To be nominated for Parliament, and the council, a candidate has to submit a completed nomination form. This means two local electors have to propose a candidate and then gain another 8 people to agree to the nomination.

It is usually considered an honour to be asked to nominate a candidate so I always put a lot of effort into getting the papers signed. For this election I have had people across the whole of the constituency wanting to sign but we had to ensure that there is a good cross representation of people.

As such I was keen to speak with people myself and take the paper to them. This meant visiting residents in Burnt Oak, Colindale, West Hendon, Hendon, Edgware, Hale and Mill Hill.

The completion of the papers is not a formality as they are a legal document, as one potential council candidate found out to their chagrin last week. No person should sign more than three nomination papers for the council elections (the issue in Golders Green last week was that an assenter (someone who had signed) did so for four candidates).

This means the first three forms for individuals standing for the council were accepted and the fourth rejected. As a candidate the most important task is to ensure the forms are completed correctly and on time as it is a no-brainer to say that no form equals no candidate for the election.

So we spent some time on getting the names on the form ready to be handed in well in advance of the closure for nominations leaving time to canvass in the afternoon.

Three more houses asked us for posters in their houses and we handed them over. After canvassing I met with a resident who was having a housing problem. This is the kind of work that makes public life satisfying but is something that is not publicised.

It is important to help people as quickly as possible in these situations and I have cultivated a good relationship with the Citizens Advice Bureau in Hendon who can give legal advice.

Canvassing in Colindale in the evening goes very well and we even have a Labour Party member who says that he will be voting Conservative as he simply wants a change from Gordon Brown.

This, as previous blogs have shown, is a common theme amongst many people in the constituency. We can bring that change and conduct politics in a different way but people have to vote for it on election day.