Populism – Coding guide



Populism – Coding guide (2017 version)

Introduction: purpose of this guide

The aim of this project is to measure, examine and compare the nature of populism in UK party manifestos. These included two parties of the ‘populist radical right’ (the British National Party, BNP and UK Independence Party, UKIP) and one of the ‘populist radical left’ (Respect). A major part of the data collection side of the project involves quantitative content analysis – identifying populist statements in each party’s manifesto and ‘coding’ them (classifying the type of statements and counting their occurrence).

Your role is to double-check my research by coding manifestos I have already coded and cross-checking the results, and this guide will help you do this. I cannot rely on my own coding of party manifestos – since if one person alone devises categories and applies them, this risks being a very subjective evaluation. In order for the coding of the manifestos to be more objective, it needs to be valid (it measures what the investigators intend to measure); reliable (different coders would separately come to the same conclusions) and reproducible (different coders would find the methodology easy to replicate). The best way to ensure such objectivity is for several people to code the same manifestos separately and then cross-check their data. This is what we are going to do.

Party manifestos (text published by a political party in order to compete for votes in national elections) are chosen as the subject of quantitative content analysis since they are understood as parties’ most authoritative policy statements and, therefore, as indicators of the parties policy preferences at a given point in time. This content analysis aims to discover the nature of party populism by quantifying their populist statements and populist messages to their electorate. I have developed (see below) a classification scheme with an accompanying set of rules. This coding scheme and this guide are developed from that of the Comparative Manifestos Project, which codes party manifestos for a wide range of policy positions (for more see ).

Defining and measuring populism

Populism is a highly contested concept in political science. I will provide you with two sources that help flesh out the current debates over the concept (Mudde 2004 and Albertazzi et al 2007). The definition of populism I use is essentially one used by Mudde (2004): populism is ‘an ideology that considers society to be ultimately separated into two homogeneous and antagonistic groups, 'the pure people' versus 'the corrupt elite', and which argues that politics should be an expression of the volonté générale (general will) of the people.’

In order to measure populism in each party manifesto, I constructed three indices of populism:

1) People-centrism

People-centrism is measured initially by analysing simply whether the manifestos refer to the ‘people’. However, since this concept is ambiguous (all parties at some times refer to the people and therefore simply referring to the people does not indicate populism) we need to be much more specific. The ‘people’ can be referred to in many different ways (e.g. ‘citizens’, ‘the country’, ‘everyone’). The key elements denoting populism are that the people should be seen in an unambiguously positive light, should be seen as a unified (homogenous) entity, and the populist party should identify with them absolutely. A helpful way of elucidating populism is determining what are resolutely non-populist ideas. For example, appeals to specific subgroups of the population (ethnicities, regional groups, classes) are inherently antithetical to populism, unless these groups are partes-pro-toto; that is, they are clearly identified with the genuine ‘people’ as a whole. This is a potential difficulty for analysing left-wing populism, because some may still appeal to ‘workers’ and the ‘working class’. To count all references to the working class as populist without checking whether the appeal is to the workers as a class concept or as pars-pro-toto risks seriously distorting the results. For instance, it will make a difference whether the appeal is to the working class vs. the capitalists (class appeal) or to ‘working people’ or ‘our workers’ vs. ‘the big-business elite’ (a populist dichotomy).

2) Anti-elitism

For this index, you should start with the basic question of whether the party manifesto mentions elites, whether these elites are construed positively or negatively, what kind of elites are mentioned, and what their relationship is to the people. In order to be construed as populist, a party must mention elites, have a profoundly negative view towards the elite in general, rather than just elements of that elite, and must view the elite as profoundly hostile and destructive towards the people, tantamount to engendering a wholesale political crisis. Again, it is helpful to examine what is not populist. While few parties will argue that elites are wholly a good thing (some conservative and fascist parties may be exceptions), some might argue that elite rule is justified because of greater ‘experience, expertise, competence, and probity’. Criticism of specific elements within an elite (a certain politician or political party) is not populist: a populist appeal must regard the elite in its entirety as anathema.

