I thought I’d just write a few of my observations from the elections not that anyone cares but at least I can get it out my system and move on with some revision!

South Shields & the Mayoral elections went to Labour; yes, they are victories but hardly surprising. Many commentators picked out with South Shields that UKIP came second in the share of the vote, which is a fair point although the amount it tells us about their future prospects is minimal. There was also plenty of concentration on the ranking of the Lib Dem candidate; coming 7th and losing their deposit, whilst many have gleefully forecast this as a signal of future things to come, that is incredibly misleading and also ignores the fact that almost no campaigning occurred on the scale of the normal Lib Dem effort. In fact in my opinion it was foolish of them in some respects to bother standing a candidate, as being a safe Labour seat it was futile to use any resources on fighting the seat at this point.

Also, briefly, the Anglesey election result was interesting seeing Plaid Cymru doing well doubling their seats with 6 gains to make 12 seats in this council. It will be interesting to see which way the deliberations go but it wouldn’t be too surprising if Plaid Cymru ended up as a leading part of a coalition to run the council.

But now, onto the English local elections, there are several phenomena that I want to pick up on and what significance (if at all) these results have on various items…

- The UKIP Phenomena

So, first of all…. it will be great when the hype about UKIP has died down and people can start thinking clearly again. There was a lot of despair, worry and/or annoyance at the election of so many UKIP councillors  but this doesn’t mean that UKIP are becoming a national party; the simple answer is they aren’t. First of all, in Thursday’s elections UKIP only gained 2 councillors north of Lincolnshire suggesting a much lower appeal and support base in the North of England.  Secondly, 80% of the seats being contested had Tory MPs and being ‘shires’ are largely tory heartlands with places like Essex, Surrey, Suffolk, Kent, Devon, Somerset, etc all largely rural areas. Now, whilst UKIP were taking votes from all parties, they were taking considerably more votes from the Tories than they were from the Lib Dems and Labour, it should be understood in the context of a few factors; first, this is mid-term, not only do people vote against the government but also, with local elections (especially with no other election at the same time) more of the incumbent party voters stay at home. Overall, estimates suggest that this year’s turnout was 31% which the BBC reported was 10% lower than last time these seats were contested in 2009, this is well below the turnout that can be expected at a General Election and with a higher overall turnout it will be harder for UKIP to make significant gains. This suggests that UKIP will not be able to translate these votes into parliamentary seats and furthermore, they are only likely to do well in conservative heartlands.

Now it is a fact that UKIP gained close to 150 new councillors on thursday, however, whilst I’m not a betting man I would put money on UKIP getting nowhere near that many councillors next year as the councils which come up for election will form a very different electoral landscape with a much stronger Labour presence within the metropolitan boroughs, unitary authorities and council elections than was the case in the shire elections this week. If anything, we could see the Green party making far more substantial gains than UKIP.

- The downfall of the BNP

One comforting thought (to a certain extent) was the fact that BNP didn’t win a single seat and instead lost 3 existing seats. Whilst this is comforting, it is disconcerting to hear suggestions that many ex-BNP and ex-EDL members are moving across to UKIP… also, I couldn’t help noticing that UKIP seems to feel the need to describe itself as a ‘non-racist’ party; trying to convince themselves?

- The rise of the Greens

One thing that is undeniable is that the Greens are picking up support in new areas in numbers they hadn’t previously achieved with gains on councils in Essex, Surrey, Devon, Warwickshire and more allowing themselves to build up credibility locally and setting the base for future growth in membership base and support levels for future elections.

In my opinion, the Green party are the true fourth party of UK politics with an impressive array of politicians in local authorities, albeit slightly less than UKIP, MEPs, MLAs, an MP and a lot of potential to pick up protest votes from a weakened Labour party. In particular it was worth noticing, the Greens were defeating conservative councillors this week; next year when elections are in more traditionally labour areas they could experience a much larger gain of councillors if labour voters are disaffected by the labour party; however it is clear that these local elections in 2013 cannot accurately predict what may happen next year and this is just conjecture.

- The number of NOC Councils & the move from a two party system

What was remarkable was the rise in the number of NOC councils, the irony of the situation is that we are becoming a country of coalition politics, and the supposed strength of FPTP that it delivers strong one party government is being disproved time and again. This is in part due to the willingness of voters to go to new parties, whilst I am uncomfortable with UKIP being on the receiving end of this rejection of the mainstream parties, it is clear that the last few years have seen a gradual change from what used to be perceived as a bipolar labour-tory, tory-labour political system.

