Introduction

This comprises a general introduction to the topic of independents. It begins with a discussion as to the meaning of the concept, and what is understood by an independent for the purposes of this study, particularly in relation to the role of such a representative vis-à-vis government and parliament. There then follows a rationale for a book on this topic, before the international and Irish experience of independents is briefly examined, and in particular the evolution of parliamentary representation from Independent to political party, with a discussion of how parties have become dominant. The final section outlines the central premise of this book and its structure, detailing how the question of an independent presence can be explained.

Independents and government

This chapter examines the role of independents in parliament, specifically in terms of their contribution to the formation and maintenance of governments, because this is where their influence is most obviously exhibited. There is a thick-descriptive account of each of the minority administrations that needed the votes of independents, in terms of the leverage wielded by the latter, and the consequences for the former, with a focus on their longevity and stability. Parliamentary roll-call data is used to measure the participation levels of the independents, to what extent they worked collectively as a team, and what level of support was offered to individual minority administrations. The analysis of the dynamics between independents and minority governments indicates that there is no one-size-fits-all model to describe such relationships. Instead, there have been four different types of arrangements, each of which are described in detail. In general, the stronger the working relationship between independents and the parties, the higher the level of support received from independents and the more stable the government.

Independents and the electoral system

This chapter focuses on electoral systems, rules and regulations, and how they impact on independents in Ireland and elsewhere. There is a particular emphasis on the electoral system, PR-STV, because it is frequently referred to as a contributory factor behind the significant presence of independents in Ireland. The electoral experience of independents under STV in Ireland is compared with their fate in Australia, the only other country where both independents and STV are present. After establishing the causal relationship between STV and independents’ electoral success in Ireland, the validity of these hypotheses is tested on the Australian experience, more specifically, its seven parliaments currently elected by STV. This is put to the test in a quantitative manner using constituency-level electoral data from Ireland and Australia.

Independent parliamentarians

This chapter considers consider the experience of those who run on an independent platform. It comprises seven separate contributions, from independents who have been elected at various levels in Ireland, from local councils, to the Seanad, the Dáil and the European Parliament. Although this study is primarily on independents in the Dáil, it is nevertheless useful to consider all these levels as it demonstrates the role and function of independents across the Irish political system. The independent contributors provide an insider’s account of life as an outsider within the Irish political system. With their years of experience on the political frontline, they speak with clarity and insight on the failings of the system, and in particular the lack of transparency and accountability. They suggest a number of reforms that would allow both parliament and the people to wrest back true political power.

Independents’ electoral history

This chapter comprises an analysis of Independents’ electoral history from three aspects. The first is the comparative performance of independents in countries outside of Ireland, with particular attention given to Australia and Japan, the two other established democracies where independents have had been prominent at national parliamentary elections. As well as placing Irish independents in an international context, the comparative dimension also assists an analysis of the factors behind their significance. The second focus is on the Irish case, with an outline and analysis of independents’ history at Dáil elections back to 1922. The final section is a cursory enquiry into the geography of their electoral history. This chapter finds that independents are an established norm in the Irish political system and that support for them is related to developments in the party system.

Why are there independents in Ireland?

This chapter brings together data from the other chapters to examine the collective factors that give independents a strong presence in Ireland. It uses original constituency-level data to examine socio-economic, electoral and party system factors. The analysis begins with an examination of four general factors that affect Independents: in particular those of a cultural, behavioural and institutional nature. This is used to construct eight hypotheses that are built on the five premises of the study relating to the significance of independents. These relate to size, political culture, electoral rules and the party system. It is found that many of these factors are responsible for the presence of independents. They suggest that this phenomenon is more than just the product of fleeting sentiment, but that it has some kind of structural basis.

A typology of independents

This chapter has two main aims. The first is to disaggregate Independents from ‘others’ to provide a definitive dataset of their electoral performance. This is necessary because to date there is no overall record of independents’ electoral performance and presence, and to enable more reliable and valid analysis about this actor. The second, and primary, aim is to use this disaggregation to construct a typology of Independents. Using newspaper archives and historical literature, the background of every Independent candidate contesting a general election between 1922 and 2016 in Ireland is examined, from which they are grouped into a number of Independent families and sub-categories. A detailed profile is provided of each of these categories, describing their key characteristics and respective electoral performances. It is shown that independents form a residual heterogeneous category, about whom a better understanding can be achieved if their diversity is appreciated.

Conclusion

The final chapter summarises the various arguments discussed in the previous eight chapters, but also considers the normative value of independents, taking into account the consequences they can pose for party democracy. This constitutes the latter section of this chapter, which assesses the merit of a number of accusations made against independents, based on the evidence used in this study. In particular, it focuses on six criticisms of independents: that they make it difficult to form a government, that they cause instability, that they make parliament unworkable, that they skew the allocation of national resources, that they negotiate secret deals, and that they reduce cohesion and accountability in parliament.

The independent voter

The aim of this chapter is to provide an insight into the make-up of the independent voter. Four features of the independent vote are examined in this chapter. The first concerns the socio-economic basis to the independent vote, the second feature examined is the extent to which support for independents is a personalistic and localistic vote, the third concerns party detachment, while the fourth feature examined is the protest element of the independent vote. These features feed back to the central thesis of this study that there are factors at play in Ireland that are permissive of independents. An important finding is that a vote for independents is not a completely irrational, aberrant vote. The presence of some consistent features suggests there is a logical structure to the independent vote. Under certain permissive conditions, such as a localistic and personalistic political culture, and a declining attachment to political parties, support for independents is greater.