It is our pleasure. You deserve the recognition.

Can I put on record again how much I appreciate all the comments on my map of Scotland for 1992 and 1997 about the local elections. It's been three weeks since those elections and, partly on the advice of my grandparents, I have been keeping myself to myself but will be attending a tea event this afternoon to do with the local carnival after I was personally invited by one of the organisers who topped the poll for the community council in those elections.

Man. They it wrong in my mind. I know it doesnt mean or help much, but dude, I am sorry bro. You gave it your 100 percent, and that is all anyone can ask for. That is the most crucial thing that anyone can do and you did it.

For all of your hard work, perseverance, and devotion, you will always be a winner in my book. You did such an amazing job, and just put your whole heart and soul into it. I am truly sorry that the outcome didnt go down as you expected, but know that if you re run, you will reclaim that seat!

Man brother, I am sorry. its not for a lack of trying or dedication that is for sure. You ran a hard, well planned, and complete campaign. Hold your head high and take pride in knowing that your still the best for the job even if the voting didnt get it right.

Llansantffraed on Ceredigion Dafydd Edwards (Ind) 795 votes (77.71% -7.94%), Harry Hayfield (NHAP) 228 (22.29% +7.94%) Independent HOLD with a majority of 567 (55.43%) on a swing of 7.94% from Ind to NHAP Llansantffraed Community Council (ten seats) Elected in 2017 Cecila Davies 276, James Hughes 212, Lowri Jones (Plaid) 293, Lodwick Lloyd (Ind) 222, Dennis Morgan 194, Gwenno Piette (Plaid) 260, Aled Roberts 292, Harriet Sinclair (Ind) 319, Bryan Tomlins (Ind) 208, Phillip Tomlins 178 Elected in 2012, Defeated in 2017 Harry Hayfield (NHAP) 158, Iori Reed 167 Not elected in 2017 Meurig Lloyd 143, Sally Peace 141 In other words, I am no longer a member of a council

I know it will be nerve racking these final two days until the polls open, but take pride in knowing that you did everything you could. You led a hard core campaign and good luck with polls man.

Election Walking Stats Total number of delivery walks: Twenty Number of days with at least one walk: Seventeen Total Distance Walked: 31.58 miles Estimated Electorate Contacted: 73% (assuming two people per house) And thus with 43 hours until the polls open I have delivered about as much as I can possibly do so, without having access to a private car. I am still a little unsure how much weight I have lost (given our scales slightly aged status) but I happen to know there is a set of scales at the count centre so will weigh myself there to see what it comes up with. Can I say thank you for all the good wishes and I can tell you that if you go to Twitter and search for #Ceredigion from around 6.00pm EDT / 3.00pm PDT you should find results being mentioned as a flash and then in detail a few moments later.

I am not much for politics and what have you, but do follow the big elections, and I can honestly say that out of every race that I have seen, nobody has put foot to ass like you did. Brother, you did a hell of a job man. Good luck this week.

This is the week. This is what you worked so hard for and did a grueling marathon campaign on foot for. By the way, I find that so inspiring as well as incredible. Praying for you and wishing you the very best of luck with this. Please let me know how things turn out for you!

Props to you bro. you put up one hell of a solid campaign and took the trail on with a full force intensity. Nothing but respect and best of luck this week with the election. Rooting for you my man.

I dont say this to many, or say it about many, but what you have done here throughout this entire campaign is admirable. You have earned not only my respect, but pretty much everyone on this sites respect. Hands down bro, you did a bad ass job that you should be damn proud of. Next weeks election, win, loose, or draw, your a winner in all of our books.

I am pleased to report that I have just one more delivery walk to make (to the village of Pennant) which will add another two miles to the tally which (in conjunction to today's walk) will bring the campaign total to no less than 31 miles. According to Map My Walk (which is how I have been generating these maps) I have burned something close to 5,500 calories during this campaign (which in theory means that I should have lost about a pound and a quarter of fat (which probably explains why the scales seem to say no change in weight since when I started) but on Thursday it will be down to the electorate to decide if all that 31 miles of walking was worth the effort.