It has been argued that this trend, alongside the clear unrepresentative nature of the FPTP vote (which on thursday actually helped keep UKIP out in a lot of places despite the strong proportion of the vote they received across counties) may result in the electoral reform debate being returned to earlier than anticipated. In a classic Farage moment, on BBC’s ‘Vote 2013′ coverage on Friday 3rd May, he made up the UKIP electoral reform policy on air (or so it seemed) declaring himself in favour of AV+.

- The performance of parties in comparison to predictions

Ok, so I couldn’t write this post without giving a short post-mortem on how I feel each party fared in the elections… basically a much shorter version of all the exaggerated rubbish put out by journalists to make news in the 24 hour news world when nothing is happening; I mean, they couldn’t possibly report stuff that is happening elsewhere in the world could they? [Anyway, that's a different rant ]

Conservatives – Considering it was Tory heartlands it was a reasonably respectable result, several hundred losses is what should be expected as a party of government, however they lost too much to UKIP which without they could have held onto more seats, what should they have done? actually engaged in a thorough debate on UKIP policy and shown it for what it was rather than insult them and dismiss them.

Labour – this was an ok result for labour, it wasn’t as bad as many commentators tried to insinuate – considering it was ‘shire’ elections Labour weren’t realistically going to gain that many more than they did, although it could have been possible if people felt Labour were more effective. Ed Miliband doesn’t come across well and the Labour party looks very ineffectual at the moment and so in that context the result was fine, not amazing but not a disaster and definitely something for them to build on next year.

Lib Dems – A poor result in some areas of the country with seats lost, however, considering their lowest projected national vote share ever (according to the BBC) at 14% they did remarkably well to hold on and gain seats in lib dem strongholds where they have sitting MPs digging in. The results in these areas had considerably higher lib dem vote share than in most other areas and it seems lib dems have a very clear idea of the areas where they have a solid base and have a track record and where they do that they win votes.

UKIP – they had a great election, however, it is unsustainable, they definitely didn’t get to the stage of being a national party. With no gains north of Lincolnshire and a large proportion of their vote coming from the conservatives Farage better be hoping that the conservatives don’t eliminate the core issue at the heart of his party by promising a referendum before 2015. It is undeniable though that they had a remarkable set of results.

Green party – a decent night with overall gains and spreading round the country, living up to the prediction given by Natalie Bennett. A particularly interesting result in Warwickshire where they unseated the leader of the Tory group on the council. It definitely sets them up well for the next few years in the run up to the general election.

- Potential impact on future Local, European and Parliamentary elections

So, I’ve touched on this a bit, but I thought I’d give an idea of how/whether I think these elections will reflect future elections or how the next few years might pan out… then I can come back and check if I’m right and as good as Nate Silver at political predictions, haha – i wish!

Local Elections 2014 – Labour will do well, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats will continue to make some losses in strong Labour areas (conservative losses will be increased a bit by UKIP splitting the right wing vote). However, both parties will make some gains. UKIP will make some gains due to increased publicity around the EU elections, although these will be fewer due to local elections being held predominantly in Metropolitan areas). We will also see a rise in Green councillors, not a massive increase but a similar if not slightly larger one than this year. However, the outcome will be more councils going to/staying NOC as more independents and small parties gain councillors as an alternative to a Labour party that is increasingly seen as an ineffectual opposition. If Ed’s leadership improves and the Labour party tightens its message and starts winning the core arguments then maybe there will be a significant number of gains for labour.

European Elections 2014 – UKIP will get the most seats, the Greens will increase their seat share, the conservatives will lose several seats to UKIP in their heartlands especially in councils where UKIP have become the official opposition, Labour and the Lib Dems may lose/gain a few seats but their share of seats won’t change drastically, and increases are only likely if they can sell staying in the EU and its benefits to the electorate.

General Election -

Conservatives will lose seats to Labour, Labour will increase its numbers of seats, Lib Dems may lose a few seats to both conservatives and Labour and will win one or two target seats in return. The Greens will increase their vote share, and may add an extra MP. UKIP will not get an MP (especially with the current car crash in the form of their party policy or lack of). There will be a few more Independents elected to Parliament. Result – Hung Parliament.

