Rob Shorrock

Well according to a certain 'Independent' candidate they shouldn't be. I had a strange conversation with one of them last last week after he contacted me to proclaim that he found some of the stuff on this site 'offensive'. The bits he found offensive included reproducing one of their leaflets (he was not one of the candidates on this leaflet, which highlights the fact that they are operating on a political slate and are not genuine independents). Why this was a problem was never really elucidated.

The most beguling part of the exchange was his position that you should not offer the electorate anything - no manifesto or programme for government. You offer just yourself and a promise to listen and do what your constituents want. When I asked him if that included absolutely anything he couldn't answer. And of course, local elections are nothing to do with politics!

The palpable and perhaps most depressing part of this discussion was the utter lack of ambition. When I was trying to explain why Labour stands with a manifesto and a radical programme of change he felt this was far too grandiose for a 'bog standard councillor'. It was a clear that he did not see himself as an agent of change but more of an advocate and cipher - representation reduced to passing messages within the existing system. Another Independent that wants to get elected to change nothing.