Why James Miller of the Essex political party Confelicity should become Mayor of Essex

I announced my candidacy for the Mayor of Greater Essex quite a while ago - in fact, I was the first to declare.  Since then, we have had announcements from the Conservative Party and an independent.

In my first blog (see link below) I discussed my opposition to the creation of the role itself -despite standing. But the deal is done. It is happening and as a local political party in Essex we feel it would be most odd if we did not participate. I have made my reservations clear, but concede there are opportunities too. (James Miller will be standing as Mayor of Essex for the Confelicity Party in 2026, despite opposing the devolution and local government reorganisation plans).

In this blog, I talk more about what I would look to do within the scope of the Mayor’s remit and focus on housing, green belt land, the economy, looking after vulnerable people, and how the Confelicity Party are well suited for what is still local government. But first, I must make one more criticism of the Mayoral process and whether Confelicity really should enter the race.

The £5,000 Deposit

According to the Electoral Commission the entrance fee - non-refundable for all candidates who fail to achieve 5% of the vote - is set at £5,000.  A question was recently raised at Parliament to Labour MP Jim McMahon as to why this should be so, and he said:

“Under electoral law, candidates are required to pay a deposit in certain elections, reflecting the scale of the role, including budget responsibility, role as chair of the Combined Authority or Combined County Authority, and the ability to raise a levy; as well as the size of the electorate and electoral area.”

To stand as an MP in the last General Election, the deposit was £1,000. Ludicrous as it is to base the importance of a job purely on money, but it might be seen that the Mayoral position is five times more so than an MP. I wonder what the MPs would say about that, but I doubt very much they’d agree!

Confelicity received backlash from a number of Labour councillors when we declared we would not accept the £10,400 allowance if elected at the local elections.  The argument, they said, was that it would exclude people to stand who were on low incomes.  I felt this was a fair point and raised this at a subsequent Confelicity meeting.

I was quite astounded, therefore, when I heard about the £5,000 entry fee for the Mayor of Essex and that it was the very same Labour Party that set that figure.

It rules out almost everyone and I cannot say I am thrilled to outlay that level of funds equivalent to tens of thousands pounds to a small party such as ours in comparison to the major parties.

So what of our chances?

Obviously, we must have some chance otherwise we wouldn’t risk such sums - right? Well, in this new world of AI I thought I’d ask the robot Chat GPT for its view as to whether we can win.

I entered the question and the algorithm scanned the digital world for an answer: the computer said no [chance!].

According to the robot’s explanation as to why:

·        I do not have enough fame;

·        Confelicity do not have enough recognition;

·        The party do not have enough funding;

·        I declared that I am against devolution in this form; having a Mayor in the first place, and amalgamating 15 councils into three or five super councils as part of the Local Government Re-organisation;

·        And our message currently is primarily devoted to Southend and not the wider Essex community.

Huh, well I guess I should just give up and save the inexplicable £5,000 entry fee!

With the AI odds stacked against myself and the Confelicity Party I represent, maybe so.  But on this occasion I think I will ignore the robot and stand anyway!

What do Confelicity stand for?

Prioritising the needs of residents

There is no party on the ballot that prioritises the needs of local residents more than us. 

We believe those who walk outside their doors every morning will have a better chance of understanding the needs of their neighbours as opposed to someone in Whitehall who would likely never even have been to any given area they are making decisions for.

With this in mind, there is no other party with zero ties to the national parties, so it makes us independent to act with far more freedom to not only listen to local people, but to actually put forward policies consistent with their needs. How often do we hear politicians nod their heads in agreement and later on do something completely different with a more or less plausible reason/excuse?

We believe the people who live in any given area should determine what goes on with more money, resources, influence and power - that’s what devolution should have looked like.  Because what does a person living in Colchester know about the needs of those in Southend? And vice versa?

There is no other party that respects the views of residents, so much so that our members must vote unanimously for a policy to go through.

It’s a good system that works better than people might think, but on the occasions we cannot agree all members are free to express themselves as they wish. Furthermore, even if manifestos pledges were agreed, members are still free to voice against those policies if they see fit. Freedom of speech is absolutely vital to us.

As Mayor of Essex, Confelicity and I will indeed implement policies that will empower and enable local people, as much as is legally possible, to make the decisions for themselves. 

For more about our party go to: Local Manfesto 2026 | Southend Confelicity.

Although our manifesto is geared towards Southend, it should provide a good example of who we are and what we would like to achieve for Essex.

In the General Election in 2024 we ran as the ‘local party for the national stage’ and this time around we stand as the ‘local party for the county stage’!

The below is just the starting point as to what we would like to do:

Green belt and housing

The attack on green belt is countrywide and I would do everything I could to stop it. I am currently part of the leadership that are opposing the 10,000 houses development on green belt land in Southend.

