Don't want political parties in local government? Then don't have democracy
The closer we get to this year’s local government elections, the more frequently we’re hearing people decry the presence of political parties in local government. From Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s rant on Newstalk ZB complaining about political parties on Wellington City Council, through to the more measured musings of Crown Observer Lindsay McKenzie, everyone seems to have an opinion. The problem is that those arguing against the presence of political parties in local government are living in denial about the reality of democracy.
Political parties are part and parcel of modern democracy. The rule of thumb I work to is that the bigger the council and the population base it serves, the more likely it is that political parties find it worth their time to informally or formally become involved.
I’m not sure what technocratic utopian fantasyland the critics of political parties in local government are living in. We elect people onto councils. Elections are inherently politically processes. Candidates are competing for the votes of electors. If people want to stand for or be endorsed by a political party because they believe it’ll help their chances that’s entirely up to them. The same goes for those who identify as independents (whether they truly are or not). Ultimately it’s up to the voters as to who they want to represent them.
If the electors of Wellington didn’t want a Green Party endorsed mayor, or if they didn’t want Labour of Green Party councillors, then they wouldn’t have elected them, pure and simple.
This idea that party politics doesn’t have a place in a democratic system, even at the local level, is just nonsense from those spouting it and I rather suspect that if a political party aligned to their world view was successful in standing candidates for local government then they might not be uttering such ridiculousness.
All that being said, if Christopher Luxon truly doesn’t think political parties should be involved in local government, then I dare him to put his money where his mouth is and introduce what would be a horrendously anti-democratic law banning them from participating.
Of course, we all know he won’t because this is all just political posturing from him to distract from his own Coalition Government’s series of missteps over the past month.
On a related note, I know some people will go on about there not ever being truly independent candidates. I get it. Some independent candidates are more than just conveniently aligned with the policy positions of right wing parties (you know who you are). But on the other hand, not everyone who uses the independent label is some Manchurian candidate either.
Hell, for all the conspiracies about me being some secret National Party candidate when I was successfully elected to Kāpiti Coast District Council, the policy platform I campaigned on and adhered to while serving was an unapologetically progressive one that sat largely to the left of Labour.
From fighting for more public transport investment, advocating for more ambitious climate change action, espousing the case for expanding social housing, pushing for council to become a Living Wage employer, and supporting full iwi representation across all of council, for an apparently secret National Party candidate my actions definitely were anything but blue.
Due to this, my campaign volunteers were made up of supporters from National, Labour, and the Greens.
But I guess those tinfoil hats aren’t going to make themselves.