Many people dream of becoming a politician. Pilrig resident Ken O’Neill went further, backing himself as an independent candidate on the Lothians List in last month’s Scottish Parliamentary Election. Here he reflects on what many non-partisan observers regarded as his successful campaign with an unsuccessful result.
Why did you do it? Was it worth it? What's next?
Those are just some of the questions I’ve faced since the election results came in. As I write, that was only 17 days ago but feels like at least a month. After a well-earned few pints and some introversion, I'm ready to raise my head above the parapet again.
The strangest reaction I came across was from a woman who said she wouldn't vote for an independent candidate as it was ‘silly’. When she explained further, the best she could come up with was that the four parties were enough. My point is: What if the main parties don't reflect your views?
I still believe independent candidates can make a difference. Look at Dennis Canavan, Margo MacDonald and Jean Turner. Canavan championed people’s right of access to the countryside and successfully amended the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill to extend this to country estates. One person made a difference there that the parties eventually accepted, albeit grudgingly.
However, the key to their election was media coverage and a pre-existing profile. The first two were already national politicians who broke away when their party tried to stop their election. Dr Turner – elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2003 – had stood in the Westminster General Election in 2001 and enjoyed a high media profile, criticising the Labour Party over their funding and treatment of the NHS.
Hopefully this isn’t sour grapes, but the Edinburgh Evening News covered me more in the letters pages than in reports or articles. The same applied to the other two independent candidates who stood in Lothian region and to the various smaller parties. Supposedly, during an election campaign, the opening of a new barber’s in Easter Road deserves full-page coverage while reporting of local politics is relegated to a couple of column inches. That saddens me, not just for my own sake but for how we choose to live and the type of society we want to create.
Might I do it again? Yes – if only to have one less ‘what if’ in my life. Besides, I enjoyed the campaign. There are things I would do differently, but it was a good experience overall. What's next? Job hunting. If you know of someone looking to hire an ex-independent parliamentary candidate, contact me. Will I do it again? Only time will tell, but hopefully if I do fewer people will think it’s silly to vote for an independent.
[Ken O'Neill has his own website at: www.lothiansken.wordpress.com.]