is about someone being prepared to give up their time to go out in good weather and bad, someone who identifies with the message on the leaflet. It says, ‘I want Labour to win here and I hope you will too.’ Capacity-building means having local ambassadors as well as having eyes and ears to alert you to problems in every part of the constituency. Manage that volunteer base well and you will be surprised how much they have to offer.
Lesson six concerns voter identification and GOTV – ‘get out the vote’. Reliable data is of supreme importance. You need to know who is for you, against you or still doubtful. And whether they vote. I sometimes challenge people by saying that I am the local franchisee of a national brand and that I buy and sell shares once every five years and trading is limited to one day from 7am to 10pm. Polling day is trading day, but we are in danger of forgetting that in between we still have to ‘persuade’. See lesson three.
Finally, lesson seven. Do not go down the road of wasting time on working out what kind of campaign you need to run in order to win. Wrong question. Ask yourself what the best campaign you can fight for Labour in your constituency is – and if it is good enough you will win. And in the process make sure you and your volunteers also have a good time.
Good luck, and let’s look forward to a Labour government in 2015.
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