Covid-19: Pandemic highlights Wales' devolved politics - BBC News | Canada News Media
Connect with us

Politics

Covid-19: Pandemic highlights Wales' devolved politics – BBC News

Published

 on


The most obvious impact of the Covid pandemic on Welsh politics can be seen at the 160-mile border between Wales and England.

It’s porous and it’s populous – around 16 million people live within 50 miles of it.

Before Covid, there were 2.6 million journeys across it every week on average.

The busy interactions of border life could easily disguise the fact that for the last 20 years Welsh governments have pursued different policies to England on things such as schools and health.

The pandemic brought that reality home like nothing else and people like Deborah Burch have found themselves on the front line.

Deborah runs The Boat Inn in Penallt, which has nestled into the banks of the River Wye for centuries.

The Boat is also right on the border where a footbridge over the river provides a two-minute walk into England.

So Deborah’s found herself doing a lot of explaining that Covid rules are different in Wales.

“We get information from the council so we’re luckier than the customers because we sort of know what’s going on, but it’s quite hard to relay all that to the people that are coming.”

She says the pub is so close to England that customers “don’t know they’re in Wales half the time, so it does get complicated”.

After the months of a national lockdown, Deborah says Covid has raised her customers’ awareness of devolution on both sides of the border.

“I think possibly before people didn’t realise there were two governments. I think everybody’s a bit more politically aware now.”

Her staff and customers agree.

I spoke to an English couple on a walking holiday in the Wye valley who’d stopped to enjoy the scenery with a glass of wine.

“We went to north Wales earlier on in the year and everything was shut, which came as a bit of shock,” they say. “We knew about devolution, but we didn’t realise it made things so different.”

Elisha and Tom work at The Boat. They’ve found themselves serving up explanations of devolution along with pints and pub lunches.

Neither of them were old enough to vote in the last set of Welsh Parliament elections, but next year they will be.

Has the pandemic made a difference to their intention to vote?

“This has made me more likely to vote, yeah,” says Tom.

“It’s kind of shown there are some slight differences and if voting makes an impact on that, I am more likely to vote in them.”

Elisha tells me she was always planning to vote next year, but the rules “have been quite different at times so it’s definitely made things a bit clearer”.

So if the pandemic has led to an increased awareness of devolution, does that mean turnout will be higher in the elections to the Welsh Parliament next year?

Up to now, turnout in Senedd elections has never breached the 50% mark.

Laura McAllister, professor of governance at Cardiff University, warns against making assumptions.

“There are no guarantees. Knowledge doesn’t necessarily mean interest and engagement,” she says.

“There are other factors that affect turnout, like whether there is a real sense that there will be competition in that election.

“Polling suggests the three big parties all look like they could get a substantial chunk of seats, which poses really interesting questions about what kind of government we will have.

“And if that forms the conversation in the months leading up the elections, people will think ‘my vote will make a difference’.”

While we’re still in the middle of the Covid pandemic, it’s hard to draw concrete conclusions about how it’s shaping Welsh politics.

So much remains uncertain, including exactly how next May’s elections might be conducted if Covid rules are still in place.

But the voters will, as they always do, provide us with some answers.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)



Source link

Politics

NDP and B.C. Conservatives locked in tight battle after rain-drenched election day

Published

 on

 

VANCOUVER – Predictions of a close election were holding true in British Columbia on Saturday, with early returns showing the New Democrats and the B.C. Conservatives locked in a tight battle.

Both NDP Leader David Eby and Conservative Leader John Rustad retained their seats, while Green Leader Sonia Furstenau lost to the NDP’s Grace Lore after switching ridings to Victoria-Beacon Hill.

However, the Greens retained their place in the legislature after Rob Botterell won in Saanich North and the Islands, previously occupied by party colleague Adam Olsen, who did not seek re-election.

It was a rain-drenched election day in much of the province.

Voters braved high winds and torrential downpours brought by an atmospheric river weather system that forced closures of several polling stations due to power outages.

Residents faced a choice for the next government that would have seemed unthinkable just a few months ago, between the incumbent New Democrats led by Eby and Rustad’s B.C. Conservatives, who received less than two per cent of the vote last election

Among the winners were the NDP’s Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon in Delta North and Attorney General Niki Sharma in Vancouver-Hastings, as well as the Conservatives Bruce Banman in Abbotsford South and Brent Chapman in Surrey South.

Chapman had been heavily criticized during the campaign for an old social media post that called Palestinian children “inbred” and “time bombs.”

Results came in quickly, as promised by Elections BC, with electronic vote tabulation being used provincewide for the first time.

The election authority expected the count would be “substantially complete” by 9 p.m., one hour after the close of polls.

Six new seats have been added since the last provincial election, and to win a majority, a party must secure 47 seats in the 93-seat legislature.

There had already been a big turnout before election day on Saturday, with more than a million advance votes cast, representing more than 28 per cent of valid voters and smashing the previous record for early polling.

The wild weather on election day was appropriate for such a tumultuous campaign.

