Concrete venue 312

election2015

Issue 28.04.15

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Controversies for UEA union delegates at NUS conference 08 >> Chris Jarvis criticises Connor Rand’s campaign on Twitter >> Rand accused of sexual harrassment for slogan “Get Randy” Geri Scott Editor-in-Chief Chris Jarvis, Campaigns and Democracy Officer at the Union of UEA Students (UUEAS), heavily criticised a colleague’s election campaign on Twitter at last week’s National Union of Students’ (NUS) conference. Jarvis used the social media platform to campaign against Connor Rand’s bid for election to the NUS National Executive Committee (NEC); Rand is the Undergraduate Education Office of the UUEAS. Jarvis accused Rand of: supporting redundancies at UUEAS; of speaking in favour of war; and of opposing free education. Jarvis’s tweets used the official “#NUSconference” hashtag, as well as Rand’s own campaign hashtag, “#GetRandy”, to gain exposure.

When asked for comment, Jarvis said: “This year’s NUS Conference saw some fantastic results. UEA delegates successfully submitted policy to conference for the first time in years, calling on NUS to campaign for better course organisation and management.

“What was also exciting was that the leadership of the NUS elected this year is much more progressive than in the past – we hope to see a more radical and fighting NUS now that will stop further education cuts and not compromise on tuition fees”. He did not wish to comment on the on

the tweets specifically.

Rand’s campaign attracted further controversy when he was accused of sexual harrassment for using the slogan “Get Randy”.

He also allegedly handed out condoms to delegates while campainging.

What seems to have started as a play on words has gotten Rand into hot water, as the slogan appears to have offended a small number of other delegates. On Twitter, ‘Sugilite’ said that it was “completely fucking inappropriate and potentially triggering for lots of people”, while Amelia Horgan tweeted that “#GetRandy is a deeply uncomfortable

slogan”.

Regarding the use of condoms, Sugilite added that: “If some random man shoved a condom in my face and asked me to get randy I would be seriously unhappy”. It has been suggested to Concrete that this may break the NUS’s zero tolerance to sexual harassment policy, which UUEAS also follows. The policy states that “examples of unacceptable behaviour include [...] unwelcome sexual invitations, innuendos and offensive gestures”.

On the topic of the NUS conference and the response on Twitter, Rand said: “I ran for election to the NUS executive on a platform of exactly the sort of student education issues I’ve been elected on twice to represent UEA students – like better teaching, learning resources and student funding. I’ve been delighted with the support I’ve received from people across the UK. “I’ve always been open and honest about my politics and the fact that I belong to a political party. I won’t be bullied or intimidated in my fight for a more relevant movement and to be honest I think it’s negative comments that put students off politics in general. I’ll continue to work to make students’ unions and NUS more student focussed, whether that’s nationally or [at UEA]”.

Rand’s candidacy attracted further controversy when Chris Jarvis, both the union’s Campaigns and Democracy Officer and lead delegate at the conference, took to Twitter to campaign against Rand. The conference took place

09

Britain needs a Trident replacement

The polarisation of European politics

venue has cake, eats it

Continued on page 4

NUS to campaign against MPs who voted in favour of tuition free rise Emily Rivers News reporter The National Union of Students (NUS) has launched a Payback Time campaign aimed at unseating MPs who pledged to vote against any rise in tuition fees.

Billboards bearing the slogan “Liar liar” will be unveiled in Sheffield, Manchester and London, and advertising vans displaying similar messages will be targeting the 38 seats, mainly held by Liberal Democrats, where the MPs broke the pledge they made before the last election to oppose fee rises.

All 57 of the party’s MPs signed up to the NUS pledge in 2010, but 28 of them voted to treble tuition fees to £9,000 after entering into

a coalition with the Conservatives. Eight were absent or abstained, and are being considered as having broken their pledge by NUS. As well as the 36 Lib Dem MPs that the NUS say broke their promise, two Conservative MPs are also being targeted in the campaign. The remaining 21 Lib Dem MPs voted against the rise, including Norwich South MP Simon Wright, whom Concrete has contacted for comment.

“We won’t let them trade lies for power again,” said NUS president Toni Pearce. “I’d like to say directly to Nick Clegg that your apology won’t cover any of the £40,000 debt that students will graduate with for the first time this summer. They pledged to scrap tuition fees – they lied. We represent seven million students and are urging every single

one across the country to vote against broken pledges”.

Speaking to the Huffington Post, a Lib Dem spokesperson said: “We didn’t win the

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The number of Liberal Democrats who broke their pledge over trebling tuition fees.

election, so we couldn’t deliver every policy that we wanted to,” before going on to say that “The system now is fairer than Labour’s fees system. No one pays up front, no one pays a penny until they earn £21,000, and graduates who go on to earn less in their careers will pay less than those who earn more”.

An NUS poll shows that 54% of students believe the tuition fee policy has failed.

Its polling also suggests that Labour look to make the biggest gains from their vote, on 25%. The Conservatives were on 17%, the Green Party 15%, Ukip on 6% and the Lib Dems on just 4%.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said “I’m not prime minister, I lead a party of 8% of MPs in the House of Commons, there was no money left... But I actually think what we did was incredibly impressive for the smaller party in the coalition, all our front page priorities we stuck to – and we will do so again”.

Clegg is expected to be heavily targeted in the campaign, after famously apologising for having made the pledge in 2012. Polls currently imply that he will hold on to his seat in Sheffield Hallam after winning a narrow number of the votes.

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Editorial

editor’s column THE

Geri Scott Editor-in-Chief

T “Thank you especially to my Deputy Editor, Peter Sheehan, without whom I could not have made it through this year”

here are articles scattered throughout Concrete and Venue this issue that tend to have themes surroundings endings, and that’s because this is our last issue for the academic year of 2014-15. That said, do watch out for a special souvenir publication form us around the end of May for Radio 1’s Big Weekend.

It’s been an incredible year for this publication, our writing is better than ever before. We’ve smashed records in terms of society members, social media followers and website views. We’ve become award-winning, and along with Livewire 1350 and UEA:TV we have developed the UEA Media Collective into a crosscollaborative, multi-platform group. This means that we’ve been able to bring you a variety of ways to report on big events such as Derby Day, and, soon, Radio 1’s Big Weekend.

This year, Concrete has come on leaps and bounds and will only be improved further as time goes on. We’re not completely sure on the details of next year yet, but if you want to get

involved on an editorial level and continue our success, more details will be revealed in mid-May. Over and over again this year, our writers have been praised for their detailed, professional and, when necessary, tasteful reporting. Every now and again, this has meant we haven’t been first to the story (although we’ve broken our fair share of exclusives), but it’s meant that our articles are fair and balanced.

At any writing careers events that you attend, you’ll be told that writing for your student newspaper is an excellent way to start.

So why not start with the Student Publication Association’s Highly Commended Student Newspaper of the Year?

For me, this year has been a challenge, one that I’ve often enjoyed and worried about at the same time. It hasn’t always been easy, as a voluntary position never is, but it has been incredibly rewarding and it will leave a big space in my life that I’ll miss.

Thank you to my senior editorial team, especially my Deputy Editor Peter Sheehan without whom I could not have made it through this year. And to my section editors, who have consistently hard to make their sections the best they can be. Will Cockram has been especially impressive at running the website and being responsible for the Concrete rebrand. But, most of all, the 700 writers we have on our books are the ones who make the publication come alive. I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved this year, and I’m ever so sad to see it come to an end.

Revolutionary election advice from the enemy of democracy

Dear Marx, Should I sully my hands with the degrading horrors of democracy in order to advance the cause of the revolution?

Comrade! It is hard, when living in the immoral and decadent West, to remain clean. But the success of the revolution is too great a goal to ignore: pursue it at all costs, even if that means making the “hard choices” that David Cameron is always farting on about. When we are victorious, we can seek purification.