- The Media Coverage given to Parties

Finally, I just wanted to have a quick rant about the fact the media has given so much airtime to UKIP. Moreover, journalists have been writing opinion pieces and using social media to wonder whether UKIP should be classed the third party in UK politics despite the LIb Dems having a much larger presence and on a national scale unlike UKIP’s regional base, and going so far as to say Farage should be in election debates for 2015?! They spent much of the last few weeks giving publicity to the party, whilst it is good they were pointing out the awful behaviour and attitudes of many candidates they continued to build up hype around the party without giving any proper scrutiny for what exactly the party stands for in many cases. Why exactly should Farage be given so much airtime?

So, hope that was interesting… I best get back to some revision before Doctor Who starts… adieu!

As is always the case with these events, the bookies publish their odds within hours and the press reels out column inches on the most likely successor. Endless articles examine the achievements, beliefs and backgrounds of all those seen as ‘papabile’ [those seen as contenders for the position] in order to determine which candidates seem the most likely to be elected by conclave… In this particular case, much of the pontificating (pardon the pun) has been to examine how alike the views on certain subjects the Papabili are to the views expressed by the two most recent Popes…

The irony is that an appreciation of the history of those who have been selected as Pope suggests that each successive Pope is often different or contrasting from their successor. Furthermore, a claim to the ability to predict the new Pope by anyone is highly questionable because the truth is no one knows just how each Cardinal elector will vote and what exactly will influence their decision… the extent to which theology, politics, geography, track record, future potential, pre-existing friendship or even fun and games [perhaps less likely] influences their decision…

Moreover, it is often said that ‘He who enters the Conclave as Pope, leaves it as a cardinal’. Let us therefore analyse the impact that might be had on the church once the new pope has been selected by conclave… in the meantime let me introduce you to a fantastic tv series to pass the time which brings across some of this intrigue that the Papacy seems to excite in us… The Borgias….

Personally, it is one of the most entertaining series I have seen and whilst it may not be 100% historically accurate there are elements of truth and factual correctness – enough to consider it educational!

‘The Borgias’ Season 1 Trailer

Profiling of the Eastleigh By-Election Candidates

Conservative Party

[ Image from huffingtonpost.co.uk ]

Candidate: Maria Hutchings

Previous Experience with the Party:

-          Local Campaigner – part of a social action project: ‘In It Together’ recognised in the National Excellence Awards

Previous Non-Political Experience:

-          Extensive Business Experience, Specific focus on activism with regard to disabilities and special schools etc

Key Campaigning Messages:

-          Combat over development, infrastructure concerns, fighting gravel pits in Hamble peninsula, closure of post offices and campaigning to improve parking arrangements

Chance of Success: 7/10

Betting Odds [Ladbrokes] 11/8

Labour Party

[ Image from dailyecho.co.uk ]

Candidate: John O’Farrell

Previous Experience with the Party:

-          A long-term Labour supporter

-          2001 Election Maidenhead Candidate

Previous Non-Political Experience:

-          Well known Satirist, Comedy Writer and Author

Key Campaigning Messages:

-          ?

Chance of Success: 4/10

Betting Odds [Ladbrokes] 10/1

Liberal Democrats

[Image from http://www.libdemvoice.org ]

Candidate: Mike Thornton

Previous Experience with the Party:

-          A Local Parish and Borough Councillor since 2007 – Eastleigh Borough Council

Key Campaigning Messages:

-          Botley Bypass, Stop the Gravel Pits, Protect Greenfield from Development, Stop cuts to Children’s Centres

Chance of Success: 8/10

Betting Odds [Ladbrokes] 8/11

UKIP

[ Image from ukip.org ]

Candidate: Diane James

Previous Experience with the Party:

-          Joined UKIP in 2010

-          An Independent Borough Councillor – Waverley Borough Council

Chance of Success: 3/10

Betting Odds [Ladbrokes] 25/1

Peace Party

Candidate: Jim Duggan

Previous Experience with the Party:

-          Long-term party member

Key Campaigning Messages:

-          Charter identifies key areas of focus; Pacifism, Democracy, Health Care, Homes and Housing, Quality Food and Water, Environment, Social Justice, Education, Welfare and Jobs, Recreation

Chance of Success: 2/10

Betting Odds [Ladbrokes] N/A

National Health Action Party

Candidate: Dr Iain Maclennan

Previous Experience with the Party:

-          None; was the Green Party candidate before they decided not to fight the by-election

Key Campaigning Messages:

-          Work to stop the changes to the NHS that have been instigated in the Health and Social Care Act

Chance of Success: 2/10

Betting Odds [Ladbrokes] 66/1

Monster Raving Loony Party

Candidate: Howling Laud Hope

Previous Experience with the Party:

-          Party Leader

Key Campaigning Messages:

