Political

Conservatives to adopt new campaign database software

This is leaving it very late in the Parliamentary cycle to make such a big switch if you ask me (compare the timing with the Lib Dem move to Connect):

[Conservative Party Chairman Grant] Shapps will also unveil Votesource, a replacement for the troubled Merlin voter contact database which CCHQ has developed in-house. The system will be accessible remotely both to reduce Association costs and make it possible for canvassers to access it from mobile devices on the doorstep and equipped to tie in with newer campaign tactics. Importantly, it will also be swifter than its sluggish predecessor.

For any activist or Association executive member who wrestled with Merlin, had to raise funds to get a special terminal, or saw their hard-earned data vanish overnight – as happened to many local parties in the run-up to the European elections – the end of the old system will be welcome news. Hopefully its replacement will be better suited to the job, helping us put our grassroots efforts to the best possible use.

Merlin’s demise will be lamented by very few I suspect.

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