Lib Dems Will Get More Election Campaign Cash If They Up Their Doorknocking

Liberal Democrat campaigners who deliver more leaflets and knock on more doors will have their general election budgets boosted by HQ as the party escalates its ground game for 2024.

PoliticsHome understands that recruiting new party members and raising more funds locally will also be among the indicators that will see regional activists in the party’s target seats rise in internal party league tables and be rewarded with more campaigning cash. 

The Lib Dems, led by Ed Davey, are hoping to make significant gains in Tory heartlands at the next general election, which must be called before the end of 2024. Many of these are in the so-called ‘Blue Wall’ in the south of England, traditionally Tory seats where a large number of voters backed Remain in 2016, and where the Lib Dems have already enjoyed a number of by-election victories.

In the 2019 general election, Brexit dominated campaigning across all major parties, but five years later, the absence of a universally divisive issue means that parties are likely to run hyper-local campaigns in order to lure out reluctant voters. 

A Lib Dem source said that the business-like KPIs (key performance indicators) including amount of leaflets delivered, doors knocked, funds raised and members recruited will form an important part of local campaigning strategy. Activists will need to hit all four in order to unlock the extra cash. 

More campaign managers are also being recruited across individual seats, and the party’s Westminster office has been downsized, as they pump more money into activity outside of London. 

“If you want to win you’ve got to prove yourself, and then you get more HQ resource,” a Lib Dem source said. 

Digital ads will run in target seats, and traditional media