-          According to their website: ‘When asked what his policies would be Alan said “he had a few points to offer”’

Chance of Success: 0.5/10

Betting Odds [Ladbrokes] 1000/1

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

Candidate: Darren Proctor

Key Campaigning Messages:

-          Anti-Austerity

Chance of Success: 1/10

Betting Odds [Ladbrokes] 250/1

English Democrats

Candidate: Michael Walters

Previous Experience with the Party:

-          Chairman of Medway EDP and Secretary of the EDP South East Region

Key Campaigning Messages:

Chance of Success: 0.5/10

Betting Odds [Ladbrokes] N/A

A diplomat or more often a senior government politician will respond to a situation, complaint or series of events by espousing their commitment to a set of theories or ideological positions such as National Sovereignty, the Rule of Law, Self-Determination, Sustainability to name but a few. Yet, the next moment they’ll turn again and disregard that very same concept as it no longer fits with the new scenario at hand…

To put this into a real life context… the difference between approaches on the issue of self-determination… it was one rule for the Falklanders and another for the Chagossians…

With the Falklanders, David Cameron is vocal and clear in his belief that its down to the Falklanders, and any debate over whether it should remain a British Overseas Territory or become a part of Argentina will be discussed and decided by the Falklanders themselves… in fact they have a referendum coming up in March 2013 which may end President Kirchner’s crusade for rule over the Falkland Islands if it returns as expected a vote in favour of Britain… however, the debate over sovereignty of the islands has been discussed at length by many others… the key here is the use of the concept of self-determination

However, with the case of the Chagos Islanders… recent acts by the government show there is still little hope of the Chagos Islanders being afforded that same principle of self-determination… in 2010 the David Cameron’s government established a marine reserve on the island effectively preventing any return to the island for the Chagossians to the British Indian Ocean Territory because it doesn’t suit the interests of the British government as the Island is host to the ironically named Diego Garcia ‘Camp Justice’ a shared UK-US military base.

So, what to make of this…? Well, you can be sure this isn’t the only example of inconsistency in foreign policy by a single administration, whether its the UK, the US or somewhere else… It is clear that governments treat foreign policy as a buffet, picking the theories and reasoning which suit their objectives, rather than adopting a principled foreign policy stance and adhering to it on a universal basis… this unfortunately undermines the credibility of the respective government on the International stage, furthermore, in the case of a country such as ours where we view ourselves as a world leading country, [whether misguided in this belief or not] it shows a lack of responsibility considering the role the UK seeks to play on the International stage.

How then can we turn on countries who break International agreements, adopt contradictory stances or act irresponsibly if we cannot keep a principled stance in our own foreign policy and set an example?

[Edit: Remembered an interesting article which gives some more comparison between the two situations although from a different perspective... http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-matthew-ashton/falkland-islands-britain-argentina-both-wrong_b_2402962.html]

So, I thought I’d have a look and see whether I’d achieved that risk factor and set out a few aspirations for the year ahead… for a start hopefully I’ll be blogging a bit more!

The year has gone quickly, and for myself there has been considerable progress, risk taking and jumping for dreams…

University

In the Summer I took the decision to change course, I was on the Law course, but wasn’t enjoying it and kept spending all my time following political debates and getting involved with political based activities… so to some it came as no surprise when I switched (my old politics teacher said to me after I made my decision to change that they’d thought all along I was applying for the wrong course!) But, it has to be one of the most empowering things I’ve done this year, taking time over the summer to reflect on where I was and where I wanted to be going in life was crucial, and it is something which is very important for everyone in life. We need vision and aims to keep ourselves going… and this is best achieved by putting things in our life into perspective. I’m having a much better time on this course and I’ve met some inspiring people and good friends too…

Guild of Students

The Guild has been a big part of my life over the last year, and although I will continue to be involved through societies and on a few committees here and there as well as a Guild Councillor.

The bulk of my time in the Guild has been as an RA and as much as I have moaned or got stressed about various things it has given me a tremendous amount of happy memories, brilliant friends and plenty of knowledge about events organisation! I’ll always remain tribal to Pritchatts Park (just as I haven’t lost my tribal allegiance to my House at school). I think there are things which need looking at in the way the scheme operates, the amount of support given to committees and the recognition they receive for their efforts… however, I hope to be able to work with some other outgoing RAs to put together a more comprehensive analysis from our point of view for the Guild to consider.