3) Popular sovereignty

To measure popular sovereignty, you should start by identifying any manifesto statements that call for increased power to be given to the people. Some of these will be general calls for greater popular involvement or unfettered leadership to further popular sovereignty. Although the positive invocation of the people implies potential overlap with category one, these statements should only be coded once, and if the message goes beyond extolling the virtues of the people to a claim for greater politicisation in the name of the people, they should be coded under popular sovereignty rather than people-centrism. For example, a statement like ‘the people are our country’s great resource’ is a people-centric statement; a statement like ‘the people of this country need to become our country’s great resource’ refers to how the people should gain greater rights and is a statement implicitly about popular sovereignty.

Clearly, claims for popular sovereignty may also be more explicit and specific (for instance calling for greater direct democracy or more simplified access to governmental decisions), while falling short of detailed policy prescriptions. Non-populist claims will be those that re-affirm existing political and economic institutions that mediate between the popular will and policy outcomes and essentially support the elite status quo.

The plan for coding the manifestos

You will first be provided with a test manifesto (in word format), which you must complete and receive feedback on before attempting the sample manifestos. You will then attempt three sample manifestos each. The plan for coding will be as follows:

1) After examining this guide (please re-read at least twice), you will code the training manifesto and send it to me via email.

2) We will meet for me to provide feedback on the test manifesto.

3) I will decide on the basis of the quality of your coding whether you have sufficient understanding of the coding process to begin coding the sample manifestos. At that point, you can either a) commence coding the sample manifestos or b) try another test manifesto. If necessary, each test can be taken twice.

The decision-making process of coding

The decision-making process of coding is described in the following sections. This procedure comprises two steps: a) unitising (how many unique statements do parties make?) and b) coding (what kind of statements do parties make?). You will first ‘cut’ the manifesto into unique statements; second you will decide on the kind of statements they are making. You will insert symbols into the word document to indicate your coding (see below).

Which parts of a manifesto should be unitised and coded?

Each textual part of a manifesto needs to be unitised and coded. Some parts of the manifesto, such as statistics, tables of content, and section headings should not be considered as text. Introductory remarks by party leaders should be similarly ignored unless they are clearly integrated into the manifesto itself (e.g. if they reinforce or summarise themes of the manifesto). If you doubt whether certain parts of the manifesto should be treated as text or not, you should seek immediate advice from me.

Unitising – cutting text into quasi-sentences

The coding unit is a quasi-sentence. One quasi-sentence contains exactly one statement or message. In many cases, parties make one statement per sentence, which results in one quasi-sentence equalling one full sentence. Therefore, the basic unitising rule is that one sentence is, at minimum, one quasi-sentence. There are, however, instances when one natural sentence contains more than one quasi-sentence, as discussed below.

When to cut sentences

Only if the natural sentence contains more than one unique argument should this sentence be split. There are two main ways in which this will occur: 1) a sentence contains two statements that are totally unrelated; or 2) a sentence contains two statements that are related (e.g. they come from the same policy field) but address different aspects of a larger policy. Clues to unique statements might be: 1) semicolons; 2) the possibility to split up the sentence into a meaningful bullet point list; An example would be:

‘We need to address our close ties with our neighbours as well as the unique challenges facing small business owners in this time of economic hardship.’ The first part of the sentence is a statement regarding foreign policy; the second a separate statement about economic policy.

When not to cut sentences

There are many instances when sentences should not be split into quasi-sentences. A good rule of thumb is that one word is most likely not a quasi-sentence. It is crucial to know that examples, reasoning, explanations, etc. are not unique arguments and are therefore no separate quasi-sentences. You should also be careful when unitising based on sentence operators such as commas, colons, hyphens, etc. Such operators might be, but are not always, indicators of a quasi-sentence. Operators do not indicate two quasi-sentences if they do not separate two unique statements. Examples for this case are:

‘The animal rights in our country must be improved; and we will do that.’

