Campaigning roll call

[pancreas]

I realise some people will not appreciate another politics thread... apologies. But I felt this might be worth it.

1. I know there are lots of Labour members on here. Are you campaigning? (Door-knocking, leafleting, street stalls, telephone canvassing...) Have you ever?

2. If not---can I point out how easy it is? You go to events.labour.org.uk and then you put in your postcode. Then just go along to whatever's in the area. You can shadow someone for a few door-knocks (for example) and then just get on with it yourself. If every labour member managed to turn two people... that would be 1 million votes.

3. If you have done any of it before (or at the moment)... Stories, please. Strategies you use. Do you reckon any of it works?

Can I please beg that this not be another TFM baiting thread/raking over the same-old/generalised discussion of 'the left'? I'm looking for specifics here.

[kittens]

i feel like i should do something to help but i worry i'd do more harm than good. me knocking on someone's door and becoming flustered and awkwardly spluttering the second they appear, no good. people have suggested leafleting but who reads political leaflets shoved through their doors. not me that's who

[pancreas]

i feel like i should do something to help but i worry i'd do more harm than good. me knocking on someone's door and becoming flustered and awkwardly spluttering the second they appear, no good. people have suggested leafleting but who reads political leaflets shoved through their doors. not me that's who

You'll be great. Wear your cap. They'll love you. You get the odd mouthy wanker, but mainly there's no murdering. You'll probably be a bit crap to start with but it's like everything. You get better with a little practice.

Normally there's a bit of a patter to start with. Someone'll give you the name of the people registered to vote at the house you go to, so you'll knock and say: Mr Pattison? (They look suspicious.) Hi, my name is kittens and I'm out with the local Labour party. We're just doing a bit of door-knocking at the moment to find out how people are voting in this area. Do you mind if I ask you how you're planning to vote?

Often it's just: I don't vote. I just don't do it. Ever. Now fuck off from my property.

Or it's: I vote Labour. Have done all my life. You: Great! Thanks for your vote!

Or it's: I'll be voting Conservative. At which point, you can then say: Hmm. Are you not a bit worried about the NHS? Last winter the Red Cross declared the UK a humanitarian emergency because the NHS was so underfunded. What about councils being forced to go down to once-in-a-fortnight bin collection? etc. Probably in Bristol, you could ask if they're worried that we're going to lose all our European rights and have to get visas to go on holiday.

You can also memorise some Labour policies. The 4 bank holidays one is good because people aren't expecting it. Also be prepared to deal with 'I hate Corbyn'. But it's fine. And you pick it up as you go along.

Then you report it back to the person with the clipboard and you get given the next one.

[touchingcloth]

leafleting

What was that about the proliferation of American spelling?

[pancreas]

What was that about the proliferation of American spelling?

Don't fuck with me, cloth. I don't get things wrong. Ever.

leafleting, n.
Pronunciation:
  Brit. /ˈliːflᵻtɪŋ/
,  U.S. /ˈliflᵻdɪŋ/
Forms:  19– leafleting, 19– leafletting.
Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: leaflet n., -ing suffix1.
Etymology: < leaflet n. + -ing suffix1.

  The distribution of leaflets; an instance of this. Also occasionally: the composition or production of leaflets.
1945   Psychol. Warfare Div. vii. 48   The one remaining problem was the inaccuracy of the leafleting.
1962   Spectator 24 Aug. 268/3   Thousands of campaigners will be putting this case..by leafletting and pamphleteering.
1969   Oxf. Univ. Gaz. 99 Suppl. vii. 156   The Proctors announced the withdrawal of the regulation prohibiting indiscriminate leafleting.
1993   Time 9 Aug. 42/1   These white supremacists began using skinheads as 'front-line troops' in leafletings, recruiting and violent crimes.
2012   Daily Tel. 14 Nov. 3/1   About one in three councils restricts leafleting, with charges running to hundreds of pounds per day.

[touchingcloth]

i feel like i should do something to help but i worry i'd do more harm than good. me knocking on someone's door and becoming flustered and awkwardly spluttering the second they appear, no good. people have suggested leafleting but who reads political leaflets shoved through their doors. not me that's who

Do you drive? One thing you can volunteer to do is to give lifts to the polling station to people who have expressed an intention to vote, or just knock them up to remind them it's election day if they don't need a lift. I'm assuming you're in Bristol West, which has always been a safely non-Tory seat (the Greens placed second ahead of them in 2015) so there's probably not too much to worry about in that constituency, but you might want to think if you can contribute anything in the Tory heartland constituencies surrounding Brisl.