Housing demand in the UK is based on a mythical calculation that produces fantasy numbers. It bears no resemblance with reality because no resident has actually been asked: what are your housing needs?

No facts needed here, just a couple of people in Whitehall dabbling with an algorithm to make it make sense with national government policy.

Labour increased the housing target by 70,000 per year to £370,000 and that meant the whole country had to follow suit whether an area can take that amount of housing or not.

If you read Labour’s intentions in their white paper on Devolution, the Mayor is to help "deliver the government’s missions".  Well, no.  I will not be doing that if it is against the wishes of residents in a particular area of Essex.

I will block at every turn any hint of building on green belt land if that is what residents want.

I will also block at every turn swelling Essex’s population with more and more people if that is what residents want. 

Essex will not be here for London to inflict its will. 

I will stop this and grind it to halt where I can - if that is what residents want.

I will authorise the building of houses in appropriate places, but prioritise local people to that area.

I will conduct a real assessment of housing need door to door. I will not rely on a government model if I am legally allowed to do so.  From these real figures, I will determine how many social and affordable houses are needed and let developers know that’s it - no running to financial loopholes to adjust that figure.  They do and they’re out. And no more land banking if I can legally push that through.

Southend, my home town, is one of the most densely populated cities in the whole of the UK. The days of overcrowding already crowded towns and cities will be over.

And I will preserve and conserve the beauty of Essex’s villages, towns and cities by making it as difficult as possible to inflict inappropriate developments in these areas.

It has to stop and I will do everything to make this happen.

Economy, business and taxes

I have been born and raised in a family business, and after 30 years helping to lead it to success, I feel quietly confident I can translate this into the political arena and help create a flourishing business environment.

I know exactly which government policies foster business success, create jobs and enhance the economy, and it is one of lower taxes for businesses to invest and for people with more disposable income to spend. With real growth comes more tax to invest in the outstanding public services we all want.

At the moment the political philosophy has been tax us all to death and this must end. 

As much as is legally possible, I will ensure council taxes across Essex not only will freeze, but I intend for them to come down substantially.

Now, how am I going to pay for this?

By stopping millions and millions of pounds of public waste. Yes, we have heard this all before, but I guess you will just have to trust me! I will stop all ridiculous capital projects where I can and will seek to reduce the wage bill across the civil service by every means possible - without costing a single job if it can be helped.

The exorbitant salaries and perks that the top brass get will end. In Southend, our Chief Executive is on a package of almost £250K - not his fault, but that is just plain wrong. I do not believe paying commercial rates means we will attract the best people.

Not to say it applies across the board as the vast majority are no doubt highly competent and diligent in their jobs, but I am sick and tired of hearing about the fraud and incompetence of councils, and I will look to see it end on my watch.

The party is over and by the end of my tenure the wheels should have been in motion to end the era of total indulgence.

I do not wish for people to lose their jobs, and that’s what makes me incredulous about this type of local government reorganisation.  The demand for services will be the same! The myth that savings will be made is just that.  We might lose a few Chief Execs, but they will find other positions within the hierarchy or they will receive eye-watering golden handshakes.

This whole project will cost exorbitant amounts of money and for what? To make it easier for government to enact their will. Fewer councils mean less bureaucracy to wade through.  Why talk to hundreds of councillors and 18 MPs when one Mayor will do?

The Vulnerable

Essex must get its house in order and that starts with vulnerable people. 

There are tens of thousands of people who would be classified as vulnerable whether that be to do with age or mental or physical health or any other reasons.

I do not wish to sound morbid, but this vulnerability will come to us all as time goes on, and when it does, I would prefer to be treated with dignity and respect.

If, as is possible for those who want to start families, it happens that the child is born with disabilities, then parents must be supported better than they are at the moment. 

Many people are just one or two pay cheques from homelessness or an argument away from a mental breakdown that sees that person spiral into depression and unable to work.  All of a sudden the house is lost and they are desperate. 

Becoming vulnerable can happen to anyone and I believe that protecting and supporting people must be one of the first major revolutions.  We should not be seeing homelessness in this day and age and there are so many things that can be done to stop this.

More to come

As the campaign goes on I will be writing more about what I intend to do as Mayor of Essex. The "how" is always the question, but at least there is an idea of how I see things.

I stand by Devolution and local government reorganisation should not be happening. More money, power and resources to each of the councils was what was needed - not this.  The consultation was another tick box exercise that was completely ignored and here we are - it is coming.

Yet it can work.

It needs the right party and the right person. 

Confelicity is by no means perfect and nor am I, but I cannot tell you enough that our deeply rooted belief in local people making the decisions will best ensure those decisions are right for local people, and that is our primary point of difference.

Incidentally, that independent candidate I mentioned earlier happens to be my father, Philip Miller. May I wish him and all the candidates the best of luck on the campaign.