III. Tories, Catholics, and the General Election of 1859

1970 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Theodore Hoppen
Keyword(s):  
Roman Catholic ◽  
General Election ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Suspended Animation ◽  
Pressure Groups ◽  
Delicate Balance ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
The Government

The fine and delicate balance of political forces and interests in midnineteenth century Britain is nowhere better demonstrated than in the activities of certain social and religious pressure groups during the general election campaign of 1859. The two main parties were certainly conscious of their past and of the traditions imposed upon them by those who had gone before; equally certainly the differences between them were more the outcome of these traditions than of real contemporary disagreements as to policy or outlook. The Tory administration led by Lord Derby, which had come to power in February 1858, was in a minority in the House of Commons. Its survival depended on an ability to attract dissident Whigs and men of independent views. Derby, never the most optimistic of men, had realized as early as April 1857 that his party, ‘if not an actual corpse’, was at most ‘in a state of suspended animation’.1 By the beginning of 1859 it had become evident to a number of Tory leaders, and particularly to Disraeli, that if the government were to survive, it would be necessary to obtain help from quarters hitherto untapped by the party. A peculiar set of circumstances led Disraeli to look to sections of the Roman Catholic community for such support. Although Catholicism was a growing force in England, the centre of its political operations lay of course in Ireland, which then returned 105 members to Westminster.

Women and the 2015 General Election: Shattering the Political Glass Ceiling?

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meryl Kenny
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Glass Ceiling ◽  
General Election ◽  
The Political ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Women’S Representation

While the 2015 General Election produced mixed electoral fortunes for the major parties, the results for women have been historic – 191 women were elected to the House of Commons on 7 May, including a record number of Scottish women MPs. This article reports on the 2015 GE from the perspective of women's representation, providing a gendered analysis of the election campaign and assessing the parties’ efforts to increase the number of women elected in Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. It argues that while the 2015 elections may have made some cracks in the political ‘glass ceiling’, further increases in women's representation are unlikely without greater commitment by all of the parties and without the use of strong equality measures, including legislative gender quotas.

Islamist influence will grow in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Minority Rights ◽  
General Election ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pressure Groups ◽  
The Government

Significance The government promised severe action against the perpetrators, many of whom support hard-line Islamist parties and pressure groups. Although the attacks attracted widespread external condemnation, majority-Hindu India, which is keen to strengthen ties with Dhaka, was quick to acknowledge the efforts made by the Bangladeshi authorities to establish control over the situation. Impacts An uptick in attacks on Bangladesh’s Hindus would increase anti-Muslim sentiment among the Indian public. The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan will embolden radical groups active in Rohingya refugee camps as well as many Bangladeshi hardliners. Minority rights will be a source of debate in the lead-up to the next general election, due in 2023.

scholarly journals Singapore: general election campaign 2020

2020 ◽  
pp. 407-412
Author(s):  
E.M. Astafieva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
General Election ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Political Forces

The article analyzes the alignment of political forces on the eve of the general parliamentary elections in Singapore. The author dwells on main political parties of the country, cites data on the results of the last parliamentary elections held in Singapore in 2015. Particular attention is paid to changing the procedure for conducting both the election campaign and the elections themselves in the context of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. In conclusion, the author makes a forecast about the results of the elections, which will be held on 10 July 2020.

Superannuation Allowances for Scottish Asylum Workers. a Discussion opened

1903 ◽  
Vol 49 (206) ◽  
pp. 474-483
Author(s):  
J. Carlyle Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
General Election ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Early Date ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Parliamentary Committee ◽  
The Government

