Chapter 59 Section 2 Organize an Election Campaign

We've been anticipating a general election for several years, so we've had plenty of time to prepare.For the first time in the history of the party, we rented a limousine and set it up as a campaign office, where we went from campaign to campaign.The Head of the Events Office is David Wolfson.He was replacing John Stanley in the job (John slipped and slipped down the steps in Bristol on our first day out, herniated a disc, and was rushed to hospital; stay in the hospital).Derek Howe was my press secretary in the "battle limousine," and David Boddy was second -- he rode in the second limousine with the journalists.Roger Borden was in charge of reminding us where our next stop was and what to do when we got there - quite a job.My longtime friend Lady Janet Young, Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party, traveled with us and was in charge of keeping in touch with the office of the Conservative Party Chairperson.Michael Dobbs served as a mobile librarian, carrying with him loads of facts and figures in case I stopped in small towns to answer questions (he would later write a book about the grisly tale of political fraud).Harvey Thomas was on the front line, arranging talks for me and organizing mass meetings.There were also three long and hard-working secretaries—Tessa Jardin, Paterson, Caroline Stephens, and Sally James—who worked on their typewriters in twisting and bumpy cars on country roads. Typing out my speech was an almost impossible task.

Since there were no word processors, faxes, or photocopying facilities, the job was much more complicated than in the two later elections.We do have a radiotelephone, but it's really unsatisfactory.The driver accidentally smashed the antenna once while backing up, and it was no longer usable.So, whenever we came to a Tory branch somewhere, we frantically rushed to the phone to report the changes to the speech to headquarters, while another man took notes from another phone on the events of the day in London . I didn't return to London for a few nights during the trip to allow me to travel more.But I found that the effect of this approach was not ideal, and I did not do it in the next two campaigns.Without London, it is easy to lose (or at least feel lost) knowledge of the state of the campaign; it is also possible for others to substitute theirs for yours on key issues.In a general election where life and death are at stake, neither of these scenarios will be allowed.But I often came back to the Fllard Street apartment late at night when the secretaries would be there for me and my speech-writing team—John Hoskins, Peter Utley, Hugh Thomas, A. Alfred Sherman and sometimes Ronnie Miller - hot meals served.On weekdays, they mainly eat quick-frozen food, and on weekends, they can taste some foreign flavors, such as duck in orange sauce and grape fish.While we were drafting our speech, Dennis was upstairs watching television and listening to reports on the campaign.All you have to do is hear him say "Crap!" or something worse from upstairs, and you'll know it's just another vicious slur being spread by Labor politicians.

Coordinating the efforts of all aspects of a campaign has always been difficult.Well-planned plans can be disrupted, morning press conferences never focus on one message, party leaders say another, shadow ministers say a third, to the candidates The presentation is different.Although Peter Thornycroft and I had serious disagreements on strategy, it should be admitted that Peter and his staff were very capable, each with their own strengths and working well with each other.Peter himself was based in London throughout the campaign, chairing a strategy committee at headquarters, which seemed to be meeting non-stop.He was always shrewd and competent, and possessed great authority.Alistair McAlpine's extraordinary fundraising prowess kept the party's activities in check, and it was never unable to take an initiative for lack of funds.There has been a significant increase in small donations from businesses, which makes sense.It shows that business people understand that the Conservatives will once again be the party of free enterprise.It also shows that we are not just relying on a few large donors.Cheerful, optimistic, vivacious and quick, Tony Garner is in charge of organizing the national campaign.Gordon Reese has returned to Headquarters in charge of publicity, and he wants us all to take seriously the strict requirements of the news media - emphasizing the importance of tabloids and the best TV shots, emphasizing the timeliness of news releases, and striving to catch up in time evening news.So far, I've learned a lot from Gordon on what to do and what not to do in front of the TV camera in order to appear well on screen.At least you don't have to worry about possible color incongruities anymore.The Conservative Party's election campaign paraphrased Henry Ford's famous line: You can wear any color, as long as it's blue.I wear navy blue for most occasions.

During the general election campaign, the Conservative Party headquarters received and sent a flood of messages.Analyzing the meaning of the information received and verifying the accuracy of the information sent out are in charge of some unsung heroes in this political struggle; data analysis and polling expert Keith Brito boldly analyzes the multitude of conflicting poll numbers we come across.Chris Patton was campaigning in Bath at the time, and Adam Ridley took on the job of getting Research up and running, and I was briefed by Michael Portillo from Central Research.Prepare for the morning press conference.He took on the task not only with a solid grasp of facts, figures and opinions, but also with astute advice on how to use the material.Michael was a young man with a bright future -- that's one of the impressions the campaign made on me.

Before the campaign begins, there are two important strategic issues to address.One question is whether I should agree to a televised debate with Jim Callahan.On this issue, we had already started discussions with the TV station as early as the summer of 1978.At that time, the BBC (on behalf of Channel 1 and 2) approached my office and the Prime Minister's office at the same time.In the previous general elections, TV debates were also considered, but they were not implemented, because several small parties insisted on participating, which caused some difficulties, and neither the Labor Party nor our party agreed.But this time—July 1978—the television companies were prepared to ignore the opinions of minor parties and only arrange a confrontation between the two parties.So, we seriously considered this suggestion, although we didn't know the Prime Minister's attitude at that time.No final decision was made, as the general election that had been expected that autumn did not materialize, but both Peter Thornycroft and Gordon Reese strongly opposed it, and I was influenced by them to refuse to take part.

