Political

Campaign Corner: Should campaigning stop at Christmas?

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 can’t wait to get some rest over Christmas! But should we give all our helpers a long break without asking them to do anything or is campaigning over Christmas a good idea?

  1. Get rest – don’t burn out: politics isn’t everything. Your health, your family and your friends should get a look in, so do make sure you take a break when you need one.
  2. Not everyone is the same: for some people, delivering or door-knocking between Christmas and New Year is not an option, either because they are away with family or are taking a breather. For some, however, it can be a very welcome chance to get out the house (maybe leaving relatives behind!) and burn off a few of those Christmas calories. Don’t assume all your possible helpers are the same. They aren’t. Ask them politely and see who wants to do what.
  3. It’s a good time to do surveys: many people are less busy over the festive season, which makes it a great time to ask them to fill in surveys. So if you are doing a leaflet for the public or a newsletter for members and supporters, think about making it more of a survey as you may well get a better response rate than usual.
  4. Whatever you do, remember to say thank you to colleagues and volunteers. A Christmas card and a personal note is not only the decent thing to do, it pays great dividends in future help too.

Want to know more about local campaigning? Campaigning In Your Community by myself and Shaun Roberts should be right up your street. It’s available for only £4 from ALDC and you can read an extract for free here.

Previous Campaign Corners have included:

You can read them all here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All comments and data you submit with them will be handled in line with the privacy and moderation policies.