Politics & Power Quote by Jack Layton

The line is a political dare disguised as a civics lesson: if Parliament is broken, voters can fix it, and the tool is partisan power. Layton’s genius here is in the bait-and-switch. He opens with a broadly shared frustration - a government that feels jammed, performative, unable to “work” - then pivots instantly to a concrete, self-interested prescription: elect more New Democrats. It’s pitch-perfect for a country that likes to imagine its politics as pragmatic, not tribal. “Working again” isn’t just about passing bills; it’s a morality tale about competence, civility, and usefulness.

The subtext is sharper than the polite Canadian framing suggests. Layton is challenging the two-party gravity that often pulls federal politics into Conservative-vs-Liberal trench warfare. By presenting the NDP as the lubricant that makes the machine run, he positions his party as both corrective and conscience: not merely an alternative government, but the mechanism that forces minority Parliaments to behave. It’s an argument for leverage. More seats mean more negotiating power, more committee muscle, more ability to extract concessions on things like health care, workers’ rights, and social programs.

Context matters: Layton built his brand in an era of minority governments and mounting voter fatigue with procedural gamesmanship. The message flatters the electorate’s agency while admitting an uncomfortable truth about parliamentary democracy: it “works” when someone can make it costly not to. In one sentence, he turns disillusionment into a targeted ballot instruction.