In recent times, there have been growing numbers of local councillors elected as "Independent". On the face of it, this would appear to represent a welcome change from the more traditional tribal approach in which we vote for the proverbial donkey according to the colour of the rosette. Indeed, in many instances, we see "Independent" councillors whose political allegiances are very well concealed. This begs the obvious question; is it really possible not to have any political allegiance?
Famously, Martin Bell the former BBC foreign correspondent stood successfully against the disgraced Tory MP Neil Hamilton in the 1997 general election. It was a major coup although there were plenty who claimed that an actual donkey may well have toppled him anyway. This was because Neil Hamilton had just been found guilty of accepting "cash for questions" from the then owner of Harrods, Mohamed Al-Fayed. He briefly started a libel action against the Guardian but soon withdrew at great expense to himself. He subsequently lost a libel case against Mr. Al-Fayed which forced him to declare bankruptcy. Despite being found guilty of accepting cash for questions by the Downey Report and despite openly admitting that he had indeed stayed at the Ritz Hotel de Paris courtesy of Mr. Al-Fayed, Hamilton continued to deny that he he had acted with improper conduct. More of Hamilton in due course.
But what of Martin Bell? With just 25 days to go until the 1997 General Election, Bell resigned from his post with the BBC to announce he would be standing as an Independent candidate in the Tatton constituency against Neil Hamilton. Tatton in 1997 was the fourth safest Tory seat in Westminster. Hamilton was defending a majority of 15,860 from the 1992 election. Bell's victory was achieved with a majority of over 11,000 votes in one of the biggest reversals in British electoral history. He became the first Independent MP since 1951 and although he tended to vote with the newly elected Labour Government, he was not averse to holding them to account. Referring to the Bernie Ecclestone affair (in which it became known that the Formula One boss had donated £1 million to the Labour Party), Bell put it to Tony Blair, "Does the Prime Minister agree that the perception of wrong-doing can be as damaging to public confidence as the wrong-doing itself? Have we slain one dragon (the former Tory Government beset by allegations of sleaze) only to have another take it's place?". In 1995, Blair had promised that if elected, a Labour Government would be "purer than pure". As Mark Twain is reported to have said, "It is sometimes better to just stand there and look stupid rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt".
Bell had made it clear that he would only stand for one term unless the Tatton constituency reselected Hamilton as their candidate. As it was, the Tatton constituency instead plumped for an up and coming Tory by the name of George Osborne. Bell did stand again but in Essex against the Tory MP Eric Pickles amid accusations of infiltration of the local Tory party by the Pentecostal church. He lost narrowly and drew a line under his mainstream political career. But his legacy is arguably more important.
In September 2009, he presented his "Bell Principles" to the Independent Network (IN) and requested that all prospective candidates agree to these principles. They are worthy of sharing:-
After a number of years in the political wilderness, he resurfaced at the UKIP Party conference in 2011 and was welcomed by Nigel Farage going on to become the party Vice-Chairman in next to no time. By the time of the recent Welsh Assembly elections, Hamilton had meandered his way on to the regional list as a UKIP candidate. Thus he secured his comeback in to mainstream political life and provided the biggest shock of all by challenging and beating Nathan Gill for the UKIP leadership in Wales. To continue this unbelievable sequence of events, Gill was now faced with the dilemma of being both an Assembly Member and an MEP. His party rightly (in my view) advised him that he could only do justice to one position. Gill took the opposite view. As such he left UKIP this week and became an Independent Assembly Member.
I can imagine few greater insults to the Bell Principles. As Labour grinds it's way towards what is now becoming an annual leadership contest, I can only hope that the words of Jeremy Corbyn are allowed to bear fruit. If he is serious about "democratising our country from the bottom up", that would be a monumental achievement. He also speaks about "giving people a real say" in their workplaces and communties.
When he was elected a year ago, I wrote an e mail to Jeremy asking how he felt about the Cabinet system of local government because, from what I have observed, it is undemocratic and totally unfit for purpose. I am still waiting for a reply. But back to Nathan Gill for a moment.
Gill's decision to swap his allegiance to being "Independent" is deeply concerning to me. Evidently, he is UKIP to the core unless the last few years have just been an elaborate hoax. This would imply that anyone can stand as an "Independent" as they see fit. There are some "Independent" councillors in my locality who have previously stood for mainstream parties and there are others whose political allegiance is either truly independent or else a closely guarded secret.
The Bell Principles are crystal clear though. Does your "Independent" councillor fulfill the Bell Principles? This time next year, we will have returned another 47 county councillors in Denbighshire. The "Independent" group in Denbighshire now boasts 14 of the available 47 seats making it second only to the 17 seats of Labour. I wonder if the Bell Principles are widely known to the local "Independent" group? Given that they can now count Nathan Gill as one of their own, I would think the need to spell out their allegiance to the Bell Principles is greater than ever - not least because next year's elections will be hopefully be decided less on promises and more on performance.
The Independent Newspaper famously launched in 1986 with the challenge, "The Independent; it is, are you?". Since then, it has established a decent reputation for the sort of objective journalism so often denied in the UK. Professing to be independent is the easy part. Proving it is another matter.
