Each candidate for a Parliamentary Election needs to be proposed and seconded plus gather the assent of 8 other individuals living in the constituency. While some parties may do this as a quick grab the first ten activists they can I think this is a time for a little bit of personal time with the members or supporters of the party that are going to sign.
It is a change of pace. When you are out canvassing you generally want to find out a few basic answers and more on to the next door. When you are delivering you tend to have checked out the location of the next letter box on your way up to the one you are delivering, and then are folding the next one as you make your way between them. With getting nominations there is time for a chat, sometimes a cup of tea (although best only to accept at alternate houses) and for the member to engage with you as isn't always possible in party events.
They get one (or two) on one time with you, and you do get a little bit of time to relax. Although you sometimes find yourself answering policy questions that you had voted on at some point in the last few years that are now in the manifesto.
It was time well spent though and I'm sure the members appreciated me finding out how they were and them being able to ask how the campaign was going. A temporary slowing down from the frenetic pace that the next 4 weeks have in store.
However, that was Thursday and now it is all go, go, go again. I own 4 clipboards, one is set up for canvassing, one for hustings, one has the paperwork for the council, the other is the diary, to do list and contact details. I generally have two of them on me at any one time, sometimes three.
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