Douglas Carswell's Blog

Falling party membership? It doesn�’t need to be that way

Yesterday evening my local Conservative Association held its AGM. Despite all the talk of mid-term gloom, it was a very upbeat occasion - and well attended.  We had both Geoffrey Van Orden and Vicky Ford speak as our local MEPs.  

Local party membership is up 40 percent over the past two years. Local councillors are fizzing with new ideas to improve the area. Our list of helpers has never been longer – or more active. We have a record number of young members.

We are often told that party membership is in decline - and that there is something inevitable about this in an age when voters are apparently full of "apathy".

Nonsense. In my experience folk have never felt more animated about local and national issues than they do today. In the age of the internet it ought to be easier than ever before to create a mass membership organisation.

It is not the "apathetic" electorate we need to change, but the way that established political parties do politics. Here are a few of my top tips.

1. Be open: Every few weeks, we hold an open evening, with curry or fish and chips at £10 a person. We leaflet the neighbourhood, inviting every local resident to "come as you are", to hear a speaker on a particular theme.

Our last event had over 120 people turn up – many of whom have since joined our local team. (If only the Conservative party would accept my idea of online-only membership for £3 a year!)

2. Be Online: That does not just mean having a party propaganda website. Look at Beppe Grillo's party website for inspiration (assuming you understand Italian!). I blog each day and tweet – and communicating with local residents that way is becoming the new normal.

If you want more young people to get involved, you need to be where young people are – on social media. 

3. Be normal: So often politicians just sound weird. Even when they are saying something sensible, they tend to fall into politician-speak. So don't.

Ditch the Tory Boy clichés. Talk like you would to friends, not as MPs do in the House of Commons.

Above all, say what you mean, and mean what you say. In an age of anti-politics, authenticity is not everything. But it is almost everything.

Back to all posts