Comrade! There will always be those whose hearts remain closed to the truth of the manifesto and of the cause of workers everywhere!

Pity them, but do not forget that they are class enemies! Is is lamentable that the representative of the bourgeoisie sits in your Number Ten Downing Street.

But let the possibility of a capitalist victory be the spur to all communists this election-tide. Let the image of Cameron’s shiny visage be ever before you as you battle for the hearts and minds of your un-believing associates.

Channel your hatred into your struggle!

Dear Marx, Who will you be voting for in Norwich South?

Comrade! I will of course, be voting for Steve Emmens, the Ukip candidate... Lol, just kiddin’. Blates.

It is regrettable that the good people of this Norfolk constituency cannot vote for a true communist: no believer is standing for your sham parliament. So I recommend that you make the strength of your revolutionary fervour known by voting for me, your glorious figurehead, as a writein candidate. Sure, that doesn’t count in this jurisdiction, but the capitalists will have to take note as millions of voices cry aloud in unity in support

of the revolution!

Dear Marx, Do you believe the Tories’ pledge to deliver Norwich in 90 minutes on the trains?

Comrade! Pah! The capitalists will tempt you with all manner of superficial blandishments in order to give you false class consciousness and distract you from the struggles of the life of the honest worker!

Believe none of it! Question everything! And never lose sight of the true goal: victory for the international proletariat! All power to the soviets!

As revealed to Peter Sheehan Complaints If you wish to make a complaint about an article in the paper or on the website, or about a social media post, please email the editor (concrete.editor@uea.

Union House University of East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ 01603 593466 www.concrete-online.co.uk

Editor-in-Chief Geri Scott concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk Deputy Editor Peter Sheehan concrete.deputy@uea.ac.uk Managing Editor Ella Gilbert concrete.managingeditor@uea.ac.uk Website Administrator Will Cockram concrete.online@uea.ac.uk News Dan Falvey concrete.news@uea.ac.uk Global Oliver Hughes concrete.global@uea.ac.uk Comment Joe Jameson concrete.comment@uea.ac.uk Features Courtney Pochin concrete.features@uea.ac.uk Science&Environment Jacob Beebe concrete.scienv@uea.ac.uk

AskMarx Dear Marx, Why is David Cameron?

The University of East Anglia’s “infectioualy readable”* student newspaper since 1992

ac.uk) to explain the precise nature of your complaint and to clearly indicate the relevant article, passage or sentence. We will be pleased to respond as soon as we are able.

Corrections In News Eats Man, Becky Lamming and Matt Champion were miscredited. We apologise for this mistake.

Travel Jodie Snow concrete.travel@uea.ac.uk Lifestyle Becca Bemment concrete.lifestyle@uea.ac.uk Sport James Newbold & Kat Lucas concrete.sport@uea.ac.uk Chief Copy Editors Helena Bradbury & Frances McKeown concrete.copy@uea.ac.uk Chief Photographers Will Cockram & Jacob Roberts-Kendal concrete.photography@uea.ac.uk Distribution Manager Amit Puntambekar concrete.distribution@uea.ac.uk

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Concrete welcomes all letters and emails, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Letters should be addressed to the editor-in-chief, and include contact details. All emails should be sent to concrete.editor@uea. ac.uk. We will consider anonymous publication, and reserve the right to edit for length and clarity. Anonymous article submissions are permitted. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the newspaper.

No part of this newspaper may be reproduced through any means without the express permission of the editor, Geraldine Scott. Published by UUEAS Concrete Society ©2015 Concrete BMc ISSN 1351-2773

NEWS

Open University warns that a drop in part time students is bad for the economy Page 5

BBC announces line up for Radio 1’s Big Weekend Faith Ridler News reporter With the Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Earlham Park drawing closer, the BBC have announced full details of the acts performing.

The line-up was revealed by Scott Mills on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show on Monday 20th April, and with tickets for the event selling out in 40 minutes, it was much anticipated.

It was confirmed in January that Radio 1’s Big Weekend would be coming to Norwich; taking place in Earlham Park on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th of May. Taylor Swift was confirmed as a performer alongside this announcement, with Florence + the Machine and BBC Introducing act Context – who are originally from Norwich – having joined the Big Weekend over the past few months.

Monday’s announcement completed this much coveted line-up, and the acts are as follows: Saturday will see Devon-born trio Muse headline the main stage, with The Vaccines, Florence + the Machine, Fall Out Boy, David Guetta, Charli XCX, Ben Howard, and 5 Seconds of Summer performing throughout the day.

The In New Music We Trust stage is to be headlined by Circa Waves, preceded by Ella Eyre, Hozier, Jess Glynne, Mallory Knox, Slaves, Snoop Dogg, Years & Years, and Rudimental.

Norwich-born act Context is also set to play the BBC Introducing stage on the Saturday.

Sunday will be headlined by American rockers Foo Fighters, with performances from Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Rita Ora, Olly Murs, Imagine Dragons, George Ezra, and Clean Bandit on the Big Weekend’s main stage.

Alt-J are to top the bill on the In New Music We Trust stage, following Catfish & the Bottlemen, James Bay, Jungle, Lower Than Atlantis, Raury, Sigma, SOAK, and Jamie T. For those who were unsuccessful in getting tickets, the students’ union has announced they will be streaming the whole event for students in the LCR to ensure an enjoyable weekend for all.

Earlham Park cafe to remain open during Big Weekend Megan Baynes News reporter A local café is getting a slice of the action at Radio 1’s Big Weekend.

After gaining over 12,000 signatures on their online petition, the Earlham Park Café has been told they will be allowed to open and

Doggystyle Snoop Dogg to appear at Big Weekend

Union news round-up Vice Chancellor visits Council At the last meeting of Union Council on the 16th of April, David Richardson, UEA’s Vice Chancellor, visited Council in order to relay some of the initial feedback from the first stage of consultations for UEA’s 2030 vision.

After giving an in depth account of the responses, the Vice Chancellor took questions for union councillors on the vision, and other issues. Elliot Folan, of Doctor Who society, asked Richardson to commit to ensuring that every building on campus would have at least one gender neutral toilet, which received the support of a number of councillors.

Plenty of time was given to this section of the evening, alowing for as many officers as possible to ask questions to the Vice Chancellor.

Christian Union constitution approved At the previous session of Council, UEA Christian Union (CU) submitted a constitution proposal in front of Council, but councillors felt they were unable to vote on the motion, due to there being no representative from the Christian Union present.

The motion was subsequently carried over, and with speakers from the CU present Council was free to pass the motion, which saw the CU become associated with the Union of UEA Students. This followed a series of intense questions over the nature of the constitution, which was non-standard, in order to better reflect the workings of the CU.

Saturday Main stage >> Muse >> Florence + The Machine >> 5 Seconds of Summer >> David Guetta >> Ben Howard >> The Vaccines >> Fall Out Boy >> Charli XCX

Motion on international law in Palestine

Sunday In New Music We Trust stage >> Snoop Dogg >> Rudimental >> Jess Glynne >> Hozier >> Years & Years >> Ella Eyre >> Slaves >> Mallory Knox >> Circa Waves

Main stage >> Foo Fighters >> Taylor Swift >> Sam Smith >> Rita Ora >> George Ezra >> Clean Bandit >> Olly Murs >> Imagine Dragons

In New Music We Trust stage >> Jamie T >> Alt-J >> Sigma >> Catfish and the Bottlemen >> Jungle >> James Bay >> SOAK >> Raury >> Lower Than Atlantis

Council was presented with a motion which would seek to get the university’s support for Palestinian students, in face of human right abuses allegedly committed

by Israel. The motion, which passed, ensures the union maintains its support for Palestinians living in the West Bank, as well as continuing its boycott of Israeli universities.

