What Not to learn from the Obama Campaign.

By Maisie Anderson.

There has been substantial coverage and analysis of the 2012 Obama campaign amongst UK progressives since his victory in early November.  As a veteran of the Nevada ‘ground game’, I think it makes a lot of sense to pay close attention to the way the campaign was run. I certainly learned a huge amount about innovative campaigning techniques during the two months I spent in the USA, and I am keen to tell Young Fabians and Labour Party members about my experiences.

I do, however, have a concurrent concern that we are putting too much emphasis on importing ideas and techniques directly from the USA. Hackneyed as the George Bernard Shaw quote is, we are ‘two countries separated by a common language’. If I noticed anything whilst I was out there, it was that I was first and foremost a foreigner. The UK still retains an utterly unique cultural identity to that of the United States and our political campaigning culture should continue to reflect this.

The obscene amount of money washing around the 2012 Presidential campaign is the most obvious demonstration of something to which we certainly should not aspire. Yes, the money paid for flashy online databases, branded t-shirts, iPhones and laptops, but it also paid for innumerable attack-ads and jet fuel for Air Force One to zip Obama to countless glitzy rallies and media events. I witnessed a vast amount of waste on the campaign and it was far from a ‘sustainable’ operation.

The famous ‘ground game’ should also be viewed with a critical eye. Just because it worked so well for Obama, it does not mean that it would translate well in Britain. The campaign relied on a greater level of intrusion than we are accustomed to in the UK. As a canvasser, it was a gift to know the name, age, voting history and family connections of the residents behind every door that I knocked on. But I was also uncomfortably aware that we were being extremely intrusive, almost ‘big brother-like’ at times.

Furthermore, it is all too easy to mythologise the community organising techniques used in the campaign and consequently to lose sight of quite how tightly things were being controlled from the centre. Targets, techniques and strategies were constantly being rolled out from HQ – this was not grassroots politics in its truest sense.

Rather, the campaign leadership took methods from community organising, combined them with data analysis fit for an intelligence agency, and used their new hybrid concoction to their advantage. Clever? Undoubtedly. Effective? Massively. But surely a rather strange fit for the British Labour movement.

Finally, whilst senior Labour politicians continue to hone their public speaking skills and improve their media personas, they must be careful not to imitate the Americans too closely. Let’s be honest, ‘fired up and ready to go’ just sounds cringeworthy
in a British accent! Most importantly, good presentation and confident delivery should never be used as a substitute for the quality of what politicians are actually saying. We expect different demonstrations of gravitas from our public figures than on the other side of the Atlantic, something that it’s all too easy to forget.

Mind you, Obama rolling out Katy Perry at his political rallies was a genuine stroke of genius. Nothing better than Katy in a skin-tight ballot paper dress to get floating voters to the polls. I know she’s American but Ed, maybe it’s already time for ‘your people’ to start talking to ‘her people’…

Maisie Anderson is a Young Fabians Member.

The Future of the Fabians: 3 suggestions

Fabianism is older than the Labour Party. Its tradition stems back before the Labour Representation Committee, before Keir Hardie and before version one of Clause 4. And yet Fabianism was crucial to every Labour government since it formed the party and must still be crucial to contributing to the formation of the next Labour government.

Sunder Katwala moves on from his service to the society and leaves it at time of renewal across the Labour Party. The Fabians and the Labour Party will both have new General Secretaries in 2011 and both individuals will have the challenges of making their organisations adapt to opposition.

Young Fabians and Young Labour members should rise to this moment and to Ed Miliband’s assertion that a new generation has taken over the party. In 2010 over 190 of the Society’s 320 new members were Young Fabians.