‘Our country’s budget must be put on solid footing again, no matter the costs.’

Coders should not split up a sentence just because they think they have discovered a code. For instance, the mere singling out of another country is not a unique argument and, therefore, a quasi-sentence. Only if the statement refers to a general or specific foreign policy goal should it be considered a separate quasi-sentence. Furthermore, references to policy areas such as education, agriculture, labour, and the environment should not automatically be separated simply because catch words such as schools, farmers, unions or environmentalists are mentioned. Again, the sentence should only be cut if it is a statement about more than one separate issue. Here is an example of a sentence that seems to contain several arguments at first glance but, on closer inspection, is revealed to have only one unique message:

‘We must force our unions to step back from their demands or their policies will result in the loss of thousands of jobs, closing of schools, and diminishing pensions.’

In this example, jobs, schools, and pensions are only instances outlining the negative impact of what will happen if the party’s central demand (unions reducing their demands) is not met.

The coding symbols

When you code the manifestos you will insert symbols in the word document to indicate your coding: First you will mark the end of each quasi-sentence by the divider X-. Second, you will look for evidence of each of the three above-mentioned populist categories: people-centrism, anti-elitism and popular sovereignty. If you identify a statement that can be fitted into these categories you should mark it also with P (people-centrism), E (anti-elitism) or S (popular sovereignty). The purpose of these symbols is so that the coding is maximally visible when reading the manifestos – essentially, it makes the coding easier to count. Please count the symbols using the ‘Find’ function in word – this will be more accurate than counting by eye.

Note: 1) Not all quasi-sentences will have a code: far from all statements in a party manifesto are reducible to populism: some may be general statements, very specific policy statements, or simply ambiguous ones. The expectation is that the number of populist statements per party manifesto will vary between approximately 10 and 50 percent, so do not worry if most of your sentences are uncoded. 2) Each quasi-sentence can have a maximum of one code. If you identify a populist statement, you will need to decide which category it goes in.

Assigning codes

The following questions are central to the decision making of assigning codes to quasi-sentences: What are the statements of the party? Which policy positions does the party convey? In order to make this decision, coders need to make sure that they understand what the party says. Therefore, it is essential to read every singly quasi-sentence very carefully. Often parties are very clear in their statements and candidly say what they seek: more of one thing, less of another. In this case, assigning codes is straightforward: coders identify the message and assign the corresponding category.

There are, however, times when parties’ statements are not very clear and are more difficult to code. When facing such an ambiguous sentence, the coders should always first think about the meaning of the quasi-sentence and double-check the quasi-sentence with all three codes in the category scheme (you may find the quick reference checklist in Appendix 1 helpful).

In general, there are three possible factors which cause ambiguity: 1) Language is often simply ambiguous. Language is full of various styles, jargon, rhetorical meanings, colloquialisms, etc. Manifestos, therefore, often use language in manifold ways. 2) Quite often parties not only say what they want to achieve but also how they want to achieve it. Sometimes, coders will find both statements within one natural sentence and will have to decide how to handle this high density of information. 3) Many of the political issues included in manifestos are very complex and it is not possible to convey a clear message within one quasi-sentence. Parties often choose to build their arguments over several sentences, within a paragraph and/or sometimes even over the course of a whole chapter.

Coders need to keep these sources of ambiguity in mind in order to fully understand the message the party wishes to convey. The following section addresses ways for coders to handle ambiguous language and other problems during the course of coding

1) Ambiguity of language

• Often, parties make policy statements by mentioning a negative aspect of an issue in order to highlight its importance for the party. Take, for example, the following:

‘Our country’s democracy does not work well enough anymore!’ This sentence could be read and interpreted as a negative statement towards the country’s democratic processes. However, it is rather clear that the party is not making a statement against democracy itself. The actual message of this sentence is one of concern about and criticism of the current state of democracy. Therefore, this is a positive statement towards the ideal principle of democracy.