Dude, you are killing it. Crushing it on every single level. Kudos to you and a big congrats. You are a bad ass mofo man. Next week I am sure this will result in a victory.

I am pleased to report that I cracked the marathon today. I have now walked a total of 27.1 miles since nominations closed on April 4th 2017 (and the election is next week)

Can I just say thank you very much indeed for all your support. The elections are next Thursday and having already clocked up 21.4 miles over the last few weeks, I believe that I will clock up 30 miles in total (as opposed to the 56 I estimated when I started). When it comes to the actual count (which starts at 5.00pm EDT on May 4th) I would like to livestream some of it on Periscope but am not sure if I am able to. I will be able to take photographs of the event though (and would be happy to post those after the counts) and if you want to you can follow my election Twitter account at llanonnhap2017 where I shall post the result as soon as it is declared. As I mentioned to Dominic, the only way that members can actually help is via an endorsement (which is simply a small paragraph saying why you believe I should be elected as a councillor) along with a photograph showing what sort of job you do and as much of a location as you would want to appear online which will form part of an election advert I hope to launch on Thursday with a week to go until polling day

You are an absolute trooper! Wow, just amazed by all that you have put into this. Really rooting for you!!!

As I have said before Dominic, the rules on elections in the UK are far more restrictive about help than they are in the US. Therefore the only thing that you can do really is to write a small paragraph as an endorsement (and attach a photograph showing what you do as your everyday job) and I will include it on my election broadcast video that will be launched on YouTube on Thursday (a week until polling day)

Brother I will put it to you like this. Win, loose, or draw, you must be a hero to your friends and family. Not many have the stamina to do what you have already done and accomplished. Its a real and true sign of a winner at any level. You got all of our respect, and until you reach the winners circle in this whole thing, let us know how we can help man. Got your back here in the states.

so excited for you and extremely impressed by all that you have done, been doing, and your level of commitment to this. It is really refreshing to see someone whom is doing this for the betterment of the community verses career advancement. It shows a great deal of character and resolve on your part, and I sure hope that you win.

Yesterday marked the halfway point in the campaign and according to the app I use to work out where I have gone I have walked 20.65 miles over fourteen walks over eleven days of campaigning (as it is considered bad form to campaign over Easter and on Sundays). The map above shows the ward (bordered in white) and the various coloured lines are the areas I have been. As you can see it is a massive ward and getting to some of the places was proving problematic, but I am pleased to say that a relative has kindly agreed to drive me to the more outlying areas and next Thursday I will be delivering in the bottom part of the ward, therefore I am confident that by this time next week I will have walked a marathon. It is very tricky trying to assess popular support in local elections, but if I was making an educated guess I would say that I have as many confirmed pledges of support now (30) as I did in the whole of the 2012 elections (where I polled 141 votes) with two weeks of the campaign still to go.

Very true Brad. Being in London for half a year now, I would venture to say that you are the right man for the job. anyone who puts what you put into a campaign is certainly the right man for the job.

The ward is going to elect you brother. Anyone who puts as much as you have into this, I would be very surprised to see anyone who out worked you. Stand up job brother.

This afternoon, whilst MP's were voting on whether to hold a general election on June 8th (which they did by 522 votes to 13) I have been able to get to the some of the more remote parts of the ward by my relatives being kind enough to drive me to those locations. This means that I will be able to (by the end of the campaign) deliver at least one piece of literature to every house in the ward.

Harry, I hope that you are widely successful out there on the campaign trail. Equally, I hope that you had an amazing Easter. Your doing such a great job, and truly your country men should be very proud of your dedication.

There is an unwritten rule that you do not campaign (in any shape or form) in Wales (especially the religious parts in Mid Wales) on any day connected with Easter (starting today Maundy Thursday and carrying on until Easter Monday). This is a rule I am happy to follow and as such will be taking a break from campaigning until at least Tuesday when I shall be delivering to the village of Aberarth (about five miles to the south, but still part of the district) followed by the village of Bethania probably the week after (as circumstances allow), therefore you can imagine my interest when I spotted my opponent in this election delivering today a few doors down from where I live, therefore I can only assume this means that he has delivered his own patch first of all but unlike me I strongly suspect that he has used his four wheel drive vehicle to do so.

well done brother. You cover the district like a champ.

