By Mike Forster, Labour party activist

Clegg, Clegg, Clegg — he’s definitely the man of the moment, for the time being at least. Someone’s even set up a Facebook group to get him in to No 10 which has more members than his party. The important thing, however, is how this pans out on the doorstep.

Having had a couple of canvassing sessions since then, the result is... inconclusive. Honest.

Canvassing a predominantly Tory area of South London on Sunday, the most striking thing was the number of A4 Labour posters in front windows. We even gave out several more to people who came up and requested them in the street. We may not have the cash to buy prime billboard space, but based on this area at least, we can still get our message out there. That’s why I now have a 6’x4’ poster attached to the outside of my flat.

Actually, talking to people on the doorstep, it is clear that many people who have told us that they have voted Labour in the past are now either much more closed to canvassers, or adamant that they will not vote at all. No mention of the Lib Dems was made to me, which is a shame as I’d buffed up on their manifesto pledges especially — not something I would do for pleasure.

A fellow canvasser had a long conversation with a voter during Sunday’s session, going through the key promises in our manifesto as well as local achievements by the incumbent (Labour) MP. The exchange ended with an enthusiastic guarantee: “I’ll definitely be voting for you, don’t worry.” It was only when my colleague lifted his branded clipboard to note this down that she realised her mistake. “Oh, you’re Labour? I thought you were Lib Dem. Erm, I think I’m gonna vote for them, actually, if that’s alright?” He didn’t have the energy to explain that it really wasn’t.

Thursday and Friday will tell whether Clegg’s moment in the spotlight will last — the aligned press have been working pretty hard to discredit him, with no noticeable success so far. On the doorstep, Labour canvassers need to make sure that they know what the Lib Dems are actually promising — although people might have been impressed by his glossy performance, it’s a fair bet that few actually remembered what he said, and fewer still thought about what he didn’t say.