If an independent candidate decided to stand in the next general election whenever that may be. Spent hours knocking on doors expressing an interest in your views on the needs our our community to build up their priorities to represent, would you vote for them? Even those Labour supporters or Tory supporters who vote just because they always have done, regardless of policy or person representing them. I certainly would. This two party domination in the commons needs to be shattered. Lots of independents and smaller parties.
100% yes. Because the ward has something like a 36,000 labour majority, you never ever see the MP trying to drum up support, or any party trying to erode into it. The council is different though. At the last council election, labour usurped the lib dems and every party (and many independents found their way to knocking on my door.... 8 times labour pushed fliers through on the final day! The labour candidate was a young woman who was utterly clueless. Her selling point was that she'd work hard. When asked what that meant, she just couldn't answer it with words you'd expect to be strung together in a sentence, and disappointingly, various labour soundbites squeaked out too. It was the first time I didn't vote labour and voted for the libs instead. The previous lib dem councillor was fantastic. Was on the local forum, kept people updated on changes coming, plans, shops, services, anything to do with the locality at all, and often sorted things or held companies to account. Advertised when he would be around to discuss issues and generally wasn't political in the main... just tried to help local people as best he could. Since labour were voted in, they've done nothing and are completely invisible. I hope whenever they come round again, people feel the difference and get the previous guy back in and ignore what party he is attached to.
I would want to know more about their background/history as well as their stance/ views on local and national political issues. I’d hate to think I’d voted or even considered voting for someone with right -wing tendencies past or otherwise. In the last General Election I voted for a very different Labour Party than the one I had voted for in the previous GE. I can’t see anyone coming any closer to my views than the current Labour Party. There are things I disagree with them on of course, but not least of all, their stance on this Austerity should be more universally welcomed by most of us.
Just provoked a thought from me with this. Wonder if a Tory councillor would stand on a pedestal, roundly condemn the continuous vindictive policies and hate that their National Party have on our Town. Even challenge them to drop this vicious campaign. I won’t hold my breath though
Independent usually = Tory or something further to the right. Just vote Tory and cut out the middle man.