The meeting was very heated, and a number of councillors gave impassioned speeches both for and against the motion, including Undergraduate Education Officer Connor Rand. Rand spoke out against the motion, and said that, by supporting this, Council would not help the peace process in the West Bank.

Snoop Dog: Wiki, gcardinal; Olly Murs: Wiki, ARPhotography ; Rita Ora: Wiki, Firdaus Latif

trade from their premises as normal during the weekend. Tickets for the event sold out in just forty minutes, and 50,000 music fans are set to descend on the park over the course of the weekend.

Ingrid Henry, who runs the café with her husband, said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us over the last week, including our regular customers and all the people from Norwich, Norfolk and beyond”.

Despite being the only local business already existing in the park, they were originally told they would have to close over the weekend, because the café would fall under the backstage area, causing outrage because the BBC would be bringing in other

vendors. It is not known yet whether the café will still fall under that area, or if the stage has been moved.

Henry said: “They said on the news it was going to be a boost for the Norfolk and Norwich economy and you can’t get more of a local business than us who are actually in the park.”

A spokesperson for Norwich City Council said: “The City Council and Radio 1 have reached an agreement with the leaseholders of Earlham Park Café which will allow them to trade from their premises during the Big Weekend.

“The whole of Norwich is looking forward to some great music and we hope they enjoy a very busy trading weekend”.

Confusion over the union’s constitution The 16th April was Council’s last session of this academic year, and had a particularly long agenda. However, 11 motions remained un-debated following a procedural motion which saw a guillotine fall at 23:20. The confusion was caused by the importance of votes, as well as a technical issue with the electronic voting system which ensures that Council’s balloting method is kept anonymous.

Union Council is the representative body of the UUEAS. It decides policy and holds student union officers to account.

4

Students grill general election candidates Yan Malinowski News reporter The parliamentary candidates for Norwich South descended on UEA last week, to take part in a two hour long debate in which they were questioned by students on issues that matter to young people ahead of the election on 7th May. Those in attendance included the incumbent, Simon Wright MP of the Liberal Democrats, Clive Lewis for Labour, the Conservative candidate, Lisa Townsend, and Lesley Grahame of the Green part. Ukip’s Steven Emmens was unable to attend due to a ‘prior engagement’. Class War’s David Peel and the independent candidate Cengiz Ceker were not invited to the event by the Student’s Union, attracting some controversy, however when offered the chance to deliver statements for the chair of the event, Campaigns & Democracy Officer Chris Jarvis to read out on the behalf, declined to submit any material.

The event, attended by over 250 students, saw the candidates questioned on issues ranging from higher education funding, to support for the NHS and on how they would vote if presented with an austerity budget.

The most controversial comments of the evening were made by Lisa Townsend who was met with boos in the room and a negative backlash on twitter when she expressed support for further privatisation of the Health Service. Clive Lewis’s comments towards the end of the debate in which he suggested that other parties represented a ‘dystopian future’ and that a Labour government would be ‘sunshine and rainbows’ in comparison was met with cynical and puzzled laughter among those in the room.

The Labour candidate, who is assumed to be the front runner in the race for Norwich South, also caused a stir by distancing himself

UEA lecturer sentenced for sexual assault Geri Scott Editor-in-Chief

Hustings with the Norwich South candidates in LT2 Photo: Twitter, UUEAS from his party’s policy on continued budget cuts in the next parliament and attracted a negative response on twitter when a picture was taken of him, by a student in the audience, looking bored and uncaring while other candidates were speaking.

Despite this, however, Mr Lewis still received the biggest applause following his closing statement, in which he reiterated the words of his party leader Ed Miliband, stating “Ultimately at this election the choice is clear and it is about who you want in Downing Street after the election, and if you vote for me

we can help make sure that that isn’t David Cameron”.

Simon Wright received praise on twitter for his support for Liberal Democrat plans to improve the way mental health is treated within the NHS and his opposition to the infamous increase of tuition fees in 2010.

Conversely Lesley Grahame, who was unable to say much during the hustings, due to illness, managed to receive strong applause for her party’s policy on the environment and for being part of the only anti-austerity party on the panel.

Union celebrates inspiring UEA lecturers Rob Drury News reporter

A senior lecturer from UEA’s Norwich Medical School has been given a 16-month suspended jail sentence from Norwich Crown Court, as well as being placed on the sex offenders register, for sexually assault a 19-year-old woman. Gabriel Muntugi, who has been lecturing at UEA in Physiology, School of Medicine, Health and Policy Practice since 2004 admitted sexually assaulting the woman when they were alone watching a film. The woman is not thought to be connected with his work at the university. Muntugi’s staff profile page on the UEA website says that his role was to “teach physiology to all undergraduate students enrolled in the MBBS degree programme”.

Michael Clare, representing Mutungi, said that he regretted his actions and that by pleading guilty he had spared the victim the ordeal of coming to court. He went on to say that it would be a disaster for UEA for his wife, family and students if he went straight into custody. However, UEA has made clear that Muntugi is no longer on campus. A university spokesperson said: “The university can confirm that Gabriel Mutungi is not at work while UEA investigates matters in light of the recent court case.

“We take the duty of care to our students extremely seriously and alternative teaching arrangements have been made for any students whose studies are affected. Any students who have any concerns relating to this matter can contact Margaret Bunting in Norwich Medical School (m.bunting1@uea.ac.uk) or should seek confidential advice and support from the Dean of Students’ Office”.

Controversy at NUS national conference Continued from front page

Monday 13th April saw the inaugural Transforming Teaching Awards ceremony at the Union of UEA Students. The awards, brainchild of the Education and Engagement department of the union, received over 300 nominations after an eight-week period of nominating for the best teaching and support staff from the University.

Awards ranged from most inclusive attitude to the most innovative approach to teaching, with particular awards set aside for

on 21st – 23rd April. According to NUS, it is the “sovereign policy-making body of NUS and bring together nearly a thousand delegates from students’ unions across the country to discuss, debate and vote on motions and elect the political leadership for the year ahead”.

Attending on behalf of UUEAS were Jarvis, Rand, Adam Curtis, Holly Staynor (Community, Welfare and Diversity Officer) and Amy Rust. These delegates were elected

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“It was fantastic for the union to proudly acknowledge teaching staff who have made a real difference to students’ lives” support staff that provide outstanding levels of care for students. Shortlists were drawn for each category with a range of nominees for each faculty being drawn up.

Winners on the night expressed gratitude and warmth to the student body for nominating them, with one winner expressing how touched she was to know she “was doing an okay job” – with okay seeming to be far below the yardstick for the winners of the awards.

Non-Portfolio Officer Tom Etheridge said

News

Psychology lecturer Neil Cooper accepts his award Photo: Marcus Skov for Concrete of the night: “It was fantastic for the union to proudly acknowledge the work of those members of teaching staff who have made a real difference to students’ lives. The huge number of nominations received proves that UEA has some truly inspiring teachers, and it was amazing to see the many ways that they are recognising the needs of our diverse student population”.

Those receiving the awards included

Eylem Atakav from the AMA school, renowned for her work on women, Islam and the media and her popular module of the same name here at UEA, and Neil Cooper, a winner of the inclusive teaching category and overall winner of the transformation teacher award.

The night also featured entertainment from the student body, featuring the likes of Laura Goldthorp, winner of Livewire1350’s Livewire Presents event earlier this year.

The number of votes cast in last year’s NUS delegate election

in November 2014. At the time, Concrete reported on the disappointing turnout in the election: just 228 votes were cast. As lead delegate, Jarvis was elected by the 2014-15 union officer team.

Rand was running for a position on the NEC’s Block of 15. This body is comprised of 15 individually elected members. Five are from ‘zone committees’, two are from the mature, part-time and postgraduate committees, and one member is drawn from each of the black, disabled and women’s liberation groups, the international students section and the three nations. With the other officers who sit on the NEC, they are responsible for setting policy and ensuring that it is properly implemented Results for the election to the NEC are expected this week.