In 2015 I got involved with the Greens dropping by dropping leaflets through doors. I didn't do any door knocking because I have the same kind of worries that you do, but I spoke to a reasonable number of people in the process of doing that just through them asking me what I was up to, and I just talked about how I was voting Green because their policies were the ones which matched most closely of all parties with my own. I think you're worried about coming up against people who would never in a million years vote Labour, but really you should be thinking about what you could say to people who are either on the fence about which party they'll vote for or, more crucially, those people who aren't interested in voting because they think their vote won't count for anything.

[touchingcloth]

Don't fuck with me, cloth. I don't get things wrong. Ever.

leafleting, n.

Negging as a verb

What else would it be, fool?

_{I suppose it could be a gerund, but that's just silly.}

I don't forget slights. Ever.

[Absorb the anus burn]

Stories, please. Strategies you use. Do you reckon any of it works?

1. Dress smartly. Wear a tie and jacket if you are a bloke and office-style clothes if you are a woman. Comb your hair and put on an overcoat. Seriously - this can make a big difference in whether you get any attention or not.

2. Prepare some talking points on 3-4 polices that appeal to you that you can comfortably talk about. Don't get too fierce or use patronising terms.

3. Make a fuss of pets and small children - buttering up the parents / owners can make a lot of difference to how they respond to you.

4. If you can't face talking to people, then get some headphones and walk the streets with a stack of leaflets.

5. Flirt with 90 year olds, if it helps you get the message out.

6. Try to enjoy yourself - it makes it easier.

[masterofreality]

I don't forget slights. Ever.

Nor should you. He's a total arse. He once interrupted me half way through a sentence to preemptively correct a mistake that I wasn't about to make.

Fuck him. Fuck him right in the ear.

[masterofreality]

Incidentally, if we're going to start waving our OEDs around...

You can also memorise some Labour policies.

"memorize, v.". OED Online. March 2017. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/116361?redirectedFrom=memorise (accessed April 25, 2017).

[Quincey]

I'd be terrible at doorknocking but have volunteered to deliver some leaflets (they are going to drop them round at some point), and am sharing lots of anti-Tory/pro-Labour stuff on Facebook. I know the latter is pretty small effort but it still might get some of my Facebook friends out to vote Labour.

[BlodwynPig]

I once tried it. Ended up with cops being called at 1am to witness two naked men battling it out on the lawn...one holding a leaflet, the other a beetroot. "Never!" the hirsute one cried, "Borsch!" hailed the other.

[touchingcloth]

Incidentally, if we're going to start waving our OEDs around...

"memorize, v.". OED Online. March 2017. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/116361?redirectedFrom=memorise (accessed April 25, 2017).

Ho ho! Now the worm is on the other shoe. Let's fuck him right in the ears, if he even has any.

[pancreas]

Ho ho! Now the worm is on the other shoe. Let's fuck him right in the ears, if he even has any.

Oh I do. I very much do.

memorize, v.

Pronunciation:
  Brit. /ˈmɛmərʌɪz/
,  U.S. /ˈmɛməˌraɪz/
Forms:  15–16 18– memorise, 15– memorize.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

i feel like i should do something to help but i worry i'd do more harm than good. me knocking on someone's door and becoming flustered and awkwardly spluttering the second they appear, no good. people have suggested leafleting but who reads political leaflets shoved through their doors. not me that's who

Youve got a red cap

Labour party red cap

That's what you can fall back on if challenged by the aggressive working class.

[Johnny Caramel]

Youse are off your tiny chumps.

[MoonDust]

I chickened out of door-knocking last Saturday. Which I feel well guilty about, but I got anxious.

My local Labour party is meeting every evening this week at 6pm though to canvas residents. If it's not a stupid question (I bet it is), what is canvassing? Is it the same as door knocking or something different?

[Absorb the anus burn]

Canvassing is a flexible term really... It can mean leafletting, door knocking, getting signatures for petitions.

Do it!

[pancreas]

I chickened out of door-knocking last Saturday. Which I feel well guilty about, but I got anxious.

My local Labour party is meeting every evening this week at 6pm though to canvas residents. If it's not a stupid question (I bet it is), what is canvassing? Is it the same as door knocking or something different?

It's probably door-knocking, yes. Mainly you're just trying to fly the flag. Don't worry about it!

