Politics And Fun - Can The Two Mix?
Birmingham Hodge Hill, the week before the 2005 parliamentary
by-election. A team of Conservatives, both young and old, pour
off the campaign coach ready to... have their photograph taken
outside the Labour headquarters with Boris Johnson.
Yes, even in the most frantic of campaigns, political parties
have never been adverse to enjoying themselves at the same time.
Thousands of leaflets were delivered that day but, when the dust
has settled on the campaign, what many people will remember is
Labour volunteers coming out to join in the photograph. Not
because it was significant or life changing, but just because it
was fun, a much needed diversion in the middle of a hard day's
work. Even if the Conservatives had won that campaign I have no
doubt that it would still be the memory that stuck around long
afterwards.
Politics is about going out and making a difference in the
world. But that doesn't stop people from having a good time
whilst doing so. Indeed that is what encourages many activists
to keep coming back: the growing sense of companionship, rapport
and teamwork which are established under the pressure of a
political campaign. Which is something all of us political hacks
could do well to remember when