• Furthermore, parties tend to use ambiguous or convoluted language to hide certain statements often deemed politically incorrect or inadmissible viewpoints. Coders should try to understand the message while at the same time trying not to read too much into the quasi-sentence.

•

2) Ambiguity of quasi-sentences because of complexity – a hierarchy of context

When the quasi-sentence in itself does not convey an obvious message despite coders’ best effort to find one, several levels of context might be helpful to decide how to code a quasi-sentence. These levels are hierarchal. Coders should keep in mind that it is imperative to consider the context level closest to the quasi-sentence first and only move to the next level in case the closer one was not helpful.

The context levels are, in sequence from the quasi-sentence level upwards:

1. The rest of the sentence in case the quasi-sentence is only part of a natural sentence

2. The previous and the following sentences

3. The whole paragraph

4. The whole chapter or section

5. The whole manifesto

6. The political discourse concerning the issue in the country at the time of the election

3) Statements containing several messages

Sometimes more than one code seems to apply to a quasi-sentence because the party wraps several statements up into one broad statement. Quite often, these statements come in the form of We want to reach A by doing B and C or We are doing B and C because we want to reach A. In principle, the grand rule of ‘code the message’ applies. For these two examples, the message is that A is primarily important. B and C are simply means to achieve A. Goals usually take precedence over means when assigning codes. The following example claims that changing the constitution might serve the purpose of promoting animal rights. Since the constitution change is clearly only a tool, this sentence is not cut into two quasi-sentences –the central statement is focussed on animal rights:

‘To make sure that animal rights are universally recognised, we are going to add them to our constitution.’ X-

However, there are instances where this logic does not apply. It might be possible that the party not only sends a message for A but also puts so much emphasis on B and C that B and C become messages in themselves. This is most apparent when the party states that B and C are the only means possible and there is an imperative to use them: We want A therefore we must employ B and C as the only feasible options. The following example is one where the means (leaving NATO and reducing the military) are such strong messages in themselves that they result in three quasi-sentences:

‘In order to achieve worldwide peace, X-our country must leave NATO X- (and reduce the military to a minimum.’ X-

4) Statements containing no message

There are instances when a sentence by itself does not make a statement. Often, the context helps in these cases and the rules mentioned above still apply. A special case is when sentences are used as a way to introduce or end an argument, or to connect two arguments. These introductory, terminal, or connecting sentences do not constitute meaningful statements themselves but are part of a continuous argument. Therefore, they should be coded in the same category as the corresponding argument or as the bulk of the paragraph in which they appear.

5) Proximity of contradicting codes

Finally, a note of general caution: it is possible to have positive and negative codes on the same issue right next to each other. Party manifestos often include contradictory statements. Coders should not try to assume hidden meanings in a quasi-sentence just to make sense of the sentences around it. Manifestos are not codes to be deciphered. Instead, coders should be careful to only code what is written. The following examples are seemingly contradictory statements in close proximity that will need to be coded as separate statements:

‘We will support our troops overseas, X- while working to end the current war. X-

Our constitution is a model for every truly democratic system X- but we need to change it.’ X-

What to do next

1) Please read and re-read this guide until you are sure you understand it. Contact me if you have any queries.

2) Please read the accompanying two articles (Mudde and Albertazzi et al), and make sure you understand them.

3) I will send you a test manifesto as a word document. You will need to code the manifesto using the above symbols. Once you have done so, you should fill in the relevant data on the check sheet (total number of quasi-sentences and references to each category, as well as the percentage). See the example in Appendix 3.

