Making #LabourDoorstep More Accessible

Lots of people pay lip service to more accessible campaigning methods, but still people who physically can’t #LabourDoorstep feel guilty about it. Stop making people feel guilty and lets start making campaigning more accessible.

There seems to be a trend in the Labour Party among different factions to see who can knock the most doors. Door knocking, or the eponymous “#labourdoorstep” is used as some kind of party loyalty litmus test, as if the people who don’t have the time, or physically can’t door knock don’t have as much commitment to the Labour Party as those who do it every weekend.

The first time I went door knocking in early 2012 wasn’t a terrible experience, as it was in my local area and I knew most of the people I was knocking on the doors of. But then, it took a turn for the worse and a woman who I vaguely knew, stood at her bedroom window and shouted abuse at us, seemingly for campaigning for Labour. It was then I began to dread door knocking sessions.

I only came to terms with the fact I have anxiety a few years ago. I never understood why my stomach was in knots when my mum phoned me, even for a trivial reason or when I had missed a deadline at university and I had an email from my lecturer simply asking me why. I get worried when I need to phone someone because I’m scared that it will annoy them. So I think it’s fairly understandable why people like me struggle to get enthused about going out on the Labour Doorstep or on the phones for Labour.

I’m not going to sit here and go into the finer details of why I feel anxious when my mum phones me, because doing that would make me feel more anxious, such is anxiety, but I’m going to sit here and tell people running boards and campaign sessions how they can make campaigning more accessible.

First of all, don’t make people feel like shit because they can’t get out on the #labourdoorstep. You don’t know the struggle that person has faced just to get out of bed that morning to go to work, or the particularly difficult situation they had to deal with at work that sent them over the edge that day. Don’t put too much pressure on people to come and canvass. Be mindful of your language and wording when advertising campaign days. Remember that every activist is a volunteer and they are all giving up their free time to get your candidate elected. They don’t have to be there.

When a person with anxiety or mobility issues takes the plunge and goes on a campaigning session, don’t assume they can just knock on doors and be confident in the script. If you’re organising a group of people, ask who wants to run the board. It can often be a less daunting experience than chapping on a complete strangers door. You could also buddy up activists, asking a more confident activist on the door to work with someone who isn’t so confident. Making subtle changes like this ensure that campaigning is so much more accessible and enjoyable for people who would rather be anywhere else. It would also be helpful to vary campaign days: have one session of door knocking, one of doorknocking and then put in a shift at the campaign rooms.

Rest breaks are an absolute necessity if people are giving up their time unpaid to help you and there should be one after every run, with somewhere to go for a cup of tea and a snack and a rest if it’s needed. There should always be a friendly face staffing the office so that anyone who needs to go back for any reason isn’t judged or made to feel uncomfortable.

Value the contributions that office volunteers make as much as you value the contributions of door knockers. They stuff envelopes and enter data and do the generally boring, yet essential tasks that no one really wants to do.

More needs to be done to make campaigning accessible for everyone and more needs to be done to understand the issues people actually contend with when they tell you that they physically can’t go along to a door knocking session. Tell people all the ways they can get involved, let people who are anxious run boards, and stop judging everyone who isn’t out on the doors every weekend.