The state and local government

782 C. Rallings and M. Thrasher, 2009b.

783 Independent Electoral Commission, 2007, paragraph 9.2.1, p. 40.

784 Statistics South Africa, 2009, p. 4.

785 J. de Visser, 2009, p. 7.

786 Independent Electoral Commission, 2007, Table 3, p. 61.

787 C. Schulz-Herzenberg, 2009, Table 1, p. 3.

788 The 5,907 figure for the average number of persons per councillor was calculated by dividing 49.32 million (the total population) by 8,350 (the number of councillors elected in 2006) = 5,907. The other lower figure for the average number of persons per councillor was calculated by dividing 29,956,957 (the size of the eligible voting population) by 8,350 (the number of councillors elected in 2006) = 3,588.

789 Whose donors include the neoliberal European Union, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Ford Foundation, Britain’s Department for International Development and the British Council (‘About IDASA: Donors’, http://www.idasa.org.za/).

790 J. de Visser, 2009, p. 8.

791 Ibid., p. 9.

792 City Press, 9 April 2006 and News24.com, 13 April 2006.

793 Atkinson, 2007, p. 58.

794 Good Governance Learning Network, 2008, p. 51.

795 B. Hoffman, 2007, p. 1, p. 10.

796 N. Kline, 2007, p. 209. See Chapter 10 of The Shock Doctrine entitled ‘Democracy Born in Chains: South Africa’s Constricted Freedom’, pp. 194-217.

797 Whose biography of Thabo Mbeki (R.S. Roberts, 2007) was heavily criticised as a hagiography and sponsored by major banking group Absa, which contributed R1.43 million that was alleged to have been organised by Essop Pahad, who as Minister in the Presidency reported directly to Mbeki. Pahad resigned from his position together with a number of other ministers in the wake of Mbeki being recalled by the ANC after Jacob Zuma was elected the new ANC leader at Polokwane in 2008.

798 R.S. Roberts, 2008.

799 Ibid.

800 Ibid.

801 Ibid.

802 P. Bond, 2008. ‘In defence of Naomi Klein's analysis of South Africa’, LINKS international journal of socialist renewal, http://links.org.au/node/618. Patrick Bond is a political economist and research professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal where he directs the Centre for Civil Society. The April 2009 issue of The African Communist - the SACP’s quarterly journal - contains Bond’s review (P. Bond, 2009) of Jeremy Cronin’s paper ‘Joe Slovo – Democracy and Socialism’ (J. Cronin, 2007). Jeremy Cronin is Deputy General Secretary of the CPSA.

803 Elmar Altvater taught at the Free University in Berlin for many years, and is a leading authority on political economy and environment.

804 P. Bond, 2007, p. 90.

805 Ibid., pp. 91.

806 Ibid.

807 Ibid., p. 93.

808 Washington Post, 6 November 2001.

809 A. Veriava, 2007, pp. 56-57. Ahmed Veriava was conducting research at the UKZN Centre for Civil Society and working with the Anti-Privatisation Forum in Gauteng in 2007. Parastatals are companies or agencies owned or controlled wholly or partly by the government.

810 T. Ngwane, 2007, p. 181. Trevor Ngwane was a student at the UKZN Centre for Civil Society and general secretary of the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee in 2007.

811 Ibid.

812 Ibid., pp. 175-176.

813 Ibid., p. 176.

814 Ibid., p. 179.

815 Ibid., pp. 176-177, pp. 177-178.

816 Ibid., p. 211.

817 G. Ruiters, 2007, p. 119. Greg Ruiters holds the Matthew Goniwe professorship at the Rhodes University Institute for Social and Economic Research.

818 G. Ruiters, 2007, p. 119

819 Ibid.

820 Ibid., p. 120.

821 Ibid., p. 122.

822 Ibid., p. 125.

823 P. Bond, 2008.

824 K. Brown, ‘Test of reality for “united, joint action”’, Business Day, Johannesburg, 14 January 2010. COSATU is an acronym for Congress of South African Trade Unions.