4) Email the completed test manifesto and check sheet back to me. We will then arrange a meeting for feedback on the test. If the test is satisfactory, you can proceed to coding the sample manifestos. If not, I will provide a further test manifesto, and/or you may need to re-code the test manifesto, as appropriate. This process may need to be repeated once or twice.

5) It is the same process for the sample manifestos. Code the word document and fill in the check sheet. Email them back to me. A follow up discussion session may be required.

Appendix 1: Quick reference checklist for populist statements

|Ideological factor |Index |Meaning |Populist phrases |Non-populist phrases |

|‘Pure people’ |People-centrism |Positive valorisation of |The people, our people, our citizens, our country, our |The nation (implying that nationalism is the core ideological concept), the |

| | |homogenous people |values, the/our community, our nation, we, the ordinary |country (where there is no specific identification with country), other such |

| | | |person, our society, all/each/everyone of us, everyone, |terms where they are not directly identified with a people (e.g. Britain, the|

| | | |working people, the British/Scots etc, the average |society), communities (where this implies regional subdivisions), negative |

| | | |person/family, common sense (of ordinary people), mainstream|references to the people, focus on interests of subgroups of people (e.g. |

| | | |majority, our (when referring to something owned by the |pensioners, workers) where these are not seen as representative of people as |

| | | |people as a whole (‘our countryside’), but not when it |a whole even when the focus is on our pensioners, our workers etc, we where |

| | | |refers to a subgroup of the people itself (‘our |it refers to party interest/programme and not interests of broader people, |

| | | |communities/bankers’) |phrases such as ‘people and businesses’ where implicitly the interests of the|

| | | | |people are not homogeneous |

|‘Corrupt elite’ |Anti-elitism |Negative valorisation of |The elite(s), the establishment, those in charge, those in |Criticism of specific persons or parties when not implicitly or explicitly |

| | |homogenous elite |power, political class/caste, old parties, the oligarchy, |seen as representative of elite as a whole, positive references to elites, |

| | | |professional politicians, the authorities, partocracy, the |any reference to heterogeneity in elite, elite seen as pragmatic and |

| | | |State, the mainstream parties, the regime, them. Arguments |compromise possible |

| | | |against the elite will often counterpose them against the | |

| | | |virtuous people. In this case the people-centrism argument | |

| | | |is also made, but the argument should be coded only once | |

| | | |under anti-elitism | |

|Volonté générale |Popular sovereignty|Calling for ‘power to the |Popular sovereignty: referenda, direct democracy, power, |The quasi-sentence does not refer to popular sovereignty, or if it does, it |

| | |people’: greater popular |sovereignty, independence, others, us, them, public |1) refers to it either negatively or in neutral terms; 2) highlights the |

| | |involvement, control or |control/ownership, power to people, self-government. Popular|success of existing democratic mechanisms or 3) reaffirms the elite and |

| | |participation, greater democracy |sovereignty necessarily implies a conception of the people. |institutional status quo |

| | |or unfettered leadership to |In this case the people-centrism argument is also made, but | |

| | |further popular involvement |the argument should be coded only once under popular | |

| | | |sovereignty | |

Appendix 2: Coding score-sheet – please fill in the number followed by the percentage

| |No. of quasi-sentences|People-Centrism |Anti-elitism |Popular Sovereignty |Total proportion of |

| | | | | |populist statements |

|Test case |

|UKIP 2011 (Scotland) | | | | | |

|Core cases |

|BNP 2011 (Scotland) | | | | | |

|SSP 2001 (UK) | | | | | |

|Respect 2005 (UK) | | | | | |

Appendix 3: Short example case: Respect Manifesto 2010

Manifesto text:

THE RESPECT PARTY

HOMES, JOBS

AND PEACE

Manifesto for a Hung Parliament

“It now looks inevitable that there will be a hung parliament after the general

election.X- Respect will never support a Tory government whose policy of immediate

and massive cuts combined with tax breaks for big business and the very wealthy

would be a disaster for the economy and most peoples’ lives.X-E With a real chance of

winning three MPs; George Galloway, Poplar and Limehouse, Abjol Miah, Bethnal

Green and Bow, and Salma Yaqoob, Birmingham Hall Green; X-Respect will have

three minimum conditions on which we would consider

supporting a government:

