We’ve selected nearly as many candidates as at the last election, and got most to buy into our national freepost scheme. Our membership has taken an upward surge, as it does at all elections. We’ve debated the strengths and weaknesses of all our target campaign organisations and have a very clear idea of what the national party needs to provide to local campaigns.
Without going too much into the weaknesses on a public forum, we know what they are and can now deal with them in a methodical and timely fashion.
I can’t help thinking that the same must be true for the other opposition parties. They, I think, quickly showed what they feel they need to do to win. In the case of the Tories, this again has been good for the Green Party, as they unceremoniously ditched nearly all of the “green” proposals from Zac Goldsmith’s policy review, and instead opted for tax cuts for the very rich. But for Brown, I think he’s going to face more concentrated opposition from those parties as the result of the last few weeks. It might not be enough to lose him a future election, but it has been a tactical mistake.
If you are in a local party and have seen where you were going right and wrong in this campaign, then I hope you take heart and prepare for the next election in that light. Of course, all of us must first prioritise getting Caroline elected in Brighton, and pushing the campaigns forward in Lewisham and Norwich, where we can also win, and I am confident that we will see a lot more work done for these parties as the result of our experience over the last fortnight.
3 Comments »
Rupert Read said,
October 8, 2007 @ 8:21 pm
Agreed, Jim. The whole experience has been hugely-beneficial for us.
As I’ve pointed out (on ‘Rupert’s read’), however, still good news for us that the election wasn’t called, too. When the real one does come, we’ll be REALLY ready…
Ian Martin said,
October 10, 2007 @ 10:55 pm
Great to see that Jim’s blog is featured on the new Big Fat newsnight politics page alongside Iain Dale’s Diary, Labourhome, Conservativehome and others - seehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/politics/default.stm
Jim Killock said,
October 11, 2007 @ 10:04 am
Thanks for letting me know Ian, that’s great news, tho I’m not sure if this blog completely deserves the accolade!