This is the third article in our series on political activism. The first instalment looked at various ways in which activists seek to influence politics. In the second instalment, we discussed the importance of having a plan, and of starting local. Now we look at finding support and understanding narrative.
Most people say they aren’t interested in politics. They recognize the prime minister and one or two colourful ministers, and perhaps the leader of the opposition. That’s about it. But they are interested in the state of the local GP surgery or hospital A&E. Or whether the local school has enough computers, or the plans to build new houses on the field down the road.
Those are political too, of course, but not in the abstract. People respond to how they and their family are affected by what’s going on, especially in their street, their neighbourhood. Newspapers recognize this. If there is a pub fire then the headline won’t read ‘Pub Fire in Framlingham’, because if you live more than a few miles away from Framlingham you won’t give a monkey’s. Instead, the headline will read: ‘Fire in Town Centre Pub’, so you read on to find out which town centre and if it’s your boozer.
Be interesting! Talk about what they want to talk about
Don’t expect the public to become impassioned about something that doesn’t directly affect them. But almost all issues have a local resonance if you present them in the right way. If you want to get rid of your MP, look for the ways he or she has failed your village or neighbourhood. Find one that particularly exercises people and start there, about concreting over that little meadow to make a Brexit lorry park. You want to make it something that might turn them out to a meeting on a wet night.
Which brings us to the state of our political parties. They do still expect people to come out on wet nights, to sit in a draughty hall on uncomfortable seats while a po-faced party apparatchik reads out the minutes. A friend who had spent almost his entire career as a party agent remarked to me: ‘In all those years, I’ve never called a party member to tell them that evening’s meeting is cancelled without hearing relief in their voice’.
Politics shouldn’t be boring! Hold meetings in the pub
So hold meetings when you have to, but preferably in pubs or somebody’s house, with refreshments, and above all make them fun. Politics shouldn’t be boring. After all, it’s about things that people care about. It can also provide wonderful bonhomie and companionship. Some of the best evenings of my life have been in a pub after a couple of hours’ canvassing. People go home feeling good about themselves if you have explained to them how it will work and how they personally can make a difference.So make sure it’s fun, and make sure people feel empowered.
Recognise how the story got there and where it’s going next
Once you have your plan and your team, you’ll need to look for opportunities. As it happens, this week’s news is all about the political narrative: a narrative about narrative. Because the government came in so cautiously, not wanting to frighten the horses, their narrative is still essentially what they inherited from the Tories. So a fear of too much change means, narratively, that little has changed.
All stories by definition have narrative. And you have to recognise it before you can begin to control it and hope to change it. Where did any story begin, how, and who is responsible for it? Ask yourself how it came to be in the public domain. In whose interest is it? Who was involved? Who called who, and why? By charting its progress and identifying where and why it began you can probably get an idea of whose interests are being served and where it’s likely to go next.
Stories are often not what they seem: be canny
For example, during final negotiations over the projected Sizewell C power station, an apparent neighbourhood group showed up out of the blue as the very first in several years’ hoo-ha actually to support the project. But it was led by somebody who didn’t seem to be local, had ties to a couple of dubious energy companies and was using some suspiciously well-honed phraseology. It would be reasonable therefore to wonder whether this idea didn’t originate round the table of some London PR agency, employed by a Sizewell contractor. (That thought didn’t occur to the local newspaper. They just printed it.)
Recognise, seize and then own the narrative
Journalists have a herd instinct: they are all trying to follow the narrative too, so they all tend to look in the direction they expect it to go.
So, standing at the back of the crowd and shouting to gain their attention doesn’t work. Nobody is listening. You have to step out to the front, on stage where the attention is focused, with something new and preferably sensational to add; and once you have their attention you can draw them over to where you want them.
All news stories begin with the words: ‘In a shock move today…’ unless there is a good reason why they can’t. There is almost always a good reason why they can’t, but it’s a good principle. When you’re looking to control the narrative, try to make your story as immediate and as engrossing as possible.
You can’t tell journalists what to write or report. You have to understand what they want to write and then be there to provide it for them, but on your own terms and with your own angle. Then you can begin to steer it where you want to go. Controlling the narrative is so important. Seize it, own it, then direct where you want it to go.
