It works best when painting a substantive contrast on issues that voters care about. And here are four strategic choices for the Conservatives.
Once a seat reaches 30 per cent BME population, it goes Labour. In 2010, this applied to 75 seats. By 2022, it could apply to around 120 seats.
Brexit poses a values and voting challenge for both the main parties. It may be even bigger for Labour than for the Conservatives.
The Conservative Government is also going to have to get back to its DNA – cutting taxes. Reductions for those on incomes below £45,000 would send a powerful signal.
Key voters include those who voted heavily to remain in the EU, and were decisive in the lost Tory seats of Battersea, Kensington, Kingston and Twickenham.
People did not feel committed to their current party. The next election was, they hoped, a long way away, by which time much could have changed.
Many of us were denied access to VoteSource, literature and printing resources – and we all had to wait for ever for CCHQ to ‘approve’ any and every statement printed.
Both parties hammered the Lib Dems as a clutch of very slender victories gave Labour their point of light on election night.
The last ten surveys contain mixed news for all parties and some noteworthy results.
Our fifth battleground summary explores the capital, where Labour and the Conservatives square off whilst trying to squeeze out the Liberal Democrats.