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My vision and plan for the SDP

The SDP is a party of massive potential, and that’s exactly why so many people are frustrated at our failure to break through. This failure is due to both internal and external factors, within and outside our control, and to be successful, we need a proper plan that directly addresses these and improves absolutely everything we do.

Whoever the next leader is, must do this. They need to understand the current standing inside the party, have the vision and courage to build on what we do well and fix the things we don’t, and develop new approaches to doing things too.

As someone who has years of experience working in the SDP, has seen exactly what needs to be done, and knows how to develop business strategies from my working career, I believe that I am the best candidate to do this.

So what is my vision and plan?

To me, the SDP needs to firstly have a clear idea of what success looks like and where it wants to be in the short, medium and long term. This is how every successful organisation and political party operates, but is something we’ve never done.

My vision of where I want us to be is set out in 4 milestones - seen below. First, addressing the internal issues by fixing the foundations and trialling more strategic, innovative and collaborative approaches, second, beginning to scale up our capabilities and professionalising, third, establishing ourselves as one of the strongest minor political parties in Britain, and fourth, capable of making a national breakthrough.

Milestones

  1. Year One
    Architect’s compasses resting on a blueprint of a building plan

    Fixing the Foundations

    • A party with a plan

      have a proper party strategy in place, that everyone understands and is working towards.

    • Getting members involved

      creating roles for everyone, and encouraging, training and supporting our members to become volunteers, campaigners, staff and candidates.

    • New teams and better working

      new teams set up to deliver key functions like data, media and fundraising, better communication and collaboration, and a more delivery focused SDP.

    • Smarter campaigning

      a list of target election seats where we have the best chance produced, and focussing our resources and efforts on winning these seats.

    • Spread the message

      trying new approaches to policy, media and messaging, so that more people find out about and join the SDP.

  2. Year 3
    A tidy open-plan office with desks, monitors and paperwork

    Building the Capability

    • A more professional SDP

      a small, but professional, volunteer party, delivering high-quality work across all its operations.

    • More skilled people

      a growing force of trained campaigners, organisers, staff and candidates, to begin growing our reach.

    • Improving election results

      consistently growing our vote share in target seats, through stronger, smarter campaigns, with ideally 5-10 councillors secured, and beginning to expand our target list.

    • Growing membership and finances

      continuous growth in membership and participation, with strong national and regional membership, and a growing range of revenue streams.

    • A party people are noticing

      an increase in media and digital engagement, and growing recognition that we are a serious party among politically engaged people and in our target areas.

  3. Year 6
    The empty debating chamber of a town hall, with tiered wooden benches

    A Strong Minor Party

    • A serious minor party

      a strong, well-known minor political party with highly effective internal operations and beginning to hire a number of paid staff to further professionalise and expand.

    • A strong local force

      routinely winning or increasing our vote share across multiple local election target areas, with the ability to challenge in local elections across the country each year.

    • A powerful membership base

      a much larger and more active membership, with strong or growing regional parties and local groups across most of Britain.

    • Strong capabilities

      skilled teams covering all critical functions, with strong systems, processes, leadership and management, while giving more responsibility to regional and local parties.

    • Ready to contest nationally

      the membership, policy platform, finances, candidates, media output, organisation and campaigning capabilities to begin contesting some national election seats.

  4. Year 10
    The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben seen across the River Thames

    National Break Through

    • A major presence in British politics

      a popular, well-known and established British political party with a distinct political offering.

    • A mass membership and volunteer force

      a very large, active membership, strong local parties across Britain and thousands of experienced volunteers.

    • A professional national machine

      full-time staff and exceptional teams across key functions, capable of planning and supporting hundreds of campaigns and a network of elected councillors.

    • A strong electoral base

      numerous local councillors, possibly some MPs, and the capabilities and plan for national success.

    • The potential to win nationally

      a unique and popular political proposition, a large and sustainable financial base, a powerful public profile and the organisational capability to convert public support into significant numbers of national parliament seats.

This vision is what I believe to be the most feasible but ambitious trajectory for us, and one that you can expect me to work tirelessly to deliver if elected as leader. But in addition to a vision, we need a plan to make it happen.

That’s why within my first 100 days, I will publish a comprehensive party strategy, with this vision as its north star, and which will include a thorough review and assessment of our current operations, and a detailed plan of actions and objectives. Some of these actions are below.

Whilst I have my own view of this vision and strategy, I believe it's essential that members play a leading role in shaping both, and that’s why I also pledge to build on the recent Interim Party Review, with a further members survey, where you can have your say.

My key first year pledges:

  1. Publish a party strategy for the next 10 years, covering all of our operations

  2. Build on the recent interim party review, with a larger members survey, to provide more data on key issues and shape the new strategy/vision

  3. Establish a number of new teams, each with a team leader, to deliver key functions, such as Fundraising, Media, Data, and Elections

  4. Utilise data across the party, to inform, and maximise the impact of, our activities

  5. Draw up a shortlist of target seats where the SDP has the best chance of winning, and focus our efforts on campaigning here

  6. Creating more roles for members who want to volunteer, and setting up training sessions where members with key skills help train others in these skills

  7. Regular meetings for functional teams, and for members who are volunteering in the party, to foster more collaboration and people working towards shared goals

  8. More fundraising appeals, and trialling new and innovative approaches across the party

It’s time to end the fatalistic and idealistic attitudes, and lack of strategy that has failed us previously. What do you get if you elect me as leader? You will get someone who will put this thinking in the past, with a positive, but realistic vision, and a genuine plan to achieve it, and most importantly, someone who will involve you every step of the way.

With this vision and plan, we will fix the internal and external failings and challenges, we will build our own momentum, and will become a party that increasingly grows and succeeds year on year.

If you like the sound of all this, then Vote Adam Williams for SDP Leader.

Read Adam's policies for the SDP