The Conservative selection of their Mayor candidate in Bedford was, on any sensible meaning of the words, a caucus, not a primary. A caucus requires people to turn up to a meeting and sit there for a while before casting a vote. A primary simply requires people to vote.
They've both got their pros and cons - most simply, a primary gets more people involved, a caucus requires more commitment from those who get involved. But it's just a route to confusion to start calling caucuses primaries. (Even if you're tempted because primary = Exciting! Modern! Good! and caucus = Smoke-filled rooms! Cliques! Bad!)
That's all.
The post was brought to you by the Union of Doomed To Be Disappointed Political Pedants.
A computer thinks the following may also be of interest:
- The Saturday Debate: should the public be able to declare political affiliation on the electoral register?
- What the media didn’t tell you about the Bedford Mayor election
- Backlash over Conservative Bedford Mayor selection
- Conservative Bedford woes
- Labour set for worst share of vote since 1918: why isn’t that a big story?
I was under the impression that a caucaus was not just about turning up at a meeting, it aslo involves publically declaring your voting interntion by voting with your feet, which for many reasons, is different from a secret ballot.