Were you up for Twigg?
Not usually one to be found reading Conservative pamphlets, am I? Was interested in the factors that David Burrows, who beat Twiggy, puts forward from his analysis (pdf) of big swings to the Tories at the last election. He interviewed the 13 Tories with the biggest swings against Labour and identified these common threads:
1. Early selection & previous candidate experience
2. Long term campaign approach
3. Extreme localism
4. Living in constituency
5. Centre of community issues
6. Person over party
7. Professional campaign support
8. High level of candidate name recognition
9. Better funded campaigns (from selection)
10. Positive campaigning
11. Voters respond to compelling “proof” of hard work
12. Targeting areas not traditionally Conservative heartlands
13. Anti-politics “politics” – acting out of the box
14. Weaker opponents
Of course, this is all in the service of bashing the Cameroonies’ A-list and arguing for “local candidates” (who clearly can never be women, or gay, or from an ethnic minority).
And do you disagree with any of his list?
Wow, he really hit the jackpot with those revelations. My hand aches from writing them down so fast!
Note to self: target *weaker* opponents.
To answer the title yes I was up for Twigg. It was the best result of the night (not least because a dog had bit my hand in that constituency). And of course Labour made it clear in 1997 that it’s okay to take partisan joy from the defeat of the sitting member for Enfield Southgate.
Yeah the list is pretty bloody obvious. The real problem Cornerstone has with the A-List is that it’s likely to reduce their influence in the long run. For many others that’s a bonus.