Localism, untapped potential

I knocked up this table late last night. It ain't great. Probably could've been labelled better. As you can see there is no data for the Tory candidate for the first week. Plus the Labour Twitter figures for that week are only approximations (I stupidly just took the rounded figure as displayed on my phone screen).

(click to enlarge)

Again, I don't think too much can be learnt from any of this. It's all pretty arbitrary. I think it would've been much better if I'd have started earlier. It would have given a broader picture. Plus I could've displayed the information in the form of a graph which would be more pleasing and easier to read.

Perhaps the most striking thing looking at this is that the independent candidate Antony High starts things with a whacking great four thousand Facebook page likes. Right up there with the more established Andy McDonald. This is very impressive. In fact, his final 'likes' tally was pretty similar to his vote number (4,822 and 4,548 respectively). Suggesting that many of those liking the Facebook page also went out and voted for him.

I think this is probably quite important. I going to give this the label "localism". I've mentioned before on here that most normal people tend to prefer local issues to national ones. With Facebook being "local" and Twitter being more "national" (and international). I think the Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston capitalised on this to great effect in his mayoral campaign earlier this year. It was then exercised to equally good effect (given the circumstances) by his deputy Antony High in this campaign.

Of course, it's not just Facebook it must be remembered. It's also about going out and essentially networking in the local community. In fact, this is what often pushes people to then go and like the Facebook page. The two things work in tandem. Mutually reinforcing each other.

By the time the Conservative candidate Ruth Betson (based in Cambridgeshire) and the Brexit Party candidate Faye Clements (based in the not quite so far away Thirsk) hit the ground they were already well behind in the ground/Facebook war.

It was always going to be incredibly difficult for an independent candidate to win at a national election. They're completely excluded from the sweeping national, party driven narrative. This is perhaps partly why the Antony High campaign lost momentum in the final week or so. It was an impressive vote tally nonetheless though. One that parties can really learn a lesson from as I think in future any party that can marry the national message with this level of "localism" can really sweep up.