Best Kept Secret

close, if it will help ensure Fisher doesn’t win.’
    ‘But,’ said Emma, ‘there are one or two conditions before we agree to ditch our long-held principles and support you.’
    ‘I knew there had to be a catch,’ said Giles, pouring himself a large black coffee.
    ‘You’ll come and live with us in the Manor House for the rest of the campaign. Otherwise, with only Griff Haskins to take care of you, you’ll end up eating fish and chips,
drinking far too much beer, and sleeping on the floor of the constituency office.’
    ‘You’re probably right. But I warn you, I’ll never be home before midnight.’
    ‘That’s fine. Just make sure you don’t wake Jessica.’
    ‘Agreed.’ Giles stood up, a piece of toast in one hand, a newspaper in the other. ‘See you this evening.’
    ‘Don’t leave the table until you’ve finished eating,’ said Emma, sounding exactly like their mother.
    Giles laughed. ‘Mama never had to fight an election,’ he reminded his sister.
    ‘She’d have made a damn good MP,’ said Harry.
    ‘That’s something we can all agree on,’ said Giles as he dashed out of the room, still clutching the toast.
    He had a quick word with Denby before running out of the house, where he found Harry and Emma sitting in the back of his Jaguar.
    ‘What are you two doing?’ he asked, as he climbed behind the wheel of his car and turned on the ignition.
    ‘We’re off to work,’ said Emma. ‘We need a lift if we’re going to sign up as volunteers.’
    ‘You do realize,’ said Giles as he drove out on to the main road, ‘it’s an eighteen-hour day, and you’re not paid.’
    When they followed Giles into his constituency headquarters twenty minutes later, Emma and Harry were impressed by how many volunteers of all ages, shapes and sizes were bustling about in every
direction. Giles hurried them through to his agent’s office and introduced them to Griff Haskins.
    ‘Two more volunteers,’ he said.
    ‘Some very strange people have been joining our cause since Alex Fisher became the Tory candidate. Welcome aboard, Mr and Mrs Clifton. Now, have either of you ever canvassed
before?’
    ‘No, never,’ admitted Harry. ‘Not even for the Tories.’
    ‘Then follow me,’ said Griff, leading them back into the main room. He stopped in front of a long trestle table laid out with rows of clipboards. ‘Each one of these represents
a street or road in the constituency,’ he explained, handing each of them a clipboard and a set of red, green and blue pencils.
    ‘It’s your lucky day,’ continued Griff. ‘You’ve got the Woodbine estate, which is one of our strongholds. Let me explain the ground rules. When you knock on a door
at this time of day, you’re more likely to get the wife answering, because her husband will be at work. If a man opens the door, he’s probably out of work, and therefore more likely to
vote Labour. But whoever answers, all you have to say is, “Good morning, I’m here on behalf of Giles Barrington” – never Sir Giles – “the Labour Party candidate
for the election on Thursday twenty-sixth May” – always emphasize the date – “and I hope you’ll be supporting him.” Now comes the bit where you have to use your
nous. If they say, “I’ve been a Labour supporter all my life, you can rely on me,” you mark their name with the red pencil. If they’re elderly, you ask them if they’ll
need a car to take them to the polling station on the day. If they say yes, write “car” next to their name. If they say, “I’ve supported the Labour Party in the past, but
I’m not sure this time,” you mark them green, undecided, and the local councillor will call on them in the next few days. If they tell you they never discuss their politics, or that
they’ll have to think about it, or they haven’t made up their mind, or any variation on those themes, they’re Tories, so mark them with the blue pencil, and don’t waste any
more time on them. Have you understood so far?’
    They both nodded.
    ‘These canvassing returns are vital,’ continued Griff, ‘because on Election Day we’ll revisit all the reds, to make sure they’ve voted. If they haven’t, we
knock them up again to remind them to go to the polling station. If you’re in any doubt about someone’s voting intentions, mark them green, for undecided, because the last thing we want
to do is remind people to vote, or even worse, give them a lift to the polling station, if