Lessons to Be Learned

So the election is over but the fallout continues. With no one being able to claim a genuine mandate - whatever spin Cameron tries to put on it - the games begin. It is looking like a Con-Lib coalition at the moment but if I were Clegg I'd make a referendum on PR the minimum requirement for any agreement. Let's face it the Tories will be looking to go for another election (and a proper majority for them) as fast as possible. So get that referendum Nick. It's your last best hope.

One thing I wanted to say - and it connects with my previous post about the UKIP gentleman - is that the one key lesson I would have learned is that nothing beats hard work on the ground, meeting and listening to your constituents. Margaret Hodge's success in Barking (and the total meltdown of the BNP in the Council elections in Barking and Dagenham) can to a great degree be put down to getting in amongst the electorate, connecting with them, listening to them and trying to articulate their problems rather than standing aloof peddling the party line.

All the talk post-Obama was how the internet could revolutionise elections and there is some truth in that but in the end internet forums, Facebook groups and Twitter campaigns can fool people into thinking that they are taking real action. Yes, these things have a publicity effect. Yes, they can be genuinely effective in raising money and for contacting those in authority but in electoral terms nothing is going to better being on the ground talking to and meeting your electorate.

Action in the real world, supported by the web is the way forward. So my advice to the Labour Party (for what it is worth) is make sure all your new MPs, all your new Councillors have the Twitter accounts, their Facebook pages and e-mails but above all get them to get out and meet people. Become School Governors, meet parents, meet teachers, go to your local pubs, go to meetings...yes it'll eat into your life but if you want to be re-elected and if you want to win elections that, more than anything, will do the job.