Advertising, Football, Politics & Barnet

I was reading the other day about Barnet FC's attempts to build a new stadium close to their traditional Underhill home being refused permission by the council. To quote the Barnet Post, "a disappointed Barnet fan left the room shouting 'elections in May' after the football club’s bid to return to Underhill was rejected by councillors earlier tonight".

And it reminded me of the fabulous Vote Valley campaign that fans of Charlton Athletic ran in the 1990s as they fought the council to be allowed to return to the Valley. I suspect Barnet FC fans everywhere might like to know about it. Or even be keen to do something similar.

Richard Hunt, an account director at BMP and a committed Charlton fan, together with the brilliant creative team of Mike Hannett and Dave Buchanan, worked with a group of Charlton Supporters as they formed the Vote Valley campaign.

In 1990, Charlton Athletic supporters formed a grassroots political movement known as the "Valley Party". Their sole purpose was to push for the return of Charlton Athletic FC to its original home ground, The Valley, in Greenwich - having been forced into ground‑share at Selhurst Park after eviction in 1985.

• They contested 60 out of 62 council seats in the London Borough of Greenwich.

• Though they won no seats, they secured 14,838 votes—about 11% of the total vote—an overwhelming show of community support for the issue

• The campaign made national headlines with bold poster campaigns, local press coverage, and public meetings. It was executed by a volunteer team of fans with very modest funding, yet the efforts delivered unexpected influence

Local media, especially The Mercury newspaper, also played a vital role. The Valley Party’s consistent coverage, signage, and emotional storytelling elevated the campaign from fandom to civic action. Headlines like “Vote Valley” applied pressure to local politicians, and political figures across Greenwich lost seats as a result

This combination of grassroots organization, poster branding, and coordinated media narrative was highly effective, capturing both public sentiment and political attention.

Although they never held a seat, the Valley Party achieved its core goal: Charlton Athletic FC returned to The Valley in December 1992, after nearly eight years away.

The campaign even won an IPA Effectiveness award.

Great days. Barnet Fans - hear more about how it all worked here. I'm not a Barnet fan - but I do love football. So if we can help at all - just shout.