Alex Clarkson: Winning a by-election the old-fashioned way – with grit, guts, and ground force

Alex Clarkson is Councillor for Borehamwood Hillside on Hertsmere Borough Council and is also Deputy Chairman of Hertsmere Conservative Association. He stood in Stevenage at the last General Election. He is a Founder Member of Conservatives Together and is the Vice-Chairman (Outreach) of LGBT+ Conservatives.  

You know you’re wiped out from a by-election when you wake up the morning after the count-before and find the faces of not one, but two candidates you have campaign-managed, gazing down at you! 

Not literally (I admire them both, but not that much!), but from the dozens of headshots still blue-tacked to the walls of what had once been a buzzing committee room, now eerily still. 

From the sofa, ‘Counting Agent’ lanyard still around my neck, I started reflecting. Not just on the night before, when we pushed Labour into fourth and denied Reform UK a victory they arrogantly thought was theirs, but on the month-long campaign that got us there. 

Some context: these by-elections (two: one borough, one town) weren’t ones we wanted. They were caused by the death of my dear friend and colleague, Cllr Rabbi Alan Plancey MBE. He was an extremely popular councillor, well-known and widely respected, with a long-standing record of service and delivery – a genuine institution in the community. 

It was his personal vote that helped him win re-election in 2023, even as Labour took the other two seats in this three-member ward. Alan was the bridge to residents and without him, we knew we were up against it. 

Let’s start with Reform. They’d taken the county division back in May. Labour kept insisting online that it was a straight fight between them and Reform and even I, in my darkest moments, thought they might clinch it. 

But they were complacent. They showed up with a calling card featuring Nigel Farage next to their candidate, and then a last-minute leaflet that was basically a party membership form with, of course, another picture of Farage. They got very excited running a few street stalls and ranting online. But on the ground? They were nowhere. 

Now, they’ve been doing the same elsewhere and picking up seats left, right, and centre, so what made this by-election different? Why didn’t they break through here? 

Labour meanwhile painted it as a Reform vs Labour two-horse race, but they soon switched tactics and started attacking our candidates. The irony? They were running a “Vote for Change in Brookmeadow” campaign when two out of the three councillors already representing the ward were Labour! It didn’t make sense. 

Their 33 per cent collapse in vote share can be directly linked to a dismal year running Hertsmere. Failing to deliver a local plan; scrapping PCSOs; bin charges; fly-tipping up; and an unholy alliance with the Liberal Democrats that’s left residents fed up. Throw in the national mood under Sir Keir Starmer, and it’s no wonder people wanted a better option. 

So, what did we offer? A message rooted in what residents care about: the state of the local park, a campaign for a banking hub, and raising concerns about overdevelopment clogging up already choked streets and parking bays. 

We linked those to Labour’s local failures and Reform’s absence of vision or presence. Reform interestingly wasn’t even perceived as a party in the traditional sense; as one voter put it to me: “it’s more a cult than a campaign.” 

Candidate selection mattered. Both of ours were experienced former councillors, already known locally, and had served with Plancey, a crucial link to his personal vote and legacy. They had the passion, the drive and crucially, the authenticity.  

We needed people who weren’t just names on a ballot, but proven campaigners ready to knock, speak, listen, and act. We had them – and we didn’t just put their names on a leaflet. We fought. This campaign was run like a general election: 

• Two leaflets –  the first to every household, the second more targeted;

• Postal vote pledge letters, with messaging tailored by street and neighbourhood;

• A ‘week of poll’ leaflet with photos of the late Cllr Plancey and the candidates;

• A ‘dawn raid’ leaflet that landed on every Strong and Probable Conservative’s doormat in time for breakfast.

We started canvassing the minute the election was called, the candidates were out every evening, and big teams every weekend. 

 Now we’re back to those posters staring at me the morning after! Hundreds of them. Correx boards up. Window posters everywhere. Digital adverts on a big screen by the railway station. 

It was unapologetically old-school. We didn’t quite put our candidates on a soapbox on Shenley Road, but it was close. On polling day, it felt like 1987: a proper committee room, tellers at every polling station, activists proudly wearing rosettes, stickers and Tory T-shirts like they were going out of fashion! 

This was a ward where you couldn’t move without knowing there was a by-election. And if you thought you could escape by scrolling social media, you had to think again if you lived in Borehamwood Brookmeadow! 

We completely dominated online: a minimum of three posts a day, a mix of paid and organic. Facebook community groups were full of it. We had everything from doorstep videos to third-party endorsements, from candidates speaking with voters to clips of our MP raising with Angela Rayner in Parliament the issues brought up on the doorstep. Labour and Reform loathed it – which meant we were doing something right! 

But the real secret? The polling day operation. We knocked up our Cs and Ps once… then again for those who weren’t in… then a third time in key areas. That had never before been done in Hertsmere. We pulled it off because we had the data (we’d spent weeks building it) and we had the numbers on the ground. 

Massive credit to CCHQ for helping run our buzzing committee room, especially Max Hopfl and Jack Berry (legends). But this was also about mutual aid. We’ve been helping neighbouring associations since the general election – and they showed up for us: activists from Bedford, Stevenage, Barnet, Epsom… someone even came down from Sheffield! 

We brought in the Young Conservatives, LGBT+ Conservatives, Conservatives Together –  and gave everyone a role. It felt like a proper, welcoming, fighting force – and it made a difference. Forget the theory. Here’s what worked: 

• Identify your target audience early and use canvass data to shape your GOTPV;

• Campaign on hyper-local issues — go Lib Dem in style, but don’t ignore national pain points like U-turns, tax rises, or crime;

• Select candidates who already have recognition in the community and will campaign;

• Tailor postal vote letters — local references matter more than generic messages;

• Go full 1980s on posters — visibility boosts morale and voter turnout;

• Social media: don’t stop. Instagram and Facebook are king. Don’t fear the opposition’s online heckling – it means you’re winning;

• Treat Polling Day like it’s a General Election. Full teller operation. Three rounds of knock-ups. A centrally located campaign HQ with tea, biscuits, and high-energy volunteers;

• Involve affiliate groups. The team from Conservatives Together were amazing – impressive on the doorstep, you can basically brief them on the key issues and the Candidates, set them off and away they go! Same with the team from LGBT+ Conservatives – their enthusiasm and vibe were infectious and rubbed off on our Association’s team;

• Make it a big tent for everyone. YCs for dawn raids, veterans for polling stations, people with mobility issues on phones, lift-givers, data-wranglers, first-timers. Make them feel valued. Because they are.

 We won because we earned it – through sweat, strategy, and sheer stubbornness. So, here’s to everyone who gave up their time, their energy, their weekends, and their sleep. This was a win the old-fashioned way, and proof that when we put boots on the ground, we can turn the tide.  

Just don’t forget to take down the posters before you fall asleep on the sofa!