Independents in Power

Independent candidates are a credible and viable alternative to party politicians.  Independent candidates occupy a variety of positions within national and local government and are experiencing the highest ever level of public support.  

160 independents stood in the 2005 General Election, the largest number since 1885.  They received 141,903 votes, the largest number for independents ever.

Dr Richard Taylor MP was elected to the Wyre Forest seat in 2001.  He won with an impressive majority of 17,000, the highest for any opposition MP.  He was re-elected in the 2005 General Election.

Dai Davies MP was elected to Parliament as an independent in 2006.  He was elected in a by-election following the death of another independent MP, Peter Law.   

Cross-benchers sit in the House of Lords independent of any political party.  There are currently 187 cross-benchers, including the Law Lords and previous Speakers of the House of Commons.  Cross-benchers are often viewed as bringing specialist knowledge to the Lords, and act free of the party whip system.

113 independent councilors were elected during England’s 2006 local elections.

Nine independent candidates stood for 2004’s European Parliamentary elections.

Two independents stood for the 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly elections, one of whom was elected.

Three independents were elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2003.

One independent candidate was elected to the Welsh Assembly in 2003.

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, was elected to the position in 2000 as an independent.  He broke away from the Labour Party, winning nearly forty per cent of first-preference votes.  His majority dropped significantly when he ran again as a member of the Labour Party.