News

5

Photo: Wikimedia, Eduard STOICA

Open University warns of fall in part time student numbers Dan Falvey News editor The Open University has warned that the fall in the number of students in the UK studying part time will lead to lost opportunities for individuals and the economy.

The newly appointed head of the institution, Peter Horrocks, spoke of the trend in his inaugural speech on 23rd April when he called for part-time education to be made much bigger priority of governments. He has called for universities, employers and the government to “break down barriers” to part time studying claiming that there has been a 37% drop in part-time study since 2010.

“Last year, there were almost 370,000

people studying for an undergraduate degree on a part-time basis in the UK. Five years ago, there were more than 580,000. That’s a decline of 37% in just five years and 200,000 life opportunities that have been lost”, the exDirector of BBC World Service said.

He went on to claim that: “I think each of those lost opportunities is a tragedy. A tragedy for those individual lives. A tragedy for their families. But also a tragedy for our wider society and economy”.

The Open University chief highlighted that: “Part-time higher education is just too valuable – to society, to the economy and to those citizens who should have equal access to that opportunity to study. We need to fight to make sure that people continue to have that opportunity; we need to make sure we

do more than just get part-time noticed – we need it to be cherished and valued, and most importantly, sustained”.

Harrocks is not the first person to speak out about the problems with decreasing number of students studying part-time. Last year a Higher Education Funding Council study looked at why the number of students wishing to study part-time was decreasing at such a rapid rate while the number of people enrolled on full time higher education courses was increasing.

The report concluded that the increase in tuition fees to £9,000 was largely responsible for the decline.

Following the trebling of fees in 2011, universities saw a temporary decline in the number of students applying to study.

However, since this initial drop in applications the number of students studying full time has risen to a record higher while part time applications have continued to decline.

Between 2002 and 2010 the number of students studying part-time for an undergraduate degree in England persistently sat at around 43%. However, this figure has seen a dramatic drop to just 27% a decade later.

“You don’t need me to tell you that the part-time sector is facing a challenging time – the figures speak for themselves”, Horrocks, stated in relation to the drop.

The Open University, who specialise in part time study, have been particularly hit by the fall, having seen a decrease of more than a quarter of its total student numbers over the past five years.

The NUS lacks diversity, claims study by Surrey Uni to support themselves whilst studying are also much less likely to have the time to “network and establish friendship groups that form the basis of most election bids”.

Working while at university can be an important and valuable use of students’ time, but involvement in union politics ought to be

Jessica Frank-Keyes News reporter In the light of last month’s student’s union elections at UEA and the lack of diversity perceived in the results, the news that a study by the University of Surrey has discovered that union leadership is “unreflective of the students they represent” presents an interesting question.

The study considers whether students’ unions can still be an active, democratic and valuable part of students’ lives and wellbeing if they are overwhelmingly “dominated by middle-class white men?”

The study suggests that women and minority group members are often “relegated to more junior sabbatical posts”, and that while female students have made up seven of the past 15 NUS presidents, researchers found that they are “far less likely to attain senior roles at branch level”. 2010 findings by the National Union of Students appear to be confirmed by this study.

The NUS revealed that while “47% of union officer roles were held by women”, they only made up 28% of university students’ union presidents. This implies that as a whole group across the board, women are less involved with student politics and have less representation.

Another group of students experiencing under representation in union roles at a national

28

that have female % unions presidents

Photo: Geography.co.uk, N Chadwick level are those from black and ethnic minority groups.

These students make up 17% of all university places nationwide but are currently only constituting 11% of officers. Gay students, however, make up approximately 11% of sabbatical officers compared to 6% of students

and are the one minority group that is welleven over-represented.

However, the paper also contains perhaps even more important information about the impact of economic differences on union representation. Students who come from poorer backgrounds that require them to work

The percentage of students’

something that is open to anyone regardless of their financial situation and unions should take this into consideration and aim to make standing for election an opportunity available to any student who wishes to be involved.

One of the report’s authors, Rachel Brooks, a professor of sociology at Surrey University stated that it is “vital for unions to reflect the wider student body” and emphasised the “increasingly key role” they play in forming university policies and attitudes.

UEA’s recent student elections held in March resulted in the four male full-time officers returning to their posts for another year. Holly Staynor, the female full-time officer for Welfare, Community and Diversity who has chosen to step down at the end of the year will be replaced by Jo Swo. This suggests that the balance of gender and ethnicities within the group did not change.

6

Global

Spinning away from the centre

P

olitics has always been a two way street: right or left – take your pick. In recent decades that decision has become decreasingly important as all major parties started to drift towards the centre of the political spectrum to try and attract as wide a support base as possible. If David Cameron or Ed Miliband get much closer to the centre they’ll be bumping heads before much longer.

Whilst Britain’s three major parties are all sat very comfortably in the middle of the political target, those we previously deemed as political outsiders or “specific interest parties”, those who have stayed true to their left or right wing ideology as far as possible, have started to see a growth in popularity, a trend that has been developing across the continent.

In the UK, the specific interest party that has seen the biggest growth in recent years is Ukip. A nationalist and highly controversial political organisation headed by privately educated former businessman Nigel Farage, Ukip have filled the spot of “fourth Westminster party”, a position that, five years ago, many people would never have thought could have existed.

Ukip’s main point of policy is the idea that being a member of the European Union is damaging the UK. Immigration issues, economic issues, legislation issues, issues with the funding of the NHS: according to Ukip all of these problems are caused at least in part, if not wholly, as a result of our relationship with the EU. The first move of a Ukip majority government would be to remove the UK from this organisation, if not immediately then via the means of a referendum. Ukip’s hard line right wing approach to politics, especially in relation to immigration and European relations has earned them the title amongst many as ‘the racist party’, however, that has not prevented them from having a successful campaign up to May’s election, the party expected to win anything between four and six seats.

The right-wing rebirth that Ukip represent can be evidenced all across Europe.

The Front Nationale (FN) in France has been growing similarly to Ukip in Britain. A right wing, socially conservative party, the FN won its first seats in the French Senate in September last year, ensuring that the socialist government and their left-wing allies lost their majority in France’s most important political chamber. The party, who have strongholds in the south of the country, have been growing steadily in popularity over the last ten years; however, they have seen a recent surge in popularity

Low turnout: the forgotten franchise Murray Roy Global writer What does it mean when voter turnout is low? How worried should we be about voter apathy? Which factors are at play that encourage more enthusiasm among certain populations for elections that are absent in others? These are just a few of the myriad of questions that politicos in this country are faced with as 7th May draws closer. In the general election of 2010 the turnout statistics

Photo: dailyslave; Farage: Wikimedia, Dghsdfh

Caitlin Doherty takes a look at how politics in Europe is becoming ever more polarised

paint a worrying picture in which almost 40% of the eligible population did not cast a vote in the election. With hung parliaments and coalitions set to become a regular feature of the political landscape in the United Kingdom, it’s hard not to wonder how different the balance would be if those people had voted, and what could be done to combat all this apathy. A glance at the statistics for national elections in other parliamentary democracies shows a massive disparity in turnout from country to country, and it has been the task of political scientists for decades to work out the reasons for this disparity.

Attempting to establish common denominators of equal high voter turnout or low voter turnout is incredibly challenging.

There is undoubtedly an innumerable array of combinations of institutional and demographical factors that lead to high or low turnouts. However, there are a few generally discernable patterns that emerge when we look at the data on national elections. Naturally

in the wake of the Charlie Hébdo attacks on Paris, especially in terms of their tough stance on immigration and French nationality.

