Teaching Comparative

Local elections in the UK

The Conservatives and Labour have faced a backlash at the ballot box over the Brexit deadlock, with smaller parties and independents winning seats.

In England so far, the Tories have lost more than 700 seats and 25 councils overall, while the Liberal Democrats have gained nearly 450 seats.

National politics seems to have been a deciding factor for voters, with Labour also losing almost more than 70 so far…

The Green Party has done well, adding more than 100 seats so far, but UKIP has lost ground, with 80 fewer councillors at this stage than in 2015. Meanwhile, the number of independent councillors is up by more than 300…

While local elections give voters the chance to choose the decision-makers who affect their communities, the national issue loomed large on the doorstep…

Theresa May, appearing at the Welsh Conservative conference, said voters had sent the "simple message" that her party and Labour had to "get on" with delivering Brexit.

Speaking in Greater Manchester, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he "wanted to do better" and conceded voters who disagreed with its backing for Brexit had deserted the party.

But Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, in Chelmsford Essex, where his party took control of the council, said it had been a "brilliant" result and that "every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for stopping Brexit".

Polling expert Prof Sir John Curtice said the days of the Conservatives and Labour dominating the electoral landscape, as happened in the 2017 election, when they won 80% of the vote between them, "may be over"…

Prof Curtice said there was a North/South divide emerging in the losses too, with the Conservatives shedding more seats in the South - especially in areas that voted Remain - and Labour losing more in the North.

Green Party co-leader Sian Berry said she was confident her party would end the day with a "record number of councillors on a record number of councils".

She told BBC Breakfast the Greens were not simply benefiting from a protest vote over Brexit and their gains reflected "huge new concerns" about climate change as well as the strength of their local campaigning on a range of issues.

UKIP is down by more than 60 seats on its 2015 performance…

Of the 248 elections in England, 168 have been district councils which are in charge of setting and collecting council tax, bin collections, local planning and council housing.

There were also elections taking place for 47 unitary authorities and 33 metropolitan boroughs which look after education, public transport, policing and fire services, as well as all the services of district councils.

In Northern Ireland, councils are responsible for services including local planning and licensing, waste collection and enforcing safety regulations to do with food, workplaces and the environment.

Labels: elections, parties, politics, UK

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

German analysis of Nigeria's election

This time next month Nigerians will be heading to the polls to vote in the general election. It looks likely to be a tight race between incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). A record 84,004,084 people have registered to vote — an increase of 18 percent from the 2015 election.

With no opinion polls published indicating clear support for any particular candidate, it's difficult to accurately predict the outcome. Observers are already branding it one of the closest political races in the country's history.

Currently 25 candidates are set to take part. While Buhari and Abubakar are widely seen as the frontrunners, there are a number of interesting candidates in the mix.

For example, chartered accountant and activist Oby Ezekwesili – best known internationally as the founder of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. Given that Nigeria is one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to female political representation, Ezekwesili's decision to run with the Allied National Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) could be viewed as a sign that things are slowly changing.

However, Abubakar is widely considered to be Buhari's main challenger. The former vice president under Olusegun Obasanjo has made a bid for the presidency five times for four different parties…

Buhari's chances of victory this time are less certain than in 2015, when he became the first opposition leader to win a presidential election in Nigeria. The 76-year-old has been criticized for failing to meet many of his campaign promises…

Nigeria has one of the largest youth populations in the world; however this election has again made it clear that national politics remain dominated by the older generation.

Blogger and member of the #NotTooYoungToRun campaign, Maryam Laushi, believes Buhari and Abubakar do not provide young people with a clear enough choice.

"The issue with Nigerian politics and the two major parties is that we do not clearly see a difference in ideology," she told DW. "And that lack of ideological direction makes it difficult for a voter to decide, as a young person, who to vote for. We want to know that we're going to get more jobs, we want to know that the future is secure for us."

Laushi think that cultural barriers in Nigeria, such as always placing the older generation on a higher level than the youth, are making change harder.

"In some ways this is a good value to have, but when it comes to the open political space it makes it really difficult for young people to participate."

Ultimately, it seems this election will be decided on the three key issues which also characterised the 2015 election: insecurity, the economy and corruption.

INSECURITY

Ongoing insecurity in the north of the country is a major election issue for Buhari, as extremist group Boko Haram continues to hold on to or retake ground in the country's north-east. He has been criticized for failing to stem the insurgency. But while the extremist group frequently makes international headlines, it's easy to forget that Nigeria is struggling to contain other security crises.