Shortly before the official start of the campaign, ITV revived the idea, proposing to hold two debates on two consecutive Sundays, with Brian Walden as moderator, towards the end of the campaign.This time around, I'm inclined to take the advice, not only because I'm naturally good at debating, but because I think they're overestimating Jim Callahan's abilities, and I'm going to take this opportunity to expose his weaknesses.He made a name for himself by trying to meet all the demands of the trade unions, so I feel that he is responsible for the tragedy of the winter of 1978-1979.This is a uniquely personal responsibility.Chris Patton is also in favor of me taking on the Prime Minister.Moreover, there was a new element in the situation at the time: the Prime Minister had publicly accepted the advice of independent television companies, and I was unwilling to be put on the defensive by rejecting televised debates at the outset of the campaign.

But there are also strong arguments to the contrary for Gordon Reese, Peter Thornycroft and Willie Whitelaw to argue for not participating in the debate.We were neck and neck with Labor in the polls when the possibility of a debate was first raised, but by the time a decision had to be made we were well over 10 percentage points ahead of Labor.That said, we can hope to win without risking a confrontation on TV.And televised debates, of course, carry a lot of risk.I may make mistakes in debate, and the effects of such mistakes are difficult to undo.Jim Callahan is usually a superb TV performer, and he certainly didn't hesitate to use his authority and experience to strike me as condescending.In informal discussions beforehand, we learned that he wanted to discuss foreign affairs in the first debate, where he would be able to use his full strength.The above facts forced me to reconsider my original enthusiasm.

And Labor is ready to offer the Liberals a quid pro quo: they will have a long meeting with David Steele on the Friday before the election.My advisers and I agree that the most serious danger to us is a sudden last-minute Liberal support for Labour—a possibility that has now grown further since they wrested the Liberals from Labor in the recent by-election. Leaving Liverpool's Edge Hill seat, they are now vigorously exaggerating the "momentum" this by-election has given them - as they have always done.But I don't want to politically expose the Liberal leader if it's not necessary.

Therefore, I was persuaded not to participate in televised debates.It's not worth the risk.In conclusion, as I stated in my open answer to ITV's invitation: "I personally believe that the issues and policies that determine the outcome of an election are not personal character. We should stand by that position. We don't elect a president, we is choosing a government." The decision was correct, and the criticism it aroused from some quarters quickly died down. Another tactical question is about the morning press conference.In Gordon Reese's mind, it's best to cancel them altogether.Given the ill effects the media can have, his thinking makes sense.Few of the things covered in press conferences make the major news of the day, save perhaps for a few bizarre blunders and slips of the tongue -- thankfully none of which arose during the campaign.But the morning press conference did provide an opportunity for the press to ask some embarrassing questions, and thus for politicians to show off their talents.So the morning press conference is also an opportunity to earn the respect of seasoned journalists, whose judgments will shape the stories they write throughout the campaign.

Here comes a further complication: neither we nor Labor are willing to give up the convenient time of 9.30am to the other.It turned out that while we were holding a press conference at HQ, the Labor Party was also holding their press conference in the Transport Building across the square.And so there are sometimes hordes of journalists flooding the already overcrowded, overheated headquarters reception room, based on baseless accusations made by Jim Callaghan, Dennis Healy or Shirley Williams at the start of a Labor Party press conference. And attack, ask us questions.A final source of confusion arises from the use of "electronic newsgathering" cameras.Bulky and inconvenient to operate by today's standards, the cameras did greatly increase the flexibility and reach of television coverage.But the number of photographers has also increased a lot.The cameras slung over my shoulders and the snaking cables trailing the ground were a constant threat to me, both at headquarters and at various stops on my campaign tour.

For some reason, the Conservative Party campaign always started later and developed more slowly than the Labor Party.But this time, between the dissolution of Parliament and the announcement of our party's election manifesto on Wednesday 11 April, the Labor Party was more brazen than usual.That's largely because of the inefficiency of those colleagues whose public appearances and speeches I've charged them with: a difficulty throughout the campaign.Apart from the fact that Michael Heseltine's name frequently appeared in the headlines, the attitude of my colleagues was not that of politicians, but that of people preparing to lead government departments.Of course, that said, they were running the risk of sitting too long and allowing Labor to focus even more on me alone.But even I think they do us good as well as bad.In any campaign, there should be a balance between tone of voice and attacks on the individual. Labor intends to use this time to start attacking policies our party has not spoken out about.But the union leaders did not wait for the Labor bosses to shut them up, and began to talk in a tone reminiscent of the "winter of discontent" of the previous year, which happened to be in our favor.Sid Weghall, leader of the National Union of Rail Workers, threatened that if there was a Conservative government and free collective bargaining, he would "say to the workers, boys, come on, put your mouths in the troughs Go ahead," said Bill Keyes, leader of the Society of Calligraphers, Imprinters and Allied Trades, who pledged to "confront" if the country was foolish enough to elect a Tory to power.General and Municipal Workers union leader David Basnett also predicted labor conflict.These are the same old tunes that have been played for the Labor Party, but they are completely out of step with the thinking of voters now. I'm not completely silent either. April: On Thursday 1st, I addressed candidates (including Conservative MPs running for re-election) at a rally in Westminster Central Hall.It seemed to me—and probably everyone felt—that the place was not a good place for a public meeting, because the building was drab and characterless.This year has a special difficulty: the candidates want to hear me explain the main content of the election manifesto, but the manifesto has not yet been published, so I can only briefly explain the spirit of the document to them without revealing the details of the content.So I focused on lowering income taxes to better promote wealth creation and the need for labor union reform.The audience in the hall were all excellent orators, and it was not an easy task to speak to them.But their enthusiasm confirmed my feeling: We picked the right field to fight.