Today marks the end of the first full week of campaigning. During that week I have walked 10.2 miles, delivered to 300 houses and today got my first confirmed votes (as opposed to pledges of support). Using the Map My Walk app it is possible to make a map showing where I have been so it only seems fair that I show you

We are all behind you 100 percent. after what you have demonstrated, and continue to demonstrate, I think that people would be just as impressed as we all are. Nobody deserves this more than you!!!!

Nope, no red flags there in the slightest. I am assuiming that you are a gym instructor of some kind so therefore of course you would be positioned outside a gym. I should point out that New Jersey and Wales actually have a connection. In the Starz production "Torchwood : Miracle Day" which was filmed in both Wales and the United States, one of the American characters comes to Wales and asks base for some intel. The following is the transcript of that discussion: "And what the hell is this bridge? The Severn Bridge? HQ: It connects England to Wales. What, you mean Wales is separate? It's like the British equivalent of New Jersey"

I will do that for you. However, my gym is in New Jersey, and Golds Gym New Jersey is written clearly on the outside sign. think that will raise any red flags?

Latest Update after Day 5 Distance Walked: 8.8 miles Leaflets Delivered: At least 220 Pledges of Support: None (but plenty of support from online contacts) I am wondering whether or not (given the discussions yesterday on the "Last Week Tonight" programme on HBO) I am slightly wasted on the United Kingdom. The reason I mention this is that a) you are all from the United States, wishing me support but due to the rules I cannot accept anything more than that and b) following the report about gerrymandering districts it makes me feel I should write a very stern letter to a state's state house and say "Here is a map creating the correct number of federal House districts for your state that creates them all roughly the same size and has no discernible political bias wither way!" If you would like to contribute an endorsement to my campaign, then please do (and if possible include a photograph that explains what your everyday job is, for instance if you are a farmer, standing next to a tractor, a gym instructor, outside your home gym) as I would like to formally launch that video on Tuesday (after the Easter holiday) but allow people who have endorsed me to see it first to say YES or NO

You are burning up the country side. Everyone I encounter I will pass along your story to see if that helps out. Mad respect for what your doing, and how your doing it bro. You deserve this position more than anyone I can think of.

I dont know how you do it, but in any standard that a man can be judged, you should be judged proudly. Limited budget, having to do this on foot, had to go back and get signatures due to a glitch in THEIR systems, and you never quit. You are showing the John Q public what no quit, desire, and motivation is all about. Your the type of guy that I would love to have speak to my staff one day at my gym, via teleconference. I think you talking about what you did, how you did it, and how you over came all of the obstacles would be invaluable to my team. If they do open up pledges from the USA, let me know. You can count on my support. I admire and respect the living shit out of what your doing.

Latest Update after Day 4 of campaigning Distance Travelled: 7½ miles Houses delivered: 225 Estimated weight lost: 3lbs (based on estimate from app) Based on that tally, I should walk a total of around 40 miles during the whole campaign (observing the fact that I do not deliver on Sundays, any Bank Holidays or the Easter weekend) and therefore should lose around 17lbs (which I realise is a lot higher than the two pounds per week that doctors recommend) but will make sure that I keep a regular track of what happens. The first major event in the actual election itself will be the delivery of the postal ballots after April 19th by which time I hope to have delivered my introduction leaflet to the whole ward.

Well, I am helped by the fact that the rules in the United Kingdom are created by Parliament and enforced by both the Election Commission and the police, the most notable of those rules is that I can only spend a maximum of £855 ($1,069) on my campaign and the same goes for my opponent. If either of us were to spend just a single penny more, we'd be arrested, charged with an electoral offence and if found guilty be kicked off the council and jailed for up to a year and fined a serious amount of money.

Brother, you are an oak. Takes a solid man to get out there and walk miles on end for the greater good of the council he is wanting to take a seat on. most buy their way into politics. You set a new standard indeed.