This includes the conflict between farmers and herders in the north-west, south-east and Middle Belt region, which is often attributed to ethnic and religious differences. There is also the issue of the Niger Delta, where militants often target oil pipelines…

THE ECONOMY

Economic concerns are likely to play a significant role in next month's elections. Current unemployment data shows unemployment has risen to 23.1 percent, up from 18.1 this time last year, and the economy is again in danger of slipping back into recession.

While both frontrunners take a similar stance on the other key issues, they differ when it comes to economic concerns. While Abubakar takes a more market-friendly, business-like approach, Buhari's policies are more interventionist. This is not surprising, as, for decades, Abubakar has been viewed by the people of Nigeria as a businessman of sorts.

CORRUPTION

Buhari frequently claims he has taken steps to tackle the country's endemic corruption. But although the government has taken some measures to reduce corruption —including the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) to manage government revenue — it still has a long way to go…

Buhari's main rival Abubakar can also hardly boast a clean record. The former vice president has been implicated in an international money laundering scandal and is banned from travelling to the United States for a reason unknown to the public; he maintains that his visa is still being processed.

The reality is that corruption remains so pervasive in Nigerian society that observers are already expecting allegations of fraud and vote buying to be voiced.

"There will be corruption," Ajala told DW. "It's practically impossible for the security apparatus to ensure free and fair elections in every polling booth."

But he remains optimistic for future elections: "Nigeria's democracy is still developing and still emerging. So it will get better. The only thing is the extent to which it will be free and fair. As long as [violations are] not widespread, then it will be acceptable."

Labels: corruption, election, Nigeria, parties, politics

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

UK: Speaker of the House

In the wretched purgatory that was Westminster last week, there was precisely one person who seemed to be having fun.

From the silk-canopied speaker’s chair of the House of Commons, John Bercow looked out over Britain’s squabbling Parliament and brayed, “Order! Order!” in that undrownoutable voice, something like an air-raid siren with postnasal drip…

The outside world rarely takes much notice of the speaker of the House of Commons, a nonpartisan and typically low-profile figure who presides over parliamentary debates. But Britain’s last-minute paralysis over exiting the European Union, or Brexit, has made Mr. Bercow into a kind of celebrity.

With less than 10 weeks left before the country is set to leave the bloc, he has broken precedent by wresting some control over the Brexit decision-making from Prime Minister Theresa May…

The speaker heading toward Commons

It is an extraordinary moment for Mr. Bercow, the 56-year-old son of a cabdriver from North London. An outsider sometimes mocked for his short stature (he is 5 foot 6½), he propelled himself through the Oxbridge-educated upper reaches of British society by sheer determination and is viewed, variously, as a sharp-elbowed bully and a champion of the rights of Parliament…

Even in the hyper-loquacious environment of British politics, Mr. Bercow stands out for his love of ornate language and withering insult.

“He could never say, ‘It’s great to see you’ ”; instead he would say, ‘It gives me inestimable pleasure to meet you for the finest condiments created by Mrs. Twinings,’ ” a colleague told Mr. Friedman, his biographer…

Mr. Bercow has made a career out of annoying his conservative colleagues. Some are still seething over his decision not to wear the traditional speaker’s regalia, including wig and knee-breeches, which he said created “a barrier between Parliament and the public.” …

But nothing has approached the fury that followed his decision to allow lawmakers to amend a business motion — effectively curbing the government’s powers….

Crispin Blunt, a lawmaker from the conservative Tory party, protested that Mr. Bercow could no longer claim to be a neutral arbiter on the issue of Brexit and should step down…

Ian Dunt, a political commentator who opposes Brexit, said the government has sidelined Parliament throughout the process, claiming that the referendum had provided the executive with a more direct form of sovereignty…

He compared this moment to 1642, when King Charles strode into the House of Commons and demanded that five lawmakers be arrested for treason. The speaker at the time, William Lenthall, refused his orders, telling the king in a famous speech that he acted solely on behalf of the House of Commons…

His precociousness and small stature did not ingratiate him to schoolyard bullies. Mr. Friedman said they threw him into a pond, laughing and saying, “Bercow can be in there with the other amphibians.” In university, “we’d quote Monty Python and he’d quote” the 19th-century Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, Andrew Crosbie, a fellow Tory activist, told Mr. Friedman.

