Why Vote for Independent Candidates?
Think about it. The first job of a political party is to stay in power. As such, political parties have a top down structure that focuses on the big picture of winning overall. Consequently, the local concerns of your constituency can often end up at the bottom of party priorities. It amounts to a political post code lottery.
That's just the way it works. We all know that what is good for a Northern city of the country, won't necessarily benefit a Southern town and vice versa. Whilst we all know that everyone can't have everything when it comes to relatiively scarce government resources, it is still very important that the person representing you has your interests foremost in his or her mind. Independent candidates don't have to worry about a party whip telling them to put the interests of the party before the interests of their community.
Since independent candidates take their orders from their electors and not party leaders who know nothing about your local conditions, inevitably you and your neighbours will have a bigger say in how your representatives vote. You and your neighbours are the independent candidate's whip.
It's all about respecting the intelligence of voters. Elected officials are just a small part of a vast condominium of free citizens and they need to remember they are agents of the people who elected them, not their masters.
You know best what the problems are in your area. You also have a good idea what the solutions are. The best way to have a say is to select your own representative who is answerable only to you.
The big rule is don't let the representatives of the big political parties bully you. They will tell you independent candidates can't win; that independent candidates won't get committee or ministry places; that independent candidates will have no power. And so on.
The truth is a bit different. Independent candidates can win if you vote for them. Opposition candidates in general don't get places on committees and in ministries. And, indeed, independent candidates have that non-partisan flexibility that allows them to bargain with every party that can help your community.
And there is always that overarching question of competence. Is a person who has simply floated up through the party ranks really someone who can be a leader for your community?
If you have ever questioned the abilities or intentions of politicians representing major political parties, you probably had good reason for doing so;
If you have ever attended a public consultation or council meeting and left it feeling you had been manipulated, you probably were;
If you think all political parties are pretty much the same, it's because none of them are listening to you ...
SOME PEOPLE DON'T VOTE FOR ONE OF THOSE REASONS LISTED ABOVE. ACTUALLY, THOSE ARE THE VERY REASONS TO VOTE.
This time around FREE YOUR VOTE from political manipulation by political parties: VOTE IN INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES