How did this fascinating article get overlooked? Since I combine green and fiscal Conservatism by reading all the newspapers online and for free, I can't be sure, but my screen appears to suggest that it appeared in the Times Literary Supplement for some reason.
Anyway, take a look and enjoy. One Brendan Perring infiltrates Labour's campaign HQ in Glasgow East and immediately, without any checks, is put to work. A few highlights, emphasis mine...
"I suspect that, had I been a monkey, I’d have been handed a pile of leaflets and pressed into action. Such is the sense of desperation in the Labour camp at the prospect of a Scottish National party victory next Thursday, that frankly, they can’t afford to be choosy about who campaigns for them."
"On one wall a supposedly motivational plea penned by Curran smacks of desperation. It is flanked by two more posters, reminding activists that “Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance” and “Team Work Makes Dream Work.” Some chance!
Charts covering the dingy off-white walls showed every registered voter in the constituency for the purposes of voter ID planning and leaflet drops. On the wall next to them was a list of the areas covered — only a few paltry ticks at this stage.
I learn that canvassing now all has to be done manually after it was discovered that the English computer system, which produces printouts of constituents who have voted Labour in the past, doesn’t work in Scottish constituencies with tenements because it doesn’t recognise the slashed, double-digit addresses."
"The mood among my fellow, largely inexperienced canvassers, dressed in hoodies and grubby jumpers — most of whom have been drafted from constituencies south of the border — was defeatist and downbeat...
Back at campaign HQ, the team was totting up the canvass returns. With just over a week to go until polling day, 42% of the vote were weak-to-medium Labour supporters with a few die-hards. But with 30% of voters still undecided, there was everything to play for. Nerves were tight, and Martin Rhodes, one of the campaign organisers, was predicting that the result would be “scarily close”.
He added: “Gordon [Brown’s] leadership has been disappointing — they should have had an election straight after he got into power."
What a brilliant article! There's more - lots more. Let's hope Davena Rankin can find space on her campaign leaflet for this quote by Margaret Curran's campaign organiser "people just don’t want to vote Labour."!