825 P. Bond, 2009b, p. 84.

826 Ibid.

827 NEPAD is an acronym for The New Partnership for Africa's Development.

828 P. Bond, 2009b, p. 84, note 7.

829 SACP, 2009, p. 8. BEE is an acronym for Black Economic Empowerment.

830 Ibid., pp. 15-16, their emphasis.

831 Ibid., p. 16.

832 Ibid., pp. 18-19.

833 Ibid., p. 21.

834 Ibid., p. 29.

835 SACP, 2010, ‘Resolution on Local Government and Cooperative Governance’, paragraph 7a.

836 Ibid., 8.

837 Ibid., 9, my emphasis.

838 Ibid., 10.

839 Ibid., 11.

840 Ibid., 12.

841 Ibid., 13.

842 EISA, 2006.

843 Statistics South Africa, 2008, Table 7, p. 8. This table shows that the estimated total adult population in South Africa in mid 2008 was 27,849,600. The SACP has 96,000 members.

844 R. W. Johnson, 2009, p. 61, p. 67.

845 K. MacGregor, ‘SOUTH AFRICA: Communist takes charge of higher education’, University World News, 24 May 2009.

846 ONS, 2009g, Table 1.2, p. 3. This table shows that the estimated total adult population in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in mid 2008 was 49,865,000. The Labour Party has an estimated 135,000 members (see Chapter 11 note 94).

847 T. Brown, 2009, p. 4.

848 SACP, 2009, p. 8.

849 T. Brown, 2009, p. 4.

850 SACP, 2009, p. 29.

851 There are three methods of holding elections to local councils: by whole council (where all councillors are elected once every four years); by thirds (where all councillors are elected for four-year terms and elections for a third of the councillors are held every year except in years when there are county council elections in the rest of England); and by halves ( where all councillors are elected for four-year terms and elections for half of the councillors are held every two years.

852 Department for Communities and Local Government, 2009b.

853 Ibid.

854 Ibid.

855 Ibid. Slough, Southampton, Southend on Sea, Stoke on Trent, Swindon, Thurrock, Warrington, Wokingham

856 Ibid. Two county unitaries – County Durham and Northumberland – that is, existing county councils which will took on district council functions after 1 April 2009, when the associated district councils in the area were abolished. Two district unitary authorities – Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester – that is, new unitary authorities established on 1 April 2009, following the abolition of both the county and district councils associated with the areas.

857 Hope not Hate, 2008.

858 There are also community councils, which are called parish councils in England, in some parts of Scotland. These are not principal local authorities and usually cover small areas. They have various local responsibilities, including litter, parks, public clocks, allotments and maintenance of the village hall. Parish and community councils also have a consultative role in planning applications, and may issue precepts for their services.

859 For example, a BNP candidate was elected simultaneously to both the Epping Forest District Council Loughton Broadway ward and parish council on 1 May 2008 (Epping Forest District Council, ‘Election results 2008’).

860 House of Commons Library, 2008, p. 1; GLA, 2008, p. 28.

861 Greater London Authority, 2008, pp. 35-52.

862 The Supplementary Vote system is used in the mayoral election. If one candidate receives over 50 per cent of the first choice votes, he or she is elected. The two candidates with the highest votes, if none of the candidates get over 50 per cent of the first choice votes, go through to the second round and all the other candidates are eliminated. The second choice votes for these two remaining candidates are then added to their total; and the candidate with the highest total of first and second choices is elected.

863 There are 25 Assembly members 14 are Constituency Assembly members elected by the simple majority system. The other 11 are London-wide Assembly members allocated using the Modified d’Hondt Formula. To be included each party or individual on the list must receive five per cent of the total number of London-wide votes cast. All the rest are then eliminated. The calculation – carried out 11 times to fill the 11 Assembly Member seats – is the total number of votes won divided by the constituency seats already won +1.

864 Greater London Authority, 2008, p. 106.

865 G. Galloway, ‘Why I back Red Ken’, http://www.respectrenewal.org/content/view/145/80/.

866 H. Mulholland, ‘Livingstone administration cleared over grant corruption charges’, The Guardian, 2 July 2009.

867 'No Corruption, No Fraud, No Cronyism’, 11 July 2009, http://www.blacknet.co.uk/.