•

A massive council house building programme to

address the housing scandal across the country X-

•

The rapid withdrawal of British troops from all illegal

and pointless wars X-

•

The radical democratisation of our constitution with a

fair proportional voting system, abolition of the appointed

House of Lords and cleaning up parliament – no more

second homes fiddles.X-S

This manifesto outlines some of the other policies

we will fight for in any negotiations.X-”

Salma Yaqoob, Leader, Respect Party

Published & promoted by Salma Yaqoob • Respect • PO Box 167 • Manchester M19 0AH.

Investment not Cuts Peace, Justice and Equality Investment not Cuts Peace, Justice and Equality

Respect for Homes, Jobs and Peace

“Britain is on the

verge of a politicalcrisis and is alreadymired in an economic

crisis, which

we are a long wayfrom coming out of.X-P

“The outcome of

the election could

well see the third

placed party having most seats.X- Such an

outcome can only deepen the sense of

public outrage at Britain's political class.X-E

Pages of turgid manifestos will go up in

smoke as parties and MPs try to adjust to

a reconfigured political reality.X- In any case,

more unites the old establishment parties

than divides them.X-E

“Respect's manifesto in this election is

geared to addressing this economic and

political malaise.X- We have a raft of policies,

developed and fought for over the

last six years.X-

“What we are fighting for in this election,

with the prospect of at least three Respect

MPs, is a focused, radical, progressive

programme which we believe is both more

in tune with public sentiment than the

parties of cuts, and crucial to getting us out

of the mess our country is in.X-P

George Galloway

A fairer, more equal, greener and

more prosperous society

“Respect stands

for a positive,

progressive way

forward in British

politics.X- Whilst the

mainstream parties

fight over who would

implement the most

cuts to the vital

public services on

which we all rely, Respect would invest

and defend those services.X-E

“Our policies aim to build a future of

peace, justice and equality.X- We give

voice to the millions who want a fairer,

more equal, greener and more

prosperous society.X-S Here are some of the

simple changes in policy that we believe

the British people need to turn our

country around.X-S

Salma Yaqoob, Leader, Respect

2

Investment not Cuts Peace, Justice and Equality Investment not Cuts Peace, Justice and Equality

Investment not cuts

Defend public services

Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are all agreed on the most drastic programme of public sector cuts in British history.X-Their major point of difference is when the axe should start to fall.X- Respect rejects this damaging consensus.X-E Cuts will choke off economic recovery and send unemployment spiralling for years to come.X-

There is no reason why ordinary people should pay for a bankers’ crisis we did nothing to create.X-P It is wrong and not necessary.X-

The recession has been led by a decline in investment.X- This accounts for well over half the entire decline in the economy.X- We need a programme of public investment aimed at getting people back to work.X-S Over 650,000 jobs have been lost in Britain in the last 2 years.X- In the West Midlands, the downturn started earlier and 104,000 jobs have been lost over 3 years.X- /We need to get people working again, and we should start by focussing on three areas: transport infrastructure, housing and education.X-S

As the public sector is usually the most efficient way to provide excellent public services, we oppose market fundamentalism.X- There should be no further deregulation or privatisation.X-

Trade unions must be able to defend their members’ interests through lawful industrial action without threat of victimisation – we would restore trade union rights.X-

• No cuts to our public services X-P

• For major government investment in schools, hospitals, home building, transport and green industries to create the jobs we need and stimulate growth  X-P

• For an overhaul of the finance sector and introduction of tighter regulation X-

