Empowering Citizens

Britain should be proud of its constitutional history, and its Parliament which has developed over the centuries. Yet we make limited efforts to enable citizens to understand how our political system - and Parliament itself - actually works.

In many countries school pupils are required to learn about the institutions and practices of all levels of government. Here, it can rely on an enthusiastic teacher - or on citizen's finding out for themselves. I acknowledge the fantastic work that is done by some teachers, by organisations promoting greater knowledge - such as the Hansard Society and by Parliament itself. But the fact is, it is not easy for citizens to get the full picture of how our democracy operates - and how we can play our part.

If we are to empower citizens - we need to make access to information about our system more readily available. Who do they go to if they have a problem - or want to have their opinion heard? How can they make sense of the procedures which seem so strange?

Since Washminster Blog began in 2007, I have sought on the blog to explain the workings of Westminster (and other systems) to students and interested citizens. In the months ahead I will be posting about all areas of the British system of Government - from Parish Councils to the influence of international bodies. I will be linking to websites and other resources that explain how things work - and how citizens can use the power they have. If you have any questions, suggestions or comments - please post a comment. (The link is at the end of every post - where it states how many comments have been made).

This is a good week to watch Parliament in action. Many MPs are already at Westminster, and tomorrow (Tuesday 13th June), the Speaker of the new Parliament will be elected - do see the link in yesterday's post to the FAQs about the Election of a Speaker.

The Parliamentary Website is a fantastic resource. It has background information - as well as the tools to follow what will be happening. You can read details of forthcoming business at http://calendar.parliament.uk. The Business papers for each House are also available - so when a Member rises to "ask the question standing in my name on the order paper" or says "Question four, Mr Speaker"- you can read what the question is.

Please do subscribe to Washminster - and share with your friends.

jdm_progressive

Warning - this won't be for everyone.

While Washminster is intended, BBC style, to be politically neutral (though I make no secret of the experience which lies behind this blog) - I have set up a website for those who consider themselves to be 'progressives'.

jdm_progressive was launched yesterday - and if you think it might be your 'cup of tea'  - please try it out at http://www.jdmprogressive.com/

It includes information about the UK Labour Party, the US Democrats and the French Parti Socialiste - and has links to my jdm_progressive twitter feed and a dedicated YouTube channel. I value feedback - so please let me know what you think.

Welcome to Washminster

Coming Soon....

Washminster will return on Saturday 1st September. Initially I am aiming for a post, on average, every other day - but this will increase shortly. Please do pass the message on about the return of this blog.

In particular this blog should be of interest to those

* who are studying Law and Politics - particularly of the US and the UK
* who enjoy British history
* who enjoy US history
* who are interested in French and EU Government, politics and history
* who enjoying thinking about the practical application of political ideas
* who take an interest in UK, US & French election

so if any of those describe YOU - please subscribe to Washminster. If they describe any of your friends or students - drop them an email - or post about Washminster on Facebook or Twitter.

Many thanks

David

Open University

Many Open University courses begin in February. This Saturday I will be meeting my new students for the start of their W200 (Understanding Law) and W201(Law: The Individual & the State) courses. My W200 tutorials are in Birmingham whilst the W201 tutorials are held here in Milton Keynes. This blog will include many posts which are relevant to these courses - in illustrating and expanding upon areas for study - and of course, in preparation for the assessment - which for each course involves six Tutor Marked Assignments (TMAs in the OU jargon aka ETMA's "electronic" - but we tutors are not electronic - I am very much flesh and blood - but the TMAs are submitted electronically)  and an Exam.

Of course this blog is not narrowly focused on the two law degree syllabuses (the 'modern' word, but I still cringe). It continues to follow & explain practice and procedure in the UK Parliament; US Congress; European Parliament and French Parlement - and to discuss - well whatever comes to mind! As long term readers of the blog know - I love Jazz and American Football - and have a passion for history.

I've taught on OU courses for the last 15 years. In the last couple of years I have lived only a few miles away from Walton Hall (as a teenager it was the mysterious place that sent lots of study material to my parents (and to which they posted TMAs - not 'e' in those days), both of whom were early OU students). I can cycle down there with ease - the hill by the hospital on the way back is a bit challenging though.

If you are interested in studying with the OU - it is through distance learning - the website is here. For current students - why not take a tour of Walton Hall (online)

Getting on the Agenda

The second video which forms part of the series on How Law is Made in the UK....



