Why Independent

Why should a national political party exert influence over local politics?

An independent councillor does not have any party political rules to follow and is free to do what is best for the local area, however do be careful as not all independent candidates are truly independent.

At the elections in May 2023 for North Somerset a number of people stood for election as independent candidates, since being elected many of these councillors have joined the Conservatives or the Liberal Democrats, in fact some of them were already party members before the election and stood as an independent as they believed that revealing their party membership would harm their election chances!

So, what are Portishead independents and how are they different?

Portishead Independents are a group of people who have all agreed to abide by a number of core principles, to be able to stand as a Portishead Independent you must agree to not be a member of a national political party at any time, this ensures that a Portishead Independent is truly independent whilst standing for election and during their term if elected.

All your Portishead independent candidates are local people who live or work in the area that they stand for election in, this ensures that we only stand candidates that know the area and care about the area, instead of having national candidates spirited in from outside the area to further their political careers.

Portishead Independents are here to represent your views and the views of your community.