Dr. Carlyle Johnstone, introducing the discussion, said: It is several years since any active steps have been taken by the Scottish Division, or by the Association itself, to obtain retiring allowances for the officers and servants of Scottish district and parochial asylums. Nothing has been done in the interval by the State or the local authorities to satisfy our reasonable claims or to remove the special injustice under which Scotland suffers. A memorial on this subject was presented to the Lord Advocate by the Scottish Division in 1877, and a similar memorial was presented to the Secretary for Scotland, Lord Lothian, in 1887. The representations of the Division were politely received, but no practical results have followed. It may be considered that it would be futile to send in a third petition; but the present Secretary for Scotland has never been approached by our body, and he may fairly consider that if we do not ask for pensions we do not want them. There is reason to believe that at any moment a Bill for the amendment of the Scottish Lunacy Acts may be introduced into the House of Commons. We should leave no stone unturned in order to secure that in this Bill provision shall be made for the granting of superannuation allowances in all Scottish public asylums. I have brought this question before the Asylum Workers' Association and the Parliamentary Committee of the Medico-Psychological Association, and both of these bodies have now memorialised Lord Balfour on behalf of the Scottish asylum workers. In my opinion our Scottish Division should do the same. The conditions of service in Scotland are so anomalous, so grossly unfair as compared with those in England and Ireland, that, if only we keep on protesting and agitating the matter, we may reasonably expect by our continual importunity to obtain justice sooner or later. At each General Election we ought to approach every candidate for Parliamentary honours, lay our case before them, and obtain from them individually, if possible, an expression of their sympathy with our claim and a promise to vote for a Bill which shall satisfy this claim. This is what we ought to have done at the last General Election. I hope that this meeting will resolve that this shall be done at the next one. It does not appear to me to be opportune to approach Members of Parliament at this moment. In a decaying House, with a dwindling majority on the side of the Government and many Members proposing to go into retirement at the dissolution, we can scarcely expect Members to pledge themselves to vote for what cannot be regarded as a “popular” or “economical” measure. But we ought, I think, to get into touch with Lord Balfour at once, and make plans for bringing pressure to bear on all Scottish candidates at the General Election, which may possibly occur at an early date.

The Arthur Crawford Scandal

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Metelits
Keyword(s):  
Retirement Age ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Government Service ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Modus Operandi ◽  
High Court ◽  
Secretary Of State ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Government ◽  
To Receive

The Arthur Crawford Scandal explores how nineteenth century Bombay tried a British official for corruption. The presidency government persuaded Indians, government officials, to testify against the very person who controlled their career by offering immunity from legal action and career punishment. A criminal conviction of Crawford’s henchman established the modus operandi of a bribery network. Subsequent efforts to intimidate Indian witnesses led to litigation at the high court level, resulting in a political pressure campaign in London based on biased press reports from India. These reports evoked questions in the House of Commons; questions became demands that Indians witnesses against Crawford be fired from government service. The secretary of state for India and the Bombay government negotiated about the fate of the Indian witnesses. At first, the secretary of state accepted the Bombay government’s proposals. But the press campaign against the Indian witnesses eventually led him to order the Government of India, in consultation with the Government of Bombay, to pass a law ordering those officials who paid Crawford willingly, to be fired. Those whom the Bombay government determined to be extorted were not to be fired. Both groups retained immunity from further actions at law. Thus, Bombay won a victory that almost saved its original guarantee of immunity: those who were fired were to receive their salary (along with periodic step increases) until they reached retirement age, at which time they would receive a pension. However, this ‘solution’ did little to overcome the stigma and suffering of the fired officials.

Political Communications: The General Election Campaign of 1987

1991 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 573
Author(s):  
Dan Nimmo ◽  
Ivor Crewe ◽  
Martin Harrop
Keyword(s):  
General Election ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Political Communications

Temporal comparisons, historical semantics of interaction and ‘post-war consensus’ in British Parliament: Studying time references in a deliberative environment

2021 ◽  
pp. 0961463X2110212
Author(s):  
Kirill Postoutenko ◽  
Olga Sabelfeld
Keyword(s):  
House Of Commons ◽  
Temporal Semantics ◽  
Sociopolitical Environment ◽  
Social Time ◽  
Semantics And Pragmatics ◽  
Historical Semantics ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Concepts ◽  
The Government ◽  
Post War