I also founded the 20 Minute Society this year, and we’ve had a good year, I’m looking forward to being able to get to more events over the next year now I don’t have RA duties! If anyone wants to join come along to the Society fair in January…

Guild Council deserves a brief mention, those long hours arguing about the same stuff and going round in circles; but seriously, why do we spend 2 hours on elections and scrutiny and leave an hour and a half to discuss 10+ motions? (and yes, I do need to blog about my voting record for last GC – I shall do soon)

I am also really excited to be on the National RAG Conference Committee for 2013 which will be held in Birmingham… although as someone pointed out (you know you are) that Logistics Officer  sounded boring, the conference will be amazing… it my sixth sense speaking…

Model United Nations – UNA-UK and more…

So, this year I got involved with UNA-UK, I helped them at their ‘Uniting the Nations’ conference for Secondary Schools and decided to run to  be Vice President of UNA-UK Youth… unfortunately I haven’t really had consistent contact with UNA-UK or even a great deal of information from them which has hindered our work. But, Stephen (President) and myself have attended various events and been in contact regularly with a number of branches throughout the year and it feels that MUN is growing and growing… and a number of branches have been pulling off successful campaigns, with fashion shows being the preferred format for fundraising and awareness campaigns.

Highlights have been attending OXIMUN and addressing SheffMUN opening ceremony. For the new year, I’m on the committee for UoBMAL (University of Birmingham Model Arab League) which should be a brilliant weekend and I’m hoping to attend WarMUN and BathMUN.

Performing

And, one of my favourite things about this year is that I’ve got back into acting… although this time there is singing and dancing too… Sunshine Guy: The Musical is performed in January… http://www.facebook.com/sunshineguymusical so feel free to come and watch.

Travelling

One of the best things about this year for me was my time spent travelling, first to New York in the Spring and followed by a five week trip to Delhi, India where I did work experience with Hardnews Magazine. They were inspiring and eye opening experiences, and very different countries, cultures and ways of life. I find travelling is very good at helping you find out more about yourself as a person, helping you develop and also once again reflect on your journey through life. Travelling can also help slow down the pace of life, relieving stress and anxiety. In 2013, I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to travel, although I may be trying for a work experience placement in Canada… so we’ll see…

Social Enterprise, Voices and future plans

One big change that I’m currently working on is an organisation I’ve founded; Meneroka Institute. This will oversee social enterprise and voluntary efforts which work with young people to develop skills, this encompasses the existing work with Voices, and also includes a project scheduled for this summer which received ‘Live Unltd’ funding this summer. This should be an exciting year on this front, experimenting, testing boundaries, exploring new ideas and helping make a difference in society however small that might be.

I guess that gives a snapshot of my life over the past year… and I can only hope 2013 sees the fruition of more dreams, setting and achieving of more goals…

I know many around me have had harrowing, stressful or disappointing experiences throughout the year, the main lesson I have taken from these is that friendship is one of the most important and valuable things a person can have…I feel privileged to have a wonderful group of friends and I hope to build on those friendships in the next year… for those still suffering, struggling and growing tired, stay strong, take time to reflect, set new goals and become motivated… sometimes a chat with a friend can be the only thing needed to get yourself going… remember to always give yourself some down time no matter how stressful or busy life might be.

Happy New Year, Bonne Chance… Au Revoir 2012, Bonjour 2013… we’re going to have a smashing time… we’ve got so much to do!

Risk taking may have been last year’s lesson… this year I’m choosing reflection, friendship and more risk taking So, we’re better prepared… let’s see what 2013 throws our way.

Finally, a note re my blogging… I shall hopefully be back more regularly… although I shall more likely be writing about International politics.. especially in the developing world.

Andrew Mitchell, formerly responsible for the Department for International Development as Secretary of State between 2010 and the 2012 reshuffle gave in his resignation as a result of an altercation between himself and police officers in downing street where he may or may not have used the words ‘pleb’ or ‘moron’.

Plenty of commentators have rehashed whether he did or didn’t and have continuously chosen to make this a depiction of the conservative party with the usual cliche lines of ‘the nasty party’, they’re out of touch, etc yet this isn’t the lasting effect of this incident. Far more concerning is the precedent this resignation sets for politicians and politics for the future.

Lets first consider the importance of this issue in the scheme of things… the MP spoke out of turn, was rude, perhaps even insolent, arrogant and definitely inappropriate in the way he addressed the police officer. Yet, how many people do this on a daily basis to their friends, family or strangers where they are rude, insolent or fall out and have an argument with someone. Goodness knows how many people have been rude to me when they are doing a job which involves a strong element of customer service! This issue is incredibly unimportant in the scheme of things and definitely not something which means he should lose his job considering the triviality.

