Pay joined the Social Democratic Federation (SDF) in about 1898,[1] at which time he was based in Hastings.
However, opposition to his views led him to leave the town and move to Tunbridge Wells,[2] where he became a manager in the local co-operative society.
[3] Having worked for many years as a farm labourer, this gave him a keen interest in rural affairs, and he held numerous administrative posts within the co-operative movement, including sitting on its General Agricultural Committee, Land Cultivation Sub-Committee, and Wages and Conciliation Committee.
[3] In this role, he travelled around Britain, and was based at various times in Buckingham, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Surrey.
[1][4] He stood in Rugby at the 1931 general election, his Labour Party obituary claiming that he made a "good fight" of the contest.