12-Month Election Plan for Exeter Green Party

Introduction

Due to the nature of the Green Party, local parties are reliant on the generous donations of members, volunteers and supporters which means we need to be strategic in how we apply that funding.

This takes the form of the Green Party’s ‘Target to Win’ (TTW) campaign strategy which gives a mechanism to accurately determine which areas we should campaign in, looking at things like vote share in previous elections, number of electors in the area and how much work would be required to win that area.

In May 2025 there will be an election for Devon County Council (DCC); of the 60 divisions in the county; Exeter accounts for 9, each of which covers 2 or more City wards. Using TTW, we will be able to determine which divisions to campaign in and how best to use our limited resources.

This is a draft proposal which will be developed if we, the prospective candidates for the new Executive Committee, are voted in by you at the AGM on 31 July 2024.

Overview for County Council Divisions

This plan details the strategic activities, including leaflet delivery and door-knocking, for two types of divisions: Target Division and Development Division.

Objectives

1. Target Division: Gain majority support and win the seat(s) and/or retain Green vote ahead of 2026 City election.

2. Development Division: Increase visibility and support for future elections.

Timeline and Activities

August

1. All Divisions:

• Candidate selection - call out, interviews etc.

• Design of long campaign literature.

• Panel to review which divisions we should target and make a recommendation to the Executive Committee.

September-January: Long Campaign

1. Target Division:

• September: Update voter database and past voter engagement records. Design core messaging. Commence weekly surveying.  

• October: Continue surveying and distributing newsletters highlighting Green achievements/activity.

• November: Begin door-knocking to reconnect with G1s and G2s.

• December: Continue door-knocking weekly, deliver an additional newsletter with updates, and hold thank-you events for past supporters.

• January: Continue door-knocking weekly, and distribute a further newsletter highlighting the candidate's plans/ideas for the division. Complete a full round of door-knocking by the end of January.

2. Development Division:

• September: Identify key issues through surveys and data analysis.

• October: Weekly door-knocking and delivery of a candidate introduction leaflet.

• November: Continue weekly door-knocking.

• December: Continue weekly door-knocking and deliver a Christmas newsletter.

• January: Continue weekly door-knocking and deliver issue-focused leaflets with clear policy positions. AIM: Complete a full round of door-knocking by the end of January.

February-May: Short Campaign

1. Target Division:

• February: Increase door-knocking to twice weekly. Launch a social media campaign complementing leaflet delivery. Deliver a further election leaflet.

• March: Maintain door-knocking twice weekly, focusing on key voter types. Deliver a further election leaflet.  

• April: Intensify door-knocking, and deliver a further election leaflet.

• May: Distribute eve of poll leaflet, and deliver a GTVO polling day operation.  

2. Development Division:

• February: Increase door-knocking to twice weekly. Launch a social media campaign complementing leaflet delivery. Deliver a further election leaflet.

• March: Maintain door-knocking twice weekly, focusing on key voter types. Deliver a further election leaflet.  

• April: Intensify door-knocking, and deliver a further election leaflet.

• May: Distribute eve of poll leaflet, and deliver a GTVO polling day operation.

Strategies for 2024/2025 and Beyond

1. Increase Volunteer Base:

• More Socials: Aim for a balance between meetings/volunteering and social events to maintain engagement. Keeping with the practice of socials following meetings and volunteering sessions but also specific socials such as month meet and greets held in City Gate Pub, quizzes, karaoke, public events, and more.

• Volunteer Recruitment: Organise events to encourage volunteers into roles, such as Q&A’s with current volunteers and provide regular training sessions because experience is appreciated but not necessarily a prerequisite.

• Volunteer Support: Regular check-ins to ensure volunteers are supported and valued. EGP cannot achieve its aims without you so it is important that we remind people regularly.

1. Increase Party Membership:

• Engagement: Increase member engagement with regular meetings, events, and discussions.

• Membership Drives: Targeted campaigns to attract new members particularly young people, highlighting the benefits and impact of joining the Exeter Green Party.

• Community Outreach: To best represent a community we first need to make the effort to understand the issues they face and to offer support where we can. Politics in the UK has spent the past 40+ years undermining the idea of community putting the onus on individuals but history has shown us that positive progressive change can only be achieved with active, engaged communities; if ‘doing politics differently’ means anything it should also mean that.

2. Improve Party Democracy:

• Constitutional Amendments: Propose and implement changes to improve party democracy.

