Why does it always rain when we plan to go out door-knocking? I wonder whether it’s the same for the Tories and Lib Dems?!

Getting out on the doorstep is one of the key past-times for prospective parliamentary candidates, but encouraging activists to go out in all weather isn’t easy. I expect people think we’re a bit crazy when they open the door to be-draggled candidates and MPs. But, it’s the best way to meet people and find out what they’re thinking.

At the moment we’re campaigning to stop the council building a massive waste transfer site in the area. It’s a crazy scheme. The site is in a residential area with two schools very nearby and it is on a single lane road which is already almost permanently grid-locked – not least because it’s one of the two main routes to the airport (which isn’t even served by a train/tram link – but that’s another story). The council seems deaf to public opinion so we’re out getting signatures and persuading people to turn out to a public meeting next week. The Tories use the slogan ‘vote Blue, get Green’ but in Leeds they have failed to invest in public transport and have plans to build an incinerator and now this waste transfer site with apparent disregard for their environmental impact. If that’s the green-print for a Cameron government everyone should be worried.