The lot of an independent candidate is not an easy one.
For Andrew Russell, it has meant clocking up miles along the streets of Ayr North, delivering around 8,000 leaflets to homes and attempting to persuade locals that an independent voice is better than that of the political parties.
While the candidates for the main political parties can call upon significant resources, in the form of campaign materials, volunteers and voter data, independents like Andrew must take to the streets in a more traditional way.
