When the Next General Election is upon us. And if our free Democratic Rights are not returned to us, and Neither of the Main Parties are willing to Overturn their Decisions on Policies.

Such as The Smoking Ban

ID Cards.

Do you think that we will see more Independents standing for Election, robbing the Main Parties Of Votes?

Would you be Willing to Stand for Parliament as an Independent? And paying, and losing your Deposit?

I would in the Name of Freedom and Democracy for the British Public!

I'm sure there are many politically non-aligned people who would make excellent MPs and they would also have the advange of being free from a party whip. The main problem as ever is funding. Standing isn't just about affording and/or losing a deposit, the real cost is in mounting an effective and credible campaign.

The downside of course is that an independent MP might well be able to represent his/her constituency superbly but their actual ability to influence actual legislation will be as good as zero. Unless of course we had a second chamber made up entirely of non-political candidates and its membership was equal in number to traditional parliament. Then if the votes from both houses were aggregated it could be very interesting.

It is very difficult for independent candidates to avoid being sucked into the orbit of the large political parties as the Martin Bell episode showed. While I'm sure Mr Bell probably started with good intentions it wasn't long before he was a pawn of Labour and the Liberals.

Deal - you mentioned ID cards - I thought you liked what the Conservatives were proposing on the issue?
Martin Bell could only win Tatton in 1997 because Labour and the LibDems withdrew their candidates. As soon as Bell left the seat it went straight back to its traditional Tory stronghold status. Dr Richard Taylor in Wyre Forest was helped when the LibDems withdrew their candidate - now they are saying they will stand again. Independent MPs are a rarity - even when they are elected, their impact is negligable.

Sorry Votedave if I didnt make myself clear.

Yes I like what the Conservatives are going to do with ID Cards. All I stated is why People shouldnt Vote Labour, if they want ID Cards scrapped

And also why People shouldnt Vote Labour if they want Freedom Of Choice. ie Ban On Smoking/ And as Donnie stated a Future Ban On Drinking. We have yet to see how DC will eventually deal with Smoking, and that will have alot to do with the eventual result of the General Election. If DC doesnt change it, I WILL NOT Vote Conservative!

Deal, did you know DC actually voted against the smoking ban in the House of Commons? In fact he used to smoke cigarettes himself, or so I understand. These things are voted for in Parliament not decided by the Prime Minister, and the consensus was to ban smoking in all public places.

Therefore, I think it would be a shame if you didn't vote Conservative on the basis DC wouldn't promise to overturn the ban - that would just play into Gordon Brown's hands.

What I would like to see happen (as a non-smoker) is to see ventilated smoking rooms in pubs wherever possible. A lot of my friends are smokers and it would be a shame not to be able to go out with them.

Everyone should be educated to vote primarily for independent candidates. Of course, there's too much vested interest for that to happen.

My take on independants is a cery low opinion. Often they are people with great ideas they are just incapable of implementing said ideas. In the last local elections we had someone stand as an independant who claimed he could do great things in our ward. Frankly he would have been no good for the job. If one were to scale this up to general elections then I could see a lot more well meaning ineffectual candidates. However, I still believe that few big parties are better than many small parties. If I had the power though I would introduce a system where if more than a third of the electorate were dissatisfied with the current leadership a general election would be forced. Simply because it would keep the PM's and MP's more honest. (In Theory!)

Deal or No Deal
May I just take a minute to respond to the smoking ban mantion in your post. I feel that it is necessary to recognise that smokers are in the minority. You cannot simply say 'the smoking ban is unfair and the parties should make it legal'. The fact is that more people don't smoke than do. I actually have worked in a pub and here is my take on it. I don't mind people smoking around me it ain;t that big a deal, that said, not having to clean ashtrays, actually being able to smell something other than smoke, less litter (smokers are the biggest litterbugs) all make for a better place. In fact I have found that even most smokers agree the ban is a good thing. That in my opinion puts smokers who want the ban removed in a vast minority. Therefore, it would be wrong to remove the ban.