It’s Independents Day! DAN HODGES meets the piano teacher, wrestler and hospital cleaner plotting homegrown electoral earthquake that could rock Rishi AND Keir… and who say forget the Red and Blue walls, and look out for the GREY one

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The elegant but otherwise unremarkable house just off Spilsby Road in Boston seems an unlikely setting for the start of a political revolution. 

'A group of us were gathered round my kitchen table,' local teacher Anne Dorrian recalls, 'and we agreed we had to do something. We couldn't just sit back and let things carry on as they were.'

The meeting had been called to select a slate of candidates for the newly-formed Boston Independent party to challenge the sitting Tory council at the upcoming local elections. 

Among the disparate group of plotters were a psychiatrist, a hospital cleaner, a piano instructor, a paediatrician and a world champion wrestler.

'We were all from different backgrounds,' Anne explains, 'but we had one thing in common. We were tired of the way the main parties kept ignoring local people. They couldn't be bothered to listen to what people in Boston were actually saying to them.'

We hear a lot about the Red and Blue Walls of British politics. But this corner of Lincolnshire now sits squarely behind the Grey Wall, those growing parts of the country where people have opted to turn their backs on the political status quo and take matters into their own hands

There are signs that as disillusionment with Rishi Sunak grows, and Keir Starmer fails to generate any significant enthusiasm, more and more people are looking outside of the political mainstream

We hear a lot about the Red and Blue Walls of British politics. But this corner of Lincolnshire now sits squarely behind the Grey Wall, those growing parts of the country where people have opted to turn their backs on the political status quo and take matters into their own hands.

At the end of their fateful gathering in February, Anne and her colleagues had identified 30 candidates to stand as councillors. 

And by the time the last ballot paper had been counted on the night of this year's May 4 local elections, 23 of them had been elected; the Tories had been swept from power; and every Labour councillor had lost their seat.

Anne – who is now Boston Borough Council leader – believes there were several local factors that lay behind this electoral earthquake. 

'The streets weren't being cleaned. A lot of local shops have been closing down or left empty. Anti-social behaviour had become seen as a big problem.'

By the time the last ballot paper had been counted on the night of this year's May 4 local elections, 23 Boston Independent candidates had been elected; the Tories had been swept from power; and every Labour councillor had lost their seat

But there was one issue in particular that finally pitched the normally mild-mannered residents into open revolt: the Christmas decorations.

'That was the straw that broke the camel's back,' Anne claims. 'This is a proud town, and how it looks is important to local people.

'We hadn't any decorations for a couple of years because of Covid. Then the council announced because of budget cuts the Christmas lights would have to be scaled back. That got people's backs up. Then it emerged they'd bought a plastic Christmas Tree for the town centre, but it was going to cost over £20,000.'

Against this backdrop of Conifergate, then Tory council leader Paul Skinner had little chance of resisting the grey tsunami. 

'Our secret weapon was shoe-leather,' Anne claims. 'We hit as many doorsteps as we could. While the Conservatives were just sending out leaflets, we were meeting residents face-to-face. They could see we were listening to them, and that got a favourable response.'

Walking round Boston's market square, with the imposing spire of St Botolph's Church looming above, it's easy to find support for Anne and her band of political insurgents.

In Maudes The Jewellers, Andrea welcomes the fact she's now represented by a party that identifies with the problems she and her fellow small business bosses are facing. 

'We've got people who understand what it's really like here in Boston. They run local businesses, too. So when something affects us, it affects them. They actually feel it.'

Pensioners Geoff and Maureen agree. 'They can't do much worse than the other lot,' says Maureen. But it's clear there are some other factors feeding into this repudiation of Boston's ruling political class.

In 2016, a report by the think-tank Policy Exchange identified the town as 'the most divided place in England' after an influx of agricultural workers from Eastern Europe saw its migrant population soar by 460 per cent. I was told that tensions had eased. 

But in the window of the local recruitment agency, there is an advert in Romanian urgently requesting broccoli-cutters. Next to it sits a hand-written notice proclaiming 'IF YOUR [sic] LAZY AND DON'T WANT WORK DO NOT ENTER'.

Anne Dorrian says she and her colleagues are aware of local concerns. 'We've made a point of ensuring we have representation from our migrant community on the council,' she insists.

And they're making some progress. Lina Savickiene, whose nine-year-old daughter was stabbed to death by a Lithuanian fruit-picker last summer, secured election under the Boston Independent banner after a campaign focused on community safety.

But despite local goodwill, significant challenges remain.

READ MORE: Tony Blair still operates like a PM...now he's preparing to become the ULTIMATE back-seat driver to Sir Keir Starmer, ANDREW PIERCE reports 

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'Fair play to the Independents, but I just don't think it will make any difference to me,' market trader Jeannie tells me. 'I've been working a stall here since I was aged six, and as soon as I get the chance I'm getting out. All the shops are dying. It's impossible to make a living here.'

