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6 News The Founder | Thursday 11 March 2010 Pre-election debate: MPs, journalists and the Royal Holloway Debating Society Alexandra Sanson & Fiona Redding The Independent Live! Pre-Election Debate took place on February 3rd 2010, and three members of the Royal Holloway Debating Society attended in order to participate in the political discussions which are reaching their climax in the run-up to the general elections. Although no date has been officially set for the general elections, there is a legal requirement for polling stations to be open before June 2010. Politicians and journalists formed the panel, which was presided over by Steve Richards, the Independent’s chief political commentator. The MPs were Charles Clarke, Labour MP for Norwich South and former Home Secretary, and Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh. They were joined by Independent columnists Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Michael Brown; the latter is a former Conservative MP. The debate opened with each of the panellists offering their opinions about the British economy, society and globalisation. Charles Clarke expressed concerns that there had been an “insufficient assessment” of globalisation. His primary focus was the economy, stressing how the finance sector needed to be reevaluated in light of “utility” versus “casino” banking; he called for “less centralised government” and greater transparency of the tax system. The issue of centralised and local government became a theme throughout his speech, as he elaborated on public services reorienting their focus to the consumer’s needs, or the “patient, pupil and parent”. In response to green issues, he noted that society needs to undergo drastic “changes in behaviour”, in tandem with energy and transport policies. Clarke reflected that “we have to be more dependent on ourselves and our local communities.” Michael Brown offered a disparaging overview of the Conservative party’s shortcomings, commenting that the Tories are always liable to “snatch defeat from the jaws of victory”. Just a few months ago Brown was sure that David Cameron would “sleep-walk” his way into parliament; now, however, he does not believe that the Conservatives will be elected with an overall majority. He says that the Conservative’s economic policies are “unclear” and “confused”. Despite this, the Labour party are deeply unpopular amongst the British public, with 72% of the general public indicated in a recent poll that they do not want another Labour government. In Brown’s view, Cameron does not appreciate what being the leader of a country means, he simply fancies himself as the Prime Minister. In Yasmin Alibhai-Brown’s view, Britain should “never again be taken to war on a false premise”, alluding to the Iraq Inquiry currently taking place. Alibhai-Brown offered a characteristically metaphor-laden diatribe against “double standards”, saying that we have all “got to live by the same rules”. She talked about the “imperialist gene”, apparently written into our DNA, which we must get over in order to face the “Muslim question”. Tensions became evident in her speech however, when she followed her previous argument with the idea that the British government had “gone too far” in liberalising society, and that this was the cause of increased fundamentalism. The final speaker, Chris Huhne, followed Clarke in making the economy the primary focus of his speech. He spoke of the need to reinvent the economy in light of advances in renewable energy, calling for a “green revolution”. This issue, he emphasised, needs to be driven by policy change rather than technology and business demands. Huhne commented that society is still “deeply unfair”, but he was quick to point out that the increase in the gap between rich and poor has not happened as fast as it did under the Conservative government of the 1980s. Huhne was particularly vocal in calling for less of the “lumbering traditional central government”, devolving powers to local authorities and constituencies. He noted that the UK has the most centralised government in the EU, with 94 pence of every £1 going through Whitehall, compared to an EU average of approx. 50%. After the panellists had given their speeches, the debate was opened out to the floor and audience members invited to ask their own questions. We asked of all the panellists “Why is it that no political party will be drawn into the debate surrounding tuition fees?” The response that we received was a little less than illuminating. Chris Huhne restated the standard Liberal Democrat line that his party is committed to “free education” for all, and that he thought it “basic and sensible” that we should uphold this fundamental principle. He quickly qualified this with the observation that “fiscal constraints” prevent this from being possible. Charles Clarke, who was a key proponent in passing the legislation for top-up fees, reiterated the argument that “nothing in life is free”. Somebody “needs to pay” so it seems fair that the individual user pays for that service, given that they themselves benefit. In Clarke’s view the standard loan should not be means tested, since what a student’s parents earn is irrelevant once you are over 18 years of age. It seems that the choice has been made to prioritise funding for the government’s “Sure Start” policy, rather than higher education. “The Debt Question” was raised by several people, specifically with regard to what measures the panellists thought would be most effective in solving the UK’s debt problem. Charles Clarke called for an increase in taxes, “not cuts in public spending”; he stressed that we must discourage spending in the domestic sphere, and called for greater “regulations for private lending”. Michael Brown vehemently opposed Clarke’s arguments, remarking that there must be “nasty, vicious cuts…that will hurt the people”, that “there is no way of escaping pain”, and that we had better start now or else the situation will only get worse. Chris Huhne argued that we do not just need to increase taxes and make spending cuts: we need “the third ingredient” growth. He used the metaphor of a “lost generation” to illustrate the danger of plummeting self-esteem in a financially depressed period, as witnessed during the 1980s. Another theme of considerable concern to members of the general public was a complete ‘disillusionment with politics’: how will MPs engage with their constituencies and the electorate in order to combat the increased apathy that voters feel in the wake of the ongoing expenses scandal and the Chilcot Inquiry? Electoral reform seems particularly pertinent in light of the fact that 40% of all constituencies have never changed hands since WWII. Michael Brown restated his argument that “David Cameron simply wants to be Prime minister” and that the Conservative party are “scared of their own shadow”. In Brown’s view, it is a shame that the Conservatives will not coherently state their views on reform of the financial sector, since all voters have clear – and often united - views about regulating the industry and the bankers. When polled, the majority at the pre-election debate thought that there would be a hung parliament, and the majority wanted a hung parliament. A hung parliament occurs when there is no clear majority in the House of Commons; the last time there was a hung parliament in the UK was 1974, and before that 1929. Charles Clarke, a staunch anti-Brownite, suggested that a new Labour leader would have a good chance of winning a majority. Yasmin Alibhai-Brown called for a “new kind of party”, adding that a hung parliament was the most preferable outcome of the general election. Chris Huhne rather unsurprisingly remarked that people always underestimate the Liberal Democrats. Brown closed the debate by remarking that the Tories will most likely “stumble into office with a narrow majority.”
