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Liberal Democrats May 6, 2008I have been asked to set down for a group of people what I think their members need to do in order to get selected in future internal party selection contests to winnable positions on Lib Dem party lists, and I thought it might be of wider interest – perhaps for candidates from ethnic minorities, or women, other under-represented groups, or just any prospective candidate – so I am sharing it here.
I should emphasise that although it’s me that is writing this up here, the wisdom (such as it is) is generally not my own – it represents a well-trodden path of candidates who have gone on to be successful.
I should also say that it is a demanding path, and, personally, not one I am myself choosing to follow at the moment (I currently do some elements of what follows, but not others). But having been asked to outline it for people who are interested in going down this road, from observing plenty of others I’m pretty clear that something very like what follows is what you need to do if you want to get selected.
The essential point is that successful campaigns to get selected don’t start when the official campaigning period starts, or even when the whole selection process begins, but years beforehand. With the 2008 London-wide elections now out of the way last week, now is an excellent time for anyone aiming to try and get elected to it in 2012 to start work (in fact I suspect it’s likely that most of those who will be successful in 2012 have already started work, but now is certainly not too late to join them with a hope of success).
So, things the aspirant candidate needs to do are:
1. If you do just one thing on this list: sign up to flocktogether, the London Lib Dem activists list, and use Lib Dem News, to make sure you are fully up to speed with every Council byelection happening across the capital. And then go frequently (not just once or twice) to help at every single one. By going out to help other people get elected you will get the reputation for being a hard worker which is essential if you want other people eventually to come out and help you get elected. But doing this is more than just achieving virtue through hard graft: you will also be taking part in many campaigns on, for example, local hospitals, schools and police, as well as a host of other issues, and so gaining experience of quite a wide range of policy issues facing the capital’s politicians.
By-elections obviously come and go but over the course of a year you should be making dozens of visits to by-election campaigns. Doing this will do more than anything else – and possibly even single-handedly – give you a serious chance of getting selected to a good position on a list.
2. Become one of the most active activists in a local party: probably your own, but if the Lib Dems are not strong in your own area, then “adopt” another local party (if you are offering to help them they will certainly not object!). Take a regular delivery route, deliver it reliably, and also go at least occasionally to local party social events so a wide range of people get to know you. Standing for the local party executive is also an option, though it isn’t essential, and devoting time to committee meetings should definitely be a diversion rather than your main focus. You should also try and become a candidate for your local council elections in 2010: either as a mere ‘paper candidate’ in a ward the Lib Dems are not targeting to win (which entails almost no work at all), or with the intention of actually becoming a councillor. Either will enhance your credibility, especially of course if you do become a councillor (though be conscious that if you actually are elected as a councillor it will be a very considerable time commitment which may detract from your other campaigning ambitions).
3. Go to help at least a few times in any Parliamentary byelections there are – and if they are in London, go constantly.
4. Network with people at regional level: go to regional conference, meet as many key regional figures (eg members of the regional executive) as possible. Spend as much time in the bar networking as possible. Go to at least part of federal conference and network with key London regional people there too. Standing for the regional party executive in could be a good idea too, to let regional figures see your qualities, though as with local party activities, spending time on committees should remain essentially a diversion and not your main focus.
5. In order to show that you are not just a good campaigner, but would actually be a good elected politician too, initiate and run a campaign on an issue. Good topics might be local policing, something to do with the local environment, local health facilities or schools – but it’s more important that it’s something you care about and perhaps know a lot about, and that is also a potentially good campaigning issue for the party (seek advice from your new contacts on what a good campaigning issue would be). Then put forward a motion on it to regional conference; perhaps submit a motion to federal conference on it; probably run an online and paper petition in relation to it; write articles about it on Lib Dem Voice. Make sure that when people hear your name they think “oh yes, she was the person who ran a good campaign on x”.
6. Nearer the time - maybe nine months to a year before the start of the formal selection campaign - put together a strong campaigning team to run a really good selection campaign. There are people around the party who really know how to run a winning selection campaign, and want to see good Lib Dems elected to good positions on the list. If everything you’ve done to date has impressed them, they will be happy to help you, and you should target them and openly ask them if they will assist.
7. To keep your profile up, make other campaigners you meet your ‘friends’ on Facebook, and, without getting boring about it, feel free to mention every now and then that you are heading off out to help in the latest byelection, or whatever. If you are working hard for the party, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t let other party members know that.
8. MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL: do not ignore all this advice, decide you want to be elected four months before the selection contest begins, then do predictably badly in it, and then complain that for some magical or mysterious reason people didn’t want to vote for you. If all that party members know about you is what they’ve read in the manifesto booklet, you can forget it. The list of activities above is a very demanding programme, and it is certainly not for everyone – but if you want to get elected, then it’s what you need to do. Whether you want to follow this path and stand a decent chance of getting selected, or not do so, is up to you. But don’t ignore the things you have to do, and then be surprised or blame someone else when you don’t get the outcome you now say you want, but haven’t worked for.
So does all this work? Well, yes. And the best embodiment of that is the new Lib Dem member of the GLA, elected last week, Caroline Pidgeon. Congratulations to her! Caroline has a long history in the party, for example as deputy leader of Southwark Council, and she certainly doesn’t need any advice from me about how to campaign effectively! But by more than anything else being prepared to go out and campaign hard across London, over several years and whatever the weather, she put herself in the position where she was an extremely strong candidate when it came to selecting our list for the GLA.
My other example is at the other end of the spectrum, just starting out on all this. For there is one other person that I have met recently who hasn’t actually ever told me that they are trying to get themselves selected, but to me shows every sign of trying to follow the general outline above to put themselves in a strong position for a future selection. I’d never heard of this person two months ago, but if they spend the next four years following the programme they seem to have started, broadly in line with what I’ve said above, then I think they’ll be in a very strong position when it comes to the next round of selections (and no I’m not going to tell you who it is!).
Do you want to join them?
May 6th, 2008 at 16:51
I think your list outlines the most effective course of action for someone wanting to be a successful applicant, but it is also a bit depressing because there is very little on your list that actually reflects what a GLA member has to do on a daily basis.
May 6th, 2008 at 21:21
Writing as someone who has recently enjoyed a Lib Dem List Selection (European Elections, South East) I think your analysis is very accurate.
One aspect I would add is to have a “day job” that conveys useful personal strenghts.
This might have potential to partly address James’ valid point about how selections work.
I would also add that the diffculty in being successful if you just campaign in the official selection period is largely because of the selection rules. The rules limit how much campaigning you can do by prohibiting certain activities and limiting expenditure.
The understandable rationale for limitiation is to stop wealthy candidates having an unfair advantage but the current situation is just as advantageous to people of certain personal circumstances rather than others.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:58
James - I think there are a lot of things on that list that our GLA members should be doing regularly!
May 7th, 2008 at 19:19
I agree that within our current selection processes, you have identified what is needed to be done to get selected.
I also agree with James, that it shows our current selection processes are not necessarily measuring who would make the best GLA member. The activities that you have outlined only measure commitment and stamina and to a certain extent campaigning. What about ability to scrutinise, to hold the Met Police to account, to develop policy, think strategically and understand complex legal and commercial arrangements?
I also think the best politicians have a healthy hinterland. Whether you are a newt fancier, a la Livingstone, a ballroom dancer like Vince or a jazz expert like Kenneth Clark, other interests are good for politics. Yes, we require commitment but I’ve seen people lay waste to all sorts of relationships in the pursuit of selection/election. It’s their choice in the end, but I don’t think we should make our processes such, that it is the only way to win. On the other hand those people who do have more rounded interests often make very successful, popular and electable politicians.
In addition, this particular way to succeed can work against those people that are not sufficiently represented in the Lib Dems across the country (although we do pretty well with this in London on gender, if not on BME); of course there will always be some women who can ‘do it all’ but I suspect what you’ve outlined there is a sustainable plan of action for someone who is not the person that the childcare buck stops with, for example. Or, new members who would make excellent candidates that haven’t been around 4 years. I’m thinking of those who may have a high profile with a particular group of voters that are not well represented in our current membership.
Then there are those that get away; I know loads of people just like that who would make very effective elected representatives but are put off by the hurdles that we put in their place. Of course, we can shrug our shoulders and talk about them not being committed enough but if you really believe they are good quality then you will understand that it is the party that is losing out, not them. Hard work and stamina is needed at election times but keeping up that pace for the four years in between elections requires a superhuman effort of someone who perhaps doesn’t have other choices.
So, what to do about it? Well, list candidates do need to get the votes of thousands of people so they are going to have to raise their profile, that’s true. Antony’s point about having a ‘day job’ that conveys useful personal strengths is handy but only if you have one of those jobs that are easy to understand or are traditionally a stepping stone to politics.
I am hopeful that Nick’s ‘academy’ will provide some sort of accreditation system so that really good quality candidates can be quickly identified by members. Accreditation will take into account commitment, stamina and campaigning experience (so these vital things will not be lost) but also debating experience, media experience, running a large budget, scrutinising things, accountability for results, policy development etc etc,). We don’t want to only allow those who are ‘professional politicians’ or party hacks to get through.
