I DOUBT whether I am alone in finding the heartening increase in the number (25 in all) of independent candidates entering the fray at the local elections on May 1.

Whether outright independents or whatever, this is a welcome development and should be embraced by the electorate.

For too long Lancaster has suffered at the hands of Party driven placemen (and women) from the left, right and Green sections of the political spectrum. Far too often, they seem more intent on foisting their political creed on us than in solving the real day-to-day problems of the area, using the application of basic common sense.

I am sure many readers of this paper will agree that trying to apply national politics to a local context has been thoroughly discredited.

Of course, I am not suggesting that independent or non-aligned candidates are infallible, but at least we would have some chance of decisions being made on their merits rather than simply on party political lines.

Talking to fellow citizens, what almost all of them really want out of the council is that it keeps services such as public conveniences clean. Yet so often we see the basic services that a council should provide being run into the ground while party political members concentrate on issues outside their remit. In short. It is time we had councillors whose loyalty is owed to this area rather than London.

If, like many local voters, you are considering not bothering to vote on May 1 precisely for the reasons I have laid out, I urge you to think again and consider voting for an independent or non-aligned candidate. What we need is 'Local politics for local people'.

Independent Thinker.