American Politics Group

Today in Manchester, the annual conference of the American Politics Group begins. The APG was founded in 1974 and "is the major professional organisation for the researchers and teachers in the UK whose work concentrates on the government and politics of the USA." Details of the conference can be found here.

I'm particularly looking forward to the sessions which look at the Healthcare issue, (and to an updated version of Dr Alex Waddon's paper which was initially presented at the annual colloquium  at the British Library in November) and to the session on the Tea Party movement. There's a session on development of the Right in America, upon which I have a particular interest, and some sessions on recent political history.

I will give a report after the conference and review some of the papers presented.

For me, this is going to be a year for visiting Manchester. Apart from kicking off the year with the APG, I'll be back for the Labour Party Conference in September/October. The city hosts the People's History Museum, which is both a fascinating museum and has important archives which I have used in the past - and will probably do so again this year - for my historical research into Parliament.

Clowance

I spent the last two weeks of 2011 in Clowance, Cornwall - a welcome break after a busy year - and a chance to recharge the batteries for a very exciting & busy 2012. But even in the remote location we were based in, there were links to Parliament (No, I didn't spend the two weeks reading old copies of Hansard - actually that's not entirely true - one evening I spent reading on the archive site speeches and questions relating to Milton Keynes - on Saturday how I wished that the proposed route from Swindon to Milton Keynes to the East Coast ports had actually come to fruition!! - and the history of the Open University).

Our "apartment" was in the old coach house next to the main house at Clowance. (hyperlinks take you to the National Heritage List for England - and the relevant entries). Clowance was the home of the St Aubyn family. From April 1554, when William St Aubyn was returned for Helston (a town we visited a couple of times during the holiday) until Sir John Aubyn, Liberal Unionist MP for St Ives (a town we spent even more time in) was made Lord St Levan in 1887 - the family has had MPs in most parliaments. In my post of 9th December 2008 (we spent the week before Christmas in Clowance that year), I described one of these MPs Sir John Aubyn who  has his own little place in history. While Lord St Levan was a Liberal most of his ancestors were Tories. The 3rd Baronet (profiled in my 2008 post) has been described as "an extreme Tory" and "one of the Tory leaders in the House of Commons under George II". Colonel John St Aubyn (MP Tregony April 1640; Cornwall 1656; St Ives 1659 and 1660) sided with the Parliamentarians in the Civil War, but in 1659 called for a free Parliament and served in the Convention Parliament of 1660.

It is possible now to access "The History of Parliament" via the internet. While some parts remain to be published - it is possible (yes, I was that sad on holiday) to research constituencies and members - or even families of MPs.

The coach house is at the top of the picture - the main house at the bottom right. Between the two is the leisure complex.

Iowa

The world's attention will of course be focused on Iowa today - as the caucuses are held - the first time that real voters get to make their choices known for the Presidential election. While interest is centered on the Republican caucus - there are also similar meetings for Democratic supporters. President Obama is hot favourite there! As the polls suggest - the result of the Republican caucus is less clear cut.

As I wrote four years ago -

Party supporters will meet across the state to select their nominees for the candidacy of their party. Party meetings are held in each Precinct (the equivalent of a ward in the UK). These may be in 'public' buildings such as schools, public libraries or churches - or may be in a particular person's home. Each precinct contributes towards the county convention, of which there are 99. These county conventions then select delegates for both Iowa's Congressional District Convention and the State Convention—these eventually choosing the delegates for the National Convention.


The process for selecting nominees differs in each party. The registered Republicans who turn up for their meeting listen to arguments for candidates put forward by other caucus participants then write the name of their chosen candidate on a previously blank piece of paper - voting by secret ballot. The results are then sent to the Iowa Republican Party who release the final totals.

The Democratic caucus this time will focus more on preparing for the final stages of the Presidential race (which of course, with an incumbent President facing no serious challenger from within his party, starts now).

But Washminster's interest in Iowa will not end tonight. During 2012 I will be paying special attention to 15 states where there are wider electoral interests. Some will be key states which could tip the Presidential race either way. Others have a number of key House or Senate races. Iowa is one of those states. It has 6 Electoral College Votes for the Presidential - and is currently regarded as a toss up. All four of its House races are regarded as competitive. The redistricting following the census leaves Iowa with one less seat.

Districts 1 (Bruce Braley D) and 2 (Dave Loebsack) are regarded as 'likely Democratic'; 3 (a merged seat is 'toss up' Leonard Boswell D, the member for the current 3rd district will face Tom Latham R, the Member for the current 4th district) and 4 is 'lean Republican' (Steve King R). [Cook's Political Report 28th December]. Rothenberg concurs over IA03, but regards the other seats as safer than Cook does.

As with the other states that Washminster will be following (and a few additional House and Senate races) - we'll be looking at the candidates and the issues in more detail as the campaign progresses.

The Quiz

This is the round of our family quiz that I set yesterday. All answers are multiple choice. I will publish the answers tomorrow.

Q1 Which Two States will have the highest number of Electoral College Votes in 2012?


A – California & New York
B – Florida & California
C – California & Texas
D – Florida & New York
E – Texas & New York

Q2 In which département does the Parti-Socialiste’s Presidential Candidate François Hollande have his political base?

A – Nord
B – Corrèze
C – Deux-Sèvres
D – Paris
E – Charente

Q3 Which Democratic held Senatorial seat this week was moved by the Cook Political report from “Toss Up” to “Likely Republican”?

A - Pennsylvania
B – Ohio
C - Virginia
D - Nebraska
E – Florida

Q4 Who is the Parti Socialiste candidate for the Assemblée nationale constituency which includes the United Kingdom?

A – Emmanuelle Savarit
B – Axelle Lemaire
C – Bruno Guillard
D – Ségolène Royal
E – Hélène Hayman

Q5 Which of the following represents Bob Carr (former Member of Congress & friend & contributor to Washminster) in the House of Representatives?

A – Gerry Connolly
B – Debbie Stabenow
C – Fred Upton
D – Ron Kind
E – none of the above

Bienvenue 2012 - et bonne annee!

2012 has finally arrived - and it promises to be an exciting year (at least for those who share the interests of Washminster). The French elections are due in the first half of the year - with the two rounds of the Presidential preceding the two rounds of the legislative elections. Then there are the US elections - which seem already to have been going on for months - but move up a gear with the Iowa caucus this week, and onto the Presidential & Congressional elections on November 6th.

Washminster will follow the twists and turns of the various campaigns - whilst also providing an insight into how the processes work.

Even without elections - this is likely to be a momentous years within the legislatures that Washminster is dedicated to following.

In Britain,  while the Olympics may distract us, real conflict is expected in the Palace of Westminster. The coalition will face new pressures - and the 'loyal' opposition will be challenging a Government agenda it has fundamental disagreements with. Expect to see heightened conflict between the parties; and between the two chamber of Parliament. With the constitutional changes made earlier in the session - we'll see how Parliament itself is developing.

The 112th Congress will exist throughout the year (the 113th, elected at November's elections) will come into existence next January. Don't expect love and peace to break out between (or within) the warring tribes on Capitol Hill.

With negotiations and a European Council on treaty changes due this month in Europe, be assured that the European Parliament will be fighting its corner.

In the French Parlement, power rests with the Right in the Assemblee nationale, but now with the Left in the Senat. With multiple elections, expect the battles to be reflected in Paris.

I have just returned from a restful fortnight in beautiful Cornwall - all fired up for the year ahead! Sensibly, I took a few days off keeping up with the news & reading about politics and legislative affairs. Instead I researched some Roman History (Britain in general, the Milton Keynes area in particular). A change is as good as a rest - particularly when accompanied by some great walks around Lands End; the Lizard and St Ives. If you've never been to the south west tip of Cornwall - you should visit - it's a great place.

In the latter days I was able to reindulge my passion for elections; US & French politics - plus catching up on some reading about events in the UK. Isn't the internet a wonderful thing? Today we have a belated family Christmas party (with the Nicholson branch), the Morgan branch gets together later in  the month.

Enjoy the rest of New Years Day - and tomorrow the in-depth coverage from Washmnister resumes (and I'll also post my questions from today's family quizz - my round is on "Elections 2012").