A new political party launched in Rushcliffe intends to become a “major force” in local politics. The Rushcliffe Independents party so far has 16 candidates to put forward for the local elections on May 4.
Rushcliffe Borough Council is led by the Conservative Party, which has 27 councillors out of 44 available seats in 24 wards. Ted Birch, the leader of Rushcliffe Independents, said that he has become “disillusioned” with the main parties.
Mr Birch is a former Liberal Democrat and Conservative member, from a Labour family. He owns a small business selling fitted furniture. He currently sits on Bingham Town Council as an independent councillor.
Read more: Plans to turn function room into housing 'could be lifeline' for Nottingham pub
He said: “We aim to build the party up and become a major force in local politics. I believe that the Conservatives have governed incompetently and that voters are crying out for a viable alternative.
“I wanted to give people like me an option and give voters somewhere to go. All people want is a reliable trustworthy person they know has the interests of the community at heart.
“A lot of people are angry about the economic situation we are in and I think the Conservative’s governance during the pandemic was appalling. Even if we don’t win, there’s value in giving the Rushcliffe Conservatives competition.
“It’s good for democracy which is good for politics.” He said the long-term goal for the party is to stand 44 out of 44 councillors in Rushcliffe.
Since March 2022, Mr Birch has sat on Bingham Town Council which has faced issues with culture and bullying which led to an improvement board being set up. Mr Birch added: “I saw what was happening with the town council in Bingham and I wanted to be proactive and achieve positive change.
“We’ve achieved good things in Bingham and now I want to do that on a wider scale.” He said the principles of the Rushcliffe Independents party is to “offer voters a choice of competent local independent candidates to represent their local area”.
He said candidates will stand in wards with “little or no historical competition” to give voters more choice. Candidates come from a range of political backgrounds and extremist views are not accepted.
He encouraged more candidates to step forward, saying “it doesn’t matter if you’re right or left”.
READ NEXT:
Nottingham Castle failure has cost city council £800,000 in lost income and fees
Second high-rise office block next to Nottingham train station could create thousands of jobs
Royal Mail rejects claims it plans to shut Notts sorting office
Security gates block off area hit by antisocial behaviour in town
