Alex Cole-Hamilton Selected for Edinburgh Central

Candidate selection is an odd campaign. For a start it is one of the most lonely because it is you who has to get around all the electorate as best you can and that can be every evening for four weeks and still not get everyone in, or even gain access to every stairwell.

When you add on the fact that you are doing it in Edinburgh with it hills, the gorgeous weather that we had in June and the fact that I do not own a car I can fully recommend it for a cardio workout. You do however, meet some amazing people who are members of the party who live in the area you represent who do not all get or want to get to party events. It also doesn't matter if some of them only know the candidates as the double-barrelled one, the ginger one, the Irish one or the woman, they'll be using their methods to identify which one you are or the others are when you meet them.

It was also a fun campaign between the four candidates. Text messages, Facebook status updates and Tweets going back and forth kept the campaign on a friendly footing. We then attended the hustings the only time all four of us were actually in the same place at the same time. I know that if I had entered that room undecided at the start I would have still be scratching my head at the end of it all.<

As I said it can be a lonely existence but I'd like to thank Caron who allowed me to come to hers to relax every once and while and Kieran for the odd post canvassing drink. Also the support of others from near and far. It may have been lonely however there was one glorious evening that I got a message from Alex Cole-Hamilton that said that he must have been following in my footsteps that evening, I know for a fact that at the end I was also following in his. I suspect that I stated at the southern end of Comely Bank and worked my way clockwise round to Stockbridge and he may have started in Stockbidge and worked he way around as well. Another time I was sat in a members kitchen when John Loughton rang them on the phone.

Anyway earlier today the Edinburgh Central selection was declared and Alex won a very amicable contest. Now all we have to do is go out then and win the seat next May, I'll be offering my support in whatever way I can as this is a key seat for the Lib Dems over the next 10 months.