We get a lot of comments on VisitScunthorpe, both publicly and privately about the status quo of the Scunthorpe "Binary Party" System. For many years Scunthorpe has been black and white in its politics, you vote either for a Labour candidate or a Conservative (or an ex-conservative in the case of some "independents"). The balance of power has tipped between the two focused around just a few key seats such as Broughton and Apppleby and the collection of Axholme wards. Traditionally, in seats considered a strong hold, the incumbent party has not changed in years, to that point at which in some cases it has become almost a family dynasty. Meet Neil Eyre, former Liberal Democrat voter, self confessed libertarian and brave new independent candidate for Froddingham ward. Neil is very much a man of the people, as a student he was a supporter of the Liberals, but has not been for some time now. He believes very strongly that local people should be represented not by politicians from a "best fit" political party, but by those who live and work amongst them. The first thing we wanted to know from Neil, is why is there only one Tory standing in Froddingham, and was he in collusion with them as a second pseudo Tory candidate. Neil immediately told us that this was not at all true, and that he was very much his own man. While having strong libertarian principals, and upholding the economy of the free market, Neil is most definitely not a Tory he says. He has very strong feelings on the deficit, public spending and cuts, and while accepting that some cuts are necessary, does feel that the current spending cuts are too harsh, unfairly targeted and tend to hit the vulnerable hardest. Speaking as an independent, Neil was quite upfront and truthful that he knows very little about how the political system works, which comes across as very refreshing and honest. His approach on a lot of matters would be to engage with his electorate over "big issues", canvas opinion and to vote for or against the matter in accordance with how his constituents instructed. On other matters it would be a case of voting with what he calls "Common Sense". Neil told us "real independents don't really know how the system works which is good because like me they wont know what to expect during those first tender weeks of public service. Because I don't know the system, the people in my ward will, through me, be able to get information and a clear impartial view of what is going on in the council and instruct me as to how they want things run differently, mainly because I am untainted by the recent political discourse that marks all the parties. Once I know where the pens and pencils are I can find out how much they cost, how they are being used and how can they be better used, and then let my Ward know that information" When we discussed how this would work, Neil said he would look to using a combination of leafleting and emailing of constituents to get feedback on the important issues affecting the people he was looking to represent. While talking about this we did look at the issue of cost, and how these ad-hock referendums would be funded. Neil is himself a self employed project manager working in the defence industry, so any allowances he receives as a councillor would be in addition to his salary. This he states would go towards covering the costs of keeping in touch with his constituents about key matters in the town, as opposed to paying his own living costs. Also on the matter of expenses, Neil expressed dismay at the subsistence allowances paid to councillors (dubbed the Sandwich Budget in the local press). As a self employed contractor, when he goes on site, Neil has to provide his own lunch. He draws a parallel between the behaviour of a councillor and the behaviour of some one who is self employed. Neil would not expect his employer to pay the cost of his food, so asks why councillors should receive a lunch allowance when they have to eat anyway. In terms of green credentials, Neil is very forward thinking, and sees the country�s energy future in renewables. Neil believes that the future of wind power should be determined by the free market and that real bounty lies in emerging technologies such as wave and tidal generation. The final point we covered with Neil was his position on A.V. as we expected, as an independent Neil is very keen on electoral reform, but acknowledges that A.V. is far from the best system. His argument is however one of the better one's we've heard in support of A.V., essentially Neil told us : "If you are happy with the current electoral system, vote no. If you think that change to the system is required vote Yes." Neil is a regular commentator on Visit Scunthorpe, if you have any questions for him, please sign in and leave them below, he'll try his best to answer them.