Years of shouting at the television when politicians lied, twisted truths and avoided answering questions plus realising that there was no reason why I, a middle-aged woman, should not take part actively, led me, literally, to get off the sofa and put my hand up to be selected by my local party. I am motivated by wanting more integrity in politics because without that, how are we to make the best decisions on behalf of others?

It was extremely easy to be selected because my party actively nurtures and promotes participation from all its members. There is an excellent support network of people across the UK who are on the end of a phone for any number of queries.

The first step to becoming a parliamentary candidate was to attend a day-long workshop and take part in some exercises to evaluate my skills and suitability as an MP. It was a brilliant day; I met a broad range of diverse people and felt really fired up about campaigning for change locally and nationally.

Believing in myself. I’ve done a lot of performance in my life (singing) and in my work (communications). People consider me confident. It took over 25 years, however, of being politically aware for me to dispense once and for all with a nagging feeling of not being ‘worthy’ or clever enough. If I could go back in time and speak to myself, I’d say ‘stop doubting yourself and stand up for what you believe; people may not agree but if you’re honest and passionate they will listen.’

The biggest practical barrier for any parliamentary candidate is money and time. My party does not have the resources of the Labour and Conservative parties and we have no ‘safe’ seats. Therefore the process of becoming a candidate can only really be made easier by the candidate themselves investing time over a long period, being active in the community, networking and making friends. Candidates have to be campaignable for!

I made friends for life when I stood for East Devon including one wonderful woman Eleanor Rylance who has just completed her own assessment day and is now an approved candidate. The support from volunteers and activists was phenomenal. I hope I never forget the hustings where my agent’s wife, Mary Schlick, despite severe Parkinson’s, stood to deliver a blistering point about education and helped me answer a question.

Being reminded of the real world is the best and most thought-provoking part of canvassing. The things people say about their lives is privileged information and their experiences are precious. It’s humbling being on the door-step. I love hearing what people think even if they are entirely opposed to my own principles and policies.

Meeting people who say they don’t care about politics drives me crazy. In this country where we have the NHS (for now), it’s so important that people realise that if they don’t get interested they might find too late that all sorts of things, rights and opportunities that they value are gone for ever……. (shh… who said EU subsidies…)

More fund-raising…more telephoning… more talking…more door-stepping and lots more organisation. Four weeks was not enough!

I had a core team of expert writers, local councillors and politically passionate residents who were prepared to come out in all weathers to shove leaflets through doors, run street stalls and manage social media initiatives. I miss them!

Fighting people’s battles. When I think about being a member of parliament, the image I have is being able to act on a personal level to advocate for individual residents and on a general level promoting the needs and aspirations of my constituency. I would love to play a part in working towards a more equitable and just society where your post-code at birth does not predict your income and your place in the world.

The more woman stand, the more women will stand. The more normal it is to see female names at the ballot box, the more will come forward. We have, however, a very simple problem. The only people who can take part in politics are those with time and/or money. Even those few women who have both are often intimidated by the attack-dog style of contemporary politics. I hear women saying they’re not cut out for political life because it is so aggressive. What can we do? One hypothesis I have is this - we will only change the tone of politics when we change the voting system. First-past-the-post brings out the worst in people. People are far more likely to indulge in abusive behaviour when they are fighting over the one vote that might get them elected. There’s an air of desperation that triggers some pretty awful behaviours as I know personally having had to involve local police on occasion. I’d be interested to look at the experience of female politicians in countries where there are more proportional systems of representation and see if there are any differences both in their experience and in the ratio of male/female politicians.

It’s not just about women though – our current set of MPs are nowhere close to being a mirror of the population in terms of health, disability, age, income, gender, sexuality and ethnicity. We are a diverse people and there’s work to be done to have those voices heard! Time to get off the sofa, join a party and take action!