By Chris Adetayo
Citizens of the United Kingdom went to the polls on Thursday, July 4. It was the country’s first General Elections in five years. The results, mirroring the pre-election polling, saw the Labour Party win 412 out of a total of 650 seats. The winning margin was as convincing as any seen at any time in the UK’s centuries-long history.
So, after 14 years in the saddle, the Conservative Party was booted out of office. Not a day too soon. For the party of Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher had, over its 14 year rule and through a catalogue of missteps, brought Britain to its knees. It practically and metaphorically removed the “Great” from the country’s name, and left it gasping for breath on so many fronts.
It should never have turned out the way it did. When it won elections in 2010, the Conservatives replaced a tired and confused Labour Party. Tired from 13 years of being in the saddle; and confused over policies as then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, made ultimately fruitless efforts to distance himself from his predecessor, Tony Blair.
The Conservatives, led by David Cameron, started well in 2010. They introduced policies to curb the run-away public debts and expenditure, and made valiant efforts to reform the healthcare service and immigration, amongst many others. But, in a few short years, arising from its own internal contradictions, the party dragged the country through multiple civil wars.
First was the Scottish Referendum. For years, a section of the Scottish establishment had desired and demanded a referendum on the issue of Scotland’s independence. This was despite the devolution of so many powers to the Scottish parliament; powers that, in many ways, mean that Scotland is run like a separate state. David Cameron gave in to the demands and a referendum was held in 2014. In spite of a 55% majority opting to remain part of the UK, the damage to national unity was palpable as the losers have refused to be placated. Ultimately, the referendum resolved very little, yet costing the government and people so much.
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Shortly after, perhaps basking in the euphoria of keeping Scotland in the UK, and giving in to the demands of a few but vocal backbenchers in his ruling party, Cameron accepted to have another referendum, this time on the UK’s continuing membership of the European Union.
If the Scottish referendum was divisive, the Brexit referendum was even more so. It was extremely toxic. In the event, though the government campaigned for the UK to remain in the EU, a slight majority voted to leave. The outcome of the referendum and the implications of it continue to dominate so much of the UK’s internal and external affairs.
Despite the majority voting to leave, executing a smooth exit from the EU defied the political and administrative excellence that the British are long famed. In the process, it effectively cost three prime ministers – (David Cameron, Theresa May, and Liz Truss) their jobs. Their successor, Rishi Sunak, has just led their party to its worst election result, winning only 121 seats, down from 365 in 2019.
The Labour Party has returned to power. Unlike 1997 when it was led by Tony Blair, it has little in the charisma department going for it. Perhaps because of this, it is not promising much. That’s a good strategy, for it will take years to undo the damage done to Britain’s economy, culture and image by the Conservatives.
For Nigeria in particular, and Africa in general, there are many lessons to learn from the UK Elections. One is that populist clamour are not always the best way to drive a nation forward. As the dusts settles on BREXIT, it has become increasingly clear, even to its advocates, that it was a wrong decision. To quote former Prime Minister Tony Blair, it was “an unbelievable act of self-harm”. The majority got their way, and its protagonists used it as a lever to gain political power. Just about every one of them is, publicly or privately, holding a different view now. Leaders are elected to take tough decisions and should have the courage to do so, rather than pander to populist demands at every turn.
Another lesson is that political leadership requires persons with strong moral fibre. The Conservative leadership, unable to end the tide of asylum seekers crossing into the UK from continental Europe, came up with the idea of sending them to Rwanda. The policy was a repudiation of much that is good and great about the UK, from respect for human rights to its fundamental belief in fairness, equity and due process. The country’s image will take years of painstaking work to recover from that misadventure. Nigerian leaders must learn from this, that no matter the stakes and no matter the challenge that a problem presents, they must seek solace only in solutions that edify the country and humanity.
Every nation pays a huge price for political instability – even in a storied democracy like the UK. In less than a decade, the country had four prime ministers. One was in office for less than two months. There was a rotating door of secretaries and ministers coming and going. All of these brought with it policy somersaults at home, affecting different sectors of national life. Away from home, foreign leaders had little time to build rapport with their UK counterparts before they exited. All these cost Britain dearly. It is another lesson we must take on board as our politicians jostle for positions across the land.
Furthermore, the reality that no political party is too entrenched for the people to bring to its knees is a lesson to take to heart. In 2019, the Conservative Party won a landslide majority. The expectations of many analysts were that this signalled a decade or more of domination of British government by the party. Yet, barely a General Election later, they were swept aside in an even bigger landslide. Political parties in Nigeria must learn from this, especially the ruling All Progressive Party (APC). However strong it may perceive its position in Nigeria today, its actions and cohesion will largely determine its electoral fortunes during future elections. It must, of necessity, strike a fine balance between populist policies that will be damaging in the long term, and tough decisions that imperil the survival of its citizens in the short term.
The UK election, from when the prime minister announced the date for the elections took a mere six weeks. France has just had its own General Elections, all within a month. The argument can be made that it’s easier to achieve this short turn-around in a parliamentary system. However true this is, spending two years on it, as we do in Nigeria, is just counterproductive. The National Assembly and the Independent National Electoral Commission must continue to seek ways for us to get better – in timing, in voting process, in results declaration. We must especially seek to understand why the UK gets a 60% voter turnout with only six weeks to plan, while Nigeria consistently fails to manage a 30% turnout despite all the time it spends planning.
In the final analysis, Britain has pressed a reset. It is as well. For the world needs a strong, moral, and connected Britain. A Great Britain that is sure-footed at home and abroad and a force for good on the critical global issues of this century. Keir Starmer, the new prime minister, needs all the luck and support in the onerous task to make this happen. May he succeed.
•Adetayo is a public and international affairs commentator and writes from Lagos.
