Independent Group appoints Transport Spokesperson.

[whole diary]

[grahame]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47410564

Independent Group Transport spokesperson is Angela Smith, MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) for Penistone and Stocksbridge - brief career background at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Smith_(Sheffield_MP) .  I don't see a great deal of Transport in her past, and her portfolio also covers local government and housing, and energy, environment and rural affairs.

Should the group grow significantly in numbers, I would expect the multi-disciplined portfolios to be split down as Angela seems to have an awful lot on her plate!

[trainbuff]

Does anyone know what any of their policies are yet? I understand they are not a Political Party at present and are a limited company registered in Panama. Apparently this means that they don't have to declare donors, which may impact their policies on the Railways. Also they have no members as such!

[ellendune]

I understand they are not a Political Party at present and are a limited company registered in Panama.

I am not sure you have got that right. According to Wikipedia Gemini A Ltd is registered in England and Wales. 

[trainbuff]

I stand corrected about the registration of the company. But being a Private company means they have no members, only donors, and do not have to declare any donation at all. Political parties have to declare donations over £5000 I understand so its not known which large donors 'may' influence policy decisions

[TonyK]

I was less than surprised by the formation of the non-formation, having lived through the SDP split from Labour and the subsequent merger with the Liberals. At the moment, the Independent Group is not a political party, and I can't see it ever being. There is more that divides the MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) than unites them.
So I don't see this as a new political party, but I would vote for whoever had the neck to stand on a platform of policies that I like.
It's a lousy system, but we're stuck with it.

[JayMac]

I was less than surprised by the formation of the non-formation, At the moment, the Independent Group is not a political party, and I can't see it ever being. There is more that divides the MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) than unites them.

The group is in talks with the Electoral Commission about becoming a fully fledged political party.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47453810