So why did he eventually resign? Well, he had support from David Cameron, he even had speeches in support of him at the conservative party meeting (although this may have been orchestrated to some extent). However, there was a concerted effort by the police, especially the Police Federation of England and Wales to publicise this incident to the extent that it was blown far out of proportion, the Chairman of the Federation saying; ‘It is hard to fathom how someone who holds the police in such contempt could be allowed to hold a public office. Mr Mitchell’s half-hearted apology for the comments made whilst leaving Downing Street will do little to build bridges with the police’ politicising the issue and using this as a way to retaliate for the Police’s dissatisfaction with government policy on policing and their treatment in relation to pensions, wages, etc.

In the end this sends a strong and unwanted message to organisations such as Trade Unions that if they escalate a story and keep it in the headlines long enough they could potentially get a member of the government to resign. This should not be welcomed in any way whatsoever, in fact the resignation of Mitchell means that a far more conservative MP; Sir George Young will now become the government Chief Whip.

In fact the whole situation is riddled with Irony… Sir George Young MP currently represents the constituency of  North West Hampshire, previously the constituency of Andrew Mitchell’s father… and ultimately the incident has led to a more conservative, less progressive Chief Whip and has significantly damaged the career of someone who has done a lot of good, though this doesn’t excuse his rudeness and attitude in the incident at hand. In many respects this incident reminds me of the #BigotGate incident with Gordon Brown at the last election.

However, what has happened is done, so what is the point of rehashing this incident….? In my opinion we need to learn to accept that politicians make mistakes and they are only human. Yes, they are public servants and in the public eye and are accountable to the electorate [or should be at any rate]. However, this doesn’t mean that they should resign at any point where they have made a mistake, or that the continued press coverage of an incident which is embarrassing for a minister or MP should cause the resignation of the politician. We expect politicians to operate at a standard of ethics and morality far above the level we judge ourselves against… there is no way that people can say they never make a mistake, act inappropriately at one time or even get angry… and that’s before we consider the stress, workload and pressure we expect our politicians to operate under. We pretty much expect the impossible and it’s almost miraculous that so many MPs are able to juggle all their commitments, roles and responsibilities and still have relationships, families or even contact with the world at large!!

Lets change our expectations of politicians to become more realistic before it’s too late and we end up with people who are entirely out of touch with reality. We want more normal people in politics and this means accepting that they can make mistakes… these politicians at the moment are some of the strongest intellects in the country (though not all of them are I hasten to add) and if we get more normal people into politics with a greater cross section of society they wouldn’t last two minutes with the expectations we have to judge them against.

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts… please do comment below…

Those of you who know me or followed my blog since its creation would have known that I studied Law last year, well over the summer I took the decision to change course to Political Science. It is now two weeks in and I can say with absolute conviction this was one of the best decisions I ever made in my lifetime. Attending lectures and seminars is no longer a chore, my course mates are all interesting people and absolutely brilliant (that’s there in case they read this ); I also have the added benefit of being settled in Birmingham and comfortable and happy in my surroundings. Although today may be the first day I properly spend studying in the Uni library despite having been at Birmingham last year!

This fresh start has given me greater confidence and willingness to try out new things, take chances and do some different things… I have been cast in a Musical; ‘Sunshine Guy’ and I am hoping to pick up Ballroom and Latin Dancing over this year…

In line with this I will be looking to make a fresh stab at keeping my personal blog regularly updated with new posts over the next few years… posts will vary sometimes taking inspiration from my degree, my interests or sometimes something completely random! Feel free to comment and interact along the way… it makes the experience so much more enjoyable. If you’re lucky I may write up about my Summer experiences in India… so sit tight and enjoy…

I’m going to be using my blog as a bit of a diary over the next month or so to detail my adventures this Summer… the last few weeks since I finished my first year of Uni have been jam packed with working, sleeping, eating and this last week was even busier with socialising and yes, my birthday. But simultaneously I had been preparing for another adventure, applying for a visa, booking flights and organising some work experience. Before I knew what was happening I was off and away… making the long journey to Heathrow via the Underground, then flying with Emirates to Dubai and then Delhi.

The flights were as one would expect, having flown a reasonable amount… New York earlier that year and to Madagascar in 2010 I was comfortable with flying and transfers, I must say the service I received was extremely good which cannot be said for some airlines. On my flight between Heathrow and Dubai I sat next two very friendly South Africans, they had just finished a 7 month work placement in London with their employer and were now being transferred back to Johannesburg. We enjoyed some time chatting about the places they had been, it appeared that they had taken full advantage of this opportunity travelling far and wide with visits to all four countries of the United Kingdom, and to almost half the member countries of the European Union in that time but they were now very glad to be heading home.

