Last week’s issue
of the Carmarthen Journal did its best to tackle the thorny issue of how to
treat all candidates fairly when so many of them are standing as ‘Independents’. It’s easy to get a statement from each of the
other political parties; they all admit to being a group standing on a common
platform. It’s not so easy when dealing
with people who claim to be ‘independent’.
The paper couldn’t really give equal space to 70 or more candidates.
However, the Independent
Group’s co-ordinator has come to the rescue by providing a statement on behalf
of all the members of the group. In it,
she sets out a number of commitments which the group is making to the electors;
sounds a bit like a manifesto of sorts, albeit a very short one.
In the same issue
of the paper, the current council leader also sets out her group’s ‘vision’ for
the council, but is quoted as saying that the group “cannot produce a manifesto as they are independents, but the group had
discussed their priorities”. Hence
the question in the headline.
Does a list of
promises and collective views on the future, even a very short list, really
only become a manifesto when it is written down and published in a document
with ‘manifesto’ written in large letters on the front cover? I think not.
But then I also don’t believe that a group of politicians seeking
election on a joint platform and forming a group once elected to promote that
platform only becomes a party when it registers as such.
Posts
1 comment:
John
Surprised that there was not a substantial response to this blog
and yet not surprised
How can anyone stand as an independent in the true sense of the word and then join a group also calling itself the independents but in this case having priorities undefined by their leader. One wonders what their game plan is-- surely all things to all men. or as widely believed all things to selected men.
I am reminded of the National Socialist German Workers party which was a wonderful all embracing name yet managed to conceal extermination of its own people and those of other countries as well
Post a Comment