Telephone canvassing and using Dialogue comes more naturally to some people than to others and I confess I miss the face-to-face campaigning, the handshakes, and the comradeship you get knocking on doors in a large group. Whilst canvassing is now once again legal with the appropriate safety measures in place, it looks like it will be some time before we can gather round a clipboard and conduct a mass canvass.

That is why I was delighted to join Co-operative Party members on a Dialogue session last week and survey voters in Derbyshire. In honesty, ploughing away on your own on Dialogue is not a lot of fun and can be slow going a lot of the time. Joining a group Zoom can help break things up a bit and having the company of fellow co-operators for an hour or so gives everyone a bit of a boost.

It is not just a matter of raising morale though. Co-operation is all about making a practical difference and Dialogue allows you to make a real impact. The single biggest advantage of Dialogue is that it allows people to overcome geographical barriers. The technology allows people to help any campaign anywhere in the country – if you live in safe Labour territory you can remotely lend a hand to a marginal seat.

With nearly 90% of the country able to show their support for co-operative values by virtue of having a Labour & Co-operative candidate to vote for in May, and 700 Labour & Co-operative candidates standing, there are plenty of candidates for you to help. I know that many are already using Dialogue, but for those who are not and want to lend a hand, do come along to one of the Zooms that the Co-operative Party will be running over the coming weeks. I look forward to joining them, and I hope to see you there.