Politics UK: Coalition govt: Conservs & LibDemocrats form new regime

UK's new Prime Minister makes first address at 10 Downing Street, London, recorded by Russia Today. Rumour has it that the LibDems, third-place party in the vote, will get 6 seats in the Cabinet. Nick Clegg is the LibDem leader. The outgoing Labour Party had been in power for 13 years under former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

I dug up a brief political-orientation piece, by Rudi Hayward, written back in Sept29,2007. "What are elections for?" Rudi makes a probing analysis, appropriate to the United Kingdom's voting procedures for its parliament, a vote that comes after an election is called by the sitting govt (not on a system of fixed dates and terms, as in the USA). In this respect, Canada follows the UK system. Rudi succinctly illuminates how the timing of a new election feedsback into the govt's calculations of its re-electability. Very helpful for those of our readers who are unfamiliar with the UK's and Canada's type of parliamentary voting and its timing.

UPDATE (May18,2k10): I found this tidbit on the Jubilee Centre UK website, where my friend Jeremy has posted the following comment >

Apart from those in Witney or Sheffield, none of us voted for either; and there were many in those constituencies who cast their votes for other candidates. This is not the basis on which we are to obey our government, even if it were an autocracy, as in the Roman Empire when the early Christians were told to pray for their government. You are right, we must pray for our constituency MPs and our new Governement. However, this does not stop us from working for a fairer and better representative electoral system, regardless of whether or not we support this Government, which, by the way, has engaged in principled discussion and co-operation between the parties -- an excellent start to a new politics. -- Jeremy Ive 13 May 2010

Dr Ive is a reformational Anglican, priest of the Anglican Church, and a theological scholar writing on Trinitarian foundations of faith and theology.

-- Politicarp (back from Sabbatical)