The three points that need to be made to get any idea "on the agenda" are -

1 It is a good idea
2 It can best (only?) be realised by legislation (as opposed to a change in policy or practice not requiring a statute)
3 The matter is so important that it needs to be given high priority

UK Election Maps

Last year I described some of the key races in the US Elections. Over the next few months I will profile some of the key constituencies in the UK. A General Election must be held by June next year.

There is a wonderful online resource available providing maps of electoral areas at http://www.election-maps.co.uk/index.jsp

The key units are

* Parliamentary Constituencies - one MP is elected by each constituency.

* Wards - these are the basic building blocks of each constituency. Wards, ideally, should not be split between constituencies. They are the electoral districts for local elections. ("Electoral Divisions" are the districts for County elections - they made be the same as a ward or bring together a number of wards).

The map in today's picture is Milton Keynes South (effective from the next election). I live in Furzton ward.

UK Guides

Over the last two days I have briefly described two guides to Members of Congress. In the UK there are similar guides to Parliaments. I have been buying copies of the "Times Guide to the House of Commons" since I picked up a copy of the October 1974 Edition whilst visiting Hull in the mid 1970s. My greatest regret is that the Times Guide stopped giving details of the major defeated candidates in each constituency from their 2001 edition. It was in 2001 that I first stood for Parliament!

The first Times Guide covered the 1880 election. The earliest one in my personal collection is 1966. Other publishers have started their own guides. Dod's produces a guide after each general election - where MP's are listed by order of surname (The Times Guide lists in Constituency order). An "Almanac of British Politics" has been published for the last 35 years. While this gives a brief biography of each MP, it's strength is the detail it gives of each constituency. The current edition has lots of details about the new constituencies which take effect at the forthcoming General Election.

An Honourable Profession

Lord MacGregor of Pulham Market said in a debate in the House of Lords yesterday:

When I first entered public life and got involved in politics almost 50 years ago, and entered Parliament 35 years ago, it was a profession held in high regard. MPs were regarded with great respect in their constituencies and more widely, and it was a high aspiration to become an MP. Many in other careers entered Parliament half way through their active life because they felt that it was very worth while and were prepared to make sacrifices, including that of family life and financially, to do so. It is a matter of profound distress to me that parliamentary activity and the role of an MP are regarded in the way that they are today.

I believe that nothing is more important than working for your constituents in the most important institution in the land. Above all, it is important to remember that Ministers are largely drawn from this pool. They make bigger and more profound decisions than others in leading positions in most walks of life. Yet those who aspire to these roles are being demeaned in public and, in my view, are seriously underpaid compared to those in leading positions in business, the professions and most other activities. My concern is not for the good people in public life who are currently being so derided, but, above all, given the current environment, for the good people from other professions who would have a real role to play and could enter politics. That is one of the most serious things facing our nation. It will be easy enough perhaps to get people to stand, but it will be extremely difficult to get people of the quality we want in Parliament.

Europe

Lord Malloch-Brown remarked in Lords questions yesterday - "For anyone who came back from the Christmas holidays feeling a little sleepy, there is nothing like Europe to make the blood rush to all our heads." Europe always has the ability to "liven up" British Politics.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the issue divided the Labour Party. Many Labour MPs were, what we would call today, eurosceptics. They opposed our entry - then called for British withdrawal - for a number of reasons. At that stage the EEC was seen a a "capitalists club", dominated by right wing governments (Christian Democrats in Germany & Italy; De Gaulle in France). Those who had backed independence for parts of the "Empire" saw our move into Europe as abandoning those we had a moral obligation to support - not put up trading barriers against. They feared that jobs would move from the periphery (most of the UK) to the "Golden Triangle" at the centre of the existing EEC. In the 1980s those reasons declined and new opportunities were recognised in Europe.

Division then crippled the Tory Party - it lay behind the fall of Thatcher - and was at the heart of John Major's problems. The chatter in blogs (and around the Palace of Westminster) against Kenneth Clarke's return to the Tory front bench show that the hostility over Europe remains divisive and toxic for the Tories.

It is no coincidence that Labour's warming to Europe occured as the Tories grew more hostile. Labour has always been an internationalist party - and the EU has expanded to include 27 countries - from its original six. Co-operation has been the keyword. The EU institutions have taken on anti-competitive behaviour by some powerful industries. There has been more stress on employees' and consumers' rights.

As yesterday's exchanges in the Lords showed - you can count on the issue of Europe to raise the temperature.