• Member Involvement: Propose strategies and key decisions for member approval to ensure informed consent and increase buy-in. We are aiming to raise EGP’s election strategy and other related topics, as well as any officer co-options that may occur after the AGM, at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in September for discussion and so that members can make an informed decision. The introduction of an EGP Forum, a monthly social for members to get together in a comfortable setting to discuss topics and issues we think important, interesting and/or relevant (the Executive will propose topic(s) for the first event and ask for regular suggestions from members which can be drawn from a hat or agreed in advance); this could be to inform formal policy discussions, maybe even the content of motions, or to help build and strengthen the community of EGP. Having a facility for open, honest and at times frank discussions is a sign of a healthy community and democracy.

• Policy Discussions: Regular policy discussions and the creation of motions to impact party policy. Unlike establishment parties, the Green Party is a truly grassroots organisation wherein regular members determine policy and don’t have it dictated by party leaders as proven to be the case in the current party of government. Also attending community events so that we aren’t an echo chamber, to best represent communities we have to go to them and not expect them to come to us. Establish a policy team to support the Executive and the Councillor Group in staying up to date on policy developments and to research the details of a given topic to support their work. By building specialist teams and working together, utilising experience and expertise where available we can build resilience and flexibility into the local party ensuring best possible effectiveness in an ever changing world.

3. Regular Reviews and Feedback:

• Strategy Reviews: Regularly review agreed strategies to ensure effectiveness; we need to remain flexible in the application of agreed strategies so we can quickly identify areas that may need more work, things that aren’t working or maybe where adjustments need to be made - being proactive not reactive.

• Member Feedback: Continuously check in with members and volunteers to gather feedback and improve party operations.

4. Organisation and Protocols:

• Protocols: Create and establish clear protocols for key topics, ensuring they are easy to locate and understand. Protocols on a given topic, such as candidate selection, should be tools to aid in accountability, updated as required and to ensure an efficient and effective use of members' time.

• Communication Tools: Implement a dedicated mobile phone for the party for better communication and security. This would mean that EGP has a consistent point of contact that can be shared among officers to ensure availability (useful incase of illness or other kinds of absence) but also to simplify handover processes between officers.

Campaign-Specific Actions

1. Candidate Selection:

• Call Out for Candidates: Start the process in August, as soon after the AGM as possible for the 2025 DCC elections.

• Interview Panel: Establish a candidate interview panel, as soon after the AGM, and set up dates for interviews. Once a panel is established, all candidates will be interviewed by the same panellists.

• Selection Protocol: Create a candidate selection protocol to streamline the process and ensure candidate interview panellists understand their brief soon after the AGM.

2. Target Division Strategy:

• Panel Recommendations: Set up a panel to recommend target divisions and resource allocation to the Executive Committee, they then make a determination based on that report.

• Campaign Timetable: Create a model campaign timetable with clear goals for canvassing and literature distribution to streamline the process and enable the Executive to act more strategically.

3. Member Engagement and Meetings:

• Election Strategy Meetings: Hold meetings to discuss and vote on election strategies such as the determination the Executive Committee makes following the report from the Target Division Selection Panel, literature timeline and budget etc.

• Timetable for Events: Set up a calendar of meetings and events throughout the year to ensure consistent engagement.

Resource Allocation

• Volunteers: Prioritise the Target Division, followed by Development Division(s) because we have no County Councillors in Exeter, there is no Defence Division to consider.

• Budget: Focus spending on the Target Division for leaflets and events, with balanced allocation to the Development Division(s).

• Training: Provide comprehensive training for volunteers on effective door-knocking and voter engagement techniques.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Monthly Reviews: Conduct monthly strategy reviews, facilitated by the Executive Committee and including all relevant stakeholders such as division teams and key volunteers to assess progress and adjust tactics.

• Feedback Mechanisms: Implement feedback systems from door-knocking and community events to refine messaging.

• Data Analysis: Continuously analyse voter data to identify trends and areas needing more focus.

• Social events: As much as we want to make EGP an election machine, we are not machines and need to ensure that our work is balanced out with enjoyable and varied social events.

This structured plan aims to maximise voter engagement and support across all divisions, ensuring a strategic approach to winning, and developing electoral support for the Exeter Green Party.

Model Literature Budget:

Any budget we agree and use should be flexible to accommodate evolving strategic drivers such as issues raised on the doorstep and fed back to the election team, need, capacity, donations and any Party obligations.

• £172 A4 folded @ 4,500

• £193 A5 (eve of poll) @ 14,000

• £234 = 3 x £78 (calling cards) @ 2,000 x3

• £104 A4 (posters) @ 2,000

Total spend: £3,629

Conclusion

If we are voted in as the new Executive Committee, our Plan will remain in Draft throughout the election cycle as it evolves. Carla Denyer and the Bristol Central team have now paved the way for electoral success in the Southwest. Let’s build!

Bernadette Chelvanayagam, Bruce McClure, Eric Helianthus, Joe Mitchell, Thomas Richardson