“Persuasion Pathways” to the “Hero Voter”: Understanding the Labour Party’s Ground Campaign Approach in the 2024 General Election

In July 2022, the Labour Party launched a renewed door-to-door campaigning script with a view to improving the way the party on the ground speaks to constituents, bearing in mind that for most voters, door-to-door canvassing is the most direct contact they will have with the party. The changed script reflected a return to a persuasion model, in place of the approach entirely focused on collecting data and getting identified supporters to the polls, which had prevailed since the 1990s. It also marked an effort to better mobilise local activists by improving their experience on the doorstep. Labour’s efforts to upgrade its campaigning methods and strategy largely arose from the deep-seated feeling of insecurity resulting from the party’s 14 years in opposition, the long-term changes in the electorate which were painfully brought to light by Brexit, and the collapse of the “Red Wall” in 2019. Labour’s overall strategy was thus designed to recapture working-class, socially conservative “hero voters”. Drawing from first-hand material and direct participation in Labour training programmes both live and online, as well as campaigning in the general election in one of the battleground seats, this article provides an analysis of the conduct of the Labour Party 2024 ground campaign to assess whether the return to a persuasion model after 30 years of GOTV reflected a qualitative change in the perception by the Labour Party of their electorate and of their activists.