Political

Campaign Corner: What campaigning books are worth reading?

The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: I prefer learning by reading rather than by hearing people speak at training sessions. What campaigning books would you recommend?

Lots of possible answers, but in the spirit of Campaign Corner’s love of threes, here are just three. The have been deliberately chosen as one each from the main party perspectives:

  1. Deborah Mattinson - Talking to a Brick WallTalking to a Brick Wall by Deborah Mattinson – as I wrote in my review of Talking to a Brick Wall, “It is a welcome difference to read a book about British politics where the female vote (the majority, after all) is central to the account rather than relegated to a special chapter or section”. Moreover, the book gives a great account of how the fortunes of political parties are shaped by the public’s general impression of them, which can be influenced by policy details but which are often based on a (for a politician) frustratingly low level of public attention to policy details.
  2. Minority Verdict by Michael Ashcroft – as I wrote previously about Minority Verdict: “It is a detailed account of how policy, research and campaigning was integrated in an attempt to reach floating voters with the issues that most matter to them”.
  3. Campaigning In Your Community by Mark Pack and Shaun Roberts – there are not many Liberal Democrat campaigning books which is why, ahem, I’ve picked one co-written by myself. But one of the motivations for writing it was to fill a gap left by other previous publications. You can buy a copy from ALDC (party members only).

Previous Campaign Corners have included:

You can read them all here.

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