Newcastle Independents, formerly known as Newcastle First, is a

localist Localism describes a range of political philosophies which prioritize the local. Generally, localism supports local production and Local purchasing, consumption of goods, local control of government, and promotion of local history, local culture ...

political party based in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. Initially established as the Newcastle upon Tyne Community First Party, the party was registered with the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

in February 2011 and fielded its first candidates in May 2011. The party changed its name to Newcastle Independents in 2019. , the party has three councillors elected to

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...

Electoral performance

Newcastle Independents stood for election under the registered description of ''It's Time to Put Newcastle First'' from 2011 to 2019 with some candidates standing under the registered description of ''Local Community Candidate'' in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, the party won its first council seat, with Ian Donaldson being elected in Callerton & Throckley Ward and the party coming second in both Lemington and Denton & Westerhope Wards. On 6 May 2021, two more candidates were elected to Newcastle City Council, with the party now having a total of three councillors.

Local campaigns

Newcastle Independents has led a number of campaigns including: * Campaigning for the

Tyne and Wear Metro The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The network opened in ...

to be extended into Northumberland. * Campaigning to prevent housing being built on

green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

land. * Creating a People's Mayor, if Newcastle established an elected mayor for the city. * Calling for the creation of a council-owned energy company. * Highlighting the state of grass cutting in Newcastle. * Campaigning to stop the closure of Blackett Street to traffic.

References

External links

* Locally based political parties in England Political parties established in 2011 2011 establishments in England {{UK-party-stub