Welcome to the Bexhill Association of Independent Councillors (AIC) website

 

Independents … free to serve the community

 

People, not a party

 

The AIC is made up of ordinary, Bexhill residents. We have no links to any political parties, and therefore our agenda is purely to represent you, the residents of our beautiful seaside town.

 

We believe in and work for a system which will give local people a voice, a voice which is backed with authority and decision making powers and which will enable them to make a difference.

 

As a community we think we are entitled to make local decisions ourselves, and that residents should have the right and opportunity to express directly to and through their local councillors what their opinions and priorities are.

 

Democracy must embrace all points of view before decisions are made.

Our Aims

 

Following the petition of 10% of the electorate organised by the AIC to trigger a Governance Review & presented to RDC in March 2015 the AIC originally favoured an Area Committee option. On conclusion on Stage 1 of the review RDC organised that this option would have no executive powers and indicated that to satisfy the resident needs to Rother it could be conceivable that two additional Area Committees would need to be considered for rural Rother. The potential cost would have been significant and as a result the AIC Councillors identified that a Town Council was the most viable and appropriate option to create greater governance for Bexhill.

 

Local governance via town/parish councils are enjoyed by all parts of Rother apart from Bexhill and is a form of community governance advocated by central government in the devolution of the Localism Act 2011. It is designed to give more accountability and ability to enjoy the benefits of having a town council.

 

At the moment the current Rother District Council is governed by a “Cabinet” system which we believe is undemocratic. In our view it simply cannot be right that this elite committee of nine councillors (out of 38), chosen personally by the leader of the majority party group, can overturn and ignore residents’ wishes. Nor can it be right that this same arrogant group can if it wishes ignore or override scrutiny committee and other recommendations.

 

This arrangement is especially unacceptable to us as Bexhill councillors, given that only four members of the Cabinet represent Bexhill wards, while Bexhill comprises some 55% of Rother’s population and is clearly the main economic driver for the District.

Your Support

 

We want your vote to mean something, for your ideas to be heard and for you to have a choice with a voice.

 

There are many ways in which you can make a difference and we would especially like to hear from residents who might wish to explore standing for election in the future.

 

We don’t claim to have all the answers but we do believe that many answers are to be found in our residents who between them have vast resources of experience and practice.

 

Collectively we think we can make a difference and over time remove the constant confrontation and make Bexhill better. There is civic pride and community spirit in our town and we need a more responsive form of local governance which can harness this.

 

Following the tremendous Democracy4Bexhill Campaign of which all three AIC members supported it has been clearly endorsed that Bexhill residents are keen for change. Many residents identify that national party politics should not get in the way of local needs and services residents quite rightly expect. The overwhelming response has given a clear message that committed community driven Independent Councillors are needed to contest the RDC District elections in 2019.

 

If you are interested in any way to support the Independent Group or may even wish to consider standing as a candidate then please make contact with me – Doug Oliver – 07917845737 or email me at dougoliver1@hotmail.co.uk