Plus: a quick win: we can do the selection earlier, so that our candidates can focus their energies on getting elected and not so much energy is required on getting selected!!!
(Lastly, I think I have also guessed who that person is but I will tell you next time I see you as I wouldn’t want to wrong foot someone!!)
May 7th, 2008 at 19:49
Thanks everyone for your comments. I generally agree with them – and very strongly with Jo’s point about helping ourselves by selecting early.
I am certainly inclined to agree both that our existing selection procedures may not be ideal, and that they don’t necessarily find the best potential AMs, MPs etc for us as a party. I think there is a good case to say that generally what we expect of our prospective candidates in terms of sheer sacrifice of life is unreasonable, and that we should as well focus in selection on qualities other than sheer experience in campaigning (though I would also say that I think this approach has generally served us very well electorally, if not necessarily in other ways).
And I probably should have included above that whether people think you are competent, have good “day job” experience, or hinterland, or whatever, and would be a good AM/MP is also a significant factor in whether they vote for you or not – certainly this is true. I (and I guess others here too) can certainly think of people who are well respected deliverers but would not be seen as strong potential candidates for these reasons.
I also would say that I think what I did write above doesn’t completely ignore this aspect – for example you are unlikely to get a motion through conference (one of the things I suggested) without having at least a pretty good grasp of what you’re talking about in a relevant policy area. You do also tend to pick up something about a broad range of issues by campaigning locally on them.
However having said all this, there seems to be general consensus that broadly speaking what is outlined above is, rightly or wrongly, as a matter of fact, pretty much what you need to do within the current system to get yourself selected. We may well think this process ought to be different (and as I say I’d certainly be happy to be involved in any moves to try and achieve some change) - but if people want to succeed, set out above is essentially what you need to do. Anyone who wants to succeed should address themselves to carrying it out, and if they do so then they will have made big strides down the road towards success. If prospective candidates choose not to do basically what is set out above, then they need to be aware that that is the choice they are making.
For where I get concerned what Jo is saying may slide into something unhelpful is in the implication (which she certainly didn’t make but which can sometimes be implied) that some people think they are ‘entitled’ to be selected into good positions, without doing much campaigning, because, for example, they are very experienced, or because in their own eyes they personally have some particular skill to an outstanding degree, or because they represent one particular grouping of people.
No-one is ‘entitled’ to a particular position of power, or on a party list (if we think that, for example, Etonians, are not by that fact entitled to power, then the same is true of any other group of people). But if anyone, if not entitled, then has more justification for a good position on a list, I think it is a good strong candidate who has worked hard for the party and contributed to its policy development – broadly the programme I outlined in my original post above.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:44
I don’t think anybody should feel entitled but I do think people bring different qualities and whilst some may be stronger at campaigning they may not have the same electoral appeal or skills required for actually doing the job.
If everybody on a team/group has the same strengths and the same weaknesses if does not make a good team. Groups that are more diverse (whether in terms of skills or background) tend to make better more rounded decisions. Hear endeth the Belben lesson.
However, I have yet to work out how you have a democratic list selection and be sure of getting the good, well balanced team that is needed.
But to repeat, nobody should ever feel entitled to any position, for any reason!!
May 10th, 2008 at 16:58
>>What about ability to scrutinise, to hold the Met Police to account, to develop policy, think strategically and understand complex legal and commercial arrangements?
Sorry Jo, on that one I disagree. Those skills are almost irrelevant on the GLA: we need to understand that the GLA is completely toothless (no surprise there: that’s how Labour set it up) and wholly inadequate as a scrutinising body.
What the GLA is potentially useful for is as a campaigning platform for the party - an opportunity for our GLA members to get a profile for the party and themselves on campaigning issues. That’s exactly what Lynne Featherstone did, to great effect. And so the skills and attributes that Jeremy outlines are far more relevant than expertise in policy or scrutiny.
Dominic
PS - I think I can guess who is the unidentified newcomer Jeremy alludes to - which is testament to their effectiveness.
June 4th, 2008 at 13:50
Hi Jeremy, very much enjoying your blog and this post in particular. This seems pretty comprehensive and applicable outside London…
Sad to see that putting the hours in is still the most vital skill/qualification as it will keep some potentially good candidates from putting themselves forward (particularly those with modest incomes and young families) as the other Jo pointed out.
Look forward to seeing if your mystery future candidate succeeds
Jo
June 4th, 2008 at 20:03
I don’t think it’s about hours, per se; it’s about being effective. And indeed the person I think Jeremy is referring to* has a young family.
* if I’m wrong about her identity, then the person I’m thinking of is a very good example of how you can do the right things and be effective under those circumstances