When I first saw what the local party were doing, I realised that I would need to lay down a tough new regime:
- Absolutely No Clip Art Will be Tolerated.
- Avoid mixing fonts, attempt to maintain a consistent style within the Focus and from one Focus to the next.
- Never, ever, ever, ever, ever use Comic Sans.
Unfortunately my other laws, relating to content, were overruled. To the Halifax Lib Dem's credit, they tolerated my design laws and I duly made their Focus leaflets for a year (mainly because they all hated doing it and I was a willing volunteer) - a year in which we lost all the seats I'd been involved in.
One ward, Warley, I screwed up in spectacular style. I was a paper candidate myself in the neighbouring ward, but having been told that under no circumstances would I be allowed time or help to campaign in such a hopeless ward I opted to use a private company to deliver an election address. Unfortunately they delivered to pretty much every ward except the the one I was standing in. Most ended up in Warley. That was mistake number one. The next mistake was failing to notice the tax had run out on my car. It had been left parked covered in Lib Dem related material and the Tory candidate had found out. They blamed the candidate, of course, but that one was my fault. It didn't help that it was an H Reg banger, either - a car I'd bought with what spare cash I had the week after my previous car had popped.
Our leaflets were abysmal. We completely failed to sell the candidate, instead concentrating on our sitting Councillor in that ward. Only at the very last minute did the candidate actually present himself, and even then it was like an afterthought. This seat, without my helpful presence, is now a Lib Dem safe seat. The Tory that beat us in that election is trying to move to a different ward because he sees the writing on the wall.
The biggest mistake we made though was falling asleep on polling day. Lacking enough people to run a proper polling day operation, we didn't do any knocking up. We didn't see the Tories at all during the campaign, but as it turned out they'd been promising people the moon on the door step. Intrigingly there were over 80 proxy votes for the Tory candidate, an abnormally high amount, who won by a margin of about.. er... 80. I think the lesson is to never take it for granted that you will win, and to take the votes where you can get them.
Anyway, I've had a look through my archives for the PDFs of Focus leaflets I made during that time. I've picked a selection from Skircoat, which we were campaigning in for the first time. A solid blue ward since forever, we were amazed to come within 9 votes of winning. I feel the need to show these to the Lib Dem world as my final confession.
Skircoat Election Address Front Page, Inside Page, Skircoat Thank You, Skircoat Budget Focus
I should point out that I had no control over the actual content of these Focuses (the letter on the Election Address was actually written by a Lib Dem peer), just the design and layout. I fought constant battles to see the amount of content reduced, but failed to win that particular argument. Looking back these leaflets are incredibly dense and very party politicial. I'm surprised we did as well as we did - but in Skircoat we said nothing except to point out what a great guy our candidate was - and this turned out to be the winning formula.
Did my Focus rules help, or even make the slightest bit of difference? I think so: I think it actually harmed the campaigns. Even though, in my arrogance, I condemned the hideous Focus leaflets that had come before, those hideous leaflets looked like they'd been made by the candidate themselves, and that actually counts for something. In local elections, it is that personal touch that really matters.
I look back on my efforts during that time and cringe - how could I not? I now choose to take a 'back seat' in campaigns - although I may "help" any candidate that I personally want to see elected, for whatever reason, assuming they're crazy enough to accept my help.
Having said all that, this experience I had is what has informed my current political outlook and attitude to campaigning. I learned what is important, and what is not. I learned that being party political is poison, that 'Lib Dem Bubble World' blinds you and that what matters more than anything else is selling your candidate, not your policies or or your political beliefs. What your Focus leaflets look like doesn't matter - what matters is that they give a good impression of your candidate.
Finally, honest to goodness solid hard work on the ground is what really decides between success and failure. There's no short cuts, no cheats, no clever slogans or fancy designs that can change this. Candidates need an up to date canvass and must do whatever it takes to get enough help to run a proper polling day operation. As exhausting and back-breaking as it was trying to run 3 campaigns on a shoe-string and the candidates + 2 helpers, we still didn't do enough.
Posts
4 comments:
"To the Halifax Lib Dem's credit, they tolerated my design laws and I duly made their Focus leaflets for a year (mainly because they all hated doing it and I was a willing volunteer)"
They all hated doing it - yet no-one beat a path to ask the local party member who had done that sort of thing professionally for numerous years.....
Hmm well I didn't know anything about that :S
It's not your fault :-) I did offer a few years before and I'm reasonably well known to people having helped at past elections and been a candidate in 04.
And looking at those leaflets I'd say you ranked a long way below "Worlds Worst Campaigner".
I may make a bid for that record myself given that of the various target parliamentary seats I've been involved in over the years we only won one and that was the one where the candidate didn't like my designs and decided to write the leaflets himself :-)
I thought those leaflets were pretty good - bit less text, and a few more action photos would have gone down a treat, but it's prob why you came within 9 of winning.
There is a fine line between looking professional and like you've a team behind you who can design a nice leaflet, and looking like the plucky underdog. There are activists in my local party who really like the local tories' glossy leaflets because they're glossy (both design and content tend to be rubbish, but it's full colour on good quality paper). I prefer getting the content / design right!
Post a Comment