868 For example: “…the big mistake of Blair and Brown” was “not being prepared to increase tax on the richest” (K. Livingstone, ‘Livingstone to PM: Head Left or lose’, Morning Star, 30 June 2008). See also K. Livingstone, Letter to The Guardian, 4 March 2009 and K. Livingstone, ‘Election result analysis isn’t Jowell’s strong point’, Morning Star, 7 March 2009: both responses to the report in The Guardian on 24 February 2009 that, according to former Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell, Labour had lost the support of the ‘aspirational working class…many of whom live in the outer London suburbs’ in the May 2008 London elections.

869 N. Wright, ‘Selecting the right candidate’ letter, Morning Star, 23 June 2008.

870 Alba, 2009.

871 L. Batson 2007, p. 22; Alba, 2009.

872 STV had been used to elect Scottish Education Boards in the 1920s. In 2007 new multi-member wards with three or four councillors were introduced for STV (see Appendix 7).

873 Gould Report, 2007, pp. 1-121, p. 7.

874 Ibid., p. 17.

875 Ibid., p. 111, p. 115, p. 120.

876 Westminster Parliamentary Statement 26 June 2008.

877 SNP Westminster leader, Angus Robertson MP, press statement 26 June 2008.

878 Council websites.

879 L. Batson, 2007, p. 48.

880 P. Rowlands, 2008.

881 In Cardiff in 2004 Labour won 27 seats, a net loss of 21, the Liberal Democrats 33, a net gain of 15, the Conservatives 12, a net gain of seven and Plaid Cymru three, a net gain of one (House of Commons Library 2004, p. 16).

882 Rowlands, 2008.

883 Ibid.

884 Hope Not Hate, 2008.

885 R. Jones, ‘No laughing matter’, Wales Diary, Morning Star, May 18 2008.

886 Blaenau Gwent, which was previously represented by Aneurin Bevan, then Michael Foot and used to be the safest Labour seat in Wales, now has no Labour MP or Welsh assembly member. In the 2005 general election – when the left wing MP Lew Smith retired – outside New Labour staff unsuccessfully attempted to impose Blairite Maggie Jones as the candidate.

887 Welsh Local Government Association, ‘New top team at WLGA – Cllr John Davies to head the multi-party approach’, press release 27 June 2008.

888 J. Osmond, 2009.

889 Welsh Labour Executive Committee, 2008.

890 Quoted in M. Shipton, ‘Welsh Labour's dwindling ranks revealed in report’, Western Mail, 8 July 2008.

891 Ibid.

892 Paras 2.4 and 4.4., cited in The Guardian, 22 June 1999.

893 J. Foster, 2009, pp. 37-38.

894 The 27 County Councils were: Buckinghamshire; Cambridgeshire; Cumbria; Derbyshire; Devon; Dorset; East Sussex; Essex; Gloucestershire; Hampshire; Hertfordshire; Kent; Lancashire; Leicestershire; Lincolnshire; Norfolk; North Yorkshire; Northamptonshire; Nottinghamshire; Oxfordshire; Somerset; Staffordshire; Suffolk; Surrey; Warwickshire; West Sussex; and Worcestershire. The seven single tier/unitary authorities were: Bristol City Council (where only a third of the seats were contested); Bedford Borough Council*; Central Bedfordshire District Council*; Cornwall Council*; Isle of Wight County Council; Shropshire Council*; and Wiltshire Council*. From 1 April 2009 the councils marked with an asterisk became single tier councils responsible for all local government functions in their area (see Department for Communities and Local Government, 2009c). Three mayoral elections were also held on 4 June 2009 (see Chapter 7 and Appendix 5).

895 C. Rallings and M. Thrasher, ‘Outlook for the June 4 local elections’, Sunday Times, May 10 2009. Professor Rallings and Professor Thrasher are co-directors of the LGC Elections Centre, University of Plymouth.

896 C. Rallings and M. Thrasher, ‘Vote puts Tories on course for 126-seat majority’, The Sunday Times, 4 May 2008.

897 C. Rallings and M. Thrasher, ‘Labour wiped out – but Tories won't dominate’, Sunday Times, 7 June 2009.

898 BBC News, 2009a.

899 Ibid.

900 K. Edkins, 2009.

901 Hope not Hate, 2009.