In the early hours of this morning it was announced that the Conservative Party managed to hold Newark in the recent by-election.
UKIP was hoping to secure its first parliamentary seat after its gains in last month’s local and European elections, but the Conservatives held on to the hotly-contested seat by what was eventually a comfortable margin of over 7,000 votes.
As part of its strategy, the Conservatives sent hundreds of activists to Newark, and each MP was ordered to visit the Nottinghamshire constituency at least three times.
David Cameron campaigning with Robert Jenrick, Newark’s newly elected MP
The strategy of all-out attack seems to have worked for the Party, with UKIP’s Director of Communications, Patrick O’Flynn, recognising his rivals’ efforts.
I doff my cap today to a formidable Tory operation in Newark. Very proud of our UKIP team and performance. But what happened to Labour?
— Patrick O’Flynn (@oflynndirector) June 6, 2014
Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps is responsible for the organisation of election campaigns. He founded initiative ‘Team 2015’ in 2013, which sends campaigners from across the country to targeted seats ahead of the General Election next year.
After a huge campaign day on May 31, which saw about 500 hundred young Conservatives descend on Newark, he tweeted:
Thanks to @Team2015 #RoadTrip2015 volunteers in #Newark today for @RobertJenrick – some of you pictured here pic.twitter.com/80xPboPHwr — Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) May 31, 2014
Prime Minister David Cameron joined him in celebrating the campaign efforts:
Great work @Team2015 “@grantshapps Thanks #RoadTrip2015 volunteers in #Newark today for @RobertJenrick pic.twitter.com/WjLo19k26U”
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) May 31, 2014
A campaigner for Tory youth branch Conservative Future said that success in the by-election was achieved through good organisation and local presence.
Student Elliott Johnson, who volunteered in Newark, told Kent Now: “We won this by-election because we worked hard in campaigning in a very well-managed way.
“The people in the local offices and those on the ground making the ‘real decisions’ were the real heroes in the campaign.
“We need bright and seasoned campaigners running the 40:40 seats on a local level in 2015. It’s good to see the party realises this and that in Newark we won because of that.”
A poll from Lord Ashcroft, released on Monday, showed that 92 per cent of voters had some contact from the Conservatives.
80 per cent said they had heard from UKIP, and 71 per cent from Labour.