One of the most extreme of these right wing groups can be found in Germany. Pegida, Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West, or Patriotische Europäer Gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes, as they are known in Germany, are a far-right nationalist group who define themselves as an opposition to Islam.

Founded only in October 2014 in Dresden, it has not taken a long time for this group to make a heavy impact across the continent; offshoots of the group have already held protests in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Spain and the UK. Whilst the growth of the two aforementioned groups has coincided with the growth in Islamaphobia, a racist sentiment disguised as concerns for economics and immigration, Pegdia openly declare their distaste for the Muslim faith and their desire to eradicate it from their country. This extreme right wing ideology has been shunned by many people in German public life: Angela

Merkel alongside many German celebrities and sportspeople have publically declared their distaste for the group, and when the group recently attempted to hold a protest in front of the world famous Cologne cathedral, the floodlights were extinguished by the local authority as a mark of disrespect. Having said that, public affinity for the group is high, with 53% of East Germans and 48% of West Germans ‘showing understanding’ for the group.

However, It’s important to remember the scale of these successes. Ukip hold only two seats in the House of Commons, a miniscule number contained to the Lib Dems’ 56 and the hundreds held by both the Conservatives and Labour. Nigel Farage is not about to become Prime Minister any time soon, just as it will be a long time before we see Marine Le Pen take the French Presidency. The significance of these parties resides in the fact that for the first time in a long time, there is a threat posed to the Big Three in Westminster and the political powerhouses in parliaments across Europe.

Two party system? Not for much longer.

the countries with enforced compulsory voting see the highest turnouts. A well-known example of this is Australia, in which 93.23% of the population voted in their 2013 elections.

However, critics in Australia argue that this picture does not mean an enthusiastic, engaged electorate, and hiding behind the statistics is a large degree of apathy and disinterest. The percentage of swing voters in Australia is estimated to be up to 40%, and a decline of people with an allegiance to a chosen political party could indicate a lack of engagement. It would, in any case, be too difficult to draw any conclusion as to the effect of compulsory voting on a country that has not experienced long histories of either system.

Unsurprisingly, there seems to be a relationship, albeit not a direct correlation, between the levels of income inequality in a country and its levels of voter apathy. Of the ten OECD countries with the widest income gaps between rich and poor that

do not enforce compulsory voting (which only excludes Turkey), the average voter turnout in their last parliamentary elections stands at 62.36%. Chile, the country with the world’s worst income inequality, which in 2013 made the change from compulsory to voluntary voting, saw a turnout of only 49.25% of registered voters, equating to only around half of the eligible population. This is a dramatic drop from the figure under the system of compulsory voting in previous Chilean elections, which in 2009 had a turnout of 87.67%.

Aside from this, the only socio-economic factor with a definite correlation with voter turnout is its Human Development Index.

The countries in the top fifth of this index an average voter turnout of 72%, the next 69%, the third 66%, the fourth 60%, and the bottom fifth an average of 56%. One can only conclude that a nation has to do more to ensure its people want to vote, rather than forcing them.

COMMENT

Sam Naylor asks why Europe’s immigration policy is in disarray Page 9

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lection 2015 is just around the corner, and not surprisingly a hot topic during the campaign has been whether or not the next UK government should renew Trident, our nuclear deterrent. It’s a common opinion among students as well as the general public that nuclear weapons are an abhorrent artefact of the past.

We cling on to the possession of nuclear weapons on the deluded fantasy that we will at some point have to dissuade some rogue state from attacking us with the deadliest force possible. Armageddon is simply too hard to stomach, so surely it’s just common sense to scrap a weapons programme that wastes billions of pounds each year when that money could be going to the NHS or pensions?

So why would I argue for the case for renewing such a disgusting symbol of destruction? Why should we not, like many are suggesting, unilaterally disarm? The answer lies not in nuclear weapons as a usable tool of war, but in nuclear weapons as a critical tool of diplomacy and influence.

The power of nuclear weapons doesn’t come from a state’s willingness and actual ability to blow several hundred craters into the Russian countryside. But rather the unthinkable idea, we might, however small the chance, actually do that one day. I may sound like a sadistic maniac seemingly embracing with open arms the potential for a nuclear apocalypse, but in a way that’s sort of the point.

The value of nuclear weapons lies in how implicit messages about their potential use and possession are conveyed to other states.

The incredibly small risk that a state may one day commit the impossible, commands a respect and authority in the international system that can’t be guaranteed in any other way. Possession of nuclear weapons is an expression of ultimate power and it both creates and reinforces the idea in other nationstates that we are a force to be reckoned with in the world, both in terms of diplomatic influence and military operations.

If we were to give up nuclear weapons, it’s certain what type of message that would convey to other states. It would send the message that we’re no longer serious about standing up for our interests, including standing up to dictators who abuse human rights across the world, and standing up for minorities in places like Hong Kong that are slowly having their political rights eroded by

It is time for us to stop thinking negatively of feminism Abi Constable

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hat does the word ‘feminism’ actually mean? For me it is simply a synonym for ‘political, economic and social gender equality’, however others think of feminists as wanting supremacy over men. You might think “this is written by a woman so obviously it’s going to idealise feminism,” however much too often I see videos created by women called ‘Why I’m Not a Feminist’ that use arguments such as ‘men are raped too’ or ‘feminists are just man haters’ and it is disappointing that some women won’t define themselves as a feminist solely because of the negative connotations of the word. In fact, a poll taken at the end of 2014 displayed that only 36% of British adults would consider themselves a feminist,

Photo: Ministery of Defence, Flickr.com

Britian needs Trident and shoud aspire to global influence Ryan Newington

yet 76% of adults support gender equality (which is terrifying in itself). The poll also gave statements such as “feminists are anti-men” which 26% of voters agreed with, and 35% agreed that the word ‘feminist’ is a negative term.

Now to talk about the ‘men are raped too’ argument. Obviously both men and women are raped. Statistics from the Ministry of Justice estimate that from the years 2009 – 2012, 78,000 people per year were victims of sexual assault; 69,000 women and 9,000 men.

In 2011, 99% of sexual offenders were found to be male, with a large amount of male sexual assault victims having been assaulted by men. In 2013 it was also recorded that there were 170 accounts of male to male rape in UK prisons, which shows that while men are also subjected to sexual assault, it is often at the hands of another man. However, it is a serious issue that women still make up around 1% of sex offenders, which is why the Feminists Majority Foundation started a campaign to change the definition of rape in the US from “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will” to include male rape victims and have female sexual offenders receive the same sentences as males.

Many women don’t consider themselves a feminist because of the privilege they have, but what about women of colour? What about Photo: Daniel Vanderkin, Wikimedia.org women who are literally beaten to death for

the Chinese government. Giving up nuclear weapons also means we have to start giving up how we are perceived globally, the perception that we are a state that commands authority and respect and whose views and interests should be respected.

Britain needs and should aspire to have influence in the world because of the values we promote. Giving up nuclear weapons means we could one day jeopardise our veto power on the UN Security Council as the nations around us lose their perception of the UK as a major world force.

Undoubtedly the UK has made its fair share of past foreign policy mistakes, but willingly scaling down our global influence would leave oppressive regimes in China and Russia free to encourage non-intervention and exploit our weakened diplomatic reputation and exacerbate the problems of human rights abuses across the globe.

Nuclear weapons are inherently immoral and shouldn’t exist in the world; multilateral disarmament should be a key global priority.

Yet it is naïve and misguided to assume that morally it would put pressure on states like the USA, China and Russia to disarm. Unilaterally disarming would, on the contrary, be inherently immoral as it swings the balance of diplomacy and international prestige straight to nation-states that do not have the interests of our country or humanity at heart.

In short it’s a far too simplistic view to look at nuclear weapons as a pointless tool of destruction and warfare. Portraying the renewal of Trident as a £30bn insurance policy against Isis or North Korea is insane.