• For a windfall tax on bank profits X-

• For the establishment of a peoples bank at the post office  X-S

• For progressive taxation: raise corporation tax; for 50% income tax on those earning over £100,000; eliminate income tax for those earning less than £15,000; no increase in VAT; restore the ability of local authorities to set their own business rates X-

• Capital Gains Tax should be paid at the same marginal rate as Income Tax X-

• For a Robin Hood tax on bank trading and a permanent tax on bankers’ bonuses X-

• Clampdown on tax avoidance and close tax loop holes X-

• For raising the minimum wage in line with earnings and ending the lower rate for young workers.X-

• An immediate increase in the state pension and an immediate restoration of the pension link with earnings  X-

• Royal Mail should be kept entirely in the public sector.X- 

• As part of a programme to establish equal pay for women Respect supports compulsory equal pay auditsX-

Investment not Cuts Peace, Justice and Equality Investment not Cuts Peace, Justice and Equality

End the housing crisis

and improve transport

Housing in Britain is in crisis.X-

Hundreds of thousands, particularly

young people and families, are priced

out of a home.X- In the borough of Tower

Hamlets alone there are 23,000

applicants on the housing waiting list and

over 15,500 families living in

overcrowded accommodation.X-

Construction and transport

infrastructure are among the areas worst

hit by the recession.X- Respect stands for

a huge programme of quality, affordable,

low-energy council home building to

create employment and provide

everyone with the home they need.X-S

•

For an urgent programme of council

house building to end overcrowding and

reduce the waiting list.X-

•

Give local government the power and

funds to build and renovate millions of

affordable quality homes.X-

•

Increased energy efficiency – an

emergency national programme of

insulation and double-glazing.X-

•

Extend free transport for pensioners

to local rail services.X-

•

Renationalise the railways.X-

•

• Revive the British rail system with new high-speed rail lines across the country – More buses, with better services, and low fares in every town.X-

4: A Voice for International Peace and Justice

Respect was born out of the movement against the illegal war in Iraq.X- That movement has been proven right.X- |We stand in solidarity with people throughout the world whose lives are blighted by war and exploitation.X-P

More deaths in Afghanistan will not make us safer.X-P That conflict is as un-winnable as it is wrong and Respect calls for the complete withdrawal of all British troops.X-

Respect also supports the rights of the Palestinian people and opposes Israel’s illegal settlements and its brutal siege of Gaza.X-S

On Trident, Britain’s nuclear weapons system, Respect’s view is that the plans for its replacement should be abandoned.X- 

We welcome social progress and the expansion of democracy in Venezuela, Bolivia and across Latin America.X-

• Bring the troops home from Afghanistan|X-

• Work in the international community to ensure that there is an end to the blockade of Gaza X-

• Abandon the replacement of Trident.X-

Investment not Cuts Peace, Justice and Equality Investment not Cuts Peace, Justice and Equality

One society, many cultures

Ensuring justice and equality

Britain's diversity is its strength.X- The

economic, social and cultural

contribution of all communities is

fundamental to ensuring Britain is

internationally competitive and society is

cohesive and successful.X-

We all have the right to live free from

harassment or intimidation without

barriers to our full and active

participation in society.X-P

The scapegoating of Muslims by

sections of the media and politicians

threatens hard fought for civil rights and

liberties that all communities enjoy.X-

Migrants contribute billions to the

economy annually and are an essential

part of many of our public services.X-

•

We would defend the religious and

cultural expression of all faiths and

oppose all efforts to restrict such

expression.X-

•

Strengthen legislation to tackle

racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-

Semitism, Islamophobia and all forms of

bigotry.X-

•

Challenge the Hate-propaganda of

fascist groups such as the British

National Party and ban the violent

“demonstrations” organised by the

English Defence League.X-

•

Work with the police for zero

tolerance of hate crimes.X-

•

Respect would build a fair and

transparent immigration system and

accepts the compelling case that

Strangers Into Citizens has made for a

one-off regularisation for irregular

migrants.X-

•

Respect would overcome the decision

by the Mayor of London to end London's

anti-racist music festival by launching a

number of such festivals in major cities

across Britain, including in the capital.X-

•

Encourage the full participation of all

communities in the political process.X-

•

For a fair and equitable visa system –

reverse the recent trebling of visa

application charges.X-

•

Abandon the introduction of ID Cards.X-

•

Maintain Police Community Support

Officer numbers .X-

5

Investment not Cuts Peace, Justice and Equality Investment not Cuts Peace, Justice and Equality