So here are three suggestions I would offer to the new Fabian General Secretary as an active member of the Young Fabians:

1. Membership is more than paying your subs

The Young Fabians pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation, where being a member means more than receiving a magazine and pamphlet in the post each month and going to conferences. Young Fabian members are encouraged to attend social events, contribute to policy commissions, join in online debates, write for our blog and for our magazine. We strive to make our members feel part of an organisation of like minded young people that they have ownership of and a space where they can debate and offer ideas. There is more the senior society can do to foster a sense that Fabians are part of a tradition, a community, a movement, where their ideas are valued and contribute to the future of the Labour party.

2. Campaigning is an important part of politics

Whilst we’re unashamed of being part of “pamphlet labour” and talking policy is our usp, the Young Fabians have a great tradition of being young campaigners as well as young thinkers. For local, general, European elections and even the US and Swedish General Elections, the Young Fabians have hit the #labourdoorstep and given the shoe leather needed to win elections for Labour candidates. There is a time for pamphlets and a time for action and the Young Fabians are as proud of our canvassing as of our policy and research. Without campaigning, Labour candidates would never get elected and our policies would stay in pamphlet books rather than getting on to the statue book.

3. Politics happens outside London

After some deserved criticism and a lot of hard work, the Young Fabians have made huge strides at improving our reach outside of London. The key lesson we learned, wasn’t to mandate a largely London based Executive to travel up and down the country running meetings. It was to learn that empowering non-London based members to run events with advice and guidance was more productive and brought better results. We still have further to go on this but there is much to be gained from empowering Fabians to run their activities, with relevant support, wherever they are. The new General Secretary should build and develop the Fabian local societies, encouraging them to become active parts of the Labour party in the regions and areas they work.

I’m sure there are more ideas that other Young Fabians would like to add to the debate about the future of the Fabians. Please join the debate and submit your contribution here.

Brian Duggan is Policy Officer for the Young Fabians.

Woolas-gate

Today,  news of a fresh twist in the Phil Woolas affair: members of the Parliamentary Labour Party are furious at Harriet Harman for effectively disowning Woolas, irrespective of the outcome of a potential judicial review into the judgement of the special election court last week which declared his election void.

Moreover, some of them are raising a ‘fighting fund’ to help Woolas challenge the ruling.

I’m given to understand – and the news today seems to confirm it – that Phil Woolas is held in quite high regard amongst many of his (former?) PLP colleagues.  While I have no reason to doubt that Woolas is a good friend to many of them, I think the PLP are letting personal relationships cloud their political judgement.

• Firstly, the election court judgement (pages 39-41) is quite unequivocal in its assessment of the facts against what is a very high watermark to declare an illegal practice has been committed. Evidence uncovered by the court portrays quite underhand electoral tactics by Woolas’ team. For example:

“The Respondent’s diary and the email correspondence between members of the Respondent’s election team, including the Respondent, explain why the Respondent was willing to make statements in the truth of which he had no reasonable grounds to believe. By the last week of the campaign, after the Prime Minster’s confrontation with Mrs. Duffy, he was pessimistic as to his chances of success in his own election. “I can’t see Labour recovering from this nationally; we may come third. Locally we will be very lucky to hang on”. His agent, Mr. Fitzpatrick, was very pessimistic. “I am convinced that it’s game over.” Mr. Fitzpatrick’s assessment was that it was necessary to find a means of persuading the Tories in the constituency to vote for the Respondent. “If we can convince them that they are being used by the Moslems it may save him and the more we can damage Elwyn the easier it will be to stop the Tories from voting for him”. The Respondent and his election team were aware that some Muslims wished to cause the Respondent to lose his seat and, to that end, were persuading Muslims to vote for Petitioner. They in turn wished to persuade the “white folk” to vote for the Petitioner. To do so they had to get them “angry”. The chosen method or strategy was to suggest that there were Muslim extremists who advocated violence, in particular to the Respondent, and that the Petitioner was attempting to seek the support of such Muslims. This was, we consider, one of the methods by which it was hoped to “damage” the Petitioner.” (para 199)

