Why do journalists and political commentators always neglect to mention the large and growing number of people who want community independent representation rather than members who are forced to take the party line on every issue regardless of evidence and the needs and interests of their constituents?
This is a fair point (but I do disagree with your premise that commentators and journalists neglect to talk about the growing appetite for community independents - there has been what I would describe as a media obsession with this topic over the last few years).
More broadly, the independent and the One Nation surge are symptoms of the same disease, where one group wants better local representation, and the other wants conviction at scale. Independents have proven they can win seats, but what they haven't proven (yet) is that they can form a government, set a national agenda, or hold a coherent policy line across issues like defence, energy, and the economy simultaneously. The argument in this piece isn't that party politics is the only model, it’s that when political parties work properly the demand for alternatives shrinks.
Why do journalists and political commentators always neglect to mention the large and growing number of people who want community independent representation rather than members who are forced to take the party line on every issue regardless of evidence and the needs and interests of their constituents?
This is a fair point (but I do disagree with your premise that commentators and journalists neglect to talk about the growing appetite for community independents - there has been what I would describe as a media obsession with this topic over the last few years).
More broadly, the independent and the One Nation surge are symptoms of the same disease, where one group wants better local representation, and the other wants conviction at scale. Independents have proven they can win seats, but what they haven't proven (yet) is that they can form a government, set a national agenda, or hold a coherent policy line across issues like defence, energy, and the economy simultaneously. The argument in this piece isn't that party politics is the only model, it’s that when political parties work properly the demand for alternatives shrinks.