Famously, Martin Bell the former BBC foreign correspondent stood successfully against the disgraced Tory MP Neil Hamilton in the 1997 general election. It was a major coup although there were plenty who claimed that an actual donkey may well have toppled him anyway. This was because Neil Hamilton had just been found guilty of accepting "cash for questions" from the then owner of Harrods, Mohamed Al-Fayed. He briefly started a libel action against the Guardian but soon withdrew at great expense to himself. He subsequently lost a libel case against Mr. Al-Fayed which forced him to declare bankruptcy. Despite being found guilty of accepting cash for questions by the Downey Report and despite openly admitting that he had indeed stayed at the Ritz Hotel de Paris courtesy of Mr. Al-Fayed, Hamilton continued to deny that he he had acted with improper conduct. More of Hamilton in due course.
But what of Martin Bell? With just 25 days to go until the 1997 General Election, Bell resigned from his post with the BBC to announce he would be standing as an Independent candidate in the Tatton constituency against Neil Hamilton. Tatton in 1997 was the fourth safest Tory seat in Westminster. Hamilton was defending a majority of 15,860 from the 1992 election. Bell's victory was achieved with a majority of over 11,000 votes in one of the biggest reversals in British electoral history. He became the first Independent MP since 1951 and although he tended to vote with the newly elected Labour Government, he was not averse to holding them to account. Referring to the Bernie Ecclestone affair (in which it became known that the Formula One boss had donated £1 million to the Labour Party), Bell put it to Tony Blair, "Does the Prime Minister agree that the perception of wrong-doing can be as damaging to public confidence as the wrong-doing itself? Have we slain one dragon (the former Tory Government beset by allegations of sleaze) only to have another take it's place?". In 1995, Blair had promised that if elected, a Labour Government would be "purer than pure". As Mark Twain is reported to have said, "It is sometimes better to just stand there and look stupid rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt".
Bell had made it clear that he would only stand for one term unless the Tatton constituency reselected Hamilton as their candidate. As it was, the Tatton constituency instead plumped for an up and coming Tory by the name of George Osborne. Bell did stand again but in Essex against the Tory MP Eric Pickles amid accusations of infiltration of the local Tory party by the Pentecostal church. He lost narrowly and drew a line under his mainstream political career. But his legacy is arguably more important.
In September 2009, he presented his "Bell Principles" to the Independent Network (IN) and requested that all prospective candidates agree to these principles. They are worthy of sharing:-
- Abide wholeheartedly by the spirit and letter of the Seven Principles of Public Life (Lord Nolan, 1995) Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty and Leadership.
- Be guided by considered evidence, our real world experience and expertise, our constituencies and our consciences.
- Be free from the control of any politcal party, pressure group or whip.
- Be non-discriminatory, ethical and committed to pleuralism.
- 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 upon which they are based.
- Listen, consulting our communities constantly and innovatively.
- Treat political opponents with courtesy and respect, challenging them when we believe they are wrong, and agreeing with them when we 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 our activities.
After a number of years in the political wilderness, he resurfaced at the UKIP Party conference in 2011 and was welcomed by Nigel Farage going on to become the party Vice-Chairman in next to no time. By the time of the recent Welsh Assembly elections, Hamilton had meandered his way on to the regional list as a UKIP candidate. Thus he secured his comeback in to mainstream political life and provided the biggest shock of all by challenging and beating Nathan Gill for the UKIP leadership in Wales. To continue this unbelievable sequence of events, Gill was now faced with the dilemma of being both an Assembly Member and an MEP. His party rightly (in my view) advised him that he could only do justice to one position. Gill took the opposite view. As such he left UKIP this week and became an Independent Assembly Member.
I can imagine few greater insults to the Bell Principles. As Labour grinds it's way towards what is now becoming an annual leadership contest, I can only hope that the words of Jeremy Corbyn are allowed to bear fruit. If he is serious about "democratising our country from the bottom up", that would be a monumental achievement. He also speaks about "giving people a real say" in their workplaces and communties.
When he was elected a year ago, I wrote an e mail to Jeremy asking how he felt about the Cabinet system of local government because, from what I have observed, it is undemocratic and totally unfit for purpose. I am still waiting for a reply. But back to Nathan Gill for a moment.
Gill's decision to swap his allegiance to being "Independent" is deeply concerning to me. Evidently, he is UKIP to the core unless the last few years have just been an elaborate hoax. This would imply that anyone can stand as an "Independent" as they see fit. There are some "Independent" councillors in my locality who have previously stood for mainstream parties and there are others whose political allegiance is either truly independent or else a closely guarded secret.
The Bell Principles are crystal clear though. Does your "Independent" councillor fulfill the Bell Principles? This time next year, we will have returned another 47 county councillors in Denbighshire. The "Independent" group in Denbighshire now boasts 14 of the available 47 seats making it second only to the 17 seats of Labour. I wonder if the Bell Principles are widely known to the local "Independent" group? Given that they can now count Nathan Gill as one of their own, I would think the need to spell out their allegiance to the Bell Principles is greater than ever - not least because next year's elections will be hopefully be decided less on promises and more on performance.
The Independent Newspaper famously launched in 1986 with the challenge, "The Independent; it is, are you?". Since then, it has established a decent reputation for the sort of objective journalism so often denied in the UK. Professing to be independent is the easy part. Proving it is another matter.
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