Residents recognise local independents in election

It has been a great week for independents standing in the local elections across the East of England, gaining 24 seats on councils as the votes were counted.  Perhaps most impressively, the People’s Independence Party, already in administration in nearby Hadleigh, saw three more councillors elected, Kate Knott, Duncan Macpherson and Aimee Harbinson achieving 65% of the vote, from a voter turnout that was actually higher than the last parliamentary elections.

Like us at the South Woodham Ferrers Residents Party, the People’s Independence Party stand for local people in the face of often stale, lazy and centralised main party politics.  Already in administration, the PIP has already overturned the Conservative’s Local Plan in Castle Point which would have destroyed much of the area’s stunning green belt, funded the Highway Ranger service which Essex County Council withdrew and saved in excess of £500k from the Council budget, ensuring they didn’t need to raise council tax like in our Chelmsford district.

A vote for Independent in Castle Point’s case was a vote for better care of the environment and better more efficient council services with a track record to back it up.

The SWFRP strives to do this with your support. We narrowly lost out in last year’s election having previously had two councillors but imagine what we could do if we get all six local council positions at the next election in 2026, in partnership with other independents across the Borough. 

And a quick word on the Essex Police and Fire Commissioner election which was won for a third time by the incumbent, Conservative Roger Hirst, albeit by a much narrower margin. We think it's a shame there wasn't an independent candidate in this election. An independent voice, free of party ideology, could have been an ideal voice for the community but now the Conservatives have 'rigged' the system away from proportional representation to 'first past the post', and with no funding to candidates to stand in such a big election, it looks like it will forever be a main party candidate at a county level, which we think is a shame for local residents.

If you are interested in making a difference then do contact us. (Pictured Kate Knott, Duncan McPherson and Aimee Harbinson of the Peoples Independence Party).