Winning Here, Winning There: A Handbook for local Liberal Democrats

Description

“This handbook, for local party officers and other interested members, is an important new step…a valuable guide for the experienced and inexperienced alike.” 

Mark Pack, President of the Liberal Democrats
Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the London Assembly

“a relevant, impactful and vital guide”

Toni Brodelle, Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidates Association

This book is a practical handbook for building a Local Party – all the way from starting out and appointing your first officers through to winning your first council seats. It systematically covers all the vital knowledge you need step by step. It explains the different roles and responsibilities of party officers, how to build your data on the local electorate and target effectively, how to recruit members, canvass voters, campaign on issues, work with the wider party, and deal with the complexities of managing party finances. The book culminates in the longest chapter of all, on how to run an election campaign. For ease of use there is a detailed index and a glossary of terms.

Throughout there are helpful checklists, examples and advice based on real-world experience brought together by Christopher Hudson with the help of party members around the country. There is a particular emphasis on understanding what you explicitly MUST and MUST NOT do to ensure your local party organisation runs efficiently and complies with all the rules.

“Encouraging more good people to get involved in local politics is no easy task given the increasing cynicism and disillusionment about the direction of this country. To turn back the tide against this trend Local Parties will have to up their game … Their reach needs to be wider, their active membership more diverse, their campaigns more effective, their operation more productive. In every chapter is an outline on all the issues that a Local Party comes across in its political life to help it become the institution it needs to be in order to be part of the change.”

Christopher Hudson