'I did not come into public life for a label' - Former Wellingborough mayor leaves party to serve as independent town councillor

Cllr Mishra, who serves on Wellingborough Town Council representing the Victoria ward, was elected with 11 per cent of the vote during the local elections in May 2025 and took the role of mayor just days after being elected as a councillor for the first time.

In a letter penned on Friday (August 21), Cllr Mishra said: “Let me say clearly what this is not. It is not a swipe at anybody. The members and volunteers I worked alongside gave their evenings and their weekends because they wanted this town to do well, and I think better of them for it. I am grateful for the opportunities I was given and I will not pretend otherwise. We part on good terms and I wish them well.

“It is a decision about how I can be most useful to you.

“I did not come into public life for a label. I came into it because I believe a town is built by the people who live in it, and that the job of a councillor is to back them, to unblock things for them, and to stand in their corner when nobody else will.

"Sitting as an independent means that when something comes before the council, I can weigh it on one question alone. What does this do for the people of Wellingborough. That is the whole of it.”

Cllr Mishra has been outspoken about ‘avoidable’ problems in Wellingborough such as the town’s crime rate and anti-social behaviour and the current state of the town centre. He has previously said ‘the institutions that exist to address them have, too often, looked the other way.’

Following his departure from the Conservative Party, Cllr Mishra plans to continue his efforts on the council moving forward albeit without a party, having ‘no intention’ of joining another.

He added: “The bigger things carry on too. Wellingborough deserves a town centre with life in it and a reason for families to spend their Saturday here rather than somewhere else.

"It deserves development that arrives with the roads, the school places and the health services to match, rather than years afterwards.

"It deserves streets that feel safe and cared for, parks we are proud of, and young people who can build a future in the town they grew up in if they choose to stay.

“None of that belongs to a party. It belongs to Wellingborough. I will work with anyone, of any party or none, who wants to get on with it, and I will say so plainly when something is good for this town and when it is not.

“My commitment to you is exactly what it was on the day you first elected me. Whatever you vote, whoever you are, whichever part of this town you live in, you are my job. My phone and my inbox stay open and I will answer.”

The Victoria ward of Wellingborough will continue to be served by Cllr Mishra (Independent), as well as Faith Hewitt (Conservative), Kelly Duddridge (Labour) and Marion Turner-Hawes (Independent).

Cllr Mishra is the third Independent town councillor, alongside Cllr Marion Turner-Hawes and Cllr Allan Shipham.