He found his tribe in politics, a profession where his verbosity was an asset…

The events of the last week have won him praise from unusual quarters. The Times of London, calling him “hardly a sympathetic individual,” wrote approvingly of his actions, saying the government’s treatment of Parliament “has appeared drawn from the 17th century, frequently invoking the will of the people, much as the early Stuarts used to assert the divine right of kings.”…

Labels: parliament, parties, political culture, UK

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

The Jargon of British politics

Let's start with the article's title. What's a "cross-party amendment"?

In the US, you would probably hear that kind of thing referred to as "bipartisan." (But that language might be misleading if you have more than two active parties in the legislature as the British do.)

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"Labour is to support a backbench amendment tabled by Yvette Cooper that could severely restrict the government’s taxation powers unless a no-deal Brexit is taken off the table.

"The Labour frontbench is likely to whip its MPs to back the cross-party amendment, significantly increasing its chances of success in the Commons. Around a dozen Tory MPs have also signalled their intention to back the amendment…"

Ms Cooper's amendment has been "tabled." In American Robert's Rules of Orders, if you table something, it is set aside "on the table," and won't be considered unless the legislature votes to take it up (off the table). In the UK, a tabled amendment is one that has been introduced needs to be voted up or down.

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And, what's the Labour "frontbench?" It's the party leaders who sit on the front bench in the House of Commons. The government "frontbench" sits on the opposite side alongside the Prime Minister (or her surrogate). The people occupying those front bench seats are often referred to as "front benchers". And the rest of the party members sit on the back benches and are referred to as "back benchers." The front benchers are the powerful people in Commons.

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And what happens if Labour's frontbench whips its MPs to back the cross-party amendment?

Be assured there will be no physical violence. After all Commons is designed to discourage violence. The white lines between the government and opposition benches, which MPs are not supposed to cross, are far apart enough to discourage sword fighting.

Every day, the leadership of the parties distributes an agenda for

An agenda with two three-line whips

events in Commons. The agenda includes expected votes and instructions on how a good party member will vote.

Some votes are "free votes" meaning that party members can vote as they wish (or as they think their constituency wishes). Some votes on the agenda will be underlined by a single line. That's a single line whip. The party has taken a position, but it's not a really big deal if a member wishes to vote against the party.

A two-line whip is an instruction to attend Commons for the vote and to follow party policy unless given permission to abstain or vote contrary to the party's position.

If the vote on the agenda is underlined three times, it's a "three-line whip" and a big deal. An MP is expected to attend and to vote to support party policy. A violation of three-party whip is likely to lead to serious consequences. (Remember that nearly a third of the MPs hold party or legislative jobs handed out by party leaders.)

Labels: legislature, parties, political culture, politics, UK

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Brexit explained for Americans

More than two years after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, Brexit is almost here. Yet while the country is scheduled to depart on March 29, 2019, Britain is as divided over the issue as it ever has been.

Prime Minister Theresa May has agreed the terms of the ‘divorce’ with the leaders of the EU’s remaining member states, but lawmakers in the British parliament still have to approve the so-called Withdrawal Agreement.

In ordinary times, a Conservative government with a simple majority would be able to get the deal through the House of Commons with little fuss.

But these are extraordinary times. May cannot rely on the support from members of parliament in her own party – much less Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which has been propping up May’s minority government since her disastrous general election last year.

As it stands, as May bizarrely takes her Brexit plan around the country as if on the election trail, no commentator in the country expects the prime minister to get enough support when MPs vote on December 11. The only question, it seems, is how heavily she is defeated.

Then what? That’s where things get more unpredictable, with the outcomes ranging wildly from the prospect of another general election to no Brexit at all…

On Tuesday, MPs began five days of debates…

The Withdrawal Agreement they are debating outlines the terms on which the UK will leave the EU and the desired future relationship…

Some 20 Conservative MPs have said publicly they will vote against May’s deal…

Given that May doesn’t have a majority in parliament, she will be relying on support from opposition parties. May’s minority government ally, the DUP, who usually vote with the government to help them pass legislation, has also expressed its own concerns with how the deal risks separating the island of Ireland from the mainland as a trading territory…

The bottom line is this: the chance of the deal being approved with the simple majority of 320 of the 639 MPs eligible to vote is highly unlikely…

In the unlikely event that scores of MPs from across the political spectrum swing behind the embattled prime minister, it will allow the government to introduce the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill to the Commons either before Christmas or after recess (the holiday for parliament), in January.

