Starting a Mid Essex branch to support Independents at next year's elections.

Next May we have District/City Council elections. This is the perfect opportunity to champion Independents across the County and we need to be ready.

We are some way off of supporting the whole County, but with your help we could target Chelmsford City Council and some of the neighbouring Districts. To do this we need a Mid Essex Branch. So I need about a dozen members in this area who are all keen to get involved. Then we can elect a Branch Committee, start meeting regularly and grow in preparation for next May. You can read about how branches are structured in Article 5 of our Constitution.

Independents are, by our nature, pretty independent. So trying to get us all to work together is not without its challenges. Yet we can achieve so much more if we do! Seriously, at this level, are our views really that different? No they're not, and we all want to see our Councils listening to residents. We don't have to agree on every little thing in order to help one another get elected so that we can achieve that.

So I've created a Party for Essex where we can work together, whilst maintaining our independence. If you want to use our brand to benefit you at elections, then become a member. If you want to use another Parties brand, like the Independents Network, or that of another small Party suporting Independents, or simply just stick with "Independent" on the ballot paper then become an Associate. Either way we will support you. You can't say fairer than that. We have no manifesto of policies and no whip to enforce it. It is your responsibility to do what you think is best for residents, and I'm not going to get in the way of that. I am an Independent Parish Councillor myself, so I have no interest in controlling other Independent Councillors (nor do I have the time or patience for it). I just know how to play the game because of my past experience in Party Politics, and I know that the game has been rigged to get Parties in and Independents out. Think about it, if it wasn't there would be loads of us. You can read more about this on our website. The point is, as Independents we need to start playing the game by the current rules, not how we imagine the rules should be. It's not fair and it shouldn't be this way, but until we accept it and start playing the game we will continue to lose, and residents will continue to lose as a result.

If you are a prospective or serving Independent Councillor, or you are a resident who believes we need more Independent Councillors to make our Councils more responsive and representative of residents, then please get involved. If you're not ready to become a Member or Associate, then you can become a Supporter for free.

We are a currently a very small team. I need enough members around me who are keen to get involved, to get a Mid Essex branch going so that we can start to champion Independents in this area and actually make a difference at elections. We all assume that someone else will do it, but the fact is they don't. If you're reading this, it should probably be you. If we all chip in a little, we can achieve a lot together! Logistically, that is why Parties succeed.

Imagine Chelmsford City Council being controlled by Independents, or atleast having a sizeable number of Independents who can swing a vote either way. At the moment there is almost no meaningful debate in Council Chambers, because there is no point as the Blues will vote for the Blue Policy and the Yellows will vote for the Yellow one. How is that serving the interests of residents? We can change that. We really can. So please have a read of our website to find out more about us, and if you want to see more Independents getting elected in this area, then join up come and get involved and help us make it happen.

All the best,

Mike.

Mike Parker

Leader of Essex Independence.