However, renewal of Trident doesn’t just buy some shiny new submarines; it also buys you the immeasurable and unquantifiable ability to gain prestige and the international perception of authority to exert global influence.

not obeying their husband? It is selfish of women to not support feminism because it’s not as necessary to them. Amnesty International found that women and young girls in India and other parts of south Asia are too regularly victims of abuse. In India marital rape is legal as long as the victim is above 15 years of age, and the amount of Indian women assaulted by their husbands is 40 times higher than the amount of Indian women assaulted by others. The law is similar in countries such as Singapore and Malta, and it was not until 1991 that marital rape became illegal in England.

negative connotations of the word.

The HeforShe campaign states that gender equality is not just a feminist issue, but a human rights issue, which everybody can be involved in. Taylor Swift has spoken out about how she used to see other women as her competition, and how she now thinks that women need to support and empower each other for feminism to really mean something, and she used her video for Blank Space to highlight how the media mistreats women by only focusing on their love life. Male celebrities and politicians including Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Benedict Cumberbatch were photographed wearing “This is what a feminist looks like” by Elle Magazine to promote men supporting gender equality. Patricia Arquette used her Oscar’s acceptance speech to talk about the wage gap which gained a lot of publicity.

We need to stop saying ‘yes, I am a feminist’ and start saying ‘are you not?’ to make not being a feminist seem more absurd.

We need to stop teaching people to cover up because showing skin will get you sexually harassed, and start teaching people that just because somebody is showing skin, it does not give you the right to comment on it. We need to realise that feminism is not about shutting men down, but pulling women up to an equal level. And we need to start representing humans as humans, and not as genders.

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owever in most Western societies, the issues are more to do with the wage gap, objectification through the media and unrealistic expectations of body image. Throughout the years there have been a number of women trying to give this wider acknowledgement through being feminist icons; one of the first names coming to mind being Marilyn Monroe. Again more recently, celebrities have been using their social status to talk about feminist issues and gain further support for the movement. For example, Emma Watson became the UN Goodwill Ambassador in July 2014, where she advocates the HeforShe campaign to promote gender equality, and encourage men to become more involved in the issue to help eliminate the

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Royal baby hype: is it fair?

Megan Bradbury

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t wouldn’t be unfair to suggest that the British monarchy can on occasion provoke strong reactions, both in this country and worldwide, and now the public have another opportunity to express their opinions on the subject. For the purposes of anyone who’s been living on the moon for the past nine months: the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are shortly expecting the birth of their second child. The official due date for the latest addition to the royal family, who will be, as the old saying goes, the ‘spare’ to ‘heir’ Prince George, and fourth in line to the throne, is being given as 25th April, so the new prince or princess may already have been welcomed to the world by the time this article is published, although for obvious reasons, it is impossible to say for certain.

What is certain, however, is that whether you’re camping outside St Mary’s Hospital with a union lag draped across your shoulders, or you’d prefer to see the monarchy abolished and evicted from Buckingham Palace for good, or even if you’re mostly ambivalent towards the whole thing, you’re unlikely to be able to entirely escape from the publicity. So far, this has taken a variety of forms.

There are numerous companies aiming to profit from the birth; for example, Yorkshire Tea have been issuing boxes branded with potential baby names. According to the bookies, if the baby is a boy he is most likely to be called Arthur or James, whilst Alice, Charlotte, Elizabeth and Victoria are the top candidates if the baby is a girl; those who place bets in favour of Princess Alice being born between 21st and 27th April could apparently win up to £500,000.

Meanwhile, closer to home, the Duchess’s uncle, Gary Goldsmith, has claimed that the couple are already thinking ahead to baby number three.

Clearly, this event has received no shortage of attention over the past few days.

In addition, as has already been witnessed with the

Why are so many people abusive when they use social media?

Lucinda Swain

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nless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have heard that the presenter for Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, has been sacked from the hugely successful show Top Gear. While the fan-men cried, and threw abuse at the BBC, social media dedicated a great deal of effort to predicting who would take his place. Sue Perkins, of baking fame, unfortunately suffered the misfortune of having her name (incorrectly) circulated, which resulted in death threats and other aggressive comments via Twitter. It’s become

new baby’s older-brother-to-be, the hype doesn’t end with the birth. Prince George is not yet two years old, but he already has his own Wikipedia page; the release of his first photos nearly blew up the internet. Perhaps most amusing are the claims of People magazine that the prince has already showed himself to be a baby of superior intelligence, having overheard his mother say that his father was in China, and gone to look for him in the china cabinet (because, of course, what 21-month-old wouldn’t know where the crockery is kept?)

For the newest member of the monarchy, along with their parents and brother, this level of scrutiny is likely to last for the rest of their lives. Perhaps because of this, there can sometimes be a tendency to forget that they are in fact people. Admittedly, there won’t be many babies due in the next week who are predicted to earn £80m in merchandise and tourism sales, but the essentials remain the same. Like any expectant mother, the Duchess is probably very excited, but also terrified. The pressure of the publicity surrounding her and Prince William at the moment, in an already stressful situation, must be phenomenal; whilst they no doubt appreciate the support of the nation, they may be in need of a little privacy, and time to spend with their family as they prepare for the big day. For them, the royal baby will be first and foremost not an heir to the throne, or a boost to the British economy, but just that: a baby.

As it stands, the birth probably won’t have a direct impact on any of our lives (unless you happen to have placed a bet on Alice, in which case, enjoy your newfound fortune), and many people may be already bored of the constant coverage. All the same, let’s not allow that to prevent us from affording William and Kate the same treatment we would any expecting parents, and wish them a safe birth and healthy new baby.

Photo: Wikimedia, Carmen Rodriguez

an unsettling trend on social media to say cruel things about celebrities, from callous commentaries on physical appearance to malicious personal attacks, social media platforms are becoming a breeding ground for a new generation of bullies.

In cyberspace people write things that they wouldn’t ordinarily say or do in real life. They’re less reserved and communicate less guardedly. This has been called the ‘disinhibition effect.’ It can be seen in oversharing on a personal level on social media platforms such as Facebook, posting about their hopes, dreams and worries, and it can also be seen in a much more negative way, such as the belittling and harsh judgements of other people’s lives, achievements and choices.

We find there are several reasons behind the abuse: the idea that celebrities or other internet users won’t know who the offender is which is greatly due to the lack of accountability for their actions. This leads to more rash and often hurtful, offensive behaviour online. That the comments are written from the safety of people’s own homes has some influence on how they project their

Comment

You should spoil your ballot paper Cara Leavey

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n recent statistics published by the Houses of Parliament, voter apathy amongst 18-24-year-olds is a significant problem with only 51.8% turning out to the 2010 election, even more concerning yet is turnout in previous elections dropping to as low as 38.2% in 2005. Compare these percentages to the national average of 65%, and it seems this is symptomatic of a dissatisfied and disillusioned generation. Campus politics might not reflect this, with various voter registration drives and thriving student political groups, but it still may leave you wondering if there is an alternative to the style of politics that seem to just mimic scenes of Punch and Judy in almost every political debate. I personally am tired of smear campaigns, the policies that don’t seem to sufficiently deal with actual problems facing our country, and the political debates that are too centred on media narratives of things like immigration and ‘benefit scroungers’. That is why on 7th May, I will be spoiling my ballot paper, to show that I am disillusioned with a system that does not represent my views and to show that I am still engaging with it.

Australia is seen to be the country with a solution for voter apathy as voting is compulsory, and I think that this could be one solution to the problem faced by the UK. But what is really interesting with Australia is their decision to include the option to vote for ‘none of the above’; the electorate can decide if they really dislike the options on offer, they can make that known. However we lack this option on ballot papers in the UK, with our alternative being to spoil your ballot paper.

