Last week there were further warnings from the Bank of England about the possibility of a recession. The new anthem for the Government seems to have gone from “Things can only get better” (Labour’s 1997 election theme tune) to “Things can only get worse”.
No domestic news coverage is complete without the prophets of doom predicting an impending economic downturn. However, there was a reason for optimism last week, as many of our young hopefuls received their A-level results, which again saw higher than ever pass rates.
Friday saw the opening ceremony of the long awaited Beijing Olympics, which has doubled up as China’s international debutante ball. China has always been a paradox for Western politicians, who want to benefit from her emerging economic power but have concerns regarding her domestic politics. However, these concerns seem Read more
I’ve been following the drama surrounding David Miliband’s recent Guardian article. The whole fiasco has started to resemble something out of a Shakespeare play - be it Julius Caesar or A Comedy of Errors, the plot becomes more complex by the day.
Political commentators have been trying to outdo The Bard with stories of naked ambition, treachery and plotting the ruler’s downfall. However, the beauty of Shakespeare is that, as well as telling a good story, his plays relate to all walks of life.
The Miliband saga is part of a dilemma we’ve all seen replicated in the workplace. The young ambitious corporate climber finds his/her fast track career halting as they’re expected to wait in line behind experience. The established manager may not necessarily be the better candidate for the hotly contested promotion. Nonetheless it’s not the done thing to upset the status quo.
However, when an opportunity presents itself, the dilemma is, should the ambitious younger candidate seize it or wait their turn? Would you try and overtake the colleague who hired you if you thought you could do a better job? The answer perhaps depends on how much value we put on the experience of elders.
We are witnessing a running thread in political debate of the legitimacy of experience challenged by the appeal of youth and change. We see McCain using Obama’s youth and celebrity-like popularity to question his suitability to lead. The American presidential election is undoubtedly being fought along the clear battle lines of change versus experience.
The battle between experience and youth was seemingly fought and won in the Conservative Party, with the ascent of David Cameron. What if this battle were to take place within Labour and be won by another David? How would this play out at a general election? Newer New Labour versus the New Tories? Both leaders could lay claim to represent youth and change.
The clear difference would come down to their policies and which of the two Davids would be better at communicating them to the electorate. Ironically, a shared first name isn’t the only thing they have in common. There are marked similarities between them.
Both are Oxford graduates, in their early forties with young families. Both see themselves as environmentalists. However Miliband is still one rung down from Cameron as he has yet to become leader of his party - though if the speculation is true, he might not have to wait too long.
Miliband’s article has caused many a Brownite to call for his dismissal, which would invariably weaken the Government’s front bench and suggest disunity within the ranks. What will probably happen is that there will be a discussion on how best to use Miliband’s abilities in government whilst addressing his current frustrations.
In any workplace where there are ambitious, capable young people who are frustrated, a discussion needs to take place. If someone has talent they need to be given an opportunity to show it, though that’s easier said than done if they are after the boss’s job.
For over sixty years our ’special relationship’ with America has always been cited as a central pillar of our foreign policy. Recently I’ve been spending quite a bit of time in the US, and this week I’ll be in both NY and LA.
It’s fair to say that there is a bit of a Brit invasion going on in America at the moment, what with David Beckham signing the biggest contract in American sports history, Piers Morgan landing his own chat show on NBC and not forgetting our very own ‘Mr. Nasty’ Simon Cowell, who is easily now one of the most famous or rather infamous men in America. Not to mention the countless number of talented young Brits who are popping up in Hollywood blockbusters left right and centre. This invasion along with my frequent trips has made me think a lot about Britain and America’s special relationship, it’s importance and relevance in the current climate.
We Brits often mock our transatlantic cousins for their lack of subtlety, over obvious humour and ‘bigger is better’ mentality. Meanwhile we still obsess over all things Hollywood, give daily thanks for the holy Google just before a Diet Coke break and all in the space of a New York minute.
However, with any true friendship there is a role for the friend who is honest enough to tell what you don’t always want to hear. The type of friend that says ‘Yes, your bum does look big in that’ or ‘No, I don’t think he’s the right guy for you’ or maybe even…. ‘Invading Iraq might not be such a good idea’.
Similar to Miranda and Carrie, we all need a friend who loves us enough to be honest without worrying that they’ll leave us off the guest list. After all, if you can’t be honest with a friend, how special is that relationship? Well let us hope that this is the type of honesty Britain has with the next American president, whoever that may be. This is our opportunity to influence the change in American foreign policy that the world has been waiting for.
To steal a phrase from Barack Obama ‘Yes We Can!’
For a great read on the special relationship between Britain and American, check out ‘The Atlantic Ocean’ by Andrew O’Hagan, it’s a fantastic group of essays that chronicles Thatcher to Katrina and everything in between.
Last weekend I was a guest on the Andrew Marr show, I reviewed the papers alongside the formidable Amanda Platell, who as always was on excellent form. The top story of the day was Britain’s ever growing knife problem, as two more fatalities brought the death total up to 20 in Read more
Yesterday I had the pleasure of hosting the Keep A Child Alive Gala Ball which was organized by the charity’s founders Leigh Blake and Alicia Keys. I was both thrilled and honoured to be invited to host an event which raises money for such a good cause, and boy did they pull out all the stops to get people’s attention. Read more
So we’ve officially been live for just over 24hrs, and what a 24hrs it’s been! First of all myself and the PATC team would like to say a huge THANKS for all of your messages of support, we’re all so excited and thrilled by the response we’ve had so far.
Last night we had our launch party at the ICA, luckily the weather held up (something it most certainly hasn’t done in London today), it was a fun event attended by an interesting and eclectic mix of politicians, celebrities, press and my old school teacher. Check out the Glossy Wire to see the pictures.
On a more serious note I was invited today to attend a panel meeting regarding a new campaign the Daily Mirror are launching to tackle the growing number of knife crimes being committed by young people in the UK.
Stop Knives Save Lives was started as a result of the ruthless and senseless killing of 16 year-old Ben Kinsella. The meeting was attended by senior members of the Police, former gang members and victims including East-Enders star Brooke Kinsella who spoke so eloquently about the anguish of her brother’s murder.
She also went on talk about what she thought the solutions were to stop the violence. She pleaded with Home Office minister Tony McNulty (who also attended) to create a booklet for every parent and secondary school child warning them about the impact of knife crimes and the devastating effect it has on all sides, including the families of the perpetrators. This will be a lifelong fight of hers and she’s determined not to allow her brother’s death to have been in vain.
Overall the discussion was enlightening and extremely productive, the Mirror has produced a list of five demands that they are presenting to the government.
SKSL FIVE DEMANDS:
1. Give our police tools to catch knife thugs
2. Launch amnesty to bring in the blades
3. Nurses must report treating stab victims
4. Teach all pupils that knives solve nothing
5. Texts and internet will help win battle
These are exactly the sort of actions that can help save young lives. However, I feel there should also be more emphasis on what preventative measures can be taken. I had a rather heated debate with Tony McNulty about this, as I felt he was failing to realise that the threat of prison no longer scares a lot of young criminals and we need to take a more rounded approach in dealing with them. This is not the first time Tony and I have publicly disagreed, the same thing happened a few weeks ago when we were both guests on Question Time. On both occasions we respectfully agreed to disagree.
When I hear both David Cameron and Gordon Brown talk about tougher sentencing for knife crimes, I can’t help but wonder why neither of them are focusing sufficiently on what we can do to ensure these young people don’t carry knives and, more importantly, don’t use them.
It seems to me there is an erosion of the moral compass of these knife-wielding youngsters which, at it’s core, stems from an immense lack of self-esteem. This has desensitised them from caring about their own lives and therefore they do not value the lives of others.
We live in a society of instant gratification, which teaches its young to act on impulse. It’s imperative that we create a framework where disenfranchised youth realise that crime and violence are not the only options and that there are serious consequences to harming or indeed taking another life.
We need a much more effective state education system which not only demands excellence from its pupils but also focuses on their emotional wellbeing. This is a problem that we must tackle together as a nation - irrespective of race, class or region.
I genuinely believe we can solve this issue, but we need cross-party unity to ensure that this stays at the top of the political agenda.
For more information on STOP KNIVES SAVE LIVES click here:
Hello and Welcome to Politics & the City, the team and I are so excited to be up and running, this site has been a real labor of love and we hope you’ll be pleased with the results. PATC fuses politics/news with entertainment, fashion and music, we understand how hard it is to keep abreast of what’s going on in the world, so hopefully we’ll be able to help you do just that.
Over the next few weeks we have blogs coming from an eclectic group of inspiring and interesting women including: Kylie and Danni Minogue, Kathy Lette, Shami Chakrabarti, Anna Friel, Jacqueline Gold, Baroness Amos, Theresa May MP and many more……
The first blog comes to us from British supermodel Lily Cole, being one of the most sought after models in the world Lily is forever on a plane and this time was no exception, she sent me her post via her Blackberry while about to take off from New York. She’s a great writer and a big music lover, her post is an informative yet humorous account of her week gig hopping.
We also have a new animation starting called Sally Dunn Accidental MP, it’s a sardonic tale of a butterfingered journalist who accidentally becomes MP for a tough London borough while trying to balance her ill-fated love life. It’s a funny light-hearted animated comedy I think you’ll enjoy.
Take a browse around the site familiarise yourself and we look forward to receiving any comments you may have.
Much Love,
Junexxxx
