So, you've got some new, keen volunteers. What do you do with them?

Jennie has made the quite reasonable point that we shouldn't discourage new activists from working in their own area. So, perhaps I should respond...

There is no doubt that many of our activists prefer to work in their own patch. They have, after all, a direct interest in campaigning to make it a better place, to change their community. Any new volunteers will be the same, a bit more idealistic perhaps - I know that I was when I started, and I like to think that I remain so to some extent - so they'll want to change what's around them.

However, if the campaign around them is a bit lacklustre, or there is little chance of immediate change, an occasional visit to a more organised, more winnable campaign can inspire, encourage and educate newcomers in the ways that campaigns are run and won. Taking a carload to a target seat helps them to win and, when they do, the impact will be positive for the surrounding seats - "look, we won in constituency X, we can win here". It's also nice to have contributed to a win (hint - it's always nice to thank people who have helped, which is why we ask people to sign in at campaign HQ).

So, there is no demand that people go to target seats, more a courteous request for the good of the wider campaign. It encourages the spread of good practice, it builds confidence to campaign with people who are more experienced, and it puts a spring in the step.

For example, take 'Liberal Bureaucracy'. For years, I campaigned in hopeless seats, when I campaigned at all. Now, following Ros around, I visit a wide selection of seats, some good, some not so good. I do a lot of canvassing, like I did today in Potter Heigham, a village of about 800 souls in North Norfolk. Our MP there, Norman Lamb, is widely respected, having done a lot of casework, campaigned hard, built a team. As a result, our canvass was extremely positive, with superb name recognition, lots of people willing to take posters or stakeboards.

All in all, it was a great day, and I feel energised for the campaign ahead. North Norfolk benefit from my effort and, when I'm on the next campaign visit, I'll be in a good mood to meet voters there and tell them why I think they should vote Liberal Democrat.

So, Jennie, encourage your volunteers, channel their enthusiasm by all means. But think about the future too. We're a family, and visiting your relatives from time to time isn't such a bad idea...