By doing this, you’re still participating in the democratic process and making your voice heard, it gets registered that you spoilt your ballot paper and you still turned out for the election. The problem when young people do not turn out for elections at all, is that policies simply don’t get made in their favour. Those within the 65+ age range had a turnout of nearly 75%, and unsurprisingly policies are created to appease them the most. For example, the best interest rates are being made available to ‘pensioner’ bonds which are exclusively for the 65+. By improving the voter turnout for younger demographics we may see a change to policies, so as to offer substantially better policies targeted at this age range. The beauty of spoiling your ballot paper being that you still do not have to select a party to represent you in the process of this,

possibly causing policy makers to consider why they no longer have as great a mandate as they may have done otherwise.

One main criticism I get confronted with, is that by not voting I may be letting the worst politician win. Whilst I do bear that in mind, I also remember the substantial flaws within our voting system as well. Did you know that Simon Wright, the MP for Norwich South only received 29.4% of the vote in the last election?

Put simply, this means that over 70% of the constituency did not even choose the person representing their constituency today. It must be noted that this is one of the worst examples from that election, yet it still highlights a real problem that just hasn’t been dealt with sufficiently by parliament. It’s because of this that I don’t feel guilty for wasting my vote.

I was raised by an anarchistic father who would regularly tell me not to trust those in power, to always question their ideas, and to not necessarily support Westminster. At first I really doubted his opinion. I tried engaging with a few political parties who held similar values to mine. I avidly listened, and still listen, to debates between various party leaders, or read some of their manifestos, like a good citizen. But when it came to meeting enough party politicians and listening to speeches that had essentially the same message but were just worded slightly differently, I no longer felt that I was represented by a system that was supposed to represent me. Choosing to spoil your ballot paper is just as valid a choice as choosing a political party, and I am happy with the choice I will be making at this general election.

‘voice’. People online also do not interact in the way you do in real life, not having to attend with someone’s immediate reaction can be quite freeing. Jealousy leads to the belittlement of others, and online you can, to some degree, assume any persona you desire,

would have reacted like this if [Perkins] were a man and in many ways it seems to echo of Gamergate and the extreme level of harassment and violent threats received, again via Twitter, by Anita Sarkeesian and Zoe Quinn. The message seems to be that some media products are ‘boy’s clubs’ and even the mere suggestion of a female presence has the fandom up in arms”.

Top Gear’s fans’ investment in the show is incredible. We as human beings are drawn to something bigger than ourselves. We feel the urge to escape from our daily lives and sometimes this need manifests into shared interests, a kind of camaraderie, which can be both powerful and positive. However, when this fandom turns nasty and obsessive to the point of death threats, we can see it’s time for some measures to be put into place to monitor these kinds of behaviour. If there was a greater accountability for online abuse, this problem may be resolved, because as we’ve all witnessed online people seem to have a lot more ‘courage’ when they are hiding behind a computer screen. Whether they’re online seeking approval or recognition of other ‘fans’ this behaviour is unacceptable.

“The message seems to be that some media outlets are ‘boys’ clubs’ ” so an exaggerated notion of self-worth leads to more malicious attacks on others whom they now believe to be below them.

Another point to consider is that we, as human beings, filter and subvocalise what we read online, our brains projecting the familiarity of our own voice into the other responses online. We in turn tend to judge ourselves more harshly than you would another person, and although this may be unintentional it still affects our responses.

Mycah Halstead, a film and English student who’s specifically interested in gender studies says: “I don’t think they

Photo: Wikimedia, AnthonyBurgess

Comment

We should help people struggling to reach Europe’s shores Sam Naylor

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s a species we are capable of incredible things. We are also equally capable of terrible atrocities. What we cannot afford to forget, what we must not place above one another, is our shared sense of humanity.

Each of us are human beings. If we are born in Europe, if we live in a comfortable home, if we can afford to feed ourselves nutritious food; that does not make us more human than anybody else. It makes us lucky; lucky that we were born, by chance, in an environment that allows us to live freer lives without fear of oppressive systems.

Over the past fortnight more than 1,700 people have drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach European shores. The capsized fishing boat last week, in which over 800 people died, only 27 lives were saved. The total Eritrean refugee population now stands at more than 321,000. Since the start of the Syrian crisis more than 220,000 people have been killed. The numbers are so incomprehensibly large that we cannot picture what that total number of people would look like standing in front of us. We are overloaded with an overwhelming surge of statistics and numbers that our brains understandably find it easier to shut down towards them.

The Home Secretary, Theresa May, and the Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, may well believe that increased search and rescue operations attached to the EU’s Operation Triton would create a “pull factor” which would lead to more deaths as more migrants risk their lives crossing the sea. I understand their position (though I do not agree with viewing refugees as wholly attached to “push and pull” factors), and it saddens me to think that David Cameron has only shifted his stance on the issue towards more pro-relief work off the

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acceptable. Neither is military intervention or throwing foreign aid money at corrupt dictatorships, a diplomatic solution bolstered by our political and financial influence surely has to provide an attainable answer?

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Photo: Flickr, Danny Howard Mediterranean shores due to a rise in voters viewing the situation as a humanitarian crisis.

He may be listening to the will of the people but arguably for the wrong reasons. It seems he is only rotating his stance 180 degrees in order for his party to be re-elected in May, rather than seeing this as a tragedy that requires us to act upon our shared sense of humanity.

There are also the vocal and overpublicised minority that strip these refugees of their humanity by attaching derogatory terms to them. This is not an issue that should be intertwined with the negative immigration rhetoric within our country. These survivors are not risking their lives to reach Europe for a better life: they are doing so for a right to

life. It is not a simple issue of sending them back to their own countries or even blindly taking in numbers of people without looking at the cause. The trauma these individuals go through is not relegated just to their countries of origin, it follows them along the perilous land journey to the coast, on unsafe boats packed to bursting and even when they arrive in Europe being placed within detention-like centres.

The solution is not simple or easy and I am by no means suggesting that I could even begin to fathom what can be done to solve this multifaceted problem, though I stand convinced that sticking our fingers in our ears and sending the problem away is not

ut to process the suffering on a more understandable level, I believe the answer lies in viewing these individuals as people and not numbers. Sofia, an Eritrean refugee who has escaped to Cairo, has shared her story in the Guardian. There are disappearances every day, unending conscription into the national service and no freedom of speech or expression. Her world in Eritrea is one consumed by suspicion, corruption and poverty. It is not a desire for people like Sofia to ‘sponge’ off a European state. She sees her life broken down into two distinct choices, “one is to die, the other is to live. If I die at sea, it won’t be a problem – at least I won’t be tortured”.

We hear scare tactics in the media and by politicians that Britain is full and that our future will consist of a continuous decline if we do not stop the flow of immigrants into the country. This rhetoric oozes from the same people that are sheltered by money and a comfortable lifestyle, while an ever increasing number of Britons are falling below the poverty line and individuals like Sofia are fleeing from oppression. Sofia’s future, along with the futures of thousands of refugees and their countries is ever increasingly “fleeing and drowning in the Mediterranean”. Our own future may yet be uncertain, but it is an indisputable fact that if we fail to act and do not try to save lives, then more refugee’s futures will be bound to the bottom of the Mediterranean sea.

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Alice Mortimer discusses, sun, saving and surviving summer Page 13

Photo: Flickr, toner. Ed Miliband: Flickr, the CBI 6th March was a big day for the UK. Keira Knightley’s birthday aside, it was the day the run up to the 2015 general election began. And begin in style it did, with The Race to Number Ten – the TV debate that wasn’t really a debate. The non-debate saw Ed Miliband and David Cameron go head to head with pack of hungry wolves, Jeremy Paxman, and a studio audience in a game of ‘Who can memorise the most policies’. The audience crowned Cameron the victor according to the pollsters at ICM, but with the general election in full swing, and Labour and the Conservatives neck and neck, students find themselves in a bit of a predicament; unless you live in Scotland, where you’ll probably have decided whether or not you wanted independence, you probably haven’t been through the process of voting before.