Goodbye to 2008 - and welcome 2009!

The Pre Budget Report

Once a year the Chancellor of the Exchequer presents his budget. This is normally done in March. In the United Kingdom the tax year runs from 6th April to the 5th April the following year. The Budget speech is delivered in the chamber of the House of Commons - and usually follows the structure of

1 a review of how the UK economy is performing
2 forecasts of how the UK economy will perform in the future
3 details of any changes to taxation.

During the latter part of the twentieth century, as governments struggled to control the economy, many years saw an additional "mini-budget". In 1997 the Labour Government began the practice of having an annual "pre-Budget Report". This allows the Chancellor to update the Commons on the performance and forecasts for the economy, as well as giving an opportunity to make mid year changes to taxation and to signal future changes.

Today Alistair Darling will give his Pre-Budget Report - which most commentators believe will be the most significant in a long time. Various tax changes are rumoured as a response to the current crisis. The speech can be viewed live at http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Live.aspx. BBC News 24 will be providing a live feed plus commentary afterwards at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7459669.stm. The speech is due to begin soon after 3.30pm GMT.

Conventions

The three main sources of the British constitution are - Statutes; Caselaw and Conventions. The latter have been defined as “certain rules of constitutional behaviour which are considered to be binding by and upon those who operate the Constitution, but which are not enforced by the law courts (although the courts may recognise their existence), nor by the presiding officers in the Houses of Parliament.” [Marshall, G., and Moodie, G.C., Some Problems of the Constitution, 5th edn., London Hutchinson (1971), pp. 17–18.]

Examples include the convention that a Monarch will always sign a bill passed by both Houses of Parliament; and that Ministers will sit in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords.

A Joint Committee of Both Houses published a report on conventions of the UK Parliament. It is well worth reading - http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200506/jtselect/jtconv/265/265.pdf. Of particular use to students will be the evidence given by the academics - Lord Norton of Louth, Professor of Government, Hull University, Professor Anthony Bradley, Professor Emeritus of Constitutional Law, University of Edinburgh, and Dr Meg Russell, Senior Research Fellow, Constitution Unit, University College London. This is available on pages 119 onwards at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200506/jtselect/jtconv/265/265ii.pdf

An interesting academic article on the subject can be found at http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FCLJ%2FCLJ64_01%2FS0008197305006823a.pdf&code=3bfe8a864930e9690e528452fc6608c7

Election Expenditure

The final figures are not yet available - but it is estimated that almost $2 billion (that's a B!) was spent by candidates in the 2008 Presidential election. A blog on the New York Times website recently stated "the debate over how future campaigns will be financed is set to begin in earnest. The outcome promises to have a profound impact on future presidential runs, either upping the fund-raising ante irrevocably or forcing sweeping changes to prevent such large amounts of cash from coursing through campaigns again. But just as it has in this election cycle, it is quite likely that politics, as much as principle, will shape the jockeying."

Campaign Finance reform has had a chequered history in the USA - the main stumbling bloc has been the constitutionally guaranteed Free Speech Rights (First Amendment)

A Congressional Research Service paper on the issue is available at http://italy.usembassy.gov/pdf/other/RL33580.pdf

The Brookings Institute has a webpage on the issue - http://www.brookings.edu/topics/campaign-finance.aspx and a campaign site (one amongst many) can be accessed at http://www.publicampaign.org/

In the UK, the amounts of money are much smaller - but the issue is still of great concern. There are now legal limits on how much individual candidates can spend; and on the national expenditure of parties. A paper prepared by the House of Commons Library can be read at http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/notes/snpc-03413.pdf.

The Lord Mayor's Banquet

Each year the Prime Minister is invited to the Lord Mayor's Banquet, held the Monday after the Lord Mayor's Show (second Saturday in November, the day after the new Lord Mayor of the City of London - not to be confused with the Mayor of London - who covers a much larger area of Britain's capital, and is currently Boris Johnson - takes office). Traditionally this is the opportunity for the Prime Minister to make a major speech on Foreign Policy.

Details of tonight's banquet can be found at

http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/media_centre/files2007/207_07.htm

The speech will get extensive coverage and will be published on the Number 10 website - http://www.number10.gov.uk/

Further information on British Foreign Policy can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office's website - http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/

Back in the UK

After a short break - during which I flew home via Amsterdam and Birmingham - Washminster returns. Yesterday was the much anticipated by-election (special election) in Glenrothes. Much to everyone's surprise Labour held the seat comfortably.

