When they go low, we go high. That is Michelle Obama’s catchphrase, and one that Labour took to heart in both byelection races, in Tamworth and Mid-Bedfordshire. Largely resisting the temptation to get drawn into a slanging match with rivals, the party won handsomely in both contests, overturning large majorities. Its approach appears to have worked wonders.

Opponents claimed the Tamworth candidate, Sarah Edwards, was not local enough, and slammed the Mid Beds candidate, Alistair Strathern, as an “eco-zealot”. But Labour activists involved in both campaigns say they stayed relentlessly focused on their own positive pitches. Both listened intently to local concerns and tailored pledges accordingly.

 

It helped that voters spontaneously raised problems Labour wanted to highlight anyway, making life easier for the party’s activists. The cost of living, crime, the NHS and other public services buckling under pressure came up repeatedly. Both candidates had readymade Labour solutions to provide voters.

Activists report widespread disillusion over not just the state of the country but the two unpopular Tory MPs who previously held the seats. There was always a risk voters wouldn’t trust Labour either, or think Britain is “too broken to fix”, as one LabourList columnist put it recently. Labour addressed this partly by putting notably few, yet eminently deliverable, pledges front and centre – much as New Labour did in 1997.

Edwards promised a public-facing police desk after the local police station closed. Strathern tied himself to delivering several pledges within six months, including regular meetings for residents unhappy with housing developments, education and crime. As Labour’s national campaign coordinator, Pat McFadden, said this morning: “this is not a Labour party that is overpromising.”

The two candidates sought to be as visible and accessible as possible, too. Edwards spent significant time on high streets and fielded unfiltered residents’ questions on Facebook Live. Strathern did the same at village halls and on village greens, reportedly doing three events a week in a gruellingly long campaign

 

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Excellent results.

 

 

6 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Excellent results.

 

 

I find it telling and a very good sign for elections in other places and countries that they managed to achieve it without falling in the negativity trap.