Independent candidates for local elections

SIR – Independent politics did not begin with the formation of the Independent Group last week.

There are more than 1,700 independent councillors representing their communities, not including those at the town and parish level.

Independents come from all walks of life. Some, like myself, have always been independent, while others once belonged to a party but decided that the power of the party whip meant they were not able to represent the people properly.

Genuine independent politics is good for both the political system and the country. It puts issues, residents, community and country first, without the interference of party politics.

What we do not want, however, is confusion at the ballot box. So to anyone wanting to stand or to vote for independent candidates in the May elections, know that the newly established Independent Group is not yet a political party and does not represent any independent councillors in England or Wales.

Our independent members are fiercely independent and are determined to remain free to think, speak and vote for the best solutions for residents. We hope that the new parliamentary Independent Group will do likewise. Councillor Marianne Overton

Leader of the Local Government Association Independent Group Welbourn, Lincolnshire

SIR – For a splinter group of MPS, whose single shared value appears to be a desire for the UK to appease the unelected bureaucrats of the EU, to call themselves “Independent” seems particularly oxymoronic.

Let us call them what they are: the Subservient Group. Hillary Bagshaw

Portsmouth, Hampshire