While no guarantee of the legislation passing, it would suggest an orderly procession towards the EU exit doors…

You would expect Theresa May’s premiership to be over, right? While that’s a likely outcome, it is not the only one…

[I]f faced with the threat of a calamitous no-deal Brexit and following a narrow Commons defeat, May might fancy testing [the EU's] resolve and seeing if she can get at least some cosmetic changes to appease enough MPs to win a second vote…

Yes, taking the deal to the public is an option. May has ruled it out, and Labour has backed the idea - but only if they do not get a general election…

The ‘Hail Mary’ pass. The Prime Minister could hope that voters will - via the ballot box - back her plan. Her fellow Conservatives are anxious to avoid this route after the 2017 election…

As the opposition, the Labour Party would have to win a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the prime minister in parliament. May would then be relying on the Conservatives to put together a government which could win a second vote of no confidence, and if not a general election would be called. It would mean the DUP and a clutch of Tory rebels would have to side with Corbyn, which seems unlikely.

A series of dire warnings, most grimly spelled out by the Bank of England, suggest the impact of leaving the EU without a deal on March 29 could be a disaster. Some Tory eurosceptics - dubbed the Brexiteers - say much of this is an exaggeration. But if everything else fails it’s possible that ‘crashing out’ could happen.

The most unlikely prospect, but one given fresh momentum after the European Court of Justice indicated on Tuesday that the UK could simply change its mind and abandon Brexit - without needing the approval of the 27 other EU states. It would be wise not to rule anything out.

Labels: Brexit, parliament, parties, politics, UK

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Complex elections

Governorship candidates of over 80 political parties for the 2019 elections will formally start their campaigns today. No fewer than 782 candidates will contest for governorship seats in 28 states of the federation, according to findings by Daily Trust Saturday.

There will be no governorship elections in seven states (which had theirs ‘off-season’) during the general elections next year…

The presidential and National Assembly campaigns were formally flagged off on November 18.

There are over 70 presidential candidates and thousands of National Assembly candidates cleared by INEC.

Labels: elections, Nigeria, parties

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

All is not well in Buhari's party

31 August 2018

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has chosen the modus operandus for the emergence of its presidential candidate following its adoption of direct election for the presidential primary poll. The party, which arrived at this decision during its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting…

Nigeria's main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has concluded discussions with six governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and 27 of its members in the National Assembly to defect to the PDP.

PDP spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the planned defectors have secured the mandates of their constituents to make the move ahead of the 2019 general elections.

If the claims by the PDP turns out to be true, it will be another major setback for the ruling APC after it lost three governors to the PDP between July and August…

6 September 2018

One after the other, state chapters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday announced their decision not to comply with the directive of the party's National Executive Committee (NEC)…

But as the time of going to press, the chapters in Nasarawa, Plateau, Ogun, Borno, Kogi, Ondo, Kebbi, Bauchi and Kaduna had all indicated preference for the 'direct' opposite…

Labels: elections, leadership, Nigeria, parties, politics

posted by Ken Wedding @ 10:06 AM 0 comments

Demographics of politics

Thousands of people have taken part in protests in cities across Russia to express their anger at government proposals to raise the pension age.

Demonstrators in the capital, Moscow, carried banners reading: "We want to live on our pensions, not die at work."

The government says it wants to raise the pension age from 60 to 65 for men, and from 55 to 63 for women, to help cope with a shrinking workforce.

Communist Party protesters

But unions warn many people will not live long enough to claim a pension.

Russian men have a life expectancy of just 66, while for women it is 77, the World Health Organization says…

The national protests were organised by the Russian Communist Party (CPRF), but trade unionists and nationalists also participated in the demonstrations.

There were red flags and other left-wing symbols…

Protesters carried slogans like: "We won't live that long" and "the government must go".

Several activists dressed up in death costumes, with one bringing a skeleton and a scythe. They argue the reforms are a death sentence for Russian people…

Protesters say the government should be taking the money from the rich and not "stealing" it from ordinary working people.

Some three million people have signed a petition against the pension reform proposals, which have been backed by President Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party…

Mr Putin, who did not mention the pension reform plan ahead of his re-election in March, has seen public trust in his presidency fall from 80% in May to 64% this month, according to the state pollster VTsIOM.

Labels: demographics, parties, political culture, population, protest, Russia

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Pair or proxy?

Last week in the U.K.’s House of Commons, the governing party appeared to cast aside its “pairing rule,” a chamber practice that has been used to preserve voting rights of absent Members of Parliament (MPs) — including MPs out on maternity leave.

