An Independent MP is a legislator elected to a parliamentary chamber who does not belong to a recognised political party and is therefore not bound by a party whip. Independents may have left a party over a policy dispute, been expelled, lost preselection, or campaigned as independents from the outset on local or single-issue platforms.
Their procedural position varies by jurisdiction. In the UK House of Commons, independents are seated but receive no party allocations of committee slots or opposition day time; the Speaker by convention sits as an independent after election. In the Australian House of Representatives, the rise of the so-called "teal independents" at the 2022 federal election — including Monique Ryan, Zoe Daniel, and Allegra Spender — produced a crossbench large enough to influence climate and integrity legislation. In Canada, MPs who leave a caucus are designated "Independent" in the order of precedence and lose access to party research budgets.
Independents matter most in hung parliaments, where governments need confidence-and-supply agreements from the crossbench. The 2010 Gillard minority government in Australia depended on independents Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott, and Andrew Wilkie, alongside the Greens' Adam Bandt. Similar arrangements have featured in New Zealand and Ireland.
Key constraints on independents include:
- Limited speaking time under standing orders that allocate slots by party size.
- Reduced staffing budgets in systems where parliamentary resources are tied to caucus membership.
- Ballot access rules — some electoral systems (e.g. closed-list PR) effectively bar independents, while single-member plurality systems like Westminster constituencies leave the path open.
Independents are distinct from minor party MPs, who still operate under a party label and whip, and from crossbenchers in general, a broader term covering both. In presidential systems with separated legislatures, the equivalent concept is an independent senator or representative, such as Bernie Sanders and Angus King in the U.S. Senate, who caucus with a major party while retaining independent status.
Example
In the 2022 Australian federal election, Monique Ryan won the seat of Kooyong as an independent MP, defeating sitting Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
Frequently asked questions
In theory yes, but in practice no Westminster prime minister has governed as an independent; PMs need majority support, which independents almost never command without forming or joining a party.
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