I’ve written an article for the latest edition of Fabian Review on how Labour needs to rethink its ‘middle Britain’ electoral strategy in light of the changes over the last 15 years in demography, geography, values, and politics.
I argue that “There is scant academic evidence that the focus on ‘Mondeo Man’ worked in electoral terms” and that the “most damning critique of the Middle Britain strategy is that it created no organisation able to support its aim and, instead, haemorrhaged support.” I go on to say:
“Building a new movement will not be easy. But the task will be harder still if the party doesn’t think hard about what has changed since 1992. While the mixed record suggests it would be wrong to continue without questioning the Middle Britain strategy, it would be equally foolish to hark back to a romantic notion of class-consciousness. Changing demography, geography, values, and political reality should all have a bearing on Labour’s next strategy.”
Ed Wallis has some kind words to say about it on Next Left as does Alex Smith on Labour List. The purpose of the essay was not to describe a new strategy but to set out the questions that the Labour party should ask itself in thinking about this election and those to come.
I’d be very interested to hear your views.
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21 Responses to “Labour needs a new electoral strategy”
Anon E Mouse
Mark – Labour are doomed I’m afraid with the useless Gordon Brown at the helm. The moderators at LFF just won’t admit it. They know it in their hearts and the blood letting will occur next year after the election.
That leadership debate will finish Brown – people on the street *really* detest him. I’ve been an avid follower of politics for 30 years and I’ve never known the dislike people have for him.
Forget Thatcher, this guy’s in a whole new league of unpopularity and I’m not just on about the fact he’s the least popular PM ever since the polls began.
Those polls are by people interested in politics. I mean people in pubs, shops, cafes – everywhere really hate him with a passion.
I’m always ranting in pubs and putting the world to rights but since Brown bullied his way into power I can’t do it any more – everyone agrees labour with Brown are doomed. Serves us right for being weak and allowing no leadership election…
Rory
In the 2005 General Election, the Conservatives used ‘voter vault’, a software package that enables political parties to pinpoint floating voters by finding out a worrying range of details about their lifestyles, incomes etc. It basically allows them to ignore died-in-the-wool socialists and Conservatives and mercilessly bombard the undecided with tailor-made election literature that they hope will win them their votes. Things didn’t work out too well then, but the Conservatives are fine-tuning this system and are now I believe employing software packages called ‘Merlin’ and ‘Mosaic’.
As a Tory MP recently put it ‘There’s no point in reminding idiots who keep voting Labour to go out and vote.’
This is a far cry from the 1970s when Keith Joseph, love him or loathe him, used to go to left-wing polytechnics with the perhaps futile aim of engaging the students in serious debate and winning them over.
The new tactics in my view make a mockery of democracy. I believe Labour are just as cynical. They are like two companies trying to win as much market share as they can – the election has very little to do with real politics. Unlike companies which care about a shrinking market, the political parties are wholly unconcerned with the decline in voter turnout – as long as they win their share of it, they just don’t care.
Sunder Katwala
End of Mondeo Man? As society changes, Labour needs to rethink 'middle Britain' says @wdjstraw in Fabian Review http://bit.ly/4GhFcQ
neilrfoster
RT @wdjstraw: I've written for Fabian Review about why Labour should think again about the 'middle Britain' strategy http://bit.ly/4GhFcQ
steve
an interesting article with the right call to action “Putting time and energy
into understanding these shifts is the challenge of the next year”.
But you confuse the need for an updated electoral tactical campaign and the political offer that is attractive enough to inspire the voter.
Geographical and demographic targeting makes sensible use of limited resource, however this can only supliment a politcal message that resonates.
The question of who is going to vote for us, what is appealing to them and is that group large enough to win an election? is different to how should we best organise ourselves and deploy our resource to most effectively get them to vote on poling day?
Electoral strategy and political strategy are very closely related but not the same thing. We need to examine both in the next decade