United Kingdom
The Registration of Political Parties Act 1998 laid down the first specific rules in the United Kingdom relating to the use of the term 'independent' by election candidates. That Act was repealed with most of its contents covered by Part II of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. Candidates standing for United Kingdom local elections and United Kingdom parliamentary elections, including the devolved assemblies, can use the name of a registered political party, or the term 'Independent', or no term at all.
Some independents in the United Kingdom have registered locality-based political parties. English examples include the Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern, the Epsom and Ewell Residents Association, the Devizes Guardians, the Derwentside Independents, and the East Yorkshire Independents. Many such local parties are effectively local residents' or ratepayers' associations which contest elections and are usually considered locally "independent", as they have no alignment in national politics.
Read more about this topic: No Party Affiliation
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