The Founder | Thursday 11 March 2010 News RHUL postgraduate running for Parliament in Anglesey Ashley Coates Anthony Ridge-Newman, 31, an ESRC doctoral researcher has been selected as the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Anglesey, the 278 square mile island in North Wales. If he succeeds he will become one of 3 Royal Holloway alumni sitting in the House of Commons. He is now living in Anglesey where he regularly meets local residents and has started learning Welsh. It has taken a lot of work to get this far. “I first had an interview with the South East Regional Director. That was just to get the application form. A ten page application form later, I was called to a Parliamentary Assessment Board, known as the P.A.B. This is a five hour interview which involves a number of tasks and assessments. Soon after I was told that I had passed my P.A.B. I was then placed on to the Conservative Party Parliamentary Candidates List.” The final stage of the selection process saw Anthony making a speech to the Anglesey Conservative Association along with the five other short-listed candidates. Like the elections for our sabbatical officers, a candidate has to gain a certain number of votes to win on the first ballot, or subsequent ballots will be called with the lowest scoring candidates being knocked-out at each stage. “It gave me great confidence that I was the right man for the job when I was elected on the first ballot. I have been told that the reason I won the selection was because I had thoroughly researched the local issues and I gave confident answers. I was able to do so because my fiancee, Victoria, and I had spent a good amount of time in the constituency before the selection meeting - talking to local people and getting to know the island”. Anthony gained a first class bachelor of science degree from his studies at the University of North Carolina and the University of Plymouth and a master’s from the University of Surrey. Having already been involved in student politics at his previous colleges, Anthony chose to focus his attention on wider political issues, founding Runnymede and Spelthorne Conservative Future. He was later elected as a Councillor for Runnymede Borough Council. He has enjoyed his time at Royal Holloway: “There is something for everyone at the College. The College has wonderful traditions, but it is also open to new ideas. The management team were a great support when I revived Formal Hall. I think being the Formal Hall Founding President has been the highlight of my time at Royal Holloway. I enjoy getting on and making things happen.” There are currently two Royal Holloway graduates sitting in Parliament: Gregory Barker MP (Conservative) and Norman Baker MP (Liberal). Mark Lloyd, another RHUL alumnus is the Conservative’s candidate for Bristol South. Gregory Barker left Royal Holloway with a BA in History and Modern Politics and has been the Conserva- tive MP for Bexhill and Battle since 2001. Barker was subject to a media furore in 2006 when the Daily Mirror revealed he had left his wife and children and, a few months later, was in a relationship with William Banks-Blaney an interior designer who counts Oprah Winfrey amongst his clients. Norman Baker graduated from Royal Holloway with a BA in History and German. He has been a Liberal Democrat MP since 1997 and has developed a reputation for being a thorough and honest politician. He stood down from the Liberal shadow cabinet in order to pursue his own investigation into the death of Dr David Kelly, the biological warfare expert who committed suicide after becoming embroiled in the clash between the BBC and Downing Street over the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Baker’s investigation “The Strange Death of Dr David Kelly” was serialised in the Daily Mail in 2007. Anthony has advice for students wanting to go into politics: “Think long and hard about whether you really want to do it. It is a tough process and it can be very stressful. You need to ask yourself a number of questions: (1) Am I prepared to have little free time? (2) Am I prepared to devote my life to helping others? (3) Am I prepared to do a lot of reading of documents? (4) Am I prepared to go that extra mile? (5) Am I prepared to get all the extra bits on my CV needed to make it in politics? (6) Why do I want to be a politician? (7) What do I believe in? (8) How can I make a difference? (9) Why do I want to make a difference? (10) Am I thick skinned enough? And if you get past that point and still think you would make a good politician then my advice is to join a local political party, get active in your community, have an opinion and make things happen. Take all the political and civic opportunities that come your way and get well networked.” RAG Week tackles bullying at Royal Holloway Amy Johnston & Kamran Kaveh RAG Week this year was another great success, raising not only money but awareness. Deciding this year that the money collected from RAG week should go to the charity Beatbullying, it is hoped that some help can be given to children affected by bullying, giving them the opportunity to dramatically improve their standard of life. Donations were collected throughout the week while stickers and wristbands were given out to raise awareness of the cause. On Wednesday, Rag held a Slave Auction in Medicine. Always extremely popular the event also proved very successful with slaves sold promising to do a variety of things included: cooking, cleaning and kayaking. The slave auction was followed by a themed “UV night” at the union. Thursday saw “Holloway’s Got Talent” showcase a wide variety of talent. The acts brought humour, amazing songs and raw talent to the crowd, until the winner was ultimately announced as Dan Wood- 7 ruff, a second year Classics student who captured the audience with his incredible guitar instrumental solo. On Friday, Rag held another Students Union themed-night entitled “Be a Hero” in which many entered into the spirit by dressing up as superheroes. The night emphasising the heroic work Rag has done throughout the week to raise and give as much for charity as possible. This was an enjoyable end to a highly entertaining and rewarding week. RAG week also raised important questions about bullying at university which goes on often unreported. After questioning several students, an alarming number of students spoke about how they have felt victimised or excluded during their time at university. Bullying is still an issue and it’s not something to be embarrassed about. It is vital that you talk to someone close to you before it gets out of hand and you can no longer cope. If this isn’t an option you should speak to your personal adviser to perhaps arrange some counselling or speak to the VP for Education and Welfare in the Students’ Union.
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