How about going for the former labour voters who now simply don’t vote because there’s no one for them to vote for?

I was thinking exactly the same thing as #1. The real potential source of votes is the millions of Labour voters who have been sufficiently alienated that they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for any-one.

The Lib Dem/Tory vote dichotomy is obviously pretty stupid (as unnecessary). The idea that we might pursue only Tory voters rather than Lib Dem’s, however, is beyond absurd. I should have thought the results from the recent local elections: where the Tory vote held steady, Labour might have recognised that Tory voters are largely just going to vote Tory come what may.

Ahhh, FPTP, where an anti-Tory vote means a vote for Labour. *despair*

Winning the ex-libdems to Labour was a massive boon and was well worth focusing on for the last year.

After 13 years in government, with an abysmal campaign, and with the enormous drag factor of Gordon Brown – Labour’s 30%(ish) was probably something of a floor the party can’t go below unless something massive happens in politics. Lib Dems shifting across can raise that floor for a generation. (voting Lib Dem turned out to be voting for the tories after all, re-asserting the old view that lefties have to vote labour as the only left-party who can win)

With labour over 10% up on a year ago – the low hanging fruit is now all picked. And that means winning round more tories. That in turn means offering an alternative vision for government.

Attacking won’t do it. Offering an alternative will.

cloakable

despair indeed – but in the end it would have been thus with AV too. We’d all have had Labour as our second or thrd vote as a “keep the tories out” safety card. (and worse, the tories and lib dems could have become a powerful “keep the left out” block now the social democrats among lib dem supporters have all quit)

PR on the other hand – well, I guess that’s a pipe dream since Clegg sold reform (among other things) down the river.

#1 + 2 – To some extent, you target those voters in the same way you target Lib Dems – you put forward a left-of-centre program attacking the Tories, owning up to the mistakes of the Blair government and promising to call a halt to the marketisation of public services. That gets you inroads with those who won’t vote now, but aren’t anti-politics in general.

The other group of former Labour non-voters, working class voters who feel their concerns were ignored by the last government, are more difficult. You can make a strong case they were ignored (although that’s not to say we did nothing for them, just that constantly aiming at ‘Middle Britain’ – which by the end seemed to mean north Hampshire/south Surrey, rather than just median voters – meant we stopped talking to our base). But you can’t re-energise them by paying attention again, because they’ve stopped paying attention to politics (and started actively avoiding it) and have a million different and often imperfectly articulated concerns.

To get them back, there are only two methods with a chance of success. The first is dedicated and sustained casework from Labour councillors. The second is to win the next general election, govern in the interests of those voters and THEN go back and ask if they’ll start voting for us again.

But Blair (and to a lesser extent Brown) killed turnout in the Labour base so badly that we’ll be lucky if we get half of those disappeared voters turning out again, and even that’ll take a decade or more.

Still reposting Labour Party press releases, then. Wouldn’t it save a lot of typing to just post a link to the Labour website every time?

I really really wish Ed Miliband had pledged his support for workers up and down the country fighting cuts and/or worsening contract terms every day. Rather than this rather PR-speak big tent thing.

@7 You could go read another website if you prefer I suppose…

I think Ed will find that it’s voters making the choice not him. Wake me up when Miliband says something that isn’t condescending.

Here is my story on this

http://leemassey.wordpress.com/

I was a photographer at the conference.

@ 7

“Still reposting Labour Party press releases, then”

The OP is reporting on an announcement by a political figure. It’s called “news”. Look it up.

Mr E – you’re getting boring and repetitive. Can we see the old, intelligent self again?

Edward @ #6 – spot on.

They say that Lord Ashcroft found that Tory messaging was still seen as too negative by many voters. It was associated with ‘austerity Britain’ and a vision that focused on belt-tightening, reduced public services, falling real incomes and a harsher vision for the future.

Something in this, but I’m not convinved it’s unintentional. The Government want the mood music for the first couple of years to be about austerity and belt-tightening. That way, when (it’s actually an if, but if the economy doesn’t recover the Govt are probably doomed in any event) the economy recovers they can focus on the old “Life’s better under the Conservatives – don’t let Labour ruin it.”

Worked for Uncle Harold.

Oh, and I’m reasonably sure it’s ‘poring over’ Lord Ashcroft’s research. Too damp otherwise.