We've got foundations for success, claim Independents

Cllr Peter Thirlwall lost out to Denis MacShane in the general election, and his fellow Independents failed to win any Rotherham Borough Council wards.

But there were second places for Rob Foulds in Rother Vale and Mick Sylvester in Wingfield.

They said the loosely-affiliated group had laid the foundations for future success, at elections where the “smokescreen” of a national poll will not be there to shield Labour locally.

Mr Foulds, whose 30 per cent share made him the Independents’ biggest success, said: “We would have done better, but local issues were swamped by the general election.

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“I think we will be back. Local issues like the council’s profligate spending and mis-management have not gone away. Our intention is to keep exposing this.”

He added: “I took nearly 1,600 votes away from Labour. But I don’t blame Rotherham people for reverting to their comfort zone and voting against the Tories in a campaign that polarised the country.”

Mr Sylvester managed a 29 per cent share, losing out by less than 500 votes to Labour’s Keith Goulty.

He said: “I have had many members of the Labour party acknowledge that had this been a normal local election they would have lost this seat.

“We are now in a position where Wingfield is a very close Labour/Independent marginal seat, and BNP, Conservative and UKIP voters need to recognise that the only thing they got by sticking to their parties is a Labour councillor.

“I would like to thank all the local electors who supported me and have given me the encouragement to go on fighting for our green belt, against

Labour’s excessive allowances and to tackle the many local problems I’ve been made aware of.”