When Singapore votes on 11 September, it is theoretically possible that the government will change and a new prime minister will take office. But everyone knows that isn’t going to happen. The People’s Action Party, or PAP, has ruled Singapore since before independence in 1965; during that time, the greatest number of seats the opposition has held has been thirteen – and that was only because the pre-independence Legislative Assembly carried over to become the first parliament of the new republic.

View Prof Michael Barr recent online article or download the PDF from the CUSAPS website.