This caused a huge outcry, with the minister for the Cabinet Office forced to respond to an urgent question in the House of Commons this week, promising that such errors would not be repeated. But the ensuing controversy also highlights the limitations of relying on informal legislative practices in increasingly diverse parliamentary bodies.

This is how legislative pairing works

Pairing is an informal arrangement between two legislative parties when an MP is sick, on parental leave, or otherwise not present to vote. If a legislator knows he or she will be absent, the party whips can “pair” the absent MP with an opposing party MP. Here’s the key: The opposing party MP promises not to vote. By refraining from voting, the votes of the paired legislators cancel the other one out.

With pairing, unavoidable absences do not penalize the missing MP’s party. Moreover, according to Lord Michael Heseltine, who has held positions in U.K. politics since 1966, legislative pairing prevents the “spectacle” of ambulances arriving at Parliament to bring ill politicians to vote.

This is informal practice, and the House of Commons does not officially recognize paired voting. Instead, MPs or party whips make these arrangements at the party level, as needed. For pairs to function as intended, both whips and politicians must honestly adhere to agreed arrangements. The legislatures of Canada, Australia and the United States all use versions of paired voting procedures.

The system broke down in the House of Commons

The pairing practice applies to all MPs… But it disproportionately affects female MPs such as Jo Swinson, a Liberal Democrat on maternity leave after the birth of her second child. Here’s what happened last week: A Conservative MP, Brandon Lewis, cast two votes that violated a pairing agreement that had been set up to accommodate Swinson’s maternity leave.

Conservatives at first defended the votes Lewis cast as an “honest mistake” and a “genuine mix-up.” Other Conservative MPs later conceded that their party whip asked MPs to break their pairing arrangements on two Brexit amendment votes because of anticipated close margins. As it turns out, Lewis’s votes did not ultimately change the outcomes…

Among 43 potential changes, the 2016 Good Parliament Report… proposed proxy voting for absent MPs as an alternative to pairing. Proxy voting allows MPs to delegate their vote when they are absent to an MP who is present.

Unlike pair voting, proxy voting lets an MP continue to represent his or her constituents without worrying that an arrangement will be broken for a particularly important vote…

Labels: legislature, parties, rule of law, UK, voting

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

With a little help from your opposition

British Prime Minister Theresa May narrowly avoided a defeat in parliament at the hands of pro-EU lawmakers from her own party on Tuesday, fending off a rebellion that had threatened to deepen a crisis over her Brexit strategy.

Parliament voted 307 to 301 against an amendment to trade legislation [that]… was seen as a test of May’s ability to deliver a smooth British exit from the European Union and keep her job…

One Conservative lawmaker present told Reuters that the party whips whose job it is to enforce discipline, desperate to win the vote, had threatened to call a confidence vote in May if she lost, a move that could bring down the government…

May is expected to face many more challenges to her strategy after a summer break as she works her way through a mountain of Brexit-related legislation. Any final deal with the EU will also require ratification by a bitterly split parliament.

Highlighting the fine margins May is dealing with, Tuesday’s victory required the votes of four pro-Brexit Labour opposition lawmakers who backed the government in defiance of their party’s instructions…

Labels: Brexit, legislature, parties, UK

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Free vote and whipped MPs

Labour will not ask its MPs to vote against Heathrow expansion even though its leadership is opposed to a new runway, a senior figure has confirmed.

The party is giving its MPs a free vote when the issue is decided on Monday, meaning shadow ministers will not be disciplined for supporting the move.

Its transport spokesman Andy McDonald said the runway did not meet Labour's economic and environmental tests.

But he said MPs had "strong" personal views and Labour had to be "pragmatic".

Scores of Labour MPs are expected to back the government when Parliament votes on whether to give the go ahead for detailed planning on a third runway at the UK's largest airport.

With the DUP and SNP also likely to back the plan, Theresa May is expected to comfortably win the vote despite as many as 30 Conservative MPs having reservations.

Tory MPs will be whipped to vote in favour of the new runway although Downing Street has suggested those whose constituencies will be directly affected by the project will have dispensation to vote against or abstain…

Labels: free vote, legislature, parties, politics, UK, whips

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Presidential campaigning in Nigeria

Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting a ‘grand scheme’ to ensure that President Muhammadu Buhari is the sole presidential candidate on the ballot in the 2019 presidential election.

PDP said this while reacting to comments by Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed that it should be deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday.