Wow. Such incredible discipline. You really have set a whole new standard for CAN DO. You have no idea how much I respect what you are doing.

Current tallies Distance Walked: 6.21 miles Leaflets Delivered: At least 200 (might be a little bit more) Pledges of support: 1 (from a voter who believed that my opponent was a member of a party in favour of Welsh independence, when I explained that he was nominated as an Independent, she switched her vote to me stating "He's not being honest with the electorate") Day Two Walk: http://www.mapmywalk.com/workout/2109683645 Day Three Walk: http://www.mapmywalk.com/workout/2110846109

I will write up something over the next day or two for you bud. You earned it.

The rules about helping, Thomas, are rather strict when it comes to overseas residents. If you wanted to help by donating to the campaign then I am sorry to say the answer is a big fat no

You must only accept donations from a permissible source. A permissible source is:  an individual registered on a UK electoral register, including overseas electors  a Great Britain registered political party  a UK registered company which is incorporated within the EU and carries on business in the UK  a UK-registered trade union  a UK-registered building society  a UK-registered limited liability partnership (LLP) that carries on business in the UK  a UK-registered friendly society  UK-based unincorporated association that carries on business or other activities wholly or mainly in the UK and has its main office in the UK

(Source: Electoral Commission) However, there is nothing to prevent you writing an endorsement that I could add to a YouTube video promoting my candidacy which I would like to launch on Monday (and will run for the entire election)

Good luck out there. never seen anyone hit the campaign trail on foot and going door to door. Brother, you got my respect hands down.

Now that is TOTAL devotion bro. How can any of us help?

Day One Campaign Report Distance walked: 2.55 miles Leaflets delivered: 100 Pledges of support received: None (but that's because I am not focusing on that at the moment) Today the nominations were published for the local elections. For the county (the largest of the bodies being elected) it will be a repeat of the 2012 election between the incumbent (Dafydd Edwards, Independent) and myself. The main difference between now and then is that in 2012 no one knew me really (and now a lot of people know me) and for the last five years he has been in charge of setting the local tax for the council (which has increased by a fifth in that time scale). The nominations for the community council (the smaller of the two) has also been published. For a ten seat council there are 14 candidates (meaning the first election since 2008) including five women (meaning that my primary aim of getting more women to stand has worked)

Top notch and very professional man. That would sway my vote hands down

I will start my campaign today by starting on my deliveries for the village in which I live in (which contains about half the electorate in the entire ward) with this introductory letter

Dear Elector, I would like to take a moment of your time to formally introduce myself. My name is Harry Hayfield and I am delighted to have been selected as the National Health Action Party candidate for the Llansantffraed ward for the elections to Ceredigion County Council on May 4th 2017. I have lived in Ceredigion for almost twenty years and in the village of Llanon since 2011, and in that time, have been involved with several community groups including the local history society, the Showtime Singers based in Aberystwyth, the Memorama theatre company based in Aberaeron and the Little Mill Players who operate from Theatr Felinfach. As you can see I take a keen interest in community life, both inside Llansantffraed county ward and in the rest of the county, and believe that these interests allow me to gain a wider perspective of the issues that affect this county and if I am fortunate enough to be elected to the county council represent these concerns to the rest of the council whether they affect Llansantffraed directly or the rest of the county. The issues that I know of now, and will campaign on during these elections, are: • The inability of young people to get a step on the housing ladder • The quantity of traffic on the main trunk road that serves this county and the effect it has on the quality of that road • The lack of an adequate response to incidents of dog fouling in the community • The extension of glass recycling to include kerbside collections (as piloted in Cardigan) • The fluctuating quality of public transport in the county • The proper and fully funded, cost of social care, an issue that is paramount across the UK These are the issues that I will be campaigning on during the election but I am always ready to hear what issues you believe should be raised in the council chamber. This is why, I promise, that as a candidate I will listen to any and all concerns, be they sent to me by post at the address above, by e-mail to harryhayfield@gmail.com, by phone on 01974 202983, texted to 07553562832 with the word "ELECTION" before the message or by social media to my Twitter page @llanonnhap2017 or my Facebook page "Elect Harry Hayfield" where as soon as I receive the message I will send an acknowledgement and make a personal reply with 24 hours. If I am lucky enough to be elected to the county council, I promise to hold a surgery so that over the course of a month, I visit each of the vibrant communities in this ward at least once to listen to your concerns and raise the issues in the council chamber. I would like to thank you for reading this letter and hope to speak with you in person during the campaign Yours sincerely Peter James Harry Jones Hayfield

