John Moss is a Campaign Manager at College Green Group who supports clients seeking election.
On the train to Manchester (or possibly Birmingham) a few years ago a group of Young Conservatives were sitting behind me, poring over the conference handbook looking for the best fringe events to attend. I overheard, “Look for the knife and fork and wine glass symbols. That means free food and booze.”
Trust me. That’s not why an aspiring candidate should attend!
The Party’s annual conference is an opportunity to massively expand your network and boost your personal profile. As someone who wanted to change the planning system to get more homes built (I still do) I used the fringe guide not to find free sustenance, but meetings where I could ask good questions and hopefully be noticed by the Minister on the panel. In advance, if you have a specialist subject, make sure the think tanks running the events know you plan to attend. That might help get you called to ask a question.
Even better, if they lose a speaker, they might ask you to step in to ensure they have a full panel.
Don’t try to attend every event, but do think about how you maximise your impact. If you follow a particular Shadow Minister around, try to get the attention of their wingman/woman and ask for a card to contact them later. If you say, ‘I know you must be furiously busy. Can I contact you about a meeting after the conference?” they will appreciate someone who doesn’t make an instant demand for ten minutes of their charge’s valuable time!
And if you see them later in a bar or restaurant, say hello – and buy them a drink if they want one.
Don’t neglect the professionals who are attending also. Industry bodies and others will exhibit and sponsor fringe events. Your networking doesn’t need to be limited just to your own interests.
With 4-5,000 Conservative members corralled together for four days, the opportunity to expand your network within the Party is immense, but if you are looking at specific constituencies then target them. You may know no one from Little Snoring and The Beeches, but someone there will. Target the regional drinks receptions. Grab a drink, smile and say hello. Be honest. Tell people you’re on ‘The List’, or hope to be, and which constituency you want to target. Listen then ask if they know someone. Don’t move on straight away.
And the Candidates’ Team staff are there too. Go and see them. They are likely to never have met you in person.
This is your opportunity, and theirs, to put names to faces and for you to probe what they feel about your chances in any particular seat. Don’t expect too much, but make sure you leave with something to follow up on.
The Party Member training sessions might seem a little nerdy, but if you get to be a candidate, you’ll be expected to know about campaigning. Conservative Policy Forum discussions can help you meet people interested in the same things as you.
And finally. Eat and drink properly. Have at least a little breakfast, lunch and dinner. Never pass a water fountain without topping up and avoid drinking too much free wine. You are of course welcome to drink some of our free wine at the College Green Group drinks on Monday evening!