Should Labourhome Have Done 'That Poll'?

I feel compelled to post about 'that Labourhome poll'. I am one of the folks that help run the site, primarily alongside co-founders Alex Hilton and Jag Singh, therefore I have my fingerprints all over the decision to regularly poll our members.

One important function of online communities such as Labourhome is that it can act as a block when expressing views and opinions. Our job is to facilitate that and help the members get behind particular campaigns e.g. the recent demand for better behaviour in the fundraising area.

We decided exactly a year ago to use online polling as a way of aggregating the voices on the site and amplifying their concerns into mainstream media. This ensures that the voice of the grassroots on Labourhome is represented against the plethora of pressure groups, think tanks, trade unions, consultants, backbenchers and former ministers. It also means that people have an incentive to participate and contribute more to the community if they see that their concerns will be taken to a higher level.

We've done this roughly every month for a year. Sometimes the poll is positive on the Party, sometimes it carries views on how we can all do better. This time we negotiated an exclusive deal with the Independent, who splashed on their front page that 55% of Party activists would like a new leader.

People rightly ask questions. How do you purport to represent Labour's grassroots? We don't, just the thousands that use our site. How do you know you are not attracting Tories in disguise that will make mischief for the Party? We use the same software used by the Hilary Clinton campaign. To reflect the mischievous nature of Tories on the blogosphere, we can track and screen out repeat users, users from particular IP addresses e.g. Tory HQ (!), geographical locations (a bunch of people from Prague?!) and screen out users who are linked through from Tory supporting blogs. Were you paid in terms of cash or favours for working with the Inde? Nope. Placing an exclusive in return for a better splash is part and parcel of media relations.

The million-dollar question is - will you do another one? Yes, but I talk a lot about the Party listening more to the grassroots and adapting its approach. We are listening also and will pay heed to the feelings of our users, Labour bloggers and folks within the Party.