The Minister had called on INEC to withdraw the registration certificate of PDP because of the party’s alleged politicization of the abduction and release Dapchi school girls…

But in its response, PDP said the assertion by the minister was part of the plans by APC to ensure Buhari does not have an opponent in 2019 election…

The major opposition party (PDP) further claimed that Nigerians are tired of APC and would vote out the party to restore the nation to the path of unity, national cohesion, and economic prosperity in the 2019 general election.

Labels: campaign, leadership, Nigeria, parties

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

PRI sidelined?

Mexican opposition leader Ricardo Anaya said on Sunday he would seek to win the presidency in a left-right alliance after stepping down as head of the conservative National Action Party (PAN).

Anaya

Anaya resigned as leader of the PAN on Saturday, a day after his party officially joined forces with the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and the Citizens Movement party in the “For Mexico in Front” coalition.

If selected, Anaya will likely take on leftist former Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and former Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade, who is seeking the nomination for the ruling centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

“This corrupt and inefficient PRI government has been an absolute national disaster,” Anaya said on Sunday…

The left-right coalition on Friday presented its official request with the electoral institute to compete in the July 2018 vote. The group must still pick its leader, with Anaya, who had been leader of the PAN since 2015, considered the front-runner…

Anaya, 38, has faced criticism in the Mexican press for his family’s “inexplicable” level of wealth, although he denies any wrongdoing.

In a voter poll published on Wednesday, Anaya came in second behind Lopez Obrador, who leads the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party, but ahead of [PRI's] Meade…

Labels: elections, leadership, Mexico, parties, politics

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

And if there's no majority?

Jeremy Corbyn… said Theresa May was trying to "grab power" with "no majority and no mandate" by stacking key committees with Tory MPs.

The political composition of committees which scrutinise legislation usually reflects that of the Commons.

But the government's plans would give it a majority on them - despite losing its majority in the general election…

Downing Street has defended the move... saying: "These proposals create the fairest balance between the opposition and government, and will ensure technical, procedural rules do not cause unwarranted delays to the business of Parliament.

"The adjustments provide for maximum scrutiny with minimum disruption and delay, both to parliamentary proceedings and to the governance of the country." …

But Labour MPs joined their leader in condemning the proposals…

And Liberal Democrat chief whip Alistair Carmichael accused the government of trying to "ram through a destructive hard Brexit" by ignoring the election result. He said: "We will fight tooth and nail to ensure parliamentary committees reflect the will of the electorate and do not simply rubber stamp government decisions."…

Without a majority on the committees, it would lose control of an important part of the legislative process.

With a packed programme of Brexit legislation ahead, the government has already been criticised for attempting to give ministers, rather than parliament as a whole, the power to amend a raft of EU laws.

Analysis: By BBC Parliamentary Correspondent Mark D'Arcy

[I]n this Parliament, the government does not have a majority. It is sustained by a deal with 10 MPs from Northern Ireland - and that would normally mean it would not have a guaranteed majority on… committees - and there are so many, the DUP would not be able to put an MP on all of them to top up Tory numbers.

The problem with that is that its minority status leaves the government exposed to the danger of having its legislation re-written in committee, or vital secondary legislation thrown out.

To be sure, it is possible for the government plus the DUP to undo unwelcome changes to bills, when the legislation returns to the Commons for "report stage" consideration. But having to do that regularly could produce gridlock, at a time when ministers will need the process of lawmaking to be smooth and rapid…

Labels: legislature, parties, politics, UK

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Briefing on the details of Parliamentary politics

Theresa May has done a deal with the DUP which means she stays as UK prime minister. Here's a guide to what's going on.

• What has happened?
• What was the result of the election?
• So how come Theresa May is still prime minister?
• So are the Conservatives and the DUP in coalition?
• What is in it for the DUP?
• Why is doing a deal with DUP controversial?
• What about the Good Friday agreement?
• What about Brexit?
• So will Theresa May survive as prime minister?
• What are the key dates for Mrs May?
• Why are Labour in such good spirits?
• Is there likely to be another general election?
• Further reading

Labels: Brexit, government, parties, politics, regime, UK

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Instant academic analysis

Theresa May’s election gamble failed. Enticed by large leads in opinion polls, the British prime minister called an early election with the expectation of increasing the Conservative Party’s slim majority in Parliament. But the Conservatives lost seats, leaving no party with a majority…

[W]e suggest there are five takeaway lessons of the election:

1. Two-party tribalism has returned...  [The] public responded, casting more than 80 percent of votes nationwide for the two main parties — for the first time in nearly 40 years… Helped in part by the mechanics of the “first past the post” electoral system, third parties were squeezed in key Labour-Conservative battlegrounds...
2. Britain is more polarized than ever...  Labour entrenched its support in the urban and more cosmopolitan cities while the Conservatives stockpiled votes in the more rural areas of England… Labour’s ability to retain and win seats in university towns, for instance, owed much to the mobilization of young and more educated people…
3. UKIP voters did not just migrate to the Conservatives.
4. The Conservatives should have done better at the polls… polls universally showed that voters overwhelmingly preferred her over Jeremy Corbyn for prime minister — and found Conservatives far more credible on the economy than Labour…
5. Mobilization efforts online and offline may have paid off… Labour put great emphasis on online campaigning and mobilizing younger voters. Social media studies during the campaign suggested that Labour’s online activism was at an unprecedented scale in a British general election…

Labels: cleavages, elections, parties, UK

posted by Ken Wedding @ 1:08 PM 0 comments

Political parties of Nigeria

A new political party, Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance, APDA, promoted by some kingpins of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was unveiled, yesterday, in Abuja…

The party was birthed with the promise of projecting an egalitarian democracy, internal democracy in its activities and ultimately sacking the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Among the PDP bigwigs spotted at the unveiling, yesterday, was broadcast mogul, Chief Raymond Dokpesi… However, many PDP bigwigs previously linked with the party stayed away from the launch and were believed to have monitored the event…

Speaking yesterday, [Chief Dan Nwanyanwu; former national chairman of Republican Party] said the party was formed to give Nigeria a truly progressive party in the face of what he claimed was the dominance of reactionary persons in some self-styled progressive parties…

Labels: elections, Nigeria, parties

posted by Ken Wedding @ 9:42 AM 0 comments

Losing by winning

Mexico’s most powerful political party was on the verge of a clear victory in the closely fought race for the governorship of the nation’s most populous state, according to a nearly completed preliminary vote count on Monday night…

The close finish practically ensures that the matter will be litigated in the courts and perhaps even in the streets, both common features of Mexican electoral politics…

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the pugnacious head of the left-wing National Regeneration Movement, whose candidate was the runner-up in the preliminary count, said Monday that he would demand an examination of ballots and suggested that the P.R.I. had engaged in fraud to secure victory…

The winner on Sunday

According to preliminary results, Alfredo del Mazo Maza, the P.R.I. candidate, had 33.7 percent of the vote. His closest rival, Mr. López Obrador’s handpicked candidate, Delfina Gómez Álvarez, had 30.8 percent…

Even in apparent defeat in the State of Mexico, Mr. López Obrador’s party, also known as Morena, has by some measures emerged victorious, analysts said.

The three-year-old party nearly delivered a stunning upset in the P.R.I.’s historic bastion of power, exposing its vulnerabilities and helping to establish Morena’s legitimacy in the national political arena.

The election results in general — with two-thirds of votes going to opposition candidates — also revealed the widespread disillusionment with the governing party regionally and nationally…

But some analysts also attributed the P.R.I. victory to the use of political favors and, they said, the party’s expert use of dark electoral arts. While most political parties in Mexico have been accused of employing techniques like vote-buying and intimidation, the P.R.I., in its decades-long dominance of Mexican politics, demonstrated an unparalleled expertise.

During its monopoly of presidential politics, stretching from 1929 until its first defeat, in 2000, the P.R.I. achieved many of its electoral victories by employing increasingly sophisticated methods of fraud and coercion…

The agency that monitors electoral crimes has opened more than 230 cases into irregularities associated with the State of Mexico campaign, more than double the number in the last election for governor six years ago…

Labels: elections, Mexico, parties

posted by Ken Wedding @ 9:14 AM 0 comments

Analysis of the Fourth Republic

Since attaining self-rule in 1960, Nigeria has made several attempts at enthroning virile democracy, with some of them always ending in a fiasco, but the fourth republic, which began on May 29, 1999 seems to have broken that jinx…

On the foregoing premise, Nigeria set out to join the rest of the world as a democratic state when it attained independence in 1960, but three frantic attempts ended in a colossal failure. However, in 1998, two 'quick' events took place that 'permanently' changed Nigeria's historical trajectory- the sudden death of Gen Sani Abacha on June 8 and that of MKO Abiola on July 7…

The Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar-led military junta ushered Nigeria into its fourth attempt at enthroning democracy. Despite the push and pull that have characterized the last 18 years of Nigeria's democratic experience, analysts believe there is much to be celebrated. They reckon that in the 57-year history, this is the first time the country is able to hold out without military intervention after five consecutive general elections in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 respectively, despite the dissatisfaction with the outcome of the exercises.

