The Canvey Island Independent Party (CIIP) is a local

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

active on

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ( ...

, in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was established in 2004 to campaign for a separate district council for

Background

Canvey Island became a single

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in 1881, replacing 17 former divisions that had existed in broadly the same form since the Norman era.Robert Hallmann, "Essex History You Can See" (Tempus Publishing, 2006, ) In 1926, the parish was converted to the

Canvey Island Urban District Canvey Island Urban District was an urban district in the county of Essex, England. It was created in 1926 out of the civil parish of Canvey Island, previously in the Rochford Rural District. Since 1 April 1974 its former area has formed part ...

, which governed the island as a distinct entity. The urban district was dissolved along with the mainland

Benfleet Urban District Benfleet Urban District was an urban district in the county of Essex, England. It was created on 1 October 1929 from the parts of Rochford Rural District containing the civil parishes of Hadleigh, South Benfleet and Thundersley. Since 1 April ...

in the Local Government Act 1972 to form the local government district and borough of

Castle Point Castle Point is a local government district with borough status in south Essex, east of central London. The borough comprises the towns and villages of Canvey Island, Hadleigh, South Benfleet, and Thundersley. The borough council is situated ...

, ending Canvey Island's existence as a separate entity in local government. The Canvey Island Independents were established in 2004 to campaign for a return to Canvey Island's autonomy, which had been abolished 32 years previously. They argued that the current local government arrangements – which saw more councillors elected to the borough council from the mainland – were unfair to the residents of Canvey Island. They also campaigned for more power to be devolved to Canvey Island Town Council, a parish council subordinate to

which is responsible for limited services and facilities and on the island.

Election results

Since its formation the Canvey Island Independent Party has contested elections on a yearly basis, with representation at borough and county council level. It is also active at the parish level, with Canvey Island Independents sitting on Canvey Island Town Council. The party does not contest Parliamentary elections.

Borough Council elections

The Canvey Island Independents have been represented continuously on

Castle Point Borough Council A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...

since their first election in 2004. They were consistently the second-largest group on the council, behind the ruling

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

until the 2022 elections, in which they came in first place after the Conservatives lost 6 seats.

County council elections

The Canvey Island Independents have been represented on

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. It has 75 councillors, elected from 70 divisions, and is currently controlled by the Conservative Party. The council meets at County Hall ...

since the 2009 election, having failed to secure either seat on Canvey Island at the elections in 2005. They won both Canvey Island seats at the 2021 election.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Canvey Island Independent Party
Locally based political parties in England