Campaign guide for Equity’s local elections 2024 campaign

On this page, you’ll find everything you need to run an effective campaign in your area, whether you are going  to target your local council, your metro mayor election, or the London Assembly election.

We’ve set out the campaign steps in a clear and simple way, with links to campaign tools and templates that we’ve already written, to help you kickstart a campaign in your local council area.

But first, lets talk about why we’re doing this

Last year councils invested more than £2 billion in culture and library services in England alone – more than double Arts Council England’s investment. But thanks to austerity and inflation, that’s still 40% less per person than in 2010.

This funding is the bread and butter for Equity members’ work across the country.

But councils across the country are preparing to issue section 114 notices as a result of sustained austerity compounded by the cost of living crisis. And even where Councils are holding off from cuts, the squeeze on resources means that terms and conditions for our members get worse and worse.

You’ll have seen the headlines, 100% cuts to culture budgets mean one thing for our members, less work and fewer jobs.

But local council arts budgets are tiny enough as it is. Cutting them won’t solve the funding problems they face, but it will have an outsize impact on the cultural life you get to enjoy in your local area. You cannot run social care on £50k or £100k a year but you can commission dozens of Equity members for arts and culture work.

We need local politicians to hear that message loud and clear. That’s why we’ve written this campaign guide - for you to bring this message home to them.

This may seem like a lot - but trust me, when you break it down step by step, and with help from your fellow Equity members and staff, it will be easy.

You shouldn’t plan to do this alone. Make sure you assemble a team in your branch. If you’ve not been to your branch yet, now is a great time to reach out!

And remember, don’t be a perfectionist! It is better for a campaign to be fast and messy, than be perfect and miss the moment.

Step 1: Make sure you are registered to vote.

The more members we have registered, the more credible our campaign threat to politicians will be.

The deadline to vote in the 2 May elections has now passed. But it's still worth checking if you're registered to vote for future elections.

You’ll need to show photo ID when voting in person in some UK elections or referendums. Check if you have the right photo ID. If you do not, apply for free Voter ID by 5pm 24 April.

Step 2: Ask your local candidates to take our pledge.

We need as many politicians as possible on record - whether they will stop the cuts. We want to know if they will take the pledge, or if they refuse, both are as important.

If you have local council elections on 2 May, there are lots of ways you can lobby your local candidates during the election period:

• Email your councillor: Use our online tool to send an email straight to your local councillor inbox, asking them if they will commit to stop the cuts and protect arts funding. Feel free to edit it or leave it just as it is. All you need is your postcode to get started. 
   
• Raise the issue on the doorstep: If campaigners knock on your door to canvass your support, raise the issue of arts funding.
   
• Hustings: Look out for hustings events and go along to ask the candidates whether they will stop the cuts to arts funding. 
   
• Use social media: Find your local candidates on social media and ask them if they will pledge to stop the cuts and save the arts. 

You can find out who your local candidates are on the Who can I vote for? website. 

If you need any help on finding out who to contact or on formulating a question to ask at a hustings, get in touch with Dugald Johnson on djohnson@equity.org.uk   

No elections near you?  

If your local council are not holding elections, then you can use our online email tool to find your local councillors and send them a pre-written email. 

Step 3: Submit a question to your local Council’s public question time on arts funding.

Putting questions to Councillors in a public meeting, in front of local press, is a really effective way of getting results. The Council has to respond, if its a big issue, local press will cover it. It puts your issue on the politicians’ radar, and you can even follow this up with a meeting request. If you need any help on submitting a question get in touch with Dugald Johnson on djohnson@equity.org.uk.

But how do I ask a question at my local council meeting?

Almost all councils provide time at the start of their agendas for something called ‘public question time’ where residents can submit and ask questions in person to the leader of the council, mayor, or any other member of the council cabinet - on a question within the Council’s remit.

You can submit a question to ask at Council through the Council’s Democratic Services team. You can find this by searching/googling the words ‘public question time’ and the name of your council e.g. ‘public question time Birmingham council’. You are looking for an email address, usually called democratic services, where you can submit your question in writing.