As we came in to land in Dubai the view was astonishing; it was around 3am and yet the whole city was lit up with a Golden glow… and as the airplane descended I could make out the flyovers, the houses that looked like Mansions and the lights…

In Dubai, there was little time to do anything, so I shall have to make some effort on my return journey to try ‘Cold Stone Ice Cream’ which was recommended to me by a friend. The flight had arrived late and so I had little time to stop for anything. We boarded and on this flight I had some sleep which had evaded me on my previously.

One thing I have noticed about those of Asian origin both this time and from previous travels is that they do not have the patience we in the UK take for granted, before both flights an airline official outlined the boarding process to customers whilst urging us to stay seated until called. However, 80% of those who I thought to be from Asian origin took this as a signal that they could board the plane leading to frustrated appeals from the airline official for people to stay seated until called. I found this highly amusing, yet I wonder whether part of the meaning (the announcement being in English) was lost on those whose understanding of English was not as good as mine (although I have no doubt their understanding would be far better than mine with Hindi). However, I do remember that previously when my whole family came to India in 2006 and we went to Kerala for Christmas there had been plenty of pushing and shoving to get on the plane long before the airline had announced the start of boarding, however the difference being this was a domestic flight and I suspect things may have changed over the past 6 years.

Once we had landed in Delhi I found my way through security and customs easily with my luggage and set off to find my cousin, Amogh. I reached our pre-arranged meeting place, Pillar 16 and he found me there. After greeting each other we made our way to be picked up by the driver and travelled to the house.

The journey from the airport was a trip down memory lane… the sights, sounds, smells all combining bringing back memories of my time in Madagascar and my last trip to Delhi. The young children running up to car windows at the traffic lights to flog toy airplanes, the old man wheeling his stall piled with fresh oranges carefully stacked along the side of the road, the motorcyclists weaving in and out of the rest of the traffic, some alone, some with a wife or sister sitting side-saddle, the tuck-tucks (thats what I think they’re called!), the bus packed to the brim with passengers… and the noise… the blaring music from cars, houses and shops, the horns as cars weave through the traffic, overtaking each other, manoeuvring for space… and so much more!

Getting back, I was fed and showered and then spent much of the afternoon reading and sleeping and generally resting, coming to grips with my jetlag.

That evening we went out, leaving quite late… it was an interesting night… – all to be revealed in the next instalment…

Got questions? Comments? Write them below and I’ll make sure to respond…

Not sure whether or not I’ve failed my exams… had some pretty awful experiences and I’m just praying I hit the 40% pass mark in each module so that I don’t mess up my summer with resits – definitely going to be a different work ethic round here from September thank goodness first year doesn’t count.

I’ve been on a number of Carnival RAG (Charity Society at Birmingham Uni) events – Stewarding Enigma (a bar crawl to a mystery city only returning to Bham by 5am and the stewards remaining sober throughout), and Carnage (bar crawl in Birmingham with the positive side that all stewards more than catch-up at he end venue) which definitely messed up my sleeping pattern obtained through the exam period.

Then, over the last weekend I’ve spent plenty of time marvelling at the pomp and splendour of our archaic, yet endearing monarchical traditions. I’m still stuck between my idealistic afinity with Republicanism, yet my respect and endearment towards the UK Royal Family and Monarchical tradition.

Perhaps my most impressive acheivement amongst all that however, was my election to the position of UNA-UK Youth Vice President for 2012-3. I was delighted to be elected but its very dificult at this stage to be entirely sure to what extent I have the power to do anything although I’m sure all will be revealed in due course and I can start to make waves alongside the highly capable new President Stephen Vanson. I’m sure there will be plenty more to follow.

Anyway, as of the end of next week I will be 1/3rd of the way through my degree (shocking!), I’m just over a month away from being 19 . Later this week I have my Summer Ball which should be great fun and everything in life seems to be going ok.

Over the next few weeks I imagine I will be busy sorting our www.voicesofthe7billion.co.uk as it sees the site relaunched with a very capable team of writers, a wider scope of articles and a more ethical and clean approach to journalism far from the likes of News International.

This is in fact a requirement of the Green party constitution…  However, it seems she stepped down early – the Leader is able to stand for 5 terms, Caroline Lucas has stepped down after two. No doubt we will hear more of the reasons why tomorrow from the Independent story.

