Brixham Tory councillor Matthew James quits party

“No matter what your political viewpoint you should not be pleased to read about politicians 'crossing the floor', resigning the whip or changing their allegiances.
Whereas most people have a general idea of where their political leanings are, they generally vote that way or choose not to vote as a form of protest when their 'favoured' party do not perform in the manner they would choose. Most of us have a mixture of views that are difficult to tie to one party alone so we chose not to be politicians despite favouring one group over another.
British politics, however, is littered with people who have switched their parties despite being so dedicated to one belief that they were prepared to stand for election in support of that cause. These turncoats include some luminaries of British politics such as Sir Winston Churchill, Lord Owen, Dame Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins, William Rodgers and Nick Bye(!)
With some evidence that a recent Prime Minister, who grew up in a household with a different political viewpoint to the one he eventually represented, actually touted his 'skills' to the major political parties before finally opting for one that gave him the best career opportunity, we should seriously consider the suitability of anyone with political ambition as being worthy of public office. The question is; 'is governance too important to be left to people who have a desire to be politicians? (Or am I being as cynical in my attitude as these people seem to be in their treatment of the electorate?)
Is it possibly the case that politicians of all persuasions actually seek public office to satisfy an inherent need within themselves rather than a conscientious or philanthropic urge to represent the interest of those who elect them? (I think the medical term for the illness is Megalomania)
Treat them all with contempt and just hope that there are enough safeguards built into our democratic society to stop any single individual with political ambition ever getting enough real power to wield any effective control over us!”

“I would suggest he's going for possibly one of two reasons. One, he's been bullied out by the other councillors. Two, he's got a job that pays more than 10 grand a year. At 24, I would imagine the latter is his main consideration, since if he hasn't got another job to go to he would be making himself deliberately unemployable and not be able to claim benefits in the town.

Integrity, my horse.....”

“By all accounts and judging by some of the comments posted on here it took more courage for this young councillor to stand as a Tory candidate in the first place than it did for him to jump ship. When's the next gathering of pirates in Brixham? I have a vision of a fast ferry with cannons!”

“Ha! the Tory party will be quite happy for him not to cause a by-election to be called, as they know that Brixham will then officially beome a Tory-free zone! At least at present they have the crumbs of comfort to cling to that Cllr James was elected a Tory, regardless of what political colour he is now (or may become).

Having said that, I do believe it should be electoral law that you cannot simply change your party affiliation during the course of a term in office, but must offer yourself for re-election, and if I knew how to set up one of those e-petition thingies I might do just that ... In any case, that would not cover those people who resign from one party and then decline to join another, which is what Cllr James has done at this moment in time.

Incidentally, it is a complete urban legend that Nick Bye got elected as a Tory mayor and then declared himself an independent. He was elected as a Tory in 2007 and remained a Tory until he was no longer mayor; he simply used weasel words to say that he was going to take an "independent stance", whatever THAT meant (usually doing whatever the late Kevin Carroll told him to do, it seems to me). However, he did, of course, stand as an independent in the most recent mayoral election.”

“I have to agree with Nippie. The chap could hardly string a sentence together. If that is the standard of Councillor in Torbay then I can well understand why the three towns are in the current situation.”

“I admire this young man for having the power of his convictions but please Matthew take some communication lessons.
The interview on Westcountry tonight was painful to watch. So many "ummm's and ahhh's. Your interview would hardly inspire anyone with confidence in you, or what ever party you choose to represent.”

“The point I was making was that in Torbay the democratic process becomes a laughing stock when a councillor can jump political ship without standing for re-election, irrespective of how well a local community has been, is being or will be served by the individual concerned. His views may have changed in a short time since election but those of many who voted for him may not have. He should have the courage of his conviction and "for the sake of my integrity" (his words), stand for re-election as an independent.
The fear of betraying political collegaues by standing up and voting against the party line when needed appears to be more important to this councillor than betraying the voters who bothered voting for him in the first place.”

“You're saying he was elected because he was a Tory in which case the national politics of his then party were more important to the electorate than the work he puts in at ground level?

In my ward in Exeter there is a very high profile case of the elected councillor jumping ship (again because of national issues) yet, he has since been re-elected because he is very good at what he does, he is very visible and approachable and works extremely hard at getting local issues resolved. I don't care what flavour he is, why risk changing something that works so well for the sake of my politics?

I'd like to think he would be re-elected if, as you say, he did the honourable thing. However, if the electorate were stupid enough to vote him in on the basis of his party then there's probably little chance and potentially a great asset to the community is lost. Not worth the risk really.”

“Reminds me of a former directly elected mayor in Torbay who within hours of achieving office turned his back on the voters who voted for him and the political party that supported his campaign. Did he enjoy office for a second time? At least this guy gave it a year before jumping ship. That said, he should resign and restore his own faith in the democratic process by being properly elected as an independent.”

“Now, now, we can all vote on our emotions here but there are some inconvenient facts. The banner he chose to place himself under was not irrelevant to him when he sought and benefitted from work and support of his party when he stood for election. It remains the case that the honorable thing to do is to resign as a Councillor and stand again under his new banner. Now if he does that we can really admire his principles.”