How to level the campaigning playing field: join new organisations to the Lib Dems

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Everyone in the Lib Dems knows how much of a difficult job we have in comparison to the other parties. They have more than twice as many members, more supporters, voters, sympathisers, volunteers, and more importantly, more money. If you want to win in your local area then you need more boots on the ground – for free or a fee – and this is very hard to do.

So how did the other parties get to be so much bigger than us? Labour started in 1900 as a parliamentary pressure group of working people, trade unionists and socialists. For many years they struggled to take root in the British political system and at first had no members, only organisations affiliated to it. As the party grew, so it attracted new organisations to co-opt and form their political party: Growing a party requires attracting already formed organisations which share your values/views. The Labour Party did this and went on to take over the Liberal Party.

So how do the Lib Dems attract new voters at the moment? We have tried to attract voters from other groups and we have started to form new groups within the party hoping this will attract people to join them. But maybe this is the wrong way round? Maybe we should be looking at groups to join us rather than getting individuals to join our groups? I (and others) have written about how the Co-op Party should be a long term aim of co-opting into the party but there are also other groups we should perhaps look at.

There are a number of groups which share our value base already in existence and many will vote for the Lib Dems. However, there is no affiliation or necessary benefit for the Lib Dems despite being the party which stands up for these values in politics/government. Organisations such as The Electoral Reform Society, Unlock Democracy, and Liberty are some of these organisations and I know they pride themselves on political non-affiliation and have members from all parties, but they are more clearly aligned to the Lib Dems value wise.

The long term aim could be to form understandings with these organisations where they can keep their independence but with some potential benefit for the party built into the understanding. Examples could be that their members get free membership to the Lib Dems unless they opt-out, mailings sent out from the Lib Dems but by the independent organisation or such like; something which would combine those who share the same value base.

Such a strategy is in line with how political parties have grown and would provide the Lib Dems with more people to campaign with and the organisations more clout on the issues that matter to them. It is something that the party needs to think about for the long term future of British Liberalism.