“Giving your opponent a way out” is one of his golden rules of campaigning – his full list can be found in his new book Institutionalised Deceit: Taking the Lid off Westminster Governance.
Another is to avoid party tribalism. Despite voting Green, Bailey has rarely been picky about who he works with.
In the 1980s, he teamed up with the Association for the Conservation of Energy, a body governed by directors and CEOs.
In a goodbye speech at the end of his time with them, Bailey said: “Perhaps we have both learnt something.
“I have learnt that not all capitalist bastards are capitalist bastards and you have learnt that not all anarchist nutters are anarchist nutters.”
Another mantra is to always appear “ultra reasonable”. In his book he writes: “Make it as difficult as possible for people to oppose you.”
Among his success, he counts:
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the Home Energy Conservation Act, which put a duty on councils to set out how they were improving home energy efficiency
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the Private Hire Vehicles Act, which regulated minicabs
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the Road Traffic Reduction Act, which required local councils to produce traffic reduction plans
One of Bailey’s key methods of getting laws passed is the private members’ bills process – the parliamentary procedure which begins with the deputy speaker, wearing white gloves and picking small numbered balls out of a goldfish bowl.
The lucky MPs, whose numbers are drawn, get crucial parliamentary time to introduce their own bill.
As soon as the numbers were drawn, Bailey would move fast – immediately lobbying the seven MPs on the list, presenting them with bills, oven-ready for presentation.
He became a master of the tricky process of turning private members’ bills into law.
That put him on a collision course with Conservative MP Eric Forth.
Forth was a dedicated parliamentarian and one of the most vehement opponents of the private members’ bill process. He would regularly try to block bills by talking them out.
The Bromley and Chiselhurst MP argued that such bills represented the “dreams of this or that group and the proper aspirations of good minded-people” but were “not necessarily very well-thought through”.
Forth was so prolific at “filibustering” backbenchers bills that the Friday sessions in the House of Commons, where the bills are debated, gained the nickname “Eric Forth’s killing fields”.
In his book, Bailey described Forth as “uncrackable” – but he was able to claim victories against the MP.
In an (ultimately successful) effort to save his Private Hire Vehicles Bill, Bailey organised an intense local campaign, which saw leaflets sent to every one of Forth’s 50,000 constituents.
Bailey was also not above returning to the direct action tactics of his youth.
He once locked the Liberal Democrat chief whip in his office, in a bid to prevent him from being lobbied by rival campaigners.
Now in his 80s, Bailey is recovering from his sixth stroke, while insomnia and restless leg syndrome keep him up at night.
But his friend Lib Dem peer Lord Don Foster says he is “still at it”.
“Still chasing, still writing parliamentary questions.
“Above everything, Ron Bailey has probably got more pieces of legislation through Parliament than the vast majority of cabinet ministers.”
