Independent Local Parties in Britain – Their Definition, Characteristics, and Prevalence

To date, the literature on independent local parties (ILPs) in Britain has largely been based upon case-studies and has not been connected to wider European scholarship on ILPs. This article reviews UK and continental literature, then sets out an original typology of ILPs. The 'localist' ILP is defined as a local organisation standing candidates that: is primarily political, claims to represent the whole locality and considers the whole of municipal policy. 'Civic', 'interest' and 'protest' ILPs are defined as respective exceptions to these characteristics. Reviewing party statements and contemporary news sources, three-quarters of British ILPs were found to be 'localist'. This classification was combined with a dataset of British local election results and electoral registrations. It was found that: local political context is the central driver of ILP formation; an increase in ILP candidacy since 2018 has not been matched by a sustained increase in vote share; there are significant and related differences in size, vote share, and longevity across different ILP types; and, ILPs tend to gain higher vote share in less densely populated wards or those with a smaller electorate. The article considers these findings in relation to local government reform in England and the wider European literature.