What Is An "Independent" Councillor?

Fiercely Independent

We have regularly referred to the concept of "independence" or "Independents".

It's referred to in our name - Somerset Independents.

We are fiercely independent of Westminster parties: Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrats and Greens. However, we will work with them on a case-by-case basis, if necessary, to achieve the wishes of Somerset residents.

In that case, what does "Independent" mean?

But what does it mean in terms of what we expect of an elected representative - a councillor or a Member of Parliament?

It means that the elected representative:

1. Is NOT in the above Westminster parties. Why? Because the Westminster parties do not care about Somerset. They care about London and what they are told to do by their political masters in London. We have shown this in several examples on this website and the evidence is overwhelming, going back decades, if not centuries. They put themselves and their parties first. Somerset residents come a long way down their priorities. A true Independent puts Somerset residents first.
   
2. CAN be in a political group  - just not in one of the Westminster parties' groups. They could be in an Independent group.
3. CAN be in a local political party that puts local people first, instead of the Westminster parties.
   
4. While they may be in a political group, that group does NOT operate under a political "WHIP". A "whip" is where all members of the group are obliged to follow the collectively-agreed view - usually with minority views excluded, and there is punishment for them, if they do not follow the whip. If there is a genuine consensus, then the members of the group will obviously agree to take the same course of action. This is not the same as a whip, where alternative views are not allowed to be expressed and if they are, mean punishment which can include expulsion.
   
5. LISTENS to, and ACTS upon, the concerns and wishes of their constituents. They may well have their own personal view - we encourage independent thinking - but their view must be informed by the views of their constituents. They are NOT there to represent only their own view - being independently-minded does NOT mean independent of those you are there to represent. This was in evidence to the great shame of MPs who thought that they knew better than their constituents on one of the biggest issues - Brexit. Representatives should take the majority view and represent it, especially where the majority was either significantly for Brexit or significantly for Remain. Direct democracy - the Referendum result in their area - showed the majority view. It was their job to implement it. To LISTEN and to ACT.
   
6. They should ACTIVELY pursue greater public participation and democratic decision-making, for the benefit of their constituents. Party politicians prefer to keep their residents out of decisions.
   
7. Be PRAGMATIC. The system is broken. But it is the system as it is. They should be willing to actively work cross-party and with those like them who are in no party, to achieve the wishes of their constituents. For example, Somerset Independents is working in this way to achieve the Referendum and Citizens Assembly on changes to how Somerset residents are governed locally. However, this must be on a case-by-case basis, with no binding agreements on other issues. We were asked by Taunton Deane Liberal Democrats to work together on the Referendum. The boundaries were made absolutely crystal clear to them - we were the ones to start the campaign and we were pleased they joined the campaign - but we are not tied to them on any other issue, nor will we resile from criticising them.
   

This may seem like a lot of tests. But we will not accept fake "Independents", examples of which we will now describe.

What does "Independent" NOT mean?

A councillor that becomes "Independent" by default, for example the Brighton Labour councillors who are now under investigation for anti-semitism - is NOT an Independent. We prefer that they be labelled simply in the "Disgraced" group - of course, if they have been found guilty. If they are not found guilty, then the Independent label is fine, providing they pass the above tests.

A councillor that stands as an Independent, whilst still being an undeclared member of a political party - is NOT an Independent councillor.

A councillor that does not listen to the residents that they represent, and does not act on their concerns - is NOT an Independent councillor.

A councillor who claims to be "Independent" but actually gets paid extra allowance to work in the Cabinet or Executive of a Council with a Westminster party, is NOT an Independent councillor.

A councillor who fails any of the other tests we set above, is NOT an Independent councillor.

Sadly, we feel that there are several councillors in Somerset that fail the tests. We are not going to name names - at this stage. We call on them to be honest with residents and not call themselves "Independent".