Under British electoral law, candidates are nominated using the name of their birth certificate, but can be commonly called what they are known as. Peter was my given name, all the male family are called James, my father's surname was Jones and the family name is Hayfield. So why am I known as Harry commonly, well, I'll let YouTube explain in the context that I was, at the time, the last of three gentlemen in the family https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO_FiLt0q_U

Congrats man. Proud moment for you and your campaign supporters!

Bad ass my man! That is cool that you made it. Take a big sigh of relief and take a huge pat on the back for a job well done. You were hit with adversity, and you prevailed. There is a ton that can be said about that alone bro.

A HUGE congratulations to you. That is so amazing. you worked you butt off and you and your family must be so proud. Good for you and wish you nothing but the utmost success on the next phase of your campaign trail.

Bad ass bro! Congrats and you earned it. that friggin rocks man.

SUCCESS I have just receieved a letter this morning from the council stating that my nominations (for both county and community wards) are now valid and that my name will appear on the ballot papers

Totally agree with @thomas on that. You worked your ass off for this and it will come across to the votes as such. Good luck my man

Its total bullshit that they are making you drop and jump through these type of hoops, but when all is said and done, the voters will see what true devotion is all about. You set that standard and have earned the right to represent your district. If people know all you have done and put into this, they will see that you are much more than just a politician that is looking for a ride on the political band wagon. you will actually do something with your role just like you did on the campaign trail. Best of luck out there my man

With luck I will get the final two signatures this evening (at a local history society meeting) and then hand in the second set of nomination papers tomorrow afternoon (just before the deadline) and then leave the ball in the council's court which could produce one of three outcomes. 1) First nomination is deemed valid and second nomination is not needed 2) First nomination is invalid but second nomination is valid or 3) Neither nomination is valid. If options 1 and 2 happen then I am indeed on the ballot, if option 3 happens then not only am I not on the ballot but I will be forced to stand down from the role on the village council that I was elected to at the last elections potentially leaving the council one member short (and therefore allowing them to choose someone else to replace me). If that does happen then I do have some legal redress in the form of an election petition arguing that the county is at fault and therefore denied me my right to stand as a candidate. In order to lodge such a petition I would need a minimum of £535 ($669) and then face an increasing cost if the case was accepted (allowing you to see why so few are lodged). Therefore all I can do is just wait and see. In the mean time though here are the walks that I have taken over the last two days to get the ten signatures I have got so far https://www.mapmywalk.com/routes/view/1506659239 https://www.mapmywalk.com/routes/view/1506659269 https://www.mapmywalk.com/routes/view/1509691327 https://www.mapmywalk.com/routes/view/1509691369 Totals: 3½ miles in 3½ hours using 843 calories

I have now found out what the problem is (and it may make you want to scratch your heads). The people in charge of running the election here are asking "Is the person who signed your papers on behalf of your party permitted to do so?". The party have replied "Yes" to which the people in charge have replied "May we have that in writing please?" which the party has never been asked before despite fielding 13 candidates at the last Westminster election and a Parliamentary by-election since. This has been raised with the Electoral Commission (who oversee all elections) resulting in them and the local people having a right old barney over it and leaving me stuck in the middle trying to make up the difference (which is now down to four as I have eight of the signatures needed)

Ouch, I can totally see that being very annoying. You did such a great job and really hit the campaign trail so hard and then they pull this. I truly hope that it all works out and that you get on the ballet. You have demonstrated clearly now what a true worker bee you really are. You deserve this.

That's very kind of you Thomas, although I should point out I consider it more of an annoyance than anything else.

