An Idea for Reform

I thought this deserved a separate thread, because it’s mostly suggestion and speculation. Obviously I don’t have all the answers or the knowledge to make an informed decision at the moment, but this is how I believe Government, particularly General Elections, should be managed:

Voting should be a legal necessity, so there is a proportional representation, and all votes should be counted, even votes for losing parties. However, the major difference in general elections would be would be that every seat in Parliament must be filled. There can be no empty benches etc. Then, every region is worth a set number of seats, determined on the distribution of the total population around the country (so it would be determined by percentages of total population). So whichever party wins that region wins that many seats in Parliament. Then the political party in power can be decided by which one receives the highest amount of votes across the entire country, as determining it by the number of seats won isn’t a proportional measurement.

Just a thought… Please leave suggestions or comments…

Revising Today’s Lecture

After Today’s lecture, I ordered “The Fall of Public Man” off Amazon.com because I was so taken in by waht was said, and the reviews on the book were hard to ignore.

I was actually taken aback by what Chris had to say today. Although he mentioned that the PM was like a psuedo-monarch, I never realised quite how disproportional British politics actually are. It becomes even more shocking when you go home and think about it. THey way this country’s run, how the agendas of the people in charge differ from our own and how they have the power to pursue their own goals and leave the rest of us behind.

Christ, no wonder no one votes anymore. The thought that my views and opinions don’t matter because I don’t fit a specific demographic or ideological framework is kind of unnerving. What i find particularly unwelcoming is how disproportional the voting system actually is, especially the fact that votes for the losing candidates in each voting region aren’t even counted. It might be a foolish or naive standpoint, but i’ve always been an advocate for equality and freedom of speech and expression, even when most of the time I don’t agree with what people have to say.

I need to read further into this.

Radio News Day Story

This is my Radio News Day story:

Last Night was the opening performance of ‘Stand or Fall,’ performed by Students of Winchester University and members of Winchester Community Prison.

The ‘Prison Project’ has been a critically acclaimed success in recent years and this year’s performance is already being described as the most successful yet.

All three performances have been sold out since the end of March and have even received significant media interest; [Insert Sound Clip Here]*

————————————————————————————

*Interviewees mentioned outstanding support from the community, brilliant co-ordination and amazement at the publicity the project has received, so far as mentioning press in London coming to see the show.

There’s a copy of this on my other Blog for Introduction to the Newsroom. The link is: http://introtothenewsroom.wordpress.com/

Olympic Torch Fiasco

Yes, I was watching it live on TV as it happened. Talk about a disaster. And the BBC was unlucky enough to have cut away to broadcast other news every time someone made an attempt on the runners. Those are the kind of moments that grab viewers and the ratings and BBC missed them.

Anyway, it makes for good news casting, although the effect the negative publicity will have on London and confidence in its ability to police the 2012 games still waits to be seen…

New Blog: Intro To The Newsroom

I have now set up a second blog on which I am posting certain pieces of work for Intro To The Newsroom. I’ve already uploaded my three Portfolio Pieces if anyone wants to take a look.

This is it’s address: http://introtothenewsroom.wordpress.com/

First year Combined Honors: Group Three (Local Government)

I’m part of Group Three for the presentations that we have to do after easter. We’re studying Local Government and my other group members (with links to their blogs) are:

Chantel Richman 

Rich Rowe

Daniel Noble

Joe Page

Caterina Perlini

Here there will be a link to a separate Blog where I will post my findings: [To be Inserted]

European Referendum

I caught the last half of a BBC News interview about holding a referendum about the appointment of a European Union President. The MP they were interviewing was adamant that there was no need for a referendum and that it would in no way affect Britain. However, poplar opinion seems to disagree on both accounts.

I also so the story about the protesters who climbed on top the Houses of Parliament over the Heathrow expansion row. I thought it was quite funny, but I bet the Government is not amused. They’ll be tightening security there from now on I bet.

News Day Piece

This is my News Story for our News Day:

A riveting extracurricular talk was given before an attentive audience Last Monday by a renowned international novelist for Creative Writing undergraduates.

The talk took place in the Stripe Lecture room at 6pm Monday 18^th February. The guest speaker was Margot Livesey, a renowned British novelist, who gave an hour talk on the methods and styles of writing novels or novella, tailored particularly towards Creative Writing undergraduates and many students and lecturers of the subject attended.

The talk focused on some of the more complex aspects of fiction writing, including setting, characterization and padding. Livesey discussed, in particular, the means by which writers could control the pace of their narrative. “I use description of setting as padding,” she said, “to slow the pace down. Unlike like tennis match conversations, I find slower discussions help convey the shifting emotions beneath.” Her advice to the students was “Always think about spaciousness verses moving the story forward.”

The talk included excerpts from her latest novel Banishing Verona, and the talk and subsequent Q and A revolved heavily around the novel. Within the discussion of her work, Livesey stated that “In Banishing Verona, I try to braid major and sub plots together” and suggested to students that this was one particularly effective style she had found for creating a successful novel. Others she suggested were diversity of content, use of original and refreshing language and further exploring character’s emotions within a working piece. But her greatest advice to students was “Don’t give up. Write something interesting, but personal to you.”

Margot Livesey, originally Scottish and now living in Boston, is the author of five novels, including Homework, Criminals, The Missing World, and Eva Moves the Furniture, and earned critical acclaim for her collection of short stories entitled Learning by Heart. Her talk at the University was the last stop in a long tour in the United Kingdom to promote her new novel, which is due to be released in America in May and to Europe the following month.

By Geraint Oliver

My Local MP News Story

Local MP Mike Hancock was today identified in the Parliamentary register of MP’s interests has voted in only 50% of all parliamentary debates, far below the average for MP’s according to statistics published today.

Mike Hancock, Liberal Democrat and Local MP for Portsmouth South, was identified as having only attended half of all votes carried out in Parliament, where the average for MP’s stands at 70%. This raises serious questions about how well the views and opinions of Portsmouth South and its residences are represented in Parliament.

Mike Hancock has been the Liberal Democrat MP of Portsmouth South since 1997 and is a local man, son of Portsmouth sailor. Also, according to the report, he “has received answers to 777 written questions in the last year — well above average amongst MPs.” Hancock has also not accumulated any staff travel expenses since 2003/04, but therefore implies that Hancock has not been abroad during any Parliamentary debate. Therefore, it remains to be seen the reasons behind Hancock’s absence in Local and National politics.

[Please leave any comments about improvements]

Bellfield handed whole life term

I read this article on the BBC News website:

“Levi Bellfield, 39, from west London bludgeoned Amelie Delagrange, 22, and Marsha McDonnell, 19, after they got off buses in south-west London.

He was also found guilty of trying to kill Kate Sheedy, 18. Bellfield refused to attend sentencing at the Old Bailey due to “bad publicity”.

He is also a prime suspect in the murder of schoolgirl Milly Dowler.”

The police seem to think it’s a major breakthrough in Investigative work and prevention of such events in the future, so last night’s sentencing is supposed to be a landmark event.

It doesn’t bring those poor girls back though…