IT IS A cliche, or perhaps a truism, of British parliamentary politics that in the “first-past-the-post” parliamentary electoral system, the odds are stacked against independent candidates and even against the smaller political parties.

The Greens, despite having a solid voter base and receiving more than a million votes in 2015, have only had Caroline Lucas in the House of Commons.

That view was borne out for decades. From the abolition of university constituencies in 1950 to the end of the 20th century, the only MP elected as an independent was former war correspondent Martin Bell, who became MP for Tatton after declaring his candidacy only 24 days before the 1997 general election.