I have to admit that campaigning for real has involved learning a lot of new skills. As a paper candidate, you aren't expected to deliver anything in your own patch and, if you do, it is generic in nature. However, as the leaflet designer for the Stowupland campaign team, I've had to master PagePlus, learn to write succinctly - not an easy thing to do when you're a bureaucrat - and match pictures with prose.
It's also got to be done quickly too, even more so as the campaign reaches a crescendo. I prefer to e-mail my leaflet to my printer, so that he can print it and post it back to me, rather than have to collect it from somewhere (time lost), or bother someone who is also trying to campaign themselves. So I have to fit into his schedule, and leave enough time for him to get the job done.
Luckily, ALDC produce a cornucopia of amazing artwork which I can simply pick up and drop, or adapt as I see fit. Indeed, one of their templates has been a rich source of ideas this evening, and my next leaflet is about 50% done in just two hours. And, as Ros and I are both members, it's remarkably good value too.
Meanwhile, my fellow colleagues on the Mid Suffolk campaign team are working on more material for me to work with. I rely on their experience, and that of Ros, to allow me to avoid some of the more obvious errors, and to ensure that I 'sing from the same hymnsheet', incredibly important in our local messaging.
Over the next six weeks or so, I'll be fighting my first campaign where I'm the person trying to get elected. Yes, I'm a bit nervous, but I'm keen to give it my best shot, and I'll try to find time to report back on a gentler, more personal brand of politics than I was used to in London.
Wish me luck!
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