A Green Recovery

People and planet together

Everyone should have the right to live

in an environment that is free from

pollution, with parks and open places for

our children to play in, and safe in the

knowledge that we are playing our part

to prevent runaway climate change from

destroying humanity's future.X-P

The next government should create

thousands of sustainable skilled jobs in

new green industries.X-

Respect is committed to a low carbon

future where Britain leads on clean

energy, upgrades its creaking public

transport system and helps every

household and business to reduce

energy costs and waste through

efficiency measures.X-

•

Investing in new green jobs X-

•

Generating at least 40% of energy

from renewable sources by 2020 X-

•

An active industrial strategy to drive

investment into our world leading

offshore wind, wave and tidal power

sectors.X-P

•

Reducing fuel poverty and supporting

home energy savings through free home

insulation X-

•

Creating green jobs in every town

through new recycling facilities, and

modern plants that generate clean

energy from waste.X-

•

Revive the British rail system with

new high-speed rail lines across the

country – More buses, with better

services, and low fares in every town X-

Health and Education

Respect would continue with

improvements to the health service and

cut out the waste of using private

finance, because it is more costly for the

taxpayer.X- We would ensure that services

remain within the NHS and are delivered

by NHS staff.X-

There would be a moratorium on any

further use of private companies in

healthcare delivery.X-

Investing in improved education at all

levels lifts economic performance and

will help generate prospects that all

communities can benefit from.X- The

government's recently announced cuts to

funding for colleges and universities are

mistaken and would damage the

economy.X-

Instead of wasting money by boosting

the unemployment total, Respect calls

for investment in education to boost jobs,

exports and attract investment.X-

•

Introduce free personal care for the

elderly X-

•

Abolish charges for dental and

optometric examination X-

•

End PFI in health and education X-

•

Abolish all fees in further and higher

education X-

•

Raise grants to cover living costsX-

•

Increased funding for schools to cut

class sizes X-

•

Introduce free school meals for all

school children X-

•

Expand of free nursery places and

Sure Start X-

6

Investment not Cuts Peace, Justice and Equality Investment not Cuts Peace, Justice and Equality

It takes

to get respect

Find out more about the Respect Party

by visiting our election website at

. Find out about

our General and local election

candidates, read reports from the

campaign trail and find out how to help

elect Respect.

Read Respect Party Leader, Salma

Yaqoob’s election blog at



If you would like to make a donation to

our campaign you can make online

donations at or

send a cheque payable to Respect Party

to Respect, PO Box 167, Manchester,

M19 0AH.- Please check the website for

details of permissible donations.

Published & promoted by Salma Yaqoob • Respect • PO Box 167 • Manchester M19 0AH.

VOTE



xRESPECT

Find out more or join Respect today

I wish to join Respect & enclose cheque for

£10 waged

£5 unwaged membership fee.

Please makes cheques payable to ‘Respect’

I wish to find out more about the Respect party. Please send me more information

Name

Address

Post Code

Phone Union, etc

Email

Return to The Respect Party, PO Box 167, Manchester, M19 0AH

Coding score-sheet for this manifesto

| |No.of quasi-sentences |People-Centrism |Anti-elitism |Popular Sovereignty |Total proportion of |

| | | | | |populist statements |

| | | | | | |

|Respect 2010 (UK) |106 |10 (9.43) |5 (4.71) |8 (7.55) |21.70 |

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download