As someone who is in country, that is bad ass that you found a work around. Damn shame that they are even having you have to go that route. Perseverance will overcome diversity every time. Your walking proof of that my good man.

Sorry about the setback man. Its kick ass that your not letting it slow your roll. If only more politicians were like you, just imagine the state the world would be in.

Well, good luck buddy. I know how hard you worked for this and getting news like that is never easy. Its cool as shit that you just didnt fold up the tent, throw in the towel, and say better luck next time. You found a work around, and never gave up. Ton to be said about that, and people will see that your determination warrants you becoming their elected official.

Yesterday I said "As I have had no communication from the council telling me that there is something drastically wrong with my nomination papers, I believe that I am now duly nominated for the county ward and community council and as a result will formally start my campaign on Monday by delivering by hand an introduction letter to every elector in the ward (and posting the same letter to those electors I cannot find). Therefore from Monday, I will post a link to my walk so that members can see where I have been (and how long it took)". Today I got a phone call from the council telling me there was something wrong. They believe that although I filled in all the forms I was expected to do correctly, the party for which I am standing should have also sent them a form giving their permission for me to stand (which is causing all sorts of head scratching all around as they have filled in five other forms and not come across this before) and with nominations closing on Tuesday afternoon, this has us in a pickle. However, there is a way around this. I can, if circumstances merit it, go to the people who filled in my nomination forms and say that due to circumstances beyond my control, I have had to fill in my forms again this time being listed as an Independent and hand the forms in on Monday afternoon, thus removing the party label and therefore having no problems at all. If this nomination is accepted then I would have to make clear that although I am standing as an Independent, it is with my party's full support.

Many congrats on the victory. Its all about the small wins that will end up getting you to the big win.

Very deserving man. You put your all into this, and deserve to be on the ballet. Good luck on the campaign trail and many congrats on this victory thus so far

WOW!!!! That is so super fantastic. You set a goal, you did everything you could to achieve it, and I soooo applaud what you accomplished. I am super excited for you. Wish you nothing but the best and know that anyone who meets you along your walk will see your passion and devotion to being the best community council member ever!

As I have had no communication from the council telling me that there is something drastically wrong with my nomination papers, I believe that I am now duly nominated for the county ward and community council and as a result will formally start my campaign on Monday by delivering by hand an introduction letter to every elector in the ward (and posting the same letter to those electors I cannot find). Therefore from Monday, I will post a link to my walk so that members can see where I have been (and how long it took).

Good luck man. Keep the drive alive, and if you need any thing, just shout brother.

That is the real reason why your the best candidate. Your not doing it for a self advantage. your looking out for your community and doing it out of community unity. That always translate into success. the world and political arena needs more people that look out for the common good of the community verses personal gain. All the best to you on this quest brother.

I have always felt that if you live in a community Stacy you should always try and give something back, and as I am not really suited to construction projects I have always felt that standing for the local council is the best way. This actually is my fifth set of local elections that I have contested. The first one was back in 1997 for the town council in Machynlleth (western Montgomeryshire) that I lived in. In that election I only got 23 votes (but as there a hundred cast in total) a score of 23% wasn't bad. After that by-election, I was told by a member of the town council that at the next elections in 1999, there was a seat waiting for me (which I took to believe meant that one of the existing councillors was standing down and he would ensure that no one else filled the space bar me). However in 1998, I moved to a small village in Ceredigion and therefore couldn't. Because I moved in June 1998 and the rules state that you have to live in a community for at least a year to stand in local elections, I could not contest the 1999 elections and was afraid that when we moved house again in 2002, with the elections planned for 2003, the same would happen again. However, thanks to the organisation of local elections have been devolved to the Welsh Assembly, and the ruling governing party not wanting their opposition to gain councils when the elections for that Assembly were held at the same time, they moved the local elections a year backwards to 2004, therefore I was able to stand for those elections. The party I was a member of at the time said that because they were in a coalition agreement with the ruling Independents on the county council, I couldn't stand for that, but there were no objections to me standing for the community council of Henfynwy (which translates as "Old Grandmother"). Whilst there were no objections from the party, the local community council did object (as without me knowing, my standing had created the first election to the community council since it was founded in 1974) and so they took out a newspaper ad saying "Re-elect your community council" which was reported to the election authorities (but the case was dismissed). At that election I polled 151 votes and came last, but was not put off by the experience as four years later I did the same (and also stood for the county ward as well). I managed to poll, however, roughly the same number of votes in both cases. In 2011, I moved to my current location and stood for the community and county here. I managed to poll even fewer votes here at the county level than in the previous attempt, but thanks to sheer luck (a community councillor stood down and I replaced him without realising) I was elected unopposed to the community in 2012 (and it is that seat I am attempting to hold on to in these elections for the community) and making a second attempt to win the county seat.

