The debate: Should you vote for Independents or political parties?

This Friday, Irish voters have a choice that is not available in most other western democracies – that of voting for a credible Independent. In many European countries voters are just given the option of picking a party or a party candidate. Even where Independents are permitted, those who run are usually eccentrics with little hope of an electoral impact.
In Ireland, by contrast, not only do Independents have a reasonable chance of winning seats, but, if elected, they can also wield an influence in parliament, and on the government-formation process in particular.
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Many party leaders, from Enda Kenny, Brian Cowen, Bertie Ahern and Charlie Haughey, have all had to negotiate with Independents to become taoiseach, the consequence of which is to make them relevant actors in the political system.
The knock-on effect of this relevance is to give Irish voters a wider range of meaningful options on the ballot, which is especially important when the differences between the main parties have become increasingly blurred. In other countries, there are usually distinct policy differences between the principal parties competing for government, but not so in Ireland, where it has becoming more difficult to differentiate Fianna Fáil from Fine Gael, and between a variety of left-wing parties.
Whatever one thinks about Independents, they offer something different from parties, and in a pluralist democracy giving voters such choices is a welcome development. While it can be difficult to pin down what some Independents stand for, their primary raison d’être is to act according to their own conscience and that of their constituents, not that of a party hierarchy. Is this necessarily a bad thing?
Rather than bemoan the presence of Independents, we should laud them as an indicator of the openness of Irish democracy. Regardless of status or wealth, any individual can run, be elected and have some influence. This is not the case in many other countries.
Granted, there may well be some consequences of having Independents in parliament that may lessen its “efficiency”, including making it more difficult to form a government and making politics less stable. However, while these criticisms of Independents might seem theoretically sound, the evidence indicates something rather different.
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The reason why governments are taking longer to form in recent years is not because of the increased number of Independents, but rather the intransigence of a number of parties not willing to work with one another. The same could not be said of Independents, many of whom have demonstrated their willingness to work with governments of all hues. Likewise, there is no evidence that minority governments needing independent support are any less stable than majority party coalitions.
Research of mine on the 15 administrations since 1927 that have had to rely on Independents found that they were just a number of months shorter in their longevity than other governments. Rather than being less productive, they actually produced more legislation on an annual basis than majority administrations.
One of the reasons for this stability is that, despite the perceived wisdom that Independents are mavericks who cannot be relied on, those with whom minority governments have done deals have provided remarkably consistent levels of support. For example, in Bertie Ahern’s first term as taoiseach from 1997 to 2002, of the four Independents who supported him, Mildred Fox and Harry Blaney voted against Ahern’s government on just three out of more than 400 separate motions in the Dáil, while Jackie Healy-Rae and Tom Gildea provided 100 per cent support.
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Irish voters should cherish the fact that unlike their counterparts at recent British and American elections they have more than a choice of two parties, and a choice of more than just parties. In an electoral system where voters prioritise candidate over party, the ability to vote for any candidate of any persuasion is an important cornerstone of Irish democracy.
Dr Liam Weeks is head of the department of government and politics at University College Cork and author of Independents in Irish Party Democracy (MUP, 2017)
Slightly fewer than one in five Irish voters, if polls are accurate, currently intend to vote for independent candidates in Friday’s general election – a significantly higher proportion than in most comparable countries, and under an electoral system that offers Independents a significant window of opportunity.
The case for electing politicians who do not belong to political parties is often made. Since Independents are not bound by any party whip, they can take freewheeling and sometimes bold positions on matters of public interest. Some independent members of the outgoing Dáil and Seanad have made very valuable contributions to public discourse, including by raising the profile of sensitive national issues: Cathal Berry, for example, on security and defence; Senator Tom Clonan on disability issues; and Michael McDowell often hits various nails on the head. However, at the other end of the spectrum, there are many Independents who make a far less stellar contribution.
However, a very strong case can be made for political parties in general. The election campaign has been dominated by arguments in favour of individual political parties but there is a broader value to having strong political parties from across the political spectrum in the Oireachtas.
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Four points seem important.
First, effective government is facilitated by having a coherent Dáil majority, a majority easier to put together and manage if it comprises political parties constituting a majority of TDs. Any government that must rely on assorted, even divergent, independent TDs faces a trickier and more uncertain challenge. The case for a stable Dáil majority is equally true of a government led by any of the three main parties or by a combination of them. If the parliamentary arithmetic requires it, the support of Independents may have to be factored in, but it is not an ideal basis for five years of coherence and stability.
Second, our democracy also needs an effective opposition in parliament. While not denigrating the significant contribution that some independent TDs and senators can make, opposition political parties are better positioned overall to offer a consistent and comprehensive challenge to the government of the day. Even critics of Sinn Féin would probably recognise that it has performed effectively in providing such opposition over the lifetime of the present Dáil.
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Third, it is not only about the largest political parties. Political direction and debate in this country have been greatly enriched by the presence of smaller parties, with long traditions and coherent philosophies, both in government and opposition. The Labour Party, for example, both inside and outside government, has over decades contributed a significant progressive perspective to shaping modern Ireland. Labour and the Social Democrats together, if they were to unite, could have an impact significantly greater than the current sum of their parts.
The Green Party likewise has been an influential voice on the most existential global issue facing us all. The party’s effective prioritisation of climate has been an important counterbalance to the assertion of other priorities, a voice that emphasises Ireland’s longer-term wellbeing rather than more obviously voter-friendly, short-term considerations.
Being an effective backbencher, in government or opposition, is less politically sexy and high-profile than being an Independent free of party constraints. However, backbenchers play a noble and necessary role in our democracy and can contribute, below the radar, to shaping national policy. There is nothing to prevent them from advancing local issues on behalf of their constituents, as Independents do.
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Fourth, the focus of many independent candidates tends to be largely on local issues. Solutions that are often understandably attractive locally can undermine a national perspective that benefits us all. In some cases – Gerry Hutch being potentially the most obvious example – voters may opt for local candidates at least in part precisely because they are perceived to be condemned at national level.
How people vote on Friday will depend significantly on the names that appear on the ballot paper in their constituency. They may include some excellent independent candidates. However, the case for political parties and the internal discipline that they entail, far from being boringly conventional, is about effective government and opposition, and about encouraging a national perspective.
Bobby McDonagh is a former ambassador to London, Rome and Brussels