FORMER Liberal Democrat councillor Christian Vassie doesn’t mince his words in The Press today. Political tribalism is damaging York, he says – with too many councillors concerned about party political point-scoring rather than about making York a better place to live.

Some might say that’s a bit rich coming from a politician who, as a leading member of the last Liberal Democrat regime in York, was involved in a series of damaging public rows with his own party.

To be fair to Cllr Vassie, however, the reason he fell out with so many of his former colleagues was that he refused to toe the line when he thought they were getting things wrong. He publicly criticised his own party for wasting money by bungling the redevelopment of the Barbican site, the community stadium and the Allerton waste incinerator plan.

Whether you agreed with him or not, it makes perfect sense, therefore, for him to now be standing as an Independent candidate. And many might feel he has a real point about the way party politics is getting in the way of the proper running of York.

There may be a place for party politics at national level. But is it really needed in local government?

Surely what we need is strong, publicly minded councillors willing to make up their own minds on local issues, say what they mean, and make compromises when necessary in the interests of the city we all love rather than adhering to party dogma?

The Press is fiercely non-partisan and we would never suggest to readers who they should or shouldn’t vote for in any local or national election – and Cllr Vassie will have to take his chances along with every other candidate.

But consider how much better local government could be in any city if all councillors were independent of party strictures and could act with ONLY the best interests of their constituents in mind at all times.