So happy for you. you and your family must be very proud of the work and accomplishment to this point. Sure hope that you make it on the docket and that you are victorious in the end. I can tell how much this means to you and how important it is. Fingers crossed for you.

None the less, you still hit the campaign trail and have set yourself up to become a nominee. That is MUCH further than most people get in a lifetime. Congrats on that victory in itself. Keep it up brother.

You are jumping the gun a little there Doug, we are still at the nomination stage (which close on April 4th), the election itself is not until May 4th (with the count the same day)

Congrats brother. That is awesome. Cant think of anyone more deserving. I know you will use this seat and represent your community proudly.

I am pleased to report that all of my nomination papers have been handed in and have passed the initial checks. The next stage is for the returning officer to give them the once over and if she confirms that everything is in order then I will receive a letter congratulating me on becoming a bonafide candidate

Were you in London Thomas before the referendum on the EU or not? The reason I ask is that it has been suggested that London (which voted REMAIN 60% - 40%) has become more inclusive where as the rest of England (which voted LEAVE 55% - 45%) has become more insular and I was wondering if you had noticed this if you'd arrived in London before the referendum? I have been standing in local elections since 2004 (and getting nowhere fast). In 2004 I stood for my local community council (causing the first election since its formation in 1974) and came bottom of the poll (11th out of 10), in 2008 I added standing for the county ward (and came bottom there as well, polling 19%) but in my defence when the councillor elected was sacked after failing to declare a land deal in his ward, the candidate who followed me managed to double my share of the vote so I came to the assumption that I had opened the opportunity for people to vote for that party, and in 2012 I polled 14% in the ward that I am contesting this time. The difference between then and now is that I am standing for a different party (one committed to a truly public health service, free at the point of use) which all the polls say is the most important issue in the UK today

I have been in London now for several months, and I can tell you its a kick ass city. Lot of life, and cool people, but from a political standpoint, the country as a whole can use stand up guys like yourself. Best of luck on the campaign trail, and best outcome for you brother.

I will see what I can do to help. I am a trainer along with most of us on the site, and also do modeling, so I really dont have an office per-say. Good luck with the hiccup and hope that it clears up for you and that the 4th works flawless for you.

To Doug, Walter and Taylor, thank you very much indeed. Do you happen to have a photograph showing what you do for an everyday job (unless that is being a bodybuilder and a gym resident is what you do every day) so that I can use it to create an election broadcast (what we Brits call a political ad) which I will show on YouTube via my social media feeds once nominations close. With regard to the nominations, I have a little hiccup today namely I can't do anything until Thursday thanks to discovering a scratch on the printer drum (of the printer I bought new in September 2016) which has the unfortunate effect of printing what look like spiders everywhere (and therefore would not be suitable for election literature) so therefore I have to wait in by the phone until at least Wednesday evening (meaning I cannot deliver my nominations until Thursday morning at the earliest). As nominations don't close until April 4th, this is more an annoyance than a disaster, but it does mean that everything has been put back 48 hours or so.

From what I have seen and known about you thus so far, I think its a great thing that your doing. I know your doing this for all of the right reasons verses doing it for selfish gains. Its a real testament to your character. I fully endorse you and hope that you get this.

Fully endorse you. You are a stand up guy and put others success before your own. I know that you went out of your way to put a challenge down for @bigtiger Brian, and it was to better himself. People too often act with the intention of what will be received in return. You are setting a new standard of giving without the need for a return. Its a good quality. Good luck on the campaign tail, and they would be fortune to have your skill set and talents represented.