Yet Anne Dorrian remains undaunted. 'We've only been in power 100 days,' she insists, 'but we're already making a difference. We're starting to introduce covert and overt CCTV to tackle fly-tipping. 

'We've sat down with the police to start putting in place a proper action plan for tackling anti-social behaviour. And we've just installed eight new planters in the square that have brightened the place up a little bit.'

And crucially, she's also pledged to deliver the residents of Boston a proper Christmas.

'The lights will be back – it's going to be a proper four-day extravaganza,' she proclaims proudly.

The success of the Boston independents could easily be dismissed as a quirky one-off. And it's clear a number of factors unique to the area have been in play.

But in May's local elections, almost 1,500 councillors were elected from parties other than the Conservatives, Labour or the Liberal Democrats. 

And there are signs that as disillusionment with Rishi Sunak grows, and Keir Starmer fails to generate any significant enthusiasm, more and more people are looking outside of the political mainstream.

'This is my second office,' Dave Blackwell tells me as he sips his tea outside the Bay Cafe on Canvey Island.

'It's a good place to come and meet people. They feel they can be honest with me and give me some. And then I can listen and give a bit back.'

Dave became leader of Castle Point council after his Canvey Island Independent Party formed an historic alliance with the People's Independent Party – a pact which saw the Conservatives ousted from power for the first time in almost two decades. 

'Everyone was fed up with their antics,' he reveals. 'They just weren't listening. People were looking for alternatives. And that was us.'

Previously a Labour councillor, Dave quickly became disillusioned. 'I came in with the Blair landslide,' he says, 'but it was so controlling. I'd be warned, 'You can't do that, it isn't party policy.' But people don't care about whether something's policy or not. They just want what's best for them and their family.'

I'd been told, 'If you cut Dave Blackwell, he bleeds Canvey' and after chatting to him, it is clear this is no exaggeration.

He explains how he has lived on the island all his life. His dad was from Bow in East London and his mum from Walthamstow. 

'This was the playground of the East End in the 1950s. It was where the workers came to have a decent day out.'

Whereas Boston's political upheaval was the product of numerous local factors, Dave attributes the Independents' political triumph to a single issue.

The previous Tory-run council had unveiled a plan to build 5,000 new houses in Castle Point, with 2,000 on Canvey Island. It would have meant building on the Green Belt, homes he claims would have cost £450,000 to £500,000. 

'That's way out of most people's price range. We don't have the infrastructure to deal with that. It can already take an hour to get off the island at peak times.'

Although it's obvious there are differences in what motivated the residents of Lincolnshire and Essex to so dramatically upend the Westminster apple cart, as I stroll along the seafront some similar themes begin to emerge. 

'We're rebels down here,' says Sophie, who runs the Bay Cafe. 'Dave gets that. He's one of us. He lives here. So if something impacts me, it impacts him.'

Again, it's equally clear Dave and his new breed of council colleagues still have a lot of work to do in aligning their ambitions with local expectations. Soon after being elected in May, the new councillors identified a £1.2 million shortfall in the maintenance budget for the local Knightswick Shopping Centre, money they now intend to spend on a long overdue refurbishment.

'That's nice,' says TJ, who runs the Glitz and Glamour Homeware store, 'but to be honest I think they'd do better to knock the place down and start again.'

Jyoti, who manages the Trade Counter Discount Store next door, also has mixed feelings. 

'What we really need is for someone to do something about business rates. That's what's hurting us in here.'

Despite this scepticism, Dave Blackwell intends to carry on with his mission of reforming the local council. 

In his sights are the huge number of council staff who are still working from home. He says the council caretaker recently told him that on one particular day only 21 out of 200 officers were actually in the office.

'The rest were working from home. But council tax payers are paying to heat and light these huge offices. And no-one's in them. We're going to have to do something about that.'

It's unclear what, if any, impact these mini, local uprisings could have on the national political picture. 

Despite my prompting, neither Anne Dorrian or Dave Blackwell would admit to having any ambition to become an MP. 

'I'm not interested in that sort of politics any more,' Dave insisted. 'Politics just gets in the way of doing things.'

At next year's General Election, Sir Keir Starmer faces an independent challenge from North East mayor Jamie Driscoll, who he recently ousted

But the British people's growing admiration for those with an independent streak could still influence next year's General Election.

There are persistent rumours of some sort of electoral pact between the Reform Party, UKIP and Laurence Fox's Reclaim insurgents. 

Sir Keir Starmer faces an independent challenge from North East mayor Jamie Driscoll, who he recently ousted. 

And there is increasing speculation that Jeremy Corbyn will stand as an independent in Islington North.

This weekend, there are reports that Rishi Sunak is preparing a Cabinet reshuffle to try to reboot the Government. 

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer is said to be considering a new raft of policy announcements to counteract internal party fears he is failing to fully capitalise on voter discontent.

And up in Boston? Anne Dorrian and her colleagues are busy baking cakes for the town's summer fair. 

Perhaps it's the guardians of the Grey Wall who hold the key to Britain's political future.