A new politics?

[tinyjo]

Of the 4 mayoral elections last week, 3 of them were won by independent candidates, partly as a result of low turnout, partly the proportional system used for the election (I forget what it's called but you get 2 votes - a first and second preference) and partly because people are fed up with politicians and perhaps feel that someone not backed by a party will listen to them more than to voices from London. But it made me wonder. These men will be quite prominent in their local communities. They've got big(ish) budgets and the scope to get some things done. And what I wondered is whether this could become a new route into national politics. Two of the main problems independent candidates have in national elections is that people often aren't sure where they stand on all the issues and that they have no track record. It can be overcome (see Martin Bell and whatsisname the doctor who got elected to save a local hospital) but it's very rare. Perhaps institutions like the new mayoralties will democratise democracy by allowing more of us to actually aspire to get to where the decisions are made.

Comments

Re: Good idea!

[andypop.livejournal.com]

Yeah - the independent candidates for mayor of Hackney (my district of London) are positively sinister. Too often 'independent' means 'secretly a fascist', 'ex-army idiot', etc. I voted for Paul Foot (veteran left-wing campaigner, Socialist Alliance candidate) with the Green candidate as my second choice (it's unlikely I'll ever vote Labour again).