News Release

Wales and South West voters lead surge for independents

Voters in Wales and South West England are more likely than the rest of the UK to shun the political parties on 6 May and vote for independent candidates.

In a ComRes survey, almost two out of three (60%) Welsh and South Western voters said that they would seriously consider voting for an independent candidate and even more (77%) said independents should run against MPs that have behaved unethically.

More than seven in ten (71%) in the region also said that independent MPs would strengthen democracy, compared to 50% in Scotland and 63% on average across the UK.

Fifty-six percent of voters in Wales and the South West also disagreed with the statement that independent MPs would have no influence in parliament.

Independents seek to expand foothold in Wales

Wales has a strong history of independent politics and if support remains steady then several constituencies may return MPs who would be free of a party whip.

Wales already has one independent MP, Dai Davies, who is seeking re-election in Blaenau Gwent. Davies replaced the previous incumbent and independent MP, Peter Law, following his death in 2006.

Law’s wife, Trish Law, has since been elected as an independent to the Welsh Assembly.

In the last local elections, Wales returned more than one in four independent councillors.

Professor Roger Scully, director of the Institute of Welsh Politics at Aberystwyth University, says voting patterns in Wales will be more complex than in previous elections.

“The electoral system discriminates against independent candidates, but they can win,” says Scully. “I would not be surprised if we saw three or four independent MPs elected.”

The Independent Network

The Independent Network, a loose association of independent candidates backed by former independent MP Martin Bell, has endorsed three Welsh independent candidates who are contesting Cardiff South and Penarth; Torfaen and Carmarthen West; and Pembrokeshire South.

The Independent Network has laid down the Bell Principles for independent candidates, which are thought to be the first set of conduct guidelines created by a political organisation for its affiliated candidates and representatives.

Bell Principles are designed to bring honesty and integrity back into politics by influencing the conduct, but not the policies of independent candidates.

“The swing voter is tired of monkeying around,” says Brian Ahearne, Director of the Independent Network. “A vote for the status quo is a wasted vote. The only alternative to political parties is to vote for an independent candidate who can properly represent the opinions of Welsh constituents, guided by considered evidence, their real world experience and expertise, their constituencies and their consciences, not a political party, pressure group or whip. The electorate must not be confused into believing that their vote is for a leader or political party, when in fact on May 6th they will be voting for a local constituency MP.”

Welsh Independent Network candidates

Cardiff South and Penarth is being contested by the Independent Network candidate, George Burke, who is currently the General Manager of Age Concern in Wales. 

Burke, who has lived in Penarth for over three decades, says that this is the “year of the independents”.

“I am an ordinary man who like so many others has had enough of our usual party politics and want to truly represent people just like me,” says Burke.

Fred Wildgust, Independent Network candidate for Torfaen, predicts that Wales will get higher quality candidates now that “the gravy train is slowing down to a stop”.

“It’s time to reform the system and end the reign of the political party,” says Wildgust.

Henry Langen, Independent Network candidate for Carmarthen West & Pembrokeshire South, says that independents can foster cross-party co-operation.

“MPs should be independent and guided by their conscience and life experience instead of their party whips, political dogma and self interests,” says Langen.

– Ends –

Notes to Editors:

For more information please visit: www.independentnetwork.org.uk.

Alternatively you can contact the press office at 020 7609 1900

The Independent Network is a loose non-profit association that provides support to Prospective Parliamentary Candidates who do not belong to a political party. The Independent Network was set up to provide support for independent candidates, as no other organisation existed to support them.

Independent candidates do not have access to a large national party structure with its human and financial resources. The Independent Network was formed to attend to this inequality and continues to encourage the electorate to acknowledge the success and influence that independents are having in local Government and can have in Parliament.

The Independent Network does not impose any political views on the individuals and parties it supports or that support the Independent Network. However, affiliates of the Independent Network must be non-racist and non-discriminatory and adhere to The Bell Principles.

The Bell Principles require that all endorsed independent candidates:

• abide wholeheartedly by the spirit and letter of the Seven Principles of Public Life set out by Lord Nolan in 1995: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership
• be guided by considered evidence, their real world experience and expertise, their constituencies and their consciences
• be free from the control of any political party, pressure group or whip
• be non-discriminatory, ethical and committed to pluralism.
• make decisions transparently and openly at every stage and level of the political process, enabling people to see how decisions are made and the evidence on which they are based
• listen, consulting their communities constantly and innovatively
• treat political opponents with courtesy and respect, challenging them when they believe they are wrong, and agreeing with them when they believe they are right
• resist abuses of power and patronage and promote democracy at every level
• work with other elected independents as a Group with a chosen spokesperson
• claim expenses, salaries and compensation openly so the public can judge the value for money of their activities.