If so, you’re an absolute hero. The job of agent, keeping the candidate and campaign on the right side of the law, recording donations and making the returns to the Electoral Commission is essential. It’s hard work and it doesn’t end on polling day. I feel like we need to appreciate those who act as agents more.

For this coming election, all election agents need to be certified by the Party as required by the Electoral Commission.  This is a really good thing as it means that every agent will have been through training and will know where to get help should they need it during the campaign. It also makes the job a lot less scary if you feel that you have the right tools at your disposal.

One or two day courses are being run all over the country in the next few months. I’ve signed up for one in, I think, November in Scotland.

It’s really important that every local party identifies who is going to be their agent soon and signs them up for a course.

The courses themselves are very practical, interesting and far from the chalk and talk style that everybody fears. I hear that those who have been on them have found them incredibly useful. Evaluations are very favourable.

We will, I hope, have someone who has taken part on the course writing for us soon  but this is just a heads up that your local party should be thinking about this.

Once you have decided who your agent is going to be, they can sign up for a suitable course here.

A huge thanks to Kerry Buist, our Head of Compliance, and her indefatigable team for putting this all together and for the endless weekends they are giving up to travel and deliver this excellent training.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social