Who knew knocking on strangers’ doors could be such fun?

"I don't mind delivering leaflets, but I wouldn't want to do canvassing." My thoughts exactly, a few months ago. I joined the Lib Dems in the aftermath of the EU referendum, determined to do something to demonstrate my frustration at the direction the Tory Government was leading us. Delivering leaflets was a positive activity and in the excitement of the 2017 General Election, I felt I was doing my bit. But over time, it has become clear that the task to influence public opinion and make the Government take notice of the 48% is huge. The leaflets were great, but I couldn't help wondering how many of them went straight in the recycling bin. What could I do that would make more impact with my time?

I began to wonder again about canvassing. Research shows that people are 20% more likely to vote if they have been visited by a canvasser: even a just a smile and a friendly greeting is enough to make a difference. But I was worried about what it would be like. Would I be on the receiving end of angry householders determined to give me chapter and verse of their views, or would there be endless doors slammed in my face? Eventually, I summoned up some courage and went along to an action day to find out.

I was surprised to find how pleasant the experience was. When I arrived, I was paired up with an experienced canvasser and we went to each house together. We only called at houses where previous canvassing had shown that the owners were open to voting Lib Dem, which meant that we had a friendly reception at nearly every house. There was a list of questions to ask, depending on how much the householder wanted to chat: a surprising number were happy to stand on the doorstep and tell us their concerns about the local area and Brexit. It was fascinating to find out what people thought and how they saw the local scene and the national picture. When we found someone who was willing to join the mailing list, have a stakeboard in their garden or even become a volunteer, it was a cause for celebration! At the end of the morning, we all gathered at a pub for lunch and to share our stories. After that, I was keen to have a list of my own to do.

So if you want to make a difference, give the Government something to worry about and help the Lib Dems make their mark again, why not go along to your next local action day and have a go at knocking on doors? It's the most effective way to gain the votes that will elect more Lib Dem councillors - the more volunteers we have, the more houses we can visit! And you may even find that you enjoy it!

* Claire Turner joined the Liberal Democrats in South Cambridgeshire in November 2016.

John Marriott - retired Liberal Democrat Licolnshre County Councillor

I've done my share of door knocking over the years. Yes, it can be invigorating when someone tells you that you've got their vote - always assuming they don't say the same thing to the next person to knock on their door!

Given the lack of time and manpower my efforts over recent years had also tended to be concentrated on what we called 'known support' or people new to our electoral register. The last time we managed a 'full canvass' in my area was in the County Council Elections of 1993.

To be brutally honest, unless you have a massive team behind you, trying to do a decent canvass during the limited election period has more to do with self indulgence than assessing your support. Doorstep conversions may happen; but the time required to achieve these is often at the expense of building up a picture of voting intentions in the wider area.

There's a lot of kiddology involved in canvassing. Where I live, the Tories largely don't bother as they know that they would be largely preaching to the converted. They would appear to prefer the telephone.

Labour's tactic used to consist of their descending en masse (like half a dozen 'canvassers') at the end of a street, with one of their number peeling off to deliver a leaflet and then moving on to the next street - clearly an exercise that had more to do with image than substance.

Nowadays, you will be lucky to see any canvassers, let alone, leaflet deliverers around here.

Parties tend to rely on the media and to use local elections as a springboard to future success at Westminster. If you don't believe me, look at what Corbyn said when launching Labour's local election campaign the other day - words to the effect that people should express their disapproval of the Tory Government by voting for local Labour candidates, regardless of whether they or their party actually had a plan of how to make the council work better.

So, knocking on doors wasn't what got people like me elected over the years. No, what brought us success over the years were Focus leaflets, delivered with masochistic regularity, and the fact that we really tried to sort out local problems. If only we could have maintained that sort of effort up to the present day. Sadly, we weren't and now, like the party nationally, we are back to single percentage points.