If you cannot find it this way, try looking for the agenda of your Council’s next meeting, you should find the details there.

How do I write my question?

There will be rules about how you can submit your question, e.g. length of questions, and the number of business days it must be sent in advance of the meeting.

Keep your question short and to the point, e.g. something like:

Can the Council confirm that it will not cut arts and culture funding in the current or next financial year?

OR

Will the Council reverse its decision to cut arts and culture funding given the huge impact it will have on the local economy, SEND and education services in the district?

OR

Will the Council commit to ringfencing its arts and culture funding budget for the next financial year, to ensure that it continues to provide a rich cultural offer to residents, and work for Equity members who rely on this funding?

Once submitted and you have confirmation that the question has been accepted, get in contact with your branch and your regional officer to let them know what you’ve done. It is always good to have extra Equity members join you at the Council meeting, in the public gallery, to support you as you ask your question. It shows politicians that your issue matters to a lot of people.

Make sure you turn up in an Equity t-shirt or hoody, and go with your question written down, so that you are ready to stand up and read it out when asked.

All meetings of the Full Council, and meetings of its committees or sub-committees should be open to the public - so you shouldn’t be denied entry. Contact your Regional Official if this happens (find their details on the contact tab of your nearest branch page, or select your region from the drop down on our contact us form).

Step 4: Get in touch with your branch to say you want to campaign. We’ll only win our demands collectively.

Especially if you’ve just done Step 3 and submitted a question to your local council meeting! You’ll want to let other members know to come down and support you! A good branch will organise a rally outside the Council meeting, and pack the public gallery with supporters whilst your question is being asked.

Use our ‘find my branch’ tool to get the contact details of your local branch, or Regional Official who can connect you with your branch (find their details on the contact tab of your nearest branch page, or select your region from the drop down on our contact us form). 

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Step 1: Decide which Council you are going to target.

Ask yourself where are cuts being made? Where do you have the most members based? Can you mobilise them? If you’re having trouble working out which Council to target, ask your Regional Official for help (find their details on the contact tab of your nearest branch page, or select your region from the drop down on our contact us form).

Step 2: Set up a petition.

Once you’ve decided on a Council, then set up a petition on megaphone.org.uk to build support for your demands!

• Set your demand: So what do you write on your petition? Your petition should say something like “X Council, stop the cuts to arts funding” OR “X Council, commit to funding the arts”.
  
  
• Choose your target: You’ll want to target your Council Leader, as they are the person who can make the final decision.
  
  
• Write a snappy headline: Your title is the first thing people will see. Make it urgent. This is crucial to grabbing attention and creating a connection to your cause. If your petition is about a local area, a specific workplace or industry, include that in the title.
  
  
• Tell a story: To explain why this petition is important, tell people a personal story. People are most likely to take action when they understand who is affected and what’s at stake.
  
  
• A picture says a thousand words: Petitions with a photo receive six times more signatures than those without. Choose photos of real people that are connected to your cause and capture the emotion of your story.

Other tips

• Keep your petition concise. Use action words (e.g. join, stand, fight) and don’t bore or overwhelm the reader by giving them too much detail about policy or process.
  
  
• Accuracy matters! Signing a petition is an act of trust, so make sure your information is backed up by facts, well-researched and not duplicating other petitions that exist. If you have specific data about arts funding in your local council area, even better!
  
  
• Ask fellow branch members or Regional Official to help you find this information.
  
  
• Keeping it local keeps it relevant. Residents will be moved to sign something that affects them personally, like local council cuts to their theatre, library, or school arts workshop. And the more people who sign your petition, the more pressure you will build on the Council, who see petition signers as potential voters. 

You’ll be able to email your petition signers through Megaphone to tell them about how your campaign is going - e.g. if you’re going to host a rally or public meeting, and ask them to show up.

Step 3: Order posters, leaflets, pledge cards and other materials from your Regional/National Official!

Request all our printed campaign materials from your Regional Official. They’ll have a stock of materials waiting to be used in the Regional Office. Find your Regional Official details on the contact tab of your branch page, or select your region from the drop down on our contact us form.

Step 4: Hold an event!