News stories on the result can be found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7710999.stm and http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/nov/07/glenrothes-byelection-labour-snp1

This morning's Independent points out that Rahm Emanuel, Obama's Chief of Staff, was the inspiration for 'Josh Lyman' in West Wing. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/obama-chooses-rahmbo-as-chief-of-staff-998194.html

I also found this blog entry (The Park Bench) about Emanuel - http://theparkbencher.blogspot.com/2007/05/artistry-of-rahm-emanuel.html

My favourite quote of the day came from an Independent story about the tensions between McCain's aides and Sarah Palin - "They badly need scapegoats for everything that went wrong and Ms Palin comes to their minds faster than a moth to light."

The Week Ahead

It's election week - yes the Glenrothes by-election is on Thursday (for more information on the constitutency; candidates and the recent history see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenrothes_by-election,_2008). Can the Labour Party hold this once safe seat?

Of course it's also - finally - Election Day in the USA. The final push is now on - so it will be a busy weekend for political activists around the country.

In Parliament, both Houses work on as normal. The calendar is available at http://services.parliament.uk/calendar/2008/11/03/week.html. On Tuesday the order which will bring the local and European elections together on the same day will be considered by the Lords.

The Electoral Commission

The conduct of elections has been a concern in many countries over recent years. In the UK the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 created the Electoral Commission. It is an independent body - members of staff may not be appointed if they have been politically active in the previous ten years - a restriction which has received much criticism. The Political Parties and Elections Bill will address this criticism (http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2007-08/politicalpartiesandelections.html - 2nd Reading was given this Monday, but this will be a carry over bill.

The task of the commission is to -

• register political parties
• make sure people understand and follow the rules on party and election finance
• publish details of where parties and candidates get money from and how they spend it
• set the standards for running elections and report on how well this is done
• make sure people understand it is important to register to vote, and know how to vote
• make sure boundary arrangements for local government in England are fair

The Commission's informative website can be found at http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/. Any serious student of British Politics - and anyone engaged in political activity withinthe UK - needs to visit this site!

A House of Commons paper on the Commission is available at http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/notes/snpc-03127.pdf

Allowable Protest

This afternoon I attended a very interesting session of the Joint Committee on Human Rights. They are conducting an inquiry into "Policing and Protest".


(further details are available at http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/joint_committee_on_human_rights/policing_and_protest.cfm). While I was there the three witnesses were Richard North (Social Affairs Unit - http://www.richarddnorth.com/journalism/power/protest.htm); Andrew Gay (Huntingdon Life Sciences - a company targeted by animal rights activists) and Jeremy Dear of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Very different views were put forward about allowing protests. It's worth watching the evidence session. Richard North was very critical of protestors and argued that we should be less tolerant of protest, and he argued in written evidence that "representative democracy is itself an important example of human rights at work and that much protest attempts to trump it". Andrew Gay spoke of the campaign against his company. Jeremy Dear argued for the right to protest - and warned of increasing interference with journalists covering demonstrations. Some penetrating questions were posed by the renowned human rights lawyer, Lord Lester of Herne Hill (http://biographies.parliament.uk/parliament/default.asp?id=26915).

As I write this the committee is due to conclude its hearing. It may be some time (perhaps by tomorrow), that the hearing will be available in the archive of http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Archive.aspx (in (1) enter joint committee human rights in (2) tick only the 'Committees' box; in (3) put 21.10.08 in both boxes.). I recommend watching it.

Voter Registration

In the United States the rules for voter registration vary by state. In many areas it is now too late to register to vote in this year's November elections. Information on voter registration can be found on the websites of a State's Board of Elections (or equivalent).

An example of an american voter registration form can be viewed at http://www.spotsylvania.va.us/emplibrary/VirginiaVoterRegistrationApplication.pdf

The onus is on the individual voter to register - there is no legal obligation to do so - and a major part of the work of party campaigners and others this year has been to persuade people to register. When I was in Maryland during the 2006 election I visited a university campus and there were a number of voter registration stalls set up for students to register, including one by the main bus stop.

In the United Kingdom a form is sent to each household once a year, and this form must be completed and returned (failure to do so can lead to a fine - though I've never heard of this happening). Councils should make every effort to chase up unreturned forms and actively seek to promote registration. However, particularly in areas where there are high turnovers of population - full registration is never achieved.

A website allows British citizens to register: http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/how_do_i_vote/registering_to_vote.aspx