Politics

Centrists need to stop worrying and learn to love politics

Published

1 year ago

September 14, 2023

Readers of Rory Stewart’s memoir, “Politics on the Edge”, are given a sense of what it must be like for a Parisian to come across a sweating, vomiting and disillusioned Japanese visitor. “Paris syndrome” can strike tourists who have spent years dreaming of the French capital, only to be sent insane by the reality of a city that contains the Louvre as well as homelessness, public urination and dog poo. Mr Stewart, a former cabinet minister and poster boy of centrist Britons, suffers from Westminster syndrome. Years of longing for a career in politics led to impossible expectations. The reality turned Mr Stewart a bit mad.

Indignities are heaped on the ex-soldier, alleged spook, acclaimed writer and former Harvard professor. David Cameron, then the prime minister, was unfussed that a man with a glittering cv wished to be an mp. After Mr Stewart’s maiden speech, in which he compared himself to Scott of the Antarctic, no one cheered. A government whip refused Mr Stewart, who had been a member of the conference-hopping global elite, permission to attend Bilderberg. When Mr Stewart reached ministerial office, he found amateurism, obstinacy and arse-covering by superiors and underlings. To cap it off, upon leaving the Foreign Office, he discovered his father’s antique Chinese vases had been pinched.

Mr Stewart’s memoir is only the splashiest of a trio of books published this month that reveal the psyche of his moderate, anti-populist and centrist ilk. Theresa May, the prime minister Mr Stewart most admired, produced a stolid book on the “The Abuse of Power”. David Gauke, a former cabinet minister whom Mr Stewart lathers in praise, has edited a collection of essays titled “The Case For The Centre Right”.

Each abhors the rise of “populism” and what has happened to the Conservative Party. Each despairs at how Brexit was handled and loathes Boris Johnson, who rose to power via half-truths, full-lies and low cunning (and who kicked Mr Stewart and Mr Gauke out of the party). Each writes with the impotent fury of a toddler who has had just had their sandcastle stamped on by a tubby, blond brother. Above all, each shares contempt for the often grubby but always needed art of politics.

In the trio’s telling, cynical politics is at the heart of Britain’s problems. In his book, Mr Gauke tuts when a Brexiteer colleague waits for the most damaging moment to come out for Leave. Mr Stewart’s perfect vision of Westminster is one unsullied by petty party politics. Politicians spend too long trying to be mps and then too long sucking up to party leaders, in the knowledge that principle and career progression are opposites in Westminster. In short, politicians spend too much time on politics.

Oddly for someone who rose to the top of politics, Mrs May hates it. In “The Abuse of Power”, she spells out how MPs abused their position in refusing to pass her Brexit deal. By refusing her deal, Labour put itself ahead of the national interest, complains Mrs May. So did the Conservative mps who thought it was too much of a break with Europe. As did the Conservative mps who thought it left Britain shackled to the eu. What Mrs May terms the abuse of power is simply a failure of politics. Mrs May was a politician. It was her job to convince them. She failed.

Likewise, a naive view of the political past leads to a naive view of the present. Mr Gauke deplores the divisive politics of Brexit, arguing that it rubs against the stable and certain politics that Conservatives stand for. Yet such stability was absent during the 1980s when Margaret Thatcher launched her righteous war against trade unions and a left-wing Labour Party. Mr Johnson’s divisive politics was a return rather than an aberration. The sin of centrists is that they think they are above politics, dealing in a realm of objective truths rather than a bare-fisted scrap over power.

Seeing politics as a problem rather than an answer means that Mr Stewart comes up with solutions that are both unlikely and unnecessary. In his view a radical overhaul of Parliament is in order: slash the number of mps to 100, with all but crucial national matters decided at a local level. Knotty problems should be thrown to Citizens’ Assemblies, because random juries of voters would succeed where professional politicians fail. Proportional representation would loosen the chokehold the Conservatives and Labour have on British democracy.

A far easier path is available for moderate Conservatives who wish to improve the country: take back control of their party. Conservative mps are followers rather than thinkers. In the past decade alone, the bulk of them have shifted from being austere metro-liberals under Mr Cameron to spendthrift Brexiteers under Mr Johnson, with a brief stint as One Nation-types under Mrs May. A moderate turn would be followed just as meekly.

If you can’t join them, beat them

The blueprint already exists. Under Jeremy Corbyn, Labour was in hock to its radical wing; now, under Sir Keir Starmer, the centrists rule supreme. When running for leader, Sir Keir promised Corbynism without Corbyn to appeal to Labour’s leftie members. Almost all these policies—from higher taxes on high earners to nationalised utilities—have since been ditched. Jeremy Corbyn, under whom Sir Keir served, was kicked out of the party. Sir Keir’s tenure as Labour leader is a performance of breathtaking political cynicism that Mr Stewart, Mrs May and Mr Gauke would deplore and Mr Johnson would applaud. Yet the result is that moderates now run Labour. Low politics put Sir Keir in a high place.

For comparison, Mrs May sits dutifully in the Commons, hoping an arched eyebrow here and there will be enough. Mr Gauke was mooted as a potential prime minister. He now moonlights as a freelance journalist for the New Statesman, a political magazine. Mr Stewart left Parliament in 2019, writes entertaining books and hosts a popular podcast. By contrast, Sir Keir is likely to occupy Downing Street. Perhaps grubby politics is worth it after all. ■

Source link

Politics

‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

Source link

Politics

Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

Source link

Politics

Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

Published

2 days ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

Source link