That's right, the People's Action party is not going to win the next general election.

It's probably not even going to take part in the next general election.

You may be thinking of the People's Action Party in Singapore.

But you may not have heard of People's Action Ltd, in the United Kingdom (UK).

This version may be led by a former civil servant who couldn't lead Singapore out of a phone booth with a map and a guide (because he's not Singaporean).

Wait what?

That's right, the UK looks like it's about to get its own People's Action party.

It will likely be led by Dominic Cummings, the controversial former advisor to controversial former UK prime minister Boris Johnson, who has since fallen out with his former colleagues.

EXCL: Dominic Cummings has set up a company called “People’s Action.” The StartUp Party may now have a name… pic.twitter.com/4NT4E2ZLos

— Jordan Tyldesley (@PippyBing) May 10, 2024

Cummings, described by some as a right-wing populist, has said he wants to run his version of the People's Action party as a "Start-up party", full of the vim and vigour of an entrepreneurial start-up company.

He is planning to run it on the policy platform of closing tax loopholes, civil service reform and cutting immigration, as reported by Politico.

The i reports that Cummings registered the People's Action Ltd in September 2023, and speculated that it was in homage to (or a ripoff of) Singapore's People's Action Party.

Cummings has expressed his admiration for Lee Kuan Yew on numerous occasions, with the i quoting him as writing in his personal blog that Lee was "tough in detaining dangerous communists" despite "Western pressure".

Company or party?

But if you're wondering why People's Action Ltd is a limited liability company, that's because there appears to be a new trend amongst populist British political parties.

As explained by the TL;DR channel, a UK based online news show, most political parties in the UK are registered as unincorporated associations, and are controlled by a vote of the membership, often ranging in the tens of thousands for the larger parties.

Some populist parties, such as Reform UK, formerly the Brexit Party, have been formed as limited liability companies.

This means that they do not have a conventional membership, and are instead controlled by a few directors, which can be as little as two.

Singapore-upon-Thames

This is the latest in a series of occurrences of right-leaning or right wing British politicians advocating for Singapore-style policies in Britain, while displaying less-than-stellar knowledge of Singapore's politics and policies.

Cummings' insistence on higher standards is rhetoric that Singaporeans will likely recognise, but will clash with his own actions, such as when he broke Covid lockdown rules in order to cross the length of Britain.

He was also one of the architects of the Brexit campaign, which former permanent secretary of Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bilahari Kausikan once described as the UK committing "suicide".

At any rate, Cummings is a professed fan of a version of Singapore, and has been described as a better student of Singapore than most British politicians, which may not be saying much.

As the Spectator magazine once described, there are many "versions" of Singapore that British politicians subscribed to:

"Adapting the saying that inside every man lives two wolves, one could say that inside every (Conservative Party member) lives two Singapores. "

A hill to die on

But no matter how well-studied Cummings is on Singapore, don't expect his party to fare well in parliament.

Is it because his brand of state-aided, free market-heavy reform politics has no place in Singapore  the UK?

Maybe, but more to the point: he only registered the party in 2023.

He is unlikely to able to muster candidates and organise the party in time for the UK general election, which is due on July 4.

Instead, as reported by Politico, his plan appears to form an alternative party for disenfranchised Conservative Party voters, in the wake of an expected devastating loss for the party in the upcoming elections.

He had better get a move on, as the UK already has a Workers Party (no apostrophe), and they already have an MP.

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Top image via Wikipedia & Companies House UK