The Canvey Island Independent Party (CIIP) is a local

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

active on

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames Estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ...

, in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It was established in 2004 by Labour councillor Dave Blackwell to campaign for a separate district council for

Background

Canvey Island became a single

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in 1881, replacing 17 former divisions that had existed in broadly the same form since the Norman era.Robert Hallmann, "Essex History You Can See" (Tempus Publishing, 2006, ) In 1926, the parish was converted to the

Canvey Island Urban District Canvey Island Urban District was an urban district in the county of Essex, England. It was created in 1926 out of the civil parish of Canvey Island, previously in the Rochford Rural District. Since 1 April 1974 its former area has formed part o ...

, which governed the island as a distinct entity. The urban district was dissolved along with the mainland

Benfleet Urban District Benfleet Urban District was an urban district in the county of Essex, England. It was created on 1 October 1929 from the parts of Rochford Rural District containing the civil parishes of Hadleigh, South Benfleet and Thundersley. Since 1 April ...

in the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

to form the local government district and borough of

Castle Point Castle Point is a local government district with borough status in south Essex, England, lying around east of London. The borough comprises the towns of South Benfleet, Hadleigh and Thundersley (where the council is based) on the mainland, a ...

, ending Canvey Island's existence as a separate entity in local government. The Canvey Island Independents were established in 2004 to campaign for a return to Canvey Island's autonomy, which had been abolished 32 years previously. They argued that the current local government arrangements – which saw more councillors elected to the borough council from the mainland – were unfair to the residents of Canvey Island. They also campaigned for more power to be devolved to Canvey Island Town Council, a parish council subordinate to

which is responsible for limited services and facilities and on the island.

Election results

Since its formation the Canvey Island Independent Party has contested elections on a yearly basis, with representation at borough and county council level. It is also active at the parish level, with Canvey Island Independents sitting on Canvey Island Town Council. The party does not contest Parliamentary elections.

Borough Council elections

The Canvey Island Independents have been represented continuously on

Castle Point Borough Council A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

since their first election in 2004. They were consistently the second-largest group on the council, behind the ruling

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

until the 2022 elections, in which they came in first place after the Conservatives lost 6 seats.

County council elections

The Canvey Island Independents have been represented on

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock which ...

since the 2009 election, having failed to secure either seat on Canvey Island at the elections in 2005. They won both Canvey Island seats at the 2021 election.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Canvey Island Independent Party
Locally based political parties in England 2004 establishments in England Political parties established in 2004 Politics of Essex Canvey Island