Cllr Kris Wilson is the Leader of Nuneaton and Bedworth Council.
Last year, we took control of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council for only the second time since our creation in 1974. Conservatives had only been in control for two years in the history of our council. When I first became leader of our group in 2014, I only had three out of 34 councillors on our benches. At the end of Election Night 2021 we reached our historic best of 24 councillors.
During the course of our year in control, we were also faced with a by-election in November in Barpool – a red-wall council seat that had only turned our way in 2021. Following a hard-fought campaign, we won that by-election and brought our total to 25 councillors.
So, entering the elections this May we had 25 councillors. The national picture was not as buoyant as 12 months’ prior. Where would we end up by the end of the evening?
We ended up on 27 councillors in defiance of the Westminster Bubble wisdom.
No love for Labour
Contrary to the expectations of many, in the seats Labour needs to stand a realistic chance of government at the next general election, there was no great “Labour surge”. In Nuneaton and Bedworth, Labour were in control for 45 out of 47 years. The residents of our Borough have not forgotten the state they left our towns in after their decades in control. People are not ready to trust Labour again.
The election results nationally would also seem to back up this analysis – certainly in England. Having knocked on literally hundreds of doors during this election campaign, voters have not been flocking back to Labour. They are unhappy about a number of issues, but the trust gap between voters and Labour is as large as ever.
No substitute for knocking on doors
During an election, we all face many challenges. But the worst challenge a councillor, candidate, or campaigner faces is complacency. Just because a seat has always been Conservative it does not mean that it will remain Conservative. We cannot only emerge from the proverbial electoral hibernation every 4 years. The only way to get our message across and actually find out what a voter thinks is to get out there and speak to them – knock on as many doors as you can.
In Nuneaton and Bedworth, we got out there and knocked on the doors. We heard from the voters that whilst they aren’t necessarily happy with the national picture, locally they still didn’t trust Labour, but they could also see the progress we have made in our first year in control. Over our years in opposition, our policies for control were formulated after listening to residents and they are now seeing us work to implement them.
Another factor in our success is that as residents could actually see us knocking on doors, they respected the fact that we weren’t “hiding in our Ivory Towers” but actually seeking to get out there and speak to them and listen to what they have to say. This has been in stark contrast to Labour who were virtually nowhere to be seen during the election.
Update residents on your progress
Part of this is easier if you are in control of your council. Since taking control we have been working closely with our comms team to ensure that more press releases go out that highlight the policies and projects that we have put in place. We have re-enforced that this is a member-led authority and that as cabinet members it is us who approve the press and what is put out in our name. If we are unhappy with it, then we amend it.
Don’t be frightened of doing the radio rounds. Wherever possible in our first year in control we have taken up every opportunity to discuss local issues on local radio. Compared to our Labour predecessors, we have been getting out there and selling our messages and our achievements.
As part of our election campaign, we put together an updating magazine to highlight all that we have achieved in our first year in control. Over 30,000 magazines have gone out to show that we have delivered on our promises that we made in 2021 and how we want to take this forward in 2022 and beyond.
Maintaining Discipline
During an election campaign it is easy to get distracted from attacks from our opponents. No matter how cuddly the Greens may look, they are amongst some of the most vicious and dishonest campaigners you will ever meet. Whatever Labour don’t know or like, they will simply make up.
The temptation to get distracted and respond to these dirty tactics can sometimes be overwhelming, especially to newer candidates. It falls to those of us who are experienced campaigners to be the wiser heads in our teams and advise caution.
Don’t bother trying to correct a falsehood. Those who believe it are often those who will never believe Conservatives anyway. It also detracts from your message and stops you talking about what you want to talk about – the difference a Conservative council can make for our local residents.