Behind the Scenes: Of an Election Campaign

Campaigning for one of Scotland's smaller parties doesn’t bear much resemblance to campaigning with some of the larger and more historic ones. For one thing, it’s still activist-led with a focus on more door-to-door politics than the top-down model that New Labour brought over from the States. There are major advantages to this - notably the high levels of motivation and involvement, plus the genuine development of ideas - but it can make for some drawn-out debates when quick action might be better.

Our other major asset is our willing activists, and mass leafleting is one of our strongest campaign areas. With the local elections under proportional representation for the first time, we’re confident of getting much-needed groups into Scotland’s Councils this year. As our English sister party have found, this can be the best way to make a noticeable difference.

It's a standing joke on election night: the next election starts today! In some sense that's right, but we began our planning in earnest about a year before the election. The party's Elections and Campaigns Committee started pulling together in May 2006 looking at how to coordinate all the party's election-related activity under one timeline.  Everyone on the Campaigns Committee like all the other committees in the party is elected by the whole party at conference.  No-one on the committee is paid for their work on it.

Major decisions we make are referred up to Council, our governing body, or to Operations, as required. The model for Elections and Campaigns seems to be that the meetings get longer and longer until they're about four hours long, then more meetings are inserted to ensure that each individual one is a manageable size. It's a bit like the way cells divide. We're approaching the time when daily meetings will be required, I've been warned. Plus all those late-night phone calls about the next day's papers.

However one of the best ways to win a seat is always to really care about your constituents.  One of our members was standing for a London local authority, and as he toured the estates canvassing for votes and offering his help, he found the most common problem for council tenants was plumbing. He spent weeks bothering the council’s maintenance department, who were slow and unresponsive. Then he did a plumbing course. And got elected.

James Mackenzie currently works as a freelance PR Consultant and Press Officer for the Scottish Green Party.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own personal opinions and may not reflect those of Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP.

19 March 2007

Briefing: The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

The Scottish Conservative Party firmly sets out its stall for the 2007 elections by entitling their Manifesto Manifesto for a Buzzing Economy.  Among their pledges are:-

Business rates

• Firms with a rateable value of £7,000 or less will be completely exempt from business tax.
• Firms with a rateable value of between £7,000 and £8,000 will only pay a quarter of their business rates.
• Those with rateable values of £8,000 to £11,500 will gain a 50 per cent discount.
• Firms with a rateable value of £11,500 will gain a 10 per cent discount.
• Oppose local income tax.

Infrastructure

• Invest £30 million annually on infrastructure, with a particular focus on improving and upgrading the A9, A75, M74, A96 and A82.
• Set up a review body to report to both Holyrood and Westminster on a high speed rail link between Scotland and London and a high speed link rail link between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
• Merge the budget of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
• Establish a new Scottish Skills Agency, incorporating Careers Scotland.
• Abolish Local Enterprise Companies.

Cutting red tape

• Introduce a 5 year review of all Holyrood's primary legislation.
• Establish a Red Tape Review for subordinate legislative regulation
• Ensure a presumption against the gold-plating of EU regulations
• Require all legislation and regulations to pass an economic growth test.
• Require all quangos and public sector bodies to have an over-riding obligation to promote economic growth.

19 March 2007

Briefing: The Scottish Green Party

The Scottish Green Party has always advocated a different approach to the economy, focusing on the low carbon economy and sustainable development as well as:

• Measuring quality of life not in terms of Gross Domestic Product but in terms of justice opportunity and contentment and using alternative measures of economic development.
• Flexible working arrangements including greater worker involvement indecision making, and protected employment rights from day one.
• Full implementation of all equality legislation and action on the gender pay gap.
• Ending benefits and replacing with a Citizen's Income Scheme, to ensure that work always pays.  Proper support for carers and students.
• Legislate to make sure government spending at all levels us binding social and environmental measures for public procurement.
• A supermarket regulator to ensure fair trade.

19 March 2007

Briefing: The Scottish Labour Party

Scottish Labour have not publicly published policy material  since the 2005 UK General Election.  In this material they emphasised what they have already achieved, particularly in terms of low unemployment, a strong economy and supporting business through cuts in corporation tax.  Other statements with that manifesto include:-

• Full employment in every region and nation by 2010.
• Continue to meet fiscal rules on borrowing and debt.
• Promote public procurement strategies that safe guard UK jobs and skills.
• Ensure companies have the right framework for corporate governance and relationships with institutions that invest pension funds and savings in them.
• Promote Scotland abroad.
• Continued investment in science and industry.
• Take further action in Europe to ensure EU Regulations are better designed.
• Continue to work to protect the rights of consumers.
• Tackling barriers to finance for small and growing businesses.
• Examine options for increase transport capacity.
• Completing the gaps in the road network.
• Continue to support growth in bus provision.
• Work with Local Authorities to ensure public transport and road policy are properly aligned.

19 March 2007

Briefing: The Scottish Liberal Democrats

The Scottish Liberal Democrats published their pre-manifesto in October 2006 entitled Bright Future:  A Vision for Scotland.  The pledges within the document are:-

Reducing business rates and costs

• To further reduce business rates.
• Reduce inspections for businesses with good track records with more inspections undertaken jointly by government agencies.
• Open Public Procuerment to more companies.
• Change business rate valuation so businesses are not penalised for switching to greener sources of energy.
• Extend support to businesses to businesses to invest in energy efficiency through loan Action Scotland scheme.
• Encourage Corporate Social Responsibility.

Infrastructure

• To continue investing in infrastructure such as transport, broadband technology and the Air Route Development fund.
• Continue investment in public transport.
• Develop a Scottish freight strategy to support the Scottish Haulage Industry.
• Press for a high speed rail link between Scotland and London.

Investment and skills

• Address Scotland's low investment in research development and innovation.
• Encourage better links between research and industry.
• Pilot "business incubators" in schools and further education colleges.
• Expand vocational education.
• Maintain high levels of investment in higher education.

19 March 2007

Briefing: The Scottish National Party

The SNP published their economic manifesto Let Scotland Flourish 2007 in April 2006.  This pre-election manifesto does state that some of the ideas in it could be implemented within the first 100 days of an SNP government, and others would need full independance.  It outlines SNP policies to:-

• Lower Corporation tax to 20 per cent
• Lower business rates with a new focus on small businesses.
• Reduce business burdens.
• Refocus the business support network.
• Encourage innovation and improve access to capital.
• Institute a proactive immigration policy that welcomes 'new Scots' and encourages people to move back to Scotland.
• A greater focus on Scotland's infrastructure.
• Create a Scottish Futures Trust that replaces the Private Finance Initative.
• Make sure that a fifth of public procurement contracts goes to SMEs.
• Quickly move Scotland towards a low carbon economy and maximise the development of  renewable energy potential.
• Streamline Scottish Eneterprise and seek to focus it's work on other agencies.
• Review Patent Laws and protections for inventors.
• Proposes piloting a new loan for small businesses that cannot otherwise qualify for loans on reasonable terms.
• Scottish Water to become a not-for-profit trust.

Oil Industry

• Remove the supplementary charges from tariff contracts.
• Level the playing field for new entrants by increasing the extent to which unrelieved allowances are reimbursed.
• Extend the research and development tax credit to North Sea activities.
• Encourage investment in heavy oil extraction.
• Introduce a floor of $30 a barrel below which supplementary charges will not apply.

19 March 2007