Bad ass job! Your tenacity will pay off bro. Keep up the work, and best of luck with the final few steps here.

Thank you very much indeed. I have been thinking about how members could help my campaign and the best way I can think of is for endorsements. Therefore, if you would like to endorse my campaign, could you post a sentence explaining why you believe I would make a good councillor, what name you would like to be known as and a photograph showing what you do for employment or indeed main interest.

congrats brother. Determination and focus got you where you are in this whole race. Rock on bro

I now only have two more pieces of paper to fill in. One confirming that I am a member of the party listed by the nominating officer and therefore request that the party's emblem be printed on the ballot paper and the second which has to be signed in front of a witness stating "I consent to be nominated by the party for this elected position". Once all that has been done, the forms can be handed into the council (which I intend to do on Tuesday) a fortnight beforehand to ensure that any mistakes can be corrected in time which if none are detected means that I will get a letter a few days later congratulating me on being a duly nominated candidate.

Keep up the good fight brother. Let us know how many people get through this next round. All the best my good man.

Thats bad ass brother. You set out to achieve this, made it a goal, and are seeing it through. Win, loose, or draw, that is a damn stand up job bro.

I am pleased to report that I have my 12 signatures needed to stand and upon confirmation by the party that I am a member of that I am able to stand under that party's name (to prevent people simply tacking the word "Independent" in front of it) I will be able to hand in my forms for verification and if that is accepted then on April 4th at 1600 BST I shall be a duly nominated candidate for the local elections and will find out how many candidates I will be facing in those elections.

First of all, may I say thank you for all the encouragement. As I said earlier I can't do anything proper until after March 20th, but what I can do is give you a sort of outline of what I would like to do. As I mentioned at the beginning this ward is pretty on the big side (just under 15,000 acres in area) There are five main population centres in the ward (Llanon, Nebo, Bethania, Pennant and Aberarth) so for each main centre I will do a slightly different campaign. In Llanon the main issue is the main trunk road that passes through the village and the issue of resident parking (that causes regular blockages) and the wear and tear on the road (through heavy goods vehicles). As the other villages are on the small side I cannot honestly say what their main issues are, but in my formal letter of introduction I will say "If there is anything that you believe needs to be raised in your community, please contact me using the methods listed above" having listed my postal address, telephone number, e-mail and social media contacts (as many people say "I only see elected officials when they want my vote") With regard to donations, which is I think what Stacy was suggesting, here are the official rules on that. Donations can only be accepted from a permissible source, that is: an individual registered on a UK electoral register (including overseas electors), a GB registered political party, most UK registered companies, any UK registered trade union, building society, LLP that carries on business in the UK, a UK registered friendly society or a UK based unincorporated association that carries on business in the UK

I think that what your doing is wonderful and I hope that you have a ton of success. I wish that there was a way that we could add or contribute to your cause. You know if you ever need anything, we are an email away.

If that changes brother, let us know. Brothers in iron stick together my man.

That is very kind of you Stacy. One of the sheets I got given was the rules and regulations and it turns out that I can only receive material help from overseas if I purchase it, so the only thing I can suggest is moral support.

If you need any help from any of us in the states, I would be happy to chip in. Not sure if going across the ponds will be allowed, but happy to lend a hand, and wish you the best.

In order to formally stand I have to a number of things, the first of which is to formally register to obtain a copy of the electoral register for the area. This is a list (held by the council) of all the people who will be 18 years old on the day of the election (May 4th) and are therefore eligible to formally nominate me. That data will not be released until March 20th and there is just a fortnight to get the signatures I need to stand (but I shall attempt to get them all within the course of a week and hand them in on March 27th). Once that happens and I am formally nominated, the actual hard graft of campaigning will begin.

All the best man. Let us know how things turn out and progress for you. Stand up thing your doing

Fight the good fight my man. Good luck and your doing a bad ass thing for a valuable cause.

Good luck brother. Seems like a good cause, and all the best on this crusade.