Battleship Reason

If you are the political type, especially when it comes to the UK, you might want to head over here for a true alternative to the current UK political system.

You see, although I studied politics at university level in the UK, I never found it to be that interesting. Realistically speaking, I find there to be very little practical difference between the three major parties in the current UK system. Media will attempt to influence you into believing that the differences are vast, and that Tories and Labour are two sides of the spectrum. While there is SOME truth in that statement, both parties are biased in favour of left or right, but both parties are firmly ingrained in the center of the political spectrum. Lib Dems have been, for the larger part, centric, with a recent tendency to slide towards the left. In general (UKIP, BNP, and RC aside), most UK parties are fairly moderate.

Compare this to the French or Italian political system. The parties that, in those countries, respect the far left and the far right are not only fairly active, but are also successful to a certain degree. Granted, neither country has ever been an example of stability, which helps account for some of the success communists and socialists have had.

Simply put, the UK system always appeared bland to me.

That is, until I chanced across the website I linked, and went on to explore the more interesting aspect of UK politics – the independents. These men and women are those who chose to represent not party views, but their own views. From what I’ve seen, they mostly appear to be down to earth, hard working, and most surprisingly – willing to listen to their constituencies. Which, if you are a student of politics, would notice is a rare quality in the world today. Not only that, but they believe in their own path so strongly that they refuse the comforts of a large party in order to pursue what they believe is right. I might disagree with some of their viewpoints, but I can certainly respect the amount of willpower it takes to fight and struggle when you are, for all intents and purposes, at a disadvantage to most of your competitors.

Here’s to hoping that this somehow becomes widespread, and that more and more politicians begin to put their own views above those of the party. Of course, none of that will be possible without an entity such as the Independent Network – so please, if you hear something about them, or read something about them in the future – at least spare them a though or two, if not actual hands on help!