In the fourth and final blog on choice of candidates available in the Boston Borough Council elections on May 5th, we focus on the Independents and the English Democrats.
Because independents are precisely that, it is impossible for anyone to speak for them as a group. But we felt that the next best thing would be to approach Councillor Richard Leggott, a veteran independent who represents Swineshead and Holland Fen and ask him for an opinion.
Here’s his response.
“Why Independent? This question has been asked and answered many times in my mind over the years, but to crystallise the results it comes out something like this.
"It used to be, at Boston, that a meeting of the Independent Group always featured a chocolate cake as well as open discussion, without a 'policy to bow down before' or a threat from the party whip of excommunication for not toeing the line.
“Sadly the chocolate cake no longer seems to materialise, but the rest has endured.

“And this is what makes TRUE Independents such a valuable asset to local government and local government electors.
“We can 'call it as we see it' in the interest of our local patch without fear of recrimination - except at the ballot box, of course, if our voters think we got it wrong. “We like to think that we try to put both the 'common' and 'sense' into common sense in local government.
“This surely must be a good thing to bring to any organisation, especially to a tax-raising and public spending outfit like a borough council.
“True Independents are happy to back those with sensible ideas and, whilst mostly in a minority, have to know how to garner support for their own projects. This means they must learn, and be prepared to practice, politics - with a small 'p '- amongst those from opposing political camps practicing the big 'P' version.
“So, TRUE Independents can be a vital balancing factor, able and willing to advance and stress the local viewpoint and ramifications of schemes and projects emanating from high flying politicos, which is never a bad thing in such company.
“This is not a claim that independents always get it right, just that there is no in-group curb on any of us, individually, ultimately getting it right or wrong, except the ballot box - which is surely what democracy in local government is all about.
“Roll on 5th May. Let's hope for a good crop of TRUE Independents this year!!”
Moving on now, we take a look at the manifesto of the English Democrats – the surprise contenders who are contesting eleven of the 32 seats on the council.
The party has a ten-point manifesto – the five most important of which are:
1: Local jobs for local people, with an attempt to get quota from farms and factories of 50/50 foreign and English workers.
2: Local housing for local people. Priority should be given to people who been here the longest and can pay their rents “rather than being a drain to the taxpayer.”

3: Education. The English Democrats say they believe teaching in Boston has become difficult for teachers due to so many languages in any one class and that children should have to have a certain level of English before going into main classes.
4: Build bridges to improve Boston’s traffic flow – seeking private funding if necessary with a small toll to recoup the investment.
5: Reintroduce the Party in the Park as an annual event – again using private funding if necessary.
Other issues include retaining police cells in Boston; getting all car park charges reduced in the town with a 50p for half an hour fee for all council owned town centre car parks; on crime, the party says it believes that all immigrants who commit crime here should be deported and banned from the country, as should foreign nationals who get caught drink driving and then get caught whilst banned; the green waste service should be kept and there will be look at the possibility of introducing a new wheelie bin for either green waste or other recycled products.
This ends our look at what the people seeking your vote are proposing to make Boston a better place.
We asked both the Liberal Democrats and the UK Independents for their ideas for Boston as well, but neither party bothered to reply.
As far as we are concerned that makes the issue of whether to vote for them or not a very simple one!

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com  Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.