Once considered a fringe player in provincial politics, the B.C. Conservatives stand on the brink of forming government or becoming the official Opposition.

Rustad’s unlikely rise came after he was thrown out of the Opposition, then known as the BC Liberals, joined the Conservatives as leader, and steered them to a level of popularity that led to the collapse of his old party, now called BC United — all in just two years.

Rustad shared a photo on social media Saturday showing himself smiling and walking with his wife at a voting station, with a message saying, “This is the first time Kim and I have voted for the Conservative Party of BC!”

Eby, who voted earlier in the week, posted a message on social media Saturday telling voters to “grab an umbrella and stay safe.”

Two voting sites in Cariboo-Chilcotin in the B.C. Interior and one in Maple Ridge in the Lower Mainland were closed due to power cuts, Elections BC said, while several sites in Kamloops, Langley and Port Moody, as well as on Hornby, Denman and Mayne islands, were temporarily shut but reopened by mid-afternoon.

Some former BC United MLAs running as Independents were defeated, with Karin Kirkpatrick, Dan Davies, Coralee Oakes and Tom Shypitka all losing to Conservatives.

Kirkpatrick had said in a statement before the results came in that her campaign had been in touch with Elections BC about the risk of weather-related disruptions, and was told that voting tabulation machines have battery power for four hours in the event of an outage.

— With files from Brenna Owen

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Breakingnews: B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad elected in his riding

Published

 on

 

VANDERHOOF, B.C. – British Columbia Conservative Leader John Rustad has been re-elected in his riding of Nechako Lakes.

Rustad was kicked out of the Opposition BC United Party for his support on social media of an outspoken climate change critic in 2022, and last year was acclaimed as the B.C. Conservative leader.

Buoyed by the BC United party suspending its campaign, and the popularity of Pierre Poilievre’s federal Conservatives, Rustad led his party into contention in the provincial election.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Early tally neck and neck in rain-drenched British Columbia election

Published

 on

 

VANCOUVER – Predictions of a close election were holding true in British Columbia on Saturday, with early returns showing the New Democrats and the B.C. Conservatives neck and neck.

Conservative Leader John Rustad was elected in Nechako Lakes, and 20 minutes after polls closed, his party was elected or leading in 46 ridings, with the NDP elected or leading in 45.

Among the early winners were the NDP’s Ravi Kahlon in Delta North and Niki Sharma in Vancouver-Hastings, as well as the Conservatives’ Bruce Banman in Abbotsford South.

It was a rain-drenched election day in much of the province.

Voters braved high winds and torrential downpours brought by an atmospheric river weather system that forced closures of several polling stations due to power outages.

Residents faced a choice for the next government that would have seemed unthinkable just a few months ago, between the incumbent New Democrats led by David Eby and Rustad’s B.C. Conservatives, who received less than two per cent of the vote last election

Green Leader Sonia Furstenau has acknowledged her party won’t win, but she’s hoping to retain a presence in the legislature, where the party currently has two members.

Elections BC has said results are expected quickly, with electronic vote tabulation being used provincewide for the first time.

The election authority expected most votes to be counted by about 8:30 p.m., and that the count would be “substantially complete” within another half-hour.

Six new seats have been added since the last provincial election, and to win a majority, a party must secure 47 seats in the 93-seat legislature.

There had already been a big turnout before election day on Saturday, with more than a million advance votes cast, representing more than 28 per cent of valid voters and smashing the previous record for early polling.

The wild weather on election day was appropriate for such a tumultuous campaign.

Once considered a fringe player in provincial politics, the B.C. Conservatives stand on the brink of forming government or becoming the official Opposition.

Rustad’s unlikely rise came after he was thrown out of the Opposition, then known as the BC Liberals, joined the Conservatives as leader, and steered them to a level of popularity that led to the collapse of his old party, now called BC United — all in just two years.

Rustad shared a photo on social media Saturday showing himself smiling and walking with his wife at a voting station, with a message saying, “This is the first time Kim and I have voted for the Conservative Party of BC!”

Eby, who voted earlier in the week, posted a message on social media Saturday telling voters to “grab an umbrella and stay safe.”

Two voting sites in Cariboo-Chilcotin in the B.C. Interior and one in Maple Ridge in the Lower Mainland were closed due to power cuts, Elections BC said, while several sites in Kamloops, Langley and Port Moody, as well as on Hornby, Denman and Mayne islands, were temporarily shut but reopened by mid-afternoon.

Karin Kirkpatrick, who is running for re-election as an Independent in West Vancouver-Capilano, said in a statement that her campaign had been in touch with Elections BC about the risk of weather-related disruptions, and was told that voting tabulation machines have battery power for four hours in the event of an outage.

West Vancouver was one of the hardest hit areas for flooding, and Kirkpatrick later said on social media that her campaign had been told that voters who couldn’t get to a location to cast their ballot because of the extreme weather could vote through Elections BC by phone.

— With files from Brenna Owen

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version