I know I am right!
I can do much better than the people there now!
I can provide a real voice for voters!
These are all views which will sound familiar to anyone who has run in a public election in the UK and may be very much along the lines or exactly how you are feeling about the prospect of becoming a politician right now.
Unfortunately, you are not alone. Just in the election you plan to fight, there may be many others. The others may be members of Political Parties with all kinds of support. Other candidates may have been elected many times before. They may even be considered publicly to be ‘successful’.
One of the most difficult and frustrating aspects of running for a publicly elected office is the competition that you will face. Even if you are 100% certain of the justification and righteous nature of your campaign, it doesn’t mean that anyone else will ‘get it’, and in fact to many you may be seen to simply be very wrong.
As in most things, perception is everything in politics and its how as a candidate you are perceived by the people you are asking to elect you, that will ultimately reflect their choice.
As a candidate, your importance to voters may be something that is simply not yours to influence. Only so much of getting elected is about the work you do, the words you say and the effort you make – even when you do much more than every other candidate.
Party Politics plays a regrettable, yet significant part of what will happen on any Election Day when you are a candidate and if the election you are fighting falls on the wrong day – for instance you are running for your local district council on the same day that there is a General Election, the results of the local election might well be dictated by the national poll – just the very same.
Yes, it’s wrong. No, it’s not fair. But it’s how politics works in the UK and one of the most important things you can do to help yourself emotionally before you make a start, is understand and accept that your success within the political world is played out very much like a game. If you don’t understand the rules or are willing to work with them, you would be very wise to decide not to play.
DIY Politics UK 