We all know that the Labour Party needs to change. We also all know that at the last election, our campaign was massively overspent by the Tories, thanks to Ashcroft’s millions. In the last election, a Tory majority was declined. This could not have been achieved without the thousands of activists across the country.
Today I call for a new beginning to door step canvassing. Let’s break the traditions of simply knocking on the door and asking for voting intentions. Instead we must bond, learn and act at every door step.
Firstly, (it might sound ridiculous) but dress accordingly. For example, in rural England dress appropriately; locals don’t want to see someone in a suit, they want to see someone who they can relate to: this is also not all down to appearance.
Next, let them voice their opinions and engage, learn from what has gone wrong and act. Pick up on local issues, for example if there is lots of litter in their street, do something about it: Get a team of Labour volunteers to clean it up, canvass the next week, and say you acted- this will show voters that Labour stands for everyone, and voices will be heard and acted upon.
Take lots of material and also ask if they have any questions, tell them about party events and tell them when you will be next back. Make sure you take some party membership forms: if they support Labour, urge them to be a party member- then that way they can help to make a real difference (and now is the time for that because they’ll be further enticed as they would be able to vote in the Leadership election).
Outs: if the resident is out, personally call back another day, and post them a leaflet to say you’ve been. Phone canvassing should be used to target the people who were out when you were canvassing in that area.
Don’t just be restricted to VoterID sheets; fill in a bit about them on the back, taking notes, learning about that person so then this information can be used in the future.
Get the right balance between questioning and answering; make sure you tell them as clearly as possible why Labour would benefit them, after hearing some information about them. Remember to talk about Local issues as well as National ones, and tell them if other people have said similar things, but importantly, tell them what Labour could do to solve their problem or issue.
Always emphasise Labour’s record and what it has achieved: whizz through some achievements- all canvassers should know a few!
Finally, at the end of the canvassing session, meet with fellow canvassers; share what you learnt, what you’d improve and what you thought went well. At the end, canvassers should be rewarded- maybe by having a pint at the pub!
Get your CLP to canvass as many canvasses as possible- no matter how Labour is doing in your area. Organise mass canvasses and have inter-ward canvass competitions to get as many people contacted as possible! Door knocking is not the only effective method, phone canvassing should be used in addition to doorstep canvassing but remember: whilst on the phone, never stick to a script!
The most important thing is to nag Labour members every week to come out and canvass, get as many members out as you can!
Thank you for reading. You can sign up to my monthly campaign ideas email by emailing me at: Labour@activist.com . I hope that this has inspired you to get out on to the door step, whatever the weather in order to make a real difference!

by Luke Charters-Reid