It would have been wonderful to have won the recent by-election in Kettering, but realistically that was always going to be a long shot. The Northall Ward had been represented by three Conservative councillors; the by-election was brought about by the sudden death of one of them, just before Christmas.
We knew we would be up against very strong candidates from Conservative and Labour, who were both already well known in the area, plus one each from the Lib Dems and UK Reform. Nevertheless, we approached the (very) short campaign with determination and focus.
January was not a good month to be pounding the streets. It was cold and wet for much of it. Indeed, on one particularly stormy morning when we were out canvassing a resident offered us umbrellas, and I was this close to asking another for a towel. We battled on.
OK, we didn’t win the seat, but we won in so many other ways. The way in which local members and supporters from our wider community answered the call for help was incredible. Over 50 people came to deliver leaflets and letters, knock on doors and put up posters in their own windows. Existing bonds were strengthened and new ones formed – and will be carried with us into our next campaign.
We fine-tuned the skills we learned from our previous successful campaign in another local ward in 2021, and learnt new ones: for example, how to maintain a smile when receiving the old message that ‘I like what you stand for but you’re never going to win round here’ or receiving the full hairdryer treatment from a climate change denier. Chatting to people on the doorstep was mostly lovely, though. Many people were just glad to have someone willing to listen to them.
We have gathered a lot of experience and data that will be so useful next time around. It has been fascinating to explore parts of the town that some of us didn’t know. There are some roads in this vast sprawl of a ward that are so new they aren’t even on the map yet, while other parts are comprised of narrow Victorian terraces. There is a mix of huge luxury homes and social housing, and flats occupied predominantly by retired people alongside starter homes with younger residents. Its diversity is like the country in miniature.
Keeping a close eye as the ballot boxes were emptied gave us an idea of where our supporters are, and where we have some persuading to do. It was also interesting to monitor what the other parties were doing and to note their response to our campaign.
Despite not winning the seat, our overriding feeling is one of satisfaction with a job well done. We wanted to raise the profile of the Green Party in our town, which we definitely achieved, with 24 per cent of the votes cast our way. We also wanted the vacant seat to go to someone other than a Conservative, to bring a fresh perspective; and while we would have preferred it to be our candidate that won the day, at least residents in the ward now have an alternative (Labour) voice to counter the Tory ones on North Northants Council.
More important than all that, we have shown people that Kettering is no longer a two-party town and a vote for a Green candidate is not a wasted vote: and next time, who knows?