In the old days, parties would make invest a huge effort to know who their voters were, who the people who were unlikely to vote for them, and whether they had voted. This would be done by “canvassing”/”door-stepping” depending on which party you were allied to. There would be detailed canvas cards with data collated from the electoral roll and previously collected voting intentions. Tellers would sit at the polling stations and cross people off as they had voted and that information would be fed back into the machine in order to target people for “knocking up” people who had said they would vote for you but had not yet made it to the polling station.
I have just been to drop off my postal vote and was attacked by all three tellers at the polling station. CAN WE HAVE YOUR VOTING NUMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they shrieked at me. The party I have actually voted for did not court my vote in the slightest. The other parties did, but didn’t bother to write anything down about me. No party has me down as a supporter (more fool the party who I actually vote for!), so what is the point in crossing me off the list? None.
When I ran for the council all those many moons ago I was knocking-up a couple of hours before the polls closed. I was mighty embarrassed because whoever had organised knocking-up parties had duplicated some streets so some poor supporters were getting harangued over and over. This will not be a problem here – nobody will bother to chase me up, one way or the other.
I think this lack of professionalism from all parties is depressing. Although it is would be very hard to persuade me to change my vote, I like the idea that my vote is courted and valuable. Leaflets just don’t do the trick. I want the party I vote for to knock on my door, chat to me about what they have to offer, ask me if I am likely to vote for them.
I suppose it is possible that the Tories did do this, just not on my estate. Because after all, according to the Lib Dems “people on estates don’t vote Tory”.
“I think this lack of professionalism from all parties is depressing.”
Me too. But apart from the BNP (who I just laughed at) I haven’t had a doorstepper in years. We have, however, had leaflets from Labour, Tories, BNP and UKIP through the door, as well as that strange Christian group. Not Limp Dumb, though, for some reason.
The Prime Minister did write a letter to me personally though. He didn’t sign it personally. Blue Eyes, is this what the PM’s been doing these last few months and he just ran out of time to sign letter addressed to me? Seems like it.
Not had a single doorstepper round my way at all, and didn’t even get a leaflet from Labour. OK it would have been a water of leaflet but still. Given the number of parties and candidates on the ballot even the number of leaflets was pathetic.
I haven’t seen any doorsteppers (though we do live in an odd little cul-de-sac) but since I am outrageously rude to anyone who knocks on my door unsolicited I am not entirely unhappy about that.
Even if they come from a party or cause I agree with, I can’t abide door knockers. I’ve long meant to put a sign on the door saying “If you don’t know my name, don’t knock on my door.“
…But maybe that’s just me.
I’ve been out telling… Numbers are compared to lists of promised votes etc and some wild guesses made as to the prospective result. Tis worth doing if you have canvassed your patch properly, otherwise it is broadly pointless other than for showing the flag, so to speak. Naturally, I was almost obsequiously polite – ‘Good evening, might I trouble your for the electoral number, please?’. Just three flat refusals and one death ray glare from nigh on 200 voters. Then again, I was not working my patch.
I had one door knocker, from a county councillor who I know for a fact cannot string sentences together or spell his own name correctly without first checking it on his bus pass. But at least his leaflet had his name on the front page a total of 23 times, in BOLD type. Persistent, but that’s it. In local elections I always vote for the individual not the Party and in his case even though he was from my favoured party, I couldn’t allow myself to place the `X` in his box, especially as I know he wouldn’t have been able to spell it himself. Choices, choices.
I voted at 7:30am and was left well alone. Almost had to wake the officials up!
No-one canvasses in our road. The Conservatives must be pretty confident that they have us all sewn up, and I think the rest wouldn’t dare. I’d love a Labour candidate to call, actually. It would be good fun – I could be nice, offer tea, get him/her/it* comfy and then really lay into them.
The only canvasser I ever did get was a Labour bloke, years ago. Unfortunately he turned up at an awkward time, and started talking to me as I tried to lift a difficult and tantrummy toddler out of the car, a toddler that had made the just-finished journey utter hell. So I wasn’t in a great mood, and then he asked me if I would be voting Labour. Mrs P made me go and apologise for my language…
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*it might be difficult to tell…
As Mr C says: telling is mostly about showing the flag. (Plus, you can often have some very interesting conversations with tellers from the other parties.)
Knocking-up is a complete waste of time except perhaps in an ultra-marginal which has been very well organised – e.g at a by-election.
Hey – I had a placard in my garden for this election and it didn’t get vandalised. To my considerable surprise.
Indeed, the Residents’ Association bods were pleasant enough, as – bar a few barbs at the expense of Mrs T – was the Lib Dem. Plus telling, canvassing, knocking up etc makes you feel terribly virtuous.
Patently – sounds like you live in a leafy street in a leafy part of a leafy blue county…
ND – Brilliant. I don’t think the Tories are “popular” in the way Blair was in the run up to May 97, but I think a lot of people will now be thinking “they weren’t nearly as bad as this lot”.
C – Ah yes, pride in being a helper – nothing like it!
Blue, every autumn we have to pay someone to get rid of the f***ing leaves….