This article aims to demonstrate that the transition from the mainstream narrative to the interactional history of concepts promises tangible benefits for scholars of social time in general and temporal comparisons in particular. It is shown that the traditionally close alignment of narration with the production of historical consciousness at various levels hinders the study of time as a semantic variable perpetually contested, amended and upheld across society. Alternatively, the references to time made in public settings, allowing for more or less instant reactions (turn-taking) as well as expression of dissenting opinions (stance-taking), offer a much more representative palette of temporal semantics and pragmatics in a given sociopolitical environment. In a particularly intriguing case, the essentially deliberative venue where contestation is supported by both institutional arrangements and political reasons (British House of Commons) is put to test under circumstances commonly known as ‘the post-war consensus’ – the unspoken convention directing opposing political parties to suspend stance-taking regarding the past actions of the government during WWII, its immediate aftermath and its future prospects. As a reliable indicator of this arrangement, the contestation of temporal comparisons between relevant pasts and futures is tested in oppositions reflecting party allegiances (Conservatives vs. Labour vs. Liberals) and executive functions (government vs. opposition) between 1946 and 1952. It is shown that, notwithstanding the prevalence of non-contested statements aimed at preserving interactional coherence and pragmatic functionality of the setting, the moderately active contestation of the adversary’s temporal comparisons in the House of Commons at that time helped all parties, albeit to a different degree, to shape their own political and institutional roles as well as to delegitimize their respective adversaries.

Are voters' views about proportional outcomes shaped by partisan preferences? A survey experiment in the context of a real election

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
André Blais ◽  
Semra Sevi ◽  
Carolina Plescia
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Electoral Outcome ◽  
Electoral Outcomes ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Ultimate Outcome ◽  
The Government ◽  
Performance Conditions

Abstract We examine citizens' evaluations of majoritarian and proportional electoral outcomes through an innovative experimental design. We ask respondents to react to six possible electoral outcomes during the 2019 Canadian federal election campaign. There are two treatments: the performance of the party and the proportionality of electoral outcomes. There are three performance conditions: the preferred party's vote share corresponds to vote intentions as reported in the polls at the time of the survey (the reference), or it gets 6 percentage points more (fewer) votes. There are two electoral outcome conditions: disproportional and proportional. We find that proportional outcomes are slightly preferred and that these preferences are partly conditional on partisan considerations. In the end, however, people focus on the ultimate outcome, that is, who is likely to form the government. People are happy when their party has a plurality of seats and is therefore likely to form the government, and relatively unhappy otherwise. We end with a discussion of the merits and limits of our research design.

The 1972 Elections

1973 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
H. G. Nicholas
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Constitution ◽  
The Public ◽  
Pressure Groups ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
American Elections ◽  
To Come

Elections satisfy both the practical and the theoretical requirements of classical democratic theory if they answer one question only: Who shall rule? Judged by this test the American elections of 7 November 1972 returned as clear and unequivocal an answer as the United States Constitution permits – crystal-clear as to individuals, equivocal as to parties and political forces. But the student of politics and society cannot resist treating elections as data-gathering devices on a wide range of other questions, on the state of the public mind, on the relative potency of pressure groups, on the internal health of the political parties, and, of course, on the shape of things to come. In this ancillary role American elections, despite the generous wealth of statistical material which they throw up – so much more detailed and categorized (though often less precise) than our own – Suffer in most years from one severe limitation, a limitation which in 1972 was particularly conspicuous; they do not engage the interest of more than a moderate percentage of the American citizenry. In 1972 that percentage was as low as 55 per cent, i.e. out of an estimated eligible population of 139,642,000 only 77,000,000 went to the polls. Since this circumscribes the conclusions which can be drawn from the results themselves, as well as constituting a phenomenon of considerable intrinsic interest, it seems worthwhile to begin any examination of the 1972 elections by an analysis not of the votes counted but of those which were never cast.

In Favour of Keeping Sunday “Special”

1990 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 14-22
Author(s):  
Viscount Brentford
Keyword(s):  
House Of Commons ◽  
Considerable Difficulty ◽  
Mercy Killing ◽  
The Government ◽  
Public Opposition

When the Shops Bill was defeated at its Second Reading in the House of Commons in the early hours of 15 April 1986, Mrs Thatcher is believed to have said that a “mercy killing” had been performed. The Bill had run into considerable difficulty under a weight of public opposition, coming at the time of some disarray in the Government, following the Westland and Leyland controversies and the resignation of two Cabinet Ministers. It was only the second time since 1924 that a Government Bill had been defeated at Second Reading, and was caused by 72 Government backbenchers defying a three-line whip and voting with the opposition.

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