Growing numbers of voters disenchanted with the establishment parties are turning to independent groups, attracted by the option of an alternative place to cast their ballot.

Political editor Paul Francis examines why independent groups are flourishing and assesses their prospects at the council elections.

The last time council elections took place in Kent, the verdict of voters saw the Conservative stranglehold on the county strengthened in many areas. But while it tightened its grip in true blue Tory territory, there were signs voters had also turned away from the established mainstream parties.

A record number of candidates from independent groups were elected - with some surprising outcomes.

The successes included one council where independent candidates secured enough wards to enable it to form a rainbow coalition and take control of the council from the Conservatives.

That council was Swale and the group was the Swale Independents. It led to a rainbow coalition taking charge and the mandate it secured was, according to its leader Mike Baldock, partly a direct result of voters looking beyond the established parties for an alternative.

Voters wanted to send a message not just to the government but to the establishment parties locally, according to Cllr Baldock.

“I think if there is just a feeling that there isn't anything on offer from the big parties and what people want is somebody who is their representative, who is going to put their interests at heart when they go out and vote or campaign or attend meetings.”

He says the rise in support owes something to the diminishing sense of political tribal loyalty over recent years.

“People have started looking at elections on an election by election basis and not on whether it's a national, local or European. They are thinking about who's going to best represent them, rather than just voting the same way that they always do.”

His group also exploited the on-going disquiet over house building targets and the sense that developers held the upper hand when it came to decisions.

In Tunbridge Wells, the quintessential English town which was a by-word for ‘true blue’ territory, decades of Tory rule came to an end last year when it failed to get enough seats to continue as the administration.

Pivotal to the success of independents is often allied with a focus on a single issue.

In the case of Tunbridge Wells it was a group leading the campaign opposed to a costly multi-million pound redevelopment of the civic centre.

Branding itself as “a bold local group of independent like-minded councillors, completely free of any national party politics” the Tunbridge Wells Alliance fielded candidates in 2018 and returned nine councillors in May 2022.

Asked what difference it has made to the political landscape, its spokesman Nick Pope says: “I think we've made it more difficult for them [the main parties] to campaign on inaccurate or misleading policies. We have tried to be more honest about the issues and who's responsible for them. I certainly hope that's one thing we've achieved.”

He says the fact that the group has continued to gain wards in elections indicates an appetite among voters for a choice beyond the main parties.

“As long as we stay true to our word of working for residents, and working hard for residents to try and make the right decisions, I think we'll continue to grow. If we stopped doing that, we'll just dissolve and disappear.”

However, the alliance has not been immune from splits and resignations after its part in grounding the controversial Calverley Gardens redevelopment.

“I'm guessing we have the same internal pressures that every party has…we have disagreements and we try and work through those,” says Pope.

The alliance is now part of an administration made up of several parties, dubbed the ‘borough partnership’ which is headed by the Liberal Democrats.

It has two seats on the seven-strong coalition cabinet, which also includes Labour and one other independent representative.

Splits and differences over policy have also impacted the Swale council coalition, with the Green councillor Tim Valentine sacked from the council’s cabinet after voicing concerns over house building.

Other authorities have had independent groups for many years and they have been a feature of Maidstone politics for over a decade. Cllr Steve Munford, who leads the 10-strong independent group, believes voters have backed candidates precisely because they don’t have a tribal political allegiance.

But he also says it is often down to voters who want to find out more about candidates who are not from the main parties.

“I think people in the past have voted for me, and why they have voted for independent members, is they don't know what an independent member is. So they bother to find out,” he says.

“They speak for their community, but they're certainly not tied to any political group. People vote for me because of who I am not what I am.”

As an independent, he says he has the freedom to speak out in a way that party political members do not.

“It allows me to say what I feel about the community, not tied to manifestos or having to follow party whips.”

So, are independent groups a credible force with wide voter appeal? They are certainly on a roll: in 2017, there were 1,572 independent councillors nationally and by 2020, there were 2,294.

In Kent, there were more than 70 councillors from independent or residents groups elected in 2019 compared to the 292 won by the Conservatives.

On the surface, that seems a big gulf and it is unlikely that we will see councillors from independent groups taking outright control of any of the councils going to the polls on May 4.

Their major asset is that they are not seen as tied to a national party; with voters valuing their independence and focus on local issues.

According to a survey commissioned by the Local Government Association, public perception of independent councillors contrasts strongly with party political councillors.

When asked what three words came to mind when comparing an independent councillor to a councillor belonging to a political party, some 70 per cent were positively-phrased, about 30 per cent were neutrally-phrased and 20 per cent were negatively-phrased.

The most common words - just under 25 per cent - related to being independent, free-thinking, apolitical, unbiased and impartial.

"People vote for me because of who I am not what I am...”

However, while their numbers have grown, independent councillors are still up against the strong tribal loyalty felt for the mainstream parties.

According to the same survey, when asked why they had not voted for an independent before, 74% said it was because they usually voted for one of the main parties.

But the fragility and sometimes the inexperience of independent groups can be their downfall, particularly where they start off as single issue campaigners.

In Kent, Ukip endured a torrid period in which they took over Thanet council after the 2015 election largely because of acrimonious splits and in-fighting over the issue of Manston airport - ironically, the issue that had led the party to its success.

How independents will fare on May 5 remains to be seen. But it is no longer easy to dismiss them as political minnows struggling upstream.

If anything, independent councillors are creating choppy political waters for the mainstream parties, who are struggling to counter the impression they too often have their own interests at heart rather than voters.