This could be a branch meeting where you invite local candidates to speak to members, or it could be a public event or rally, where you draw people’s attention to the crisis in arts funding, and call on politicians to commit to your demands. Or maybe it's a rally outside a council meeting if you’re planning to ask a question at the Council’s public question time.

The point is to make politicians know that this is the big issue of the election for you and lots of Equity members (voters) like you.

How do I run my event?

• What is your event? Make sure you’ve got the branch agreed on the type of event, and you know why you’re holding the event. E.g. you’re protesting cuts outside a Council meeting; or you’ve invited politicians to a branch meeting for a question & answer session.
  
  
• Logistics: Choose your date, venue and time. Make it a time and place that members are likely to be able to attend. Book your venue, decide if you need catering.
  
  
• Contact journalists: Media coverage will promote your event to a wider audience and put pressure on decision-makers. Click the link for our guide on How to publicise your campaign activity to press, which includes tips on how to contact journalists, a template email for inviting them to your event, and how to work with them at the event itself.
  
  
• Advertise! Make sure people know about your event. Create an event on megaphone and email out to your branch members.

Try this email template to advertise your event

Dear [member name]

We are hosting a Stop the Cuts event/rally/demo and need your help!

Can you join us at our [name of event] at [time] [date] [venue] ?

You can RSVP here: [your megaphone event link]

The more members who turn up, the more pressure we can put on politicians to listen to our demands.

Can you rely on you to turn up?

As a reminder, here are the details:
What:
When:
Where:
Why:

Yours in solidarity,

[your name] - Equity campaign organisers

Step 5: Submit a question to your local Council’s public question time on arts funding

Putting questions to Councillors in a public meeting, in front of local press, is a really effective way of getting results. The Council has to respond, if its a big issue, local press will cover it. It puts your issue on the politicians’ radar, and you can even follow this up with a meeting request. If you need any help on submitting a question get in touch with Dugald Johnson on djohnson@equity.org.uk.

But how do I ask a question at my local council meeting?

Almost all councils provide time at the start of their agendas for something called ‘public question time’ where residents can submit and ask questions in person to the leader of the council, mayor, or any other member of the council cabinet - on a question within the Council’s remit.

You can submit a question to ask at Council through the Council’s Democratic Services team. You can find this by searching/googling the words ‘public question time’ and the name of your council e.g. ‘public question time Birmingham council’. You are looking for an email address, usually called democratic services, where you can submit your question in writing. 

If you cannot find it this way, try looking for the agenda of your Council’s next meeting, you should find the details there.

How do I write my question?

There will be rules about how you can submit your question, e.g. length of questions, and the number of business days it must be sent in advance of the meeting.

Keep your question short and to the point, e.g. something like:

Can the Council confirm that it will not cut arts and culture funding in the current or next financial year?

OR

Will the Council reverse its decision to cut arts and culture funding given the huge impact it will have on the local economy, SEND and education services in the district?

OR

Will the Council commit to ringfencing its arts and culture funding budget for the next financial year, to ensure that it continues to provide a rich cultural offer to residents, and work for Equity members who rely on this funding?

Once submitted and you have confirmation that the question has been accepted, get in contact with your Regional Official to let them know what you’ve done (find their details on the contact tab of your nearest branch page, or select your region from the drop down on our contact us form). It is always good to have extra Equity members join you at the Council meeting, in the public gallery, to support you as you ask your question. It shows politicians that your issue matters to a lot of people.

Make sure you turn up in an Equity t-shirt or hoody, and go with your question written down, so that you are ready to stand up and read it out when asked.

All meetings of the Full Council, and meetings of its committees or sub-committees should be open to the public - so you shouldn’t be denied entry. Contact your Regional Official if this happens.

Step 6: Get pledges from candidates.

Use our pledge cards to get candidates to sign on the dotted line, at your events, outside council meetings, ask them to sign in person when you email them. And get a photo of it! We want them on record stating where they stand.

Once you’ve got some pledges, make sure to tell the press! Take a look at our online guide on How to publicise your campaign activity to press - which includes tips on how to contact journalists - to let people know which politicians support your campaign.

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