Independents for Frome (ifF) is a local political grouping based in

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England. The town is built on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, and centres on the River Frome. The town, about south of Bath, is the largest in the Mendip d ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, UK. It is known for its independent and non party-political approach and for its espousal of a series of ideas that have become known as "flatpack democracy". Independent councillors elected under the banner of ifF have been in control of Frome Town Council since 2011. Independents for Frome's development of the town council has been credited with being the 'crucible' of a new independent approach to local government, and is reported as having been directly responsible for the election successes of a number of similarly independent groups elsewhere in England. The grouping, and the way in which it has run the town council since 2011, has been the focus of several academic research studies. One study reviewed how the council has used techniques of

normative social influence Normative social influence is a type of social influence that leads to conformity. It is defined in social psychology as "...the influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them." The power of normative ...

to increase political diversity. Others have assessed its wider importance, concluding that Frome is becoming increasingly renowned for its thriving independent political and economic identity, and that it is becoming a mentor for other places that seek to replicate conditions for independent, post-party politics.

Establishment

Independents for Frome was established in January 2011 by a group of Frome residents who had become disenchanted with what they considered the institutional wrangling and party-political self-interests within the town council, and the extent to which the controlling party-based politicians had become walled in by bureaucracy and protocol. A decision was made to field candidates for all the seats on the council at the 2011 local elections under a new non-partisan independent grouping, politically diverse but unified by a common set of values including a codified way of working that acknowledged the inevitability of disagreement, and an understanding that there would be no

whipping Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...

on council votes. The group was immediately successful, taking 10 of the available 17 seats and thus control of the town council.

Flatpack democracy and its influences

The ideas that lead to the establishment of Independents for Frome were described as "flatpack democracy" by Peter Macfadyen, one of the group's founders and first town councillors. In 2014 the ideas were developed in booklet form as ''Flatpack Democracy: A DIY Guide to Independent Politics.'' Flatpack democracy was reported in 2015 as having been directly responsible for the election successes of similarly independent groups in

Arlesey Arlesey ( ) is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire. It is near the border with Hertfordshire, about three miles north-west of Letchworth Garden City, four miles north of Hitchin and six miles south of Biggleswade. Arlesey railway station p ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

and in

Buckfastleigh Buckfastleigh is a market town and civil parish in Devon, England situated beside the Devon Expressway ( A38) at the edge of the Dartmoor National Park. It is part of Teignbridge and, for ecclesiastical purposes, lies within the Totnes Deanery ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. A further book, ''Flatpack Democracy 2.0: Powertools for reclaiming local politics'', followed in September 2019. Independents for Frome's flatpack democracy approach has been credited with being the 'crucible' of a new independent approach to local government. Local successes were reported by 2019 in places in South-West England, Yorkshire and County Durham, and in New Zealand. Specific examples in addition to Buckfastleigh include Dartmouth, Devon,

Queen's Park, London Queen's Park is an area located partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Brent. Some of the area within Westminster forms a civil parish, the first to be created in London since the right of communities to establish ...

and

Alderley Edge Alderley Edge is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. In 2011, it had a population of 4,780. Alderley Edge is northwest of Macclesfield and south of Manchester, at the base of a steep and thickly wooded sandstone escarpment, Alder ...

, Cheshire.

Academic studies

There have been several academic studies that focus on Independents for Frome. In 2019, Amy Burnett of the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

completed her PhD study of the town and its local politics following the election of Independents for Frome councillors in 2011. Burnett found that ifF had cultivated a new identity that was not previously reflected by local politics and organisations. Its projection of Frome's independence as a self-sufficient market town, framed around sustainability issues, created a strong level of identity in some of the survey respondents, and the group's relocalisation and independent politics generated a self-identity that has filtered the type of person attracted to the town. ifF's success at cultivating diversity and welcoming of different perspectives could, the author argued, be well placed for replication at the national level. In June 2020 Emil Husted of the

Copenhagen Business School Copenhagen Business School (Danish'': Handelshøjskolen i København'') often abbreviated and referred to as CBS (also in Danish), is a public university situated in Copenhagen, Denmark and is considered one of the most prestigious business schoo ...

published research analysing how Independents for Frome has made use of normative control techniques to reduce homogenizing norms. In March 2021 Burnett and Richard Nunes, also from the University of Reading, published a journal article reporting the results of an in-depth study of Independents for Frome and its flatpack democracy model. They considered ifF to be a "notable example of a potential political 'transition' where local voters rejected adversarial party-politics" and they argued that Frome's case is important in that the key protagonists were a group of independent councillors seeking to encourage inclusion and diversity. The authors reported evidence that ifF has contributed to an increase in local political engagement, and argued that a growing interest in the concepts of flatpack democracy nationally may be behind an unprecedented rise in the number of independent councillors elected at town and district level in the 2019 English local elections. Elected representatives of several different local government tiers are, they stated, turning to independent non-partisan policies as a means of cultivating a shift in local politics. Burnett and Nunes concluded that Frome is becoming increasingly renowned for its thriving independent political and economic identity, and that it is becoming a mentor for other places that seek to replicate conditions for independent, post-party politics.

Electoral performance history

Frome town council elections, 2011

*One of the Liberal Democrat councillors defected to

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest p ...

prior to the 2015 election.

Frome town council elections, 2015

At the town council elections on 7 May 2015, Independents for Frome contested and won all seventeen available seats.

Frome town council elections, 2019

At the town council elections on 2 May 2019, Independents for Frome again contested and won all seventeen available seats.

Frome town council elections, 2022

At the town council elections on 5 May 2022, Independents for Frome won all seventeen available seats (only 1 seat was contested).

References

Bibliography

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External links

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{{British political parties Political parties established in 2011 Locally based political parties in England Politics of Somerset Frome 2011 establishments in England Organisations based in Somerset