Howard Knight

Comment on: Ukip councillors will be 'independents on steroids'

Howard Knight's comment 16-May-2013 1:25 pm

From experience, I thought that David Cameron’s description of UKIP members as ‘fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists…’ was somewhat under-stated. I think we can now certainly add ‘lacking insight and understanding’. What conclusion is to be drawn from UKIP’s avowed commitment that, on all matters, UKIP councillors will be able to vote as they choose and that, on no account, will they be required to vote together? Doesn’t this actually mean that all UKIP candidates should now come with a public democracy warning: “The only promise I can guarantee UKIP will keep is that I cannot guarantee to keep any promise we might make to you, because we have promised that UKIP councillors can vote how they like.” I never cease to be surprised by some of the nonsense that is written about the supposed virtues of ‘Independent’ councillors. May be it’s time to reflect on some evidence: • Why is it that the only councils which have performed so badly that they have required government intervention and direction – Ynys Mons (Anglesey) in Wales and Doncaster MBC in England - have been independent-led? • Why was it that, under the Audit Commission’s CPA, Independent-controlled councils (followed by NOC) were consistently over-represented as poor performers and rarely achieved more than satisfactory? Delivering a strategic vision and high performance with and for local communities always requires making difficult decisions. The sort of copping-out that UKIP promises will certainly end in tears. A clear case of ‘As you sow, so shall you reap’!