Caroline Lucas is a well respected politician, she will remain as an MP and she continues to serve her constituency but in the meantime the Green party is in search of a new party leader…

Caroline Lucas has succeeded in bringing the Green Party into the 21st century and managed a feat that few other minor parties have managed by securing seats in the European Parliament, council seats, control of a council, a sitting MP and London Assembly Members as well as a third place Mayoral candidacy… her time as leader has seen a number of developments for the Green party, the question is does the Green Party have anyone to fill what are certainly some very deep shoes. Whilst not everyone will agree with her politics, it is undeniable that she has been and still is a very competent politician and dealt with her role in a very accomplished manner.

So, who are the possible contenders?

The Odds on favourite is Adrian Ramsay – currently Deputy Leader of the Party…

He has certainly done very well for the Party helping the party increase its presence in areas around the country and returning the second highest parliamentary constituency vote in the 2010 General Election, however one of the advantages Caroline had was that she was a woman, she stood out from the rest of the party leaders, she had strong oratory skills, a likeable character and a determined attitude. In contrast, I have barely, or should I say rarely heard about Adrian; I have a feeling this could be a drawback…

Adam’s profile on the Green Party Website - http://www.greenparty.org.uk/people/adrian-ramsay.html

Considering her recent performance in the Mayoral Election I would argue that Jenny Jones would make a strong leader for the Green Party. However, it is obvious she will have a lot on her plate on the London Assembly keeping Boris in check… depends if she thinks she could manage it; I’d certainly see her as an A list candidate…

Edit: Jenny has since tweeted ruing herself out of the contest.

Jenny Jones’ Profile – Mayoral Campaign Website - http://www.jennyforlondon.org/about-me/

Jenny Jones’ Profile – Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2007/jun/02/jenny.jones

Other High Flyers in the Green Party and Potential Contenders include:

- Darren Johnson – Councillor and London Assembly Member

- Ashley Gunstock – ran against Caroline Lucas in the first Leadership election

- Jean Lambert MEP – represents the London region

- Keith Taylor and Derek Wall are also senior figures within the party

Links – Other Sites

BBC Article - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18054725

Derek Wall’s Blog - http://another-green-world.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/who-will-be-new-leader-of-green-party.html

Full Transcript of Press Release from Green Party of England and Wales:

Caroline Lucas said: “I’m hugely honoured to have served as the first Leader of the Green Party and I’m proud that during the four years of my term, we’ve moved Green politics forward to a higher level, with the Party by far the most influential it has ever been. We’ve seen significant breakthroughs in winning our first seat at Westminster and gaining our first ever local council in Brighton and Hove. These were followed by further breakthroughs onto new Councils in the recent local elections, which were among the most successful we’ve ever had, as well as establishing ourselves as the third party, ahead of the LibDems, in the elections for London Mayor.

“I look forward to continuing to do all I can in my very demanding role as the MP for Brighton Pavilion, representing my constituents and defending them against the Coalition Government’s disastrous economic policies and its refusal to accept its environmental and social responsibilities. I will also be able to dedicate even more of my work to the political frontline, putting the Green case for change in Parliament and in all circles of national political debate.”

Cllr Darren Johnson, London Assembly Member, said: “Caroline has made a huge impact in her time as Green Party Leader and has helped shift Green politics from the margins to the mainstream of British political life. She will be an extremely hard act to follow but this is an ideal time to allow new talent to come forward.”

Jenny Jones, London Assembly Member and recent Green Mayoral Candidate said:
“The Green Party has made some massive breakthroughs in the past two years, since having Caroline as our Leader, in Parliament, in Brighton and most recently in London, where we are now the third party behind the Conservatives and Labour. Caroline’s decision not to seek re-election at this point is entirely in keeping with Green principles: it’s a strong move, allowing other talented people to come through and to take the Green Party even further forward. She has set a superb example of how to lead. Whoever is elected in her place has a tough act to follow.”

Nominations for leadership candidates are now open within the Party and will close towards the end of June. The new Leader (or Co-leaders) will take up the two year post in early September. No nominations have yet been received.

Caroline Lucas added: “We’re lucky to have a wealth of capability and experience in our Party. Now feels like the right time to step aside, to allow more of that ability to come forward and help the party to grow. I offer my very best wishes to the next Leader, whoever they may be.”

Caroline Lucas’ Article on the Guardian’s Comment is free - http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/15/caroline-lucas-why-stepping-down-green