Sir, – The current misuse of the political label of “Independents” by the media and the general public is not only misleading but incorrect.
Apart from the facts that a high proportion of our “Independents” are people who have either been expelled or rejected by their mainstream political parties, the reality is that our electoral system does not permit the election of anyone under the label of Independent. Instead, aspiring politicians who have campaigned under such banners are, rather paradoxically, renamed as “non-party” when it comes to their identification on the ballot paper.
It is not only insulting to those who genuinely do not wish to be associated with current political parties to be labelled as “non-party”, it is also confusing for the electorate. – Yours, etc,
Dr VINCENT KENNY,
Knocklyon,
Dublin 16.