Why independent-run councils will not work

On Friday we commented on the ethos of the (relatively) newly formed political group Lincolnshire Independents.
As expressed on its website, the new group claims: "Independents are interested in what their electorate is seeking and that forms their manifesto. Their first loyalty is to the people they represent, regardless of party politics.
"We believe that all local councillors should be independent with local voters our only masters and local improvements our aim. Independents cooperate (sic) with good decision-making but have no time for the party whip and block voting, which is effective in "gagging" your local representatives who have party allegiances and resulted in some very well known very poor decisions in this county.
"Independents tend to bring a cleaner ethos, concentrating on issues and voting for what they believe is right for our communities."
Elsewhere on the website, Marianne Overton, "chairman" of the new movement, says the group intends to re-write the political landscape in Lincolnshire.
Have you spotted an early flaw in this cunning plan?
Even at this stage, the group already has a "chairman."
In the event that Lincolnshire Independents fielded a candidate for every one of the 77 county council seats and won a majority, it would replicate the Boston microcosm.
As chairman of the group - which currently appears to number around five - we assume that Councillor Overton would become the leader of the County Council, and there would have to be a deputy, a cabinet, portfolio holders, chairman et al.
Immediately, this would create a "them and us" structure, which would be unequal by definition in that most of its members would be subordinate to a select few.
We've seen the selfsame thing happen in Boston.
A few "independents" were appointed to positions of power, and started throwing their weight around if the lesser mortals on the council dared to disagree with them.
As a result we witnessed a number of defections and the formation of yet another group which, sadly, has been noteworthy only for its silence and inactivity.
The only true independents on Boston Borough Council are those that think independently and vote accordingly - and there are only three of them out of 32.
The BBI is not an independent council, however much it may protest to the contrary ... and nor will Lincolnshire County Council become one if the new party were to sweep the board as happened in Boston. Just imagine 77 individuals all fighting to get the best for their particular patch in a county as vast as ours. It would make our local fallings-out seem amicable by comparison.
We have seen the chaos that has ensued here in Boston during the past twenty months.
We just hope that the county as a whole avoids the same mistake on June 4th.
As George Orwell so accurately noted in Animal Farm - "all animals are equal - but some animals are more equal than others."

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