A wonderful new Liberal Democrat council candidate asked me the other week for some advice.
I thought that the most important thing she could do would be to join ALDC. The Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors and Campaigners has a veritable treasure trove of resources to help your campaign. I’ve known many a councillor over the years who did what they said and won. Winning is not guaranteed, of course, but following their ideas makes it more likely.
It’s also worth going to their training events, particularly their Kickstart weekend when you will get individualised support for your team and your area. There are three this year. The first is in Scotland on 2nd July, then the main south of the border events take place from 2-4 September and from 25-27 November.
I see ALDC very much as a professional support organisation – a decent one that is constantly looking to enhance the skills of its members.
All it will cost you is £3.41 per month. It’s well worth it. You can join here.
For that you get all sorts of template leaflets, campaign materials, support as a councillor if you win and campaign planning tools. Seriously, every candidate or agent should join. The weekly campaigner emails, particularly the Scottish ones, have been particularly useful.
My friend posted on Facebook the other day that she’d received her membership through. I hope she finds it as useful as I have over the years.
So that’s my top tip. What is yours?
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social
Follow @libdemvoice.org on Bluesky
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
Why non-fiction books need their indexes
Changes in status: Local Elections wrap up
What should the Liberal Democrats stand for?
Ben Wood
Ed Sanderson
Jack
Matt (Bristol)
John Grout
15 Comments
My top tip over the many years of being councillor would be: dont forget who elected you and unless you are running the Council dont get sucked into its myriad of events that do not enhance your reputaion with the electorate
Knock on the door of everybody who votes.
On the same lines as bob & Max – work your ward/division: get Focuses out – but do lots of street letters on single, smaller, issues. IMHO street letters are better not fancied up but look as if you just dashed them off quickly (though don’t forget the imprint) as a contrast to Focus – but others disagree, I know!
bob sayer – well said
Max Wilkinson – if you are standing in an inner-city ward with catastrophically low turnouts (11% I think in a south London by-election in my day) make sure you speak to NON voters
Plus mumsnet style advice ALDC will never tell you – do not wear the party colour from head to toe unless you are a. very beautiful and or b. have dark hair. Most of us look awful in Lib Dem gold.
Never ever wear hold-ups when canvassing because if the tops go you have the indignity of hopping back down the street with your legs together until you find a supporter’s house where you can shuffle in and adjust yourself!
If at all possible find a colleague to canvass with (the late Cllr Betty Olliffe from Southwark was one) who can calm a slavering dog at thirty paces!
My top tip would be to seek out and learn from experienced campaigners who have a track record of running winning elections. Don’t think that as a novice you can overnight invent quick ways of winning that mysteriously no one else had ever thought of before.
Max and Catherine both give good campaigning advice above and Bob’s advice on pitfalls to avoid if elected is excellent too. Even if you are running a Council the electorate really are not interested in whether, instead of knocking on their door/delivering leaflets about issues that concern them, you have just been to your umpteenth ‘briefing’ meeting/council training event of often dubious value/tea and buns with the Mayor etc. Also as the Association of Liberal Cllrs always used to say: “Never forget that as candidate or Cllr your job is to represent the people to the Council not vice versa.”
Sorry can’t count! Top would be speak to non voters.
If when you are canvassing you can no longer smile at a voter who says “NO!” then pack it in for the evening. There’s no point in doing it if you don’t enjoy it, and there’s no pain barrier that it’s virtuous to break through.
Find a good agent/organiser. Do what your agent/organiser tells you to. Do everything they tell you to do and nothing but what they tell you to do.
They are there to help you get the best result you can and help you to stay on the right side of the law in the process.
£3.41 a month ? Why is mine over £20 a quarter then ? 🙁
Keep the organiser happy and they’ll keep you sane. Make the organiser unhappy and they’ll forget to send you any volunteers.
If you are elected, be prepared because it can take over your life. You will need to have a supportive employer and family, and the ability to explain why you can’t get a pothole fixed at 10.30 pm on a Saturday night.
My advise would be to divide your ward into bite size chunks. Make what we used to call walks. About an hours work to cover each chunk. If a family is out leave a friendly chatty out slip about their area and ask for comments.
When you get home do a street letter to every home with your observations and ask for comments. ALWAYS reply to every response you get from a street letter. Take up every complaint with the appropriate authority with copies of every thing to your responde
nts. Make a rota so you cover every inch of your ward over a set period. Repeat all of the above regularly so people know you well and feel they can trust you. Do a regular focus for your ward.
A new candidate has a formidable task to win a ward from scratch so nose to the grind stone from day one. When you knock on doors do so with a friendly smile and even if you get an earful say thank you with a broad smile. Its important to leave the impression that you and The Lib Dems are very nice people.
Those were my instructions as an activist many years ago. The ward I live in is Lib Dem held for many years and that is how it was won.
@Tim Hill
‘£3.41 a month ? Why is mine over £20 a quarter then ?’
There are various grades of membership. There is also group membership available for a group of people who are campaigners and/or councillors in same local party, which is cheaper per person.
Pay attention to controversial matters in neighbouring wards or across council districts. When you knock on doors, expect questions about things on which you are not campaigning. Voters have friends and family in different places, or may be affected at work by them.
I would disagree about the Council bun fights if you are the only Lib Dem or one of a few. Go to the bun fights if you can and talk to as many representatives of local organisations as you can. If you impress them they will tell their colleagues and friends. Also look after Council or Housing Association tenants because they spread the word to other areas too. Your reputation will help other Lib Dems get elected. Otherwise I agree with all the hard work and organisation advice. Your ward is the centre of the universe.