• Secondly, Harriet Harman’s position is strategically sound. Irrespective of whether an appeal overturns the original judgement on a technicality, she is right to say that the public won’t accept the party backing politicians who appear to have lied to get elected. Moreover, the nuances of the grounds of Woolas’ appeal are likely to be lost on most of the public – the damage has already been done.
• Thirdly, a YouGov poll today suggests that the overwhelming majority of the public agree with the courts’ decision, and the breakdowns suggest the same is true of Labour respondents.
• Fourthly, it sends a very damaging message to the electorate when they start raising money to protect one of their own from the consequences of behaviour which is clearly indefensible. Surely politicians learnt a few PR lessons from the expenses affair?
• Finally, there is some debate over whether or not a judicial review is (a) permissible and (b) would have the effect of reinstating Woolas as an MP even if successful.

Woolas-gate is a sorry affair. Irrespective of their personal loyalties, Labour MPs should recognise the damage that has already been done, and that is unlikely to be healed by a prolonged legal action or PLP-infighting.

Turning on Harriet Harman won’t change these perceptions. Rather, it will confirm in the mind of members of the public the self-serving and removed nature of the ruling class. In some ways, the PLP are showing a high degree of political naivety in defending Woolas in this way.

Woolas’ election literature has already done enough damage. Labour MPs should avoid making it worse.

Alex Baker is New Media Officer of the Young Fabians.

My speech to conference

Reflecting on my experience as Cheltenham’s Parliamentary Candidate at the last General Election I wrote this speech to be delivered on the conference floor.

James Green. I was Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate in Cheltenham at the last election.

There are thousands of people in Cheltenham right now who feel let down.

The Liberal Democrats won the seat on the back Labour supporters who voted tactically to keep the Tories out. Throughout the campaign they pitched themselves as the only real left wing opposition to the Conservatives in the town.

Conference, how times have changed.

The Liberals are now the face of coalition cuts that will see departmental budgets reduced by 25%, of a VAT rise that will hit the poorest hardest, and, most fundamentally of all, of a Tory ideological drive to shrink the state.

We have become the only opposition in Cheltenham and across the country. The only home for those who oppose the Tory-Lib Dem coalition.

In opposing of course we must expose the Liberals. And that could pay dividends.

At the General Election I held my deposit by 0.1% of the vote but I’m confident that if there was a by-election today Labour would win Cheltenham by a landslide.

But on a serious note, exposing the Liberals will never be enough in itself. It’s vital that we avoid falling into the trap of attacking the Lib Dems while allowing Cameron to rise above the fray.

Conference, we must focus our fire on the driving force of this coalition, the Tories, and on exposing the impact of their regressive and ideologically driven cuts.

But at the same time our history tells us that we can’t rely on the unpopularity of the government alone to win. The public demand and deserve an alternative progressive vision for the country.

This must be credible.

Our approach to tackling the deficit will be seen by the public as the test of our credibility. Of course we should oppose cuts where they are wrong but we must face up to the structural issues within the UK economy which come not only from the bank bailout but also from an ageing population.

It must be ideological.

Conference, we know that that Tories want to shrink the state but you can’t fight ideology with policy alone. We must offer the public a powerful set of ideas rooted in the political and economic realities of today.

And finally it must be authentic.

Nye Bevan put it best when he said, “the first duty of the progressive representative is to reflect the views of those he represents authentically. Because then people know that you are seeking to represent them because they are your inspiration.”

Conference, the quality of life, the public services, the support offered to those who inspired us all to get involved in politics are under threat.

I’m relishing the fightback.

James Green, Anticipations Editor and former Parliamentary Candidate for Cheltenham

Democracy – this is new

A delightful documentary was buried in the BBC4 schedule late last Sunday. Please Vote for Me remains on iPlayer over the weekend, and I’d urge you to watch it if you’ve got an hour free.

Weijun Chen’s film, in which he records schoolchildren in China undertaking an election for class monitor, is in equal measure funny, touching, disturbing and fascinating. In a country without national elections, how will the youngsters deal with the challenge of seeking office with democratic legitimacy?

It begins with their teacher explaining the process they are about to undertake, and indeed democracy itself: “This is new,” she understates. And it ends in tears as two of the candidates (unlike our recent election) have to deal with defeat.

In the end it is a landslide victory (I won’t spoil your enjoyment by telling you who wins) but the process which brings the class to this outcome is fascinating to observe.

There is something to be learnt about children and about human nature no doubt. But, ultimately, it is amazing – given the assumed lack of exposure these eight year olds in Wuhan, the capital city of the central Chinese province of Hubei, have had to democratic political processes – how quickly the youngsters adapt to politics, and in particular, how similarly they adopt the characteristics we can associate with politicians.

This is evident in the language they use, the way they interact with each other, (look out for attack-laden debates), the candidates’ grasp of deal-making and carrot-dangling (and, sadly, bribery and lies), their understanding of the need to consult with the electorate, the eagerness of others to advise and fulfil their own ambitions (primarily the kids’ parents), and a macho male aggression. Plus the frailty and insecurity political candidates can display in private. It was not hard to make the leap from despondent child head down and holding hands with father to the Western politician being reassured and looked after by adviser or bag carrier.

A remarkable piece of work; it’s not hard to see why it won awards around the world. It’s not a new film – indeed I understand the BBC first showed it a couple f years ago – but if you’ve not come across it before, I’d highly recommend a viewing in the next couple of days.

You can watch a trailer of Please Vote for Me here.

Amidst uncertainty, Young Fabian success

Whilst we wait and see what arrangement emerges to govern the country, it’s worth reflecting on the impact of Young Fabians during (the first?) general election of 2010.

Over the short campaign, we led YF members to a series of campaign days – and we can see some excellent results and a 100% record:

In Walthamstow, after mid-campaign concern of a post-debate Clegg effect, Labour-Coop candidate Stella Creasy won with a swing in her favour.

Jeremy Corbyn held the safe seat of Islington North – I’ll report later on how the Young Fabian council candidates we supported that day in marginal wards got on.

Our driver for the Hope Not Hate day of action in east London, Jon Cruddas, saw off the threat of the BNP and Conservatives to be elected MP for Dagenham and Rainham.

In one of the worst results of the night for David Cameron’s Conservatives and Michael Ashcroft’s wallet, Karen Buck held on to her Westminster North seat from a much-flouted Cameroon despite difficult boundary changes.

Rushanara Ali took back Bethnal Green and Bow for Labour with a 5 figure majority that helped push Respect into third place.

And our final campaign day – in Harrow West – saw another Conservative disappointment and the return of Gareth Thomas.

Congratulations to all the candidates, and to all the Young Fabians who joined our campaign days over the last month or so for an immense amount of hard work and enthusiasm – it made a difference. Other good news comes from Airdrie and Shotts where Young Fabian executive committee member, Pamela Nash was elected, winning more votes than John Reid had in that seat in 2005 – well done Pamela! As the first ever current Young Fabian executive member to sit in parliament, we are sure Pamela will bring something special to her role of Parliamentary Officer. Elsewhere on our executive committee, in one of the last results to be announced, James Green put in a good showing in the Lib Dem-Tory marginal of Cheltenham – the seat saw a considerable swing to the Lib Dems, suggesting many of James’ supporters opted to vote tactically. And Rebecca Rennison, standing in South West Wiltshire did well to keep the Labour to Tory swing below the national average in this Conservative stronghold.

It’s particularly pleasing for me personally to see members of the Young Fabian delegation to Obama’s presidential campaign, which I organised, go from strength to strength. Both Pamela and James were there as were others who have stood for election and re-election to local government. No doubt they put to use some of the ideas and inspiration from Ohio in their own campaigns. I’m sure we’ll hear more from many of these people soon.

Congratulations again and thanks to all. It is beginning to look as though we will know quicker than I had expected how the new government will be formed. Let’s hope that the values we hold firm as Fabians are central to whatever programme emerges, and are carried forward by a Labour-led government.

UPDATE: I should have mentioned that ahead of each of the telephone debates we undertook telephone canvassing. For the first two debates this was to Tooting, and for the final event, Hammersmith. More success! Sadiq Khan and Andy Slaughter held off high profile Tory challengers.

UPDATE 2: News from Islington as promised. Congratulations to former Young Fabian chairs, Kate Groucutt (who finished top of the ballot in Mildmay ward where Joe Calouri was also elected for Labour) and Jessica Asato (who was elected as a councillor for St George’s ward) and commiserations to another former chair, Conor McGinn and friend of the Young Fabians, Alex Smith of LabourList, and his fellow candidate Gary Heather, who missed out in the two wards we visited last month. It was a good might in Islington though with Labour regaining control of the council with just shy of three quarters of the seats. And congratulations also to Mark Rusling, another former Young Fabian chair, who was elected to Waltham Forest council – it was Mark’s ward we campaigned in when we visited Walthamstow right at the start of the short campaign.

This is where you should campaign tonight and tomorrow

Good luck for the final 28 hours for those of you hitting the campaign trail for Labour, especially those who are candidates themselves.

We’ve listed the seats that need your help on the Young Fabian website. There are key seats nationwide. If none of those listed are within easy travelling distance then you can enter your phone number on the Labour Party website, and someone will give you a call to help you out.

Offering even a short amount of your time will be appreciated by the local campaign teams, whether it is your first time or you have been campaigning for all of the last few weeks.

Do let us know how you get on …

Hope, Heat, and challenging Hate with 3000 leaflets – next up fighting Tory Cash

The biggest Young Fabian turnout yet last Saturday for our weekend campaign days – this time as we headed out to Transport House, Dagenham and the home of the Hope Not Hate campaign.

Turnout for the day was so high that the Valence ward pre-assigned to the Young Fabians had been delivered to already by the time we arrived

This was far and away the single most impressive campaign day I’ve seen in the UK – and ultimately the most reminiscent of the various campaigns I’ve taken part in in the US. It wasn’t so much about sophistication as style, scale and very good organisation.

The scale spoke for itself – over 540 volunteers and over 90,000 HNH newspapers delivered across the whole of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and into neighbouring Havering. And Young Fabian members more than played their part, forming part of the small group that stayed out in the unseasonal heat into the afternoon, and delivering almost 3,000 copies of the literature to households facing the hate-fuelled and hate-fuelling onslaught of the BNP.

Local Labour MP, and former candidate for deputy leader of the party, Jon Cruddas was driver for the day for part of the Young Fabian campaign team

Style-wise, this day of action was about solidarity, about feeling part of something big, and about being inspired. Inspired by the cause, but inspired by the hundreds of other people who’d given up their Saturday for it. Instantly upon arrival we felt part of something big and important and were driven to get out and contribute to the mammoth efforts of the day. It was exciting in the extreme and reminded me very much of the feelings of many of the Young Fabian members who took part in the delegation I led to Obama’s campaign in Ohio in 2008. But also, the style was one of supporting volunteers, making them feel welcome, helping them to do what they came to do, and thanking them for their efforts. I’ve written much about the importance of people-focused campaign organisation and the little things on Saturday – the one page of briefing and tips handed to volunteers – and the big things – providing lunchtime curry for 500 to accompany a set by activist musician Billy Bragg – really did make a difference to the experience, and therefore the collective achievements of the day.

Next up we’re hitting Westminster North to help Karen Buck in her central London fight against well-connected Tory Joanne Cash and her temperamental local Conservative Association. Hope you feel inspired to join us whether you’ve been out already or not.

Just what is Liberal Conservatism?

This week is set to be the International week of the 2010 Election campaign. So in theory, we should all understand a little more of what William Hague’s Liberal Conservatism is all about. Ahead of the week I’ve just read the Tory manifesto International affairs section and am still puzzled. I’m hoping, but not expecting a little more clarity during the week.

Rightly, the manifesto identifies that more than ever the interests of nation states are interconnected, economically and politically.  But the policy solutions still seem ideologically unclear and unsound.   

While the answers to Britain’s domestic challenges are met with a shrink-state response, the manifesto calls for “a concerted response from the state” in its international chapter.

There also seems to be a glaring contradiction in Conservative policy to the European single currency, varying between forthright hostility to a guarantee for the public to have their say:

“a Conservative government would never take the UK into the euro.”

And later “We will ensure that by law no future government can hand over areas of power to the EU or join the Euro without a referendum of the British people.”

Now, I’m not advocating that now is the right time to join the Euro, but a manifesto is always the right time to be clear what your position is.

The document is unclear of what One World Conservatism is or what Liberal Conservatism would achieve. But from the Tories foreign policy record, I don’t relish the prospect of these ideologies guiding British foreign policy.

Let’s not forget these things as we move into the international week of this election David Cameron went on a free trip to South Africa, funded by a lobbying group founded by a former member of the South African military intelligence to bust sanctions against South Africa. Let’s also not forget that when Labour took office our international aid budget was in decline and we where losing a beef war with Europe. And today in the European Parliament, the Tories lose more legislative proposals than the Liberals, Greens and Communists because of Hague and Cameron’s self-imposed exile from the mainstream grouping.

In the week ahead let’s continue to take a long hard look at the Tories and ask Cameron and Hague, just what is your vision for Britain in the world and where would we be if we took your advice?

Hello from Yorkshire!

We’re now in the home straight of the election campaign and things are getting interesting. Here Yorkshire based Young Fabian Mike Harrison finds that people still sometimes forget all the things Labour has achieved in Government.

Campaigning is going pretty well in God’s Own County. In Brigg and Goole, Labour’s candidate and MP since 1997, Ian Cawsey (of MP4 fame), is proving a valuable asset to the Party’s campaign to hold the seat. He is extremely popular in the traditional Labour areas and even Conservative supporters, and, on the QT, even Conservative members, are saying they will be voting for him.

Whilst out in Goole North Ward on Saturday with a group of young Labour members sporting ‘Vote Cawsey…Cawsey’s Worth It!’ t-shirts, the response was either positive or undecided. It was a scorching day and the mood was upbeat, people wanted to engage and freely recognised that the new £19million Goole High School, the new £3million health centre, and the 2 £1.5million Surestart Children’s Centres were down to Labour’s investment in communities.

Those who were undecided found us willing to listen to their issues and in many cases were glad we had come round to talk to them about their concerns.

An illustrative  little story from Saturday’s campaign:

An elderly lady challenged us about our t-shirts ‘Do you think its right that we are paying for those t-shirts when the country is bankrupt?’ Our response was gentile – we explained that we have paid for our own t-shirts. I went on to talk about the winter fuel allowance, the free bus pass, free TV-licence and the pension rate being linked back to earnings – to which she replied ‘what’s that got to do with Labour?’ She genuinely thought these weren’t born from Labour’s policies, which backs up my long held belief that we haven’t been good at shouting about what our policies have meant in reality.

I’m also campaigning in Keighley, a Labour held seat with just over 5,500 majority. We have a great candidate in Jane Thomas – a wonderful example of where the Labour Party is and should be. She has been campaigning hard in Keighley for over a year which is paying off as name recognition is noticeable. On the doorstep Labour’s support is holding up even in her opponents neighbourhood.

Overall, people do have genuine concerns and questions they want answers to. They’re also, and quite surprisingly, more willing to engage in debate and discussion. More than at the last election and a lot more than I would have expected given the parliamentary crisis over the last year. Although I am of a particular political persuasion I think this election offers a far more healthier opportunity of democratic participation then previous elections.

There is a lot more work to do between now an polling day and so far I’m nervously enjoying it!

This post was also published on Labourlist