What does independence on the council look like?

We cannot be the only ones to think of a classic scene in Monty Python’s The Life of Brian when considering the latest change in the make-up of Portsmouth City Council.

With the formation of the Portsmouth Community Independents group and the existing Portsmouth Independents Party, it starting to feel like The People's Front of Judea and the Judean People's Front (‘Splitters!’) on the benches of the council chamber.

There is, though, a much more serious side to this.

Both of these groups have sprung up from former members of the mainstream parties – whether disaffected and departed by choice, or ousted unceremoniously in a manner which has left a bitter taste all round, and then there are those who are genuinely ‘independent.’

There are those who subscribe to the view that national party politics should play no part in the local arena.

While that may be a pleasant utopian dream, the reality is that it is always present. The nationwide drubbing for the Tories at the local election where they lost more than 1,000 seats was very much a response to the government’s recent track record.

Of course local councillors and those who want to be will tell us they will act for their constituents first and foremost – but how much interference is there, really, from central parties?

Although the Conservatives did lose ground here, it still wasn’t enough for the Lib Dems – currently by far the largest single group – to take overall control of the council.

Does democracy benefit more from a multiplicity of voices being heard? Or would it be better for the city if the Lib Dems could get its agenda passed through the chamber?

Still, we hopefully have some way to go before we end up with our own version of the Popular People’s Front...