To put icing on the cake, a feat, according to political observers, was achieved during the 2015 general election when for the first time in Nigeria's political history, the opposition was able to defeat the ruling party, something hitherto thought to be a mirage.

However, just when politically conscious Nigerians were beginning to roll out drums and basking in the euphoria of 18 years of unbroken democratic journey, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai, took the nation by storm with the announcement that certain elements within the political class were courting some soldiers for a possible military intervention in politics.

The latest development is a sad reality of the fact that, after 18 years of democratic practice, our politicians have not learnt much. Analysts say this sad development can be explained within the stand point of the fact that our politicians see the game of politics as a do or die affair or an investment that must be protected at all costs…

Politically, the behaviors of the political actors have remained a constant cause for concern. Like it has been since the first republic in 1960, political parties are riddled with one crisis too many…

In advanced democracies, democratic culture is entrenched through the instrumentality of political party ideologies. But in our clime, political observers say, there is lack or absence of clear cut party ideologies. Political scholars have severally described the character of political parties in Nigeria as a mockery of an ideal democratic system. This, they say, portends political immaturity and might be an attraction for the military class…

Economically, analysts say the fourth republic, which began in 1999, has not delivered on the mandate of democracy, which is better life for citizens…

Many attribute Nigeria's democratic paradox of increasing poverty to the greed and recklessness of the ruling elite. In the face of astronomical earnings from crude oil and other collectable taxes, the majority of Nigerians continue to slide into abject poverty…

Corruption is rife in Nigeria and for decades politicians have focused on milking cash from crude oil exports, which average more than 2 million barrels per day, rather than developing infrastructure and creating jobs for locals…

Despite holding the world's seventh largest gas reserves… more than half of the country's 160 million inhabitants live without electricity, while the rest have to rely on expensive generators run on diesel supplies controlled by a small and powerful cartel of importers.

Labels: Nigeria, parties, political culture

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Single party politics in the UK?

In 2015, Britain’s Labour Party tacked to the left, repudiating the middle-way philosophy that had won it three elections under Tony Blair. Voters responded by handing the party its worst defeat in three decades.

Corbyn

Rather than scramble back toward the center, Labour lurched further left. The party elected as its leader Jeremy Corbyn, a white-bearded baby boomer from the back benches who, like Bernie Sanders in the United States, ignited an improbable movement among young activists…

Now, with less than six weeks to go before Britain votes once more, the Corbyn-led Labour Party is on course for an electoral beatdown so broad and deep it would make the drubbing the party took in 2015 look like a triumph.

The ruling Conservative Party has a double-digit lead over Labour in pre-election polls…

Corbyn may have captured the hearts of left-wing true believers. But unless something dramatic changes before June 8, when Britain votes, that’s not enough to win a national election…

“Labour is the party of the industrial proletariat — that was its original function. But Britain doesn’t have an industrial proletariat anymore,” Martin Baxter, a political analyst who runs Britain’s Electoral Calculus website said of a party that traces its roots to 1900 and the workers’ rights movements of factory-saturated northern England. “So there’s a big question as to what the Labour Party is for.”…

To his enthusiastic backers — who delivered the north London lawmaker a pair of landslide victories in party leadership races — Corbyn’s prescription for Britain is exactly what the country needs.

“I love him — best leader ever,” said Richard Crook, a 57-year-old telephone engineer from southeast London who cheered Corbyn on at the lawmaker’s campaign kickoff. “We’ve all had enough of PR politics. We want the truth…"

May

But there’s no getting around the fact that the polls for Labour are dire. The Tories now have a working majority of 17 in the 650-member House of Commons. Projections — which no doubt influenced May’s decision to call the snap vote — show that could widen to 150 or more.

The gains are forecast across the U.K.

In Wales, where the Conservatives haven’t won in nearly a century, a recent survey showed them leading. In Scotland, where Labour ran a virtual one-party fiefdom until the 2015 vote, the party is now a distant third…

If Labour does lose in a rout, Corbyn may be forced to resign as party leader. The party could also split apart.

Whether that happens or not, the center-left the world over will have to work out what it stands for and stop re-litigating internal battles that date back decades, said Stewart Wood, a Labour member of the House of Lords…

Labels: elections, leaders, parties, politics, UK

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments