Over thirty supporters of independent politics – including Mayor Egginton and the UK’s youngest politician Tom Bletsoe, joined Martin Bell and the Independent Network for lunch followed by a training day.

With just over a month until the local elections 2011, independent candidates from across the UK and their supporters came to the Pleasance Theatre in Islington. Due to a gas leak at the Woodstore Grill we enjoyed a sandwich lunch before settling down to an afternoon of talks and workshops.

Mayor Egginton kicked off the talks by inspiring independents and their supporters with the story of his rise to become the first independently elected Mayor in the UK. He encouraged all independents to campaign for a referendum in their town for an elected Mayor since independent candidates are suited for success in these elections. Seven of the twelve cities who had elected mayors when they were introduced voted for Independents.

Following Mayor Egginton Cllr Jonathan Salt spoke about what the Independent Network did for him and his independent group in St Ives.  Quite apart from the national brand, media events and campaigning tips and literature he was especially impressed with the speed of our media office when we heard about the election of the youngest politician in the UK – a member of the St Ives Independent group – Cllr Tom Bletsoe.

Ros Baston, Lead Adviser of the Electoral Commission, held a question and answer session. Many of the candidates had very specific questions about the campaign experience and she did a wonderful job at responding to all of their concerns.

As the afternoon waned and the workshop room heated up we were delighted to invite Cllr Lewis to take the stage.  Cllr Lewis uses online platforms to connect with her consutituents and was short-listed for the Online Councillor of the Year award. After her brilliant talk explaining just how much councillors could gain by using new media to connect with their communities the question on everybody’s lips was: ‘But how do you find the time to sleep’.  It was inspiring to learn just how much time Cllr Lewis gives to her council duties.

The event concluded with a session on media relations advising independents on how to capture the attention of their local media and increase their chance of securing local media coverage.

The training workshops were followed by a debate on the electoral reform referendum (to be held on the same day as the local election ballot), before standing in the sun, quenching our thirst and networking on the balcony of the Pleasance Theatre.