First off, you'll be paired up with someone experienced and you can just see what they do to see what it's like. They'll just introduce you at the door as their colleague but do all the talking. You always have the option of chickening out at some later stage without ever having spoken to anyone. Second, most people are not arseholes. Even if they're annoyed by being disturbed, they'll see the hopeful ray of sunshine across your face and their hearts will melt. Third, you'll be surprised by what a ragamuffin bunch of people you're with. Dyed in the wool socialists who were down the mines during Thatcher, young people into eco stuff and horrified by Tory cuts, even the odd Blairite who just thinks the Tories are incompetent. You'll probably be accompanied by an MP or a councillor, which helps to energise the group.

Do it!

[touchingcloth]

I chickened out of door-knocking last Saturday. Which I feel well guilty about, but I got anxious.

Instead of door-knocking, you could take a different tack and delay the people going out canvassing for the Tories and the UKIPs by inviting them in for tea and a chat if they visit your house.

[MoonDust]

Cheers for the responses. I might go along and meet them at 6pm later today. If not today it'll have to be next week as I'm pretty busy.

Good advice on dressing smart too.

I have the Charlie Brooker Jeans and blazer look, but also a button shirt rather than t-shirt undernearth. Reckon that looks smart enough. No?

[Janie Jones]

i feel like i should do something to help but i worry i'd do more harm than good. me knocking on someone's door and becoming flustered and awkwardly spluttering the second they appear, no good. people have suggested leafleting but who reads political leaflets shoved through their doors. not me that's who

Well leafleting is all I do, for the Labour Party and it's proper pissing in the wind in my constituency which is one of the safest Tory seats in the country. I quite like nosing round people's front doors though. They're very trusting; I see lots of Amazon parcels left in open porches and keys visible under flowerpots. Dogs can be a pain. As a runner I've evolved some effective and barely legal ways of dealing with hostile dogs but I can't really do that when they're on the own territory and I'm the interloper so I advise any door knockers or leafleters approaching a front door to, well, beware of the dog.

[pancreas]

^ Don't listen to this piffle. You are not going to get bitten. By any species.

[MoonDust]

Just came back from my first door-to-door campaigning. Was good! I shadowed a guy though, didn't speak myself. Most were Labour supporters already, one guy didn't like politicians at all and said he isn't going to vote for anyone as "we're all the same", and the rest were either not in or didn't answer.

Hopefully I'll do more next week and not have to shadow anyone.

My local MP was also with us going door to door himself, so I got to meet him for the first time and shook hands.

One old woman who was well into her 80s or 90s by the looks of her said she and her husband had voted Labour all their lives and will do so in June, and then advised us to "shoot Theresa May" because "she's too cocky" as she closed her door.

Our group was pretty big too. At least 10 of us.

[pancreas]

Go MoonDust!

[pancreas]

Went to my first Momentum meeting today. It was pretty well-organised. Half was a full-room discussion of general strategy ideas and for the rest we broke out into groups *actually to agree to do stuff*. I was involved in the voter registration group and we agreed a programme of street stalls where we could grab students outside libraries. There was even a plan to grab them in queues outside the most popular night club. Also some more detailed stuff about how long it takes to get your NI number re-sent to you if you've lost it, or explaining to people with debt issues that they can go 'ex-directory'. I'll have to see how it goes, of course, but it was all very promising. Other groups were thinking carefully about which seats to target, another on what events to organise, how to create a buzz around the manifesto publication.

One thing they pointed out you could do is just to get on as many social meeja things and like, share and retweet as much as you can. It's not much on its own, and rather cringeworthy---but it will exponentially produce more views, which is what is needed. As an example they'd managed to get 6 million views on some video or other that they'd produced.

I recommend a Momentum meeting, in any case. It's the best you're going to get, at the moment, seeing as the Labour party rules seem to prohibit meetings during election time.

[MoonDust]

Any mention about John Lansman undemocratically taking over Momentum and shutting down internal democracy?

[pancreas]

Any mention about John Lansman undemocratically taking over Momentum and shutting down internal democracy?

No mate.

[MoonDust]

Sorry, wasn't having a go at you. Just annoyed that Momentum's leadership succeeded in shutting down debate and imposing a constitution on its members who didn't get a say in it. This whole thing about online voting on issues which really should be discussed at conference in a delegate system, as some are too complex to simply decide on with a click of a button without debating the policies.

[pancreas]

I don't really know about that aspect. It didn't seem to me too important. And no-one was worrying about it because there were obviously more important things to be doing.