Labour to copy Obama election model

Internet will be used to spread message in online equivalent of word-of-mouth campaign

Obama's campaign will be used as a model

Labour will model its election strategy this year on Barack Obama's winning campaign which made the internet central to spreading his message, according to the party's election co-ordinator Douglas Alexander.

In an interview with the Guardian Alexander said Labour is investing in a system that enables party members to contact voters online to build support.

The system will complement rather than replace offline campaigning, Alexander said.

Last year he went to speak to the Obama team and expected them to tell him that modern campaigning should be focused around the internet.

"Actually they said this is about to peer-to-peer communication – the internet just gives you new ways of having that conversation," Alexander said.

"Historically Labour has used technology as a form of control. We would use pagers and faxes to send out messages telling people what line to take. The key learning from the Obama campaign is to use technology to empower your supporters."

The internet was widely seen as a key factor in Barack Obama's US presidential election victory last year. As well as using it to spread his message, Obama's campaign team raised millions online through small donations from supporters.

Alexander mentions the way in which posters of David Cameron were repeatedly spoofed online by groups such as mydavidcameron.com as an example of how decentralised support can help win the election.

Traditionally, this has been seen as a strength of the Conservatives. Web sites such as Iain Dale's Diary, the Guido Fawkes Blog and Conservativehome are gathering points for grassroots Tory supporters, but all maintain a degree of independence from the party.

Labour's equivalent, Labourlist, got off to a rocky start after it was revealed to be taking unconfirmed stories straight from the communications team at 10 Downing St.

The Tories also have a voter database, known as Merlin, but Alexander said it is inferior to Labour's system.