FAQs

Are you a political party?

In order to comply with electoral law, anyone who wants to stand candidates for election (at town/parish, district or national level) under a group name must be registered as a political party with the Electoral Commission.

For this reason, Portishead Independents is registered as a political party with the Electoral Commission. This is common practice, and many other groups of local independents are registered in the same way.

However, we do not operate as party: we don’t have a leader; we don’t have members; we don’t have a manifesto; our ideas are based on interaction with residents rather than an agenda set in Westminster. All of our candidates and councillors are free to have their own opinions and vote as they see fit. Our one shared belief is that we should always act in the best interests of the people of Portishead, free from the influence of Westminster party politics.

Are any of your councillors members of political parties?

No. We make it clear to anyone wishing to stand as a Portishead Independents candidate that they cannot be a member of a political party, be it Conservative, Labour, Green Party, Liberal Democrats, Reform or any other party. It is fine for them to have been members in the past, but they can’t be a member now.

What have you ever done for Portishead?

Quite a lot! Click here to find out more.

What’s the difference between Portishead Town Council and North Somerset Council?

There's a very good explanation here.

Currently, all 14 Portishead Town Council councillors are Portishead Independents, as are 3 of the 6 councillors representing Portishead on North Somerset Council (which has 50 councillors in total).

How can I get involved?

We’d be delighted to have you on board, whether that’s as a candidate/councillor or as a volunteer supporter. Please see our Get Involved page for more information and details of how you can get involved and how to get in touch with us.

Where can I buy a pair of Portishead Independents socks?

Right here! You can also purchase Portishead Independents t-shirts, mugs, badges, coasters and much more. All of the commission we earn on the sale of these items helps to fund our activities (printing leaflets for example).