Most people don't tune in to an election until two weeks before it happens. So what we’re seeing right now are the main parties frantically trying to attract the attention of floating votersand shore up their base, knowing there’s only a small window when they’ll have the nation’s
eyes and ears.
What do they do? They play to the issues they know people care about. According to the latest YouGov polling, for women these are the NHS, immigration and the economy. It’s interesting to note that these same issues are top of the agenda for men too – with the economy as their top concern. Also, some 13% of women still ‘don’t know’ who they will vote for, compared to 8% of men.
It doesn’t surprise me that women are especially engaged on the issue of the NHS. Women still take the lion’s share of caring responsibilities and the NHS runs through every woman’s life: be it a smear test, breast check, having a baby, the menopause or caring for elderly relatives. Immigration has risen up the agenda for men and women, which is also unsurprising given record levels of legal migration and images of those making the perilous Channel crossings in small boats still all over the news.
As for the economy, women are often managing household budgets, childcare costs and doing the weekly shop. Household disposable income is lower than it has been in years. On the first ITV leaders’ debate, a woman named Paula said she struggles to make ends meet and she’s worried about the future. It’s also what I hear time and again on the campaign trail.
So can undecided women swing this? No. Labour are too far ahead in the polls for the floating female voters to make a dent. If the Tories manage to take this lead off Labour it
will be a record-breaking victory no one has ever achieved before. So, while women are vitally important, this is not a knife-edge election, unless something goes drastically wrong, of course...
That’s why optics are everything. Each political party will send teams of staffers to locations in advance of big speeches or the visits we film for TV news. They want the visual messaging to be just right. Keen to give a casual vibe? Ask your politician to turn up in trainers. Want to portray your leader as a humble ‘man of the people’? Invite the press pack to a parish hall and make sure he’s drinking tea with the locals. There’s a reason why both Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunakkeep turning up with their shirt sleeves rolled up – they know reporters will refer to it. They want to show you they’re ‘getting down to business’.
Look out for the details – nothing is left to chance. At one speech location, anxious party staff even hung bunting across a window fitted with bars to make sure their politician didn’t look like he was in a prison. Failing to notice a potential gaffe like this would probably earn you a bollocking.
We call the campaign effort on broadcast and in the papers ‘The Air War’. But there is also ‘The Ground War’ – political leaflets stuffed through letterboxes and local politicians turning up on doorsteps. Even if they don’t show up IRL, you’re likely to see targeted messaging on your social media.
It can be hard to keep morale up when you’re frazzled and working on no sleep. On the campaign trail you don’t know where you’ll be the next day or when you’ll next see your bed. I saw Starmer the other day and he said he’ll get one night in his own bed if he’s lucky. Meanwhile, I’ve bought some portable hair straighteners, three concealers and given up alcohol. Labour candidate Jess Phillips said to me, ‘You either drink and go to bed early or you go to bed late and you don’t drink, but you can’t do both.’ She’s right.
But, the tiredness and craziness is worth it to report on or take part in an election this exciting. It will be historic no matter who wins. It’s either the biggest political comeback ever for the Tories or it’s a handover of power between the two parties that only ever really happens in our country every 14 to 18 years. So, to any voter, be it a young woman, a middle-aged mum, a single parent or someone caring for elderly relatives, sit down with the manifestos and decide who you want to put in charge.
Beth is host of Sky News political podcast Electoral Dysfunction