FORMER MP Martin Bell today issued a call to voters to make May 6 "Independents Day" by backing general election candidates who are not affiliated to political parties.

Former TV war correspondent Bell, elected Independent MP for Tatton in 1997 on an anti-sleaze platform, said the Westminster expenses scandal had created an opportunity to "change the face of politics for good"

In an open letter to the Independent Network, which supports non-aligned candidates, the so-called Man in the White Suit said a group of MPs without party baggage could be "a force for honest politics" in the new House of Commons.

"Independents have an unprecedented opportunity on May 6 to change the face of politics for good," said Mr Bell.

"The MPs’ expenses scandal has discredited many individual MPs, the parties that allowed it to happen and the House of Commons itself.

"Many MPs with questionable expenses records have not been deselected by their parties. It is up to the voters to complete the process.

"This is a time for independents to challenge the politics of the status quo; it is a time for independent councillors either to stand for Parliament themselves or to help in the campaigns of others.

"It is a time for the election of a group of MPs, without party baggage but with real-world experience, to be a force for honest politics in the new House of Commons.

"They will be answerable not to a political party but only to their constituents and their consciences. It won’t be easy, but I believe that it is do-able."

The expenses scandal prompted a number of candidates to stand for election as Independents in this year’s election, including TV presenter and journalist Esther Rantzen and local radio DJ Stephen Rhodes in Luton South.