101 Ways to Win an Election

If there was a magic formula to win elections it would have been patented and sold to the highest bidder long ago. Nonetheless, there are many practical tips from which a political campaigner can learn, from the late David Penhaligon’s “if you have something to say, put it on a piece of paper and shove it through the letterbox” to much more recent advice on how best to use social media. It is no surprise that many of the best tips have come from Liberal Democrats (or Liberals before them) as the third party in British politics has always had to fight harder and more imaginatively than the big two  in order to win seats. It was no coincidence that Trevor “Jones the Vote” in Liverpool largely invented community politics and exported it down south via the 1973 Sutton and Cheam by-election. Now, one of the Party’s campaigning gurus, Mark Pack — no longer working for the Party but still acknowledged as the mastermind behind much of Lynne Featherstone’s successful activities in Hornsey and Wood Green — has teamed up with former colleague Ed Maxfield to write an Everyman’s guide to successful campaigning: 101 Ways to Win an Election (Biteback, £12.99). It could all too easily have fallen into the trap of the Pippa Middleton school of How To books, i.e. stating the obvious as if it were a huge secret, but in fact the book is packed with very astute and useful advice, held together with an occasionally tongue-in-cheek commentary. The book is conveniently divided into 101 bite-sized chunks or chapters, each about the length of a BBC Radio 4 Thought for the Day. Grouped under five headings — A Good Message, The Team, The Resources, Communicating the Message, and Leadership —  they offer an A to Z of sensible guidelines as well as pointers to disaster avoidance. Reading the book carefully, ideally in small sections, won’t necessarily deliver victory to any aspirant candidate or campaign, but it will make it more likely. And as the authors say in the final chapter, the book can be usefully stored away to be referred to repeatedly when the need arises.

Link:  https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/