Perhaps, more pressingly, you don’t really know who to cast your valuable vote for. And a valuable vote it is because, according to the Guardian, students at UEA are the third most powerful in the country vis-a-vis the election, with the possibility of swinging the vote in Norwich south all by ourselves. So, with that in mind, here’s a one-stop guide to the 2015 general election, telling you everything you need to know, short of who to vote for.

The logical place to begin would be to make sure you actually know when you need to put your voting hat on. Thursday 7th May: that’s the date to go in your diary. Aside from registering to vote in the first place, things are little more complicated for students.

Unless you decided that you wanted to dedicate your life to Norwich South, and are quite content with fending off obligatory

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Sam McKinty discusses the upcoming general election in this guide to student voting

Alan Partridge and Delia Smith references left, right and centre, then you’re probably not from around these parts, in which case, unless you have a particular longing to influence the outcome in Norwich South, you’ll need to get yourself a postal vote. No

“Many young people are disengaged by politics, so don’t plan to vote” more complicated than filling out a form and sending it away (don’t worry, freepost), the postal vote allows you to vote in the constitue ncy you came from, a more attractive proposition for many. Your council will send you a card back, which you vote with, and you send it back to them like a game of cat and mouse democracy.

Who to vote for is the biggest problem.

Many young people are disengaged by politics, so don’t plan to vote. Here lies perhaps the greatest modern day catch 22; as long as young people remain disengaged, it won’t pay politicians to address our issues.

Who to vote for is for you to decide, but the headlines, for students at least, are easy.

Labour have pledged to cut tuition fees to £6,000 per year and, with it being a policy they’ve pledged to implement immediately, the reduction could be seen by 2016, reducing our overall debt by an astonishing 6%, from an average £440,00 to £41,000.

You’d be forgiven for calling the changes: (a) underwhelming, and (b) a reactionary decision to capture the vote of alienated students. But hey ho: three grand is three grand.

In other news, Katie Hopkins said she’d leave the UK if Labour win, so that’s worth bearing in mind. The thing is, however, only you can decide who you want to vote for.

Whatever the big issue is, there is probably a party that suits your views. Whether you’re unhappy about immigration levels, or cuts to education funding, mismanagement of the NHS or defence funding, there is a party that represents your views, and it’s your job to find it. Only an attempt to re-engage with politics in a constructive way will bring the issues and views of young people back to the national agenda.

Take the time, and research political parties to find out which one best represents your views. Don’t be swayed by the flimsy rhetoric of party campaign machines or a hysteria driven media, do your research and reengage yourself with politics. We’re in a unique position: we have every piece of information you could want to form your opinion on who to vote for just a click and a tap away, so stop sharing that cat video, and do some research.

Whoever you decide to vote for, there is one thing you should do. Vote, like, actually do it. Ignore Russell Brand: he’s an idiot with a dictionary. There are interesting and urgent issues at stake in the next election, and whilst climbing up a lamppost and screaming “revolution” might be a lot more fun than voting, the latter might just be more effective.

It’s time to take things into your own hands, to refuse a system of politics that hinges on pacifying through ignorance. Whatever you decide, it’s time to exercise your democratic rights and prove to that change is possible.

So turn out vote on 7th May, and let your voice be heard.

12

Feat

Photo: Flickr, Philippe Leroyer

The Student Sex Work Project Susannah Smith takes an in depth look into the University of Swansea’s latest project

hat does the word prostitute mean to you?

What would you say if a friend told you they were a prostitute? I can guess that for most people neither answer would be positive. “It doesn't matter... that the entire reason I am a prostitute is so I can afford to study”, said Holly, a member of The Student Sex Work Project. “In a couple of years’ time I will be qualified to help you when you need help.

What I've come to realise is that when you're a prostitute; you're just that – a prostitute”.

Because prostitute means ripped tights and dark alleys and the depiction of sex workers seen in movies, not the reality.

The Student Sex Work Project is led by Swansea University and aims to change our attitude towards sex workers. As well as carrying out research specifically around students in the sex work industry, the project aims to provide support currently lacking, including e-health services and sexual health information available to the broader student population.

The project report opens with Holly, a sex worker and student, talking about her experiences. “People don't understand the amount of other skills being ‘just a prostitute’ requires. I've had men hysterically crying in my house over various problems in their lives… Actually being a prostitute is far more than simply having sex with somebody. I'm not just a prostitute. My name is Holly. I'm a

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student”.

There has been a growth in the number of students involved in sex work; the study found that “almost 5% of students have ever worked in the sex industry” and that “one in five students have ever considered such engagement”. It also found that because of

“There has been enormous growth in the number of students involved in sex work” this there is a scarcity of support surrounding these students. “About one in four student sex workers do not always feel safe while working” and “a substantial group of student sex workers have contacted support services” or “expressed the need for more support”.

Additionally, “student sex workers’ motivations are centred on the need to generate money in a flexible way”. The report acknowledges that the motivation for a significant number of student sex workers is to assist with Higher Education fees as well as reduce student debt. This only adds to the surmounting research around the effect debt is having on students.

However the project is very careful to treat each sex worker and their situation as unique; they follow up their research with a quote from one of their forums: “There is no 'truth' [about sex workers]… Some like it,

some don't, some are not sure, some do it for drugs, some do it cuz they need the money, some do it cuz they enjoy it… Some hate it, some feel empowered, some flit between the two... I could go on”.

Whatever you feel about the sex work industry, everyone can agree with their assertion that sex workers need better, more specialised support services. The report includes personal testimonials including a women carrying a knife with her to meet clients and one who said “a lot of guys that come in are probably twice my size and I don’t want to piss them off because if I do I’m in this house on my own, in this flat, and if it goes wrong there’s no one like there for me”.

A major problem for most sex workers is the stigmatism around the industry and many sex workers fear people discovering their job. An escort, Lila, spoke to The Student Sex Work Project saying: “I think it’s quite taboo… I don’t think it is as bad as it used to be, but there are still some people that straight away, you can see the look has changed in them, they think you are scum of the earth”.

With the increasing number of students who are sex workers we need to change our attitudes. The Student Sex Work Project has made an amazing start on this, and by spreading their research we can help spread their message. Forget your views on the sex work industry, this is about providing support for those who need it. Forget the word prostitute.

tures

13

Sun, sea and saving: a student summer

Photo: Flickr, alecani

Alice Mortimer tells you everything you need to know about surviving summer as a student – from saving the pennies to soaking up the sun o we’re very nearly there. The summer break. You know on High School Musical 2 (yes, you do) when they’re all staring at the clock chanting “summer, summer, summer” on the last day of term? Yeah, it’s not really like that is it?

Those American teen movies make summer seem incredible; non-stop parties on the beach, holiday romances and no cares in the world but the potential for your mom’s favourite vase to get broken after it being thrown around by the football team at your house or pool party.

In reality, most probably the countdown is set by the pressure to seriously tone up for your holiday (because the stress of deadlines has resulted in the worryingly high

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consumption of alcohol and late night pizza), which has all been paid for by Mr Overdraft, who you will have to pay off over the next few months with a lovely job in most likely retail or hospitality – or if you’re lucky, a stuffy office job.

There’s quite a lot of decisions we have to make before summer. Where are we going to work? Are we going to stay in our university city or go home? Are we going to save so we can eat next semester, or are we going to go to two festivals, on two holidays, and buy an unnecessary amount of new cutlery from Ikea for the food we won’t be able to afford to eat, at this rate?

The decision of where to live and work is one I have been struggling with. It’s quite a lot of pressure trying to find a temporary job,

who really wants us for just a few months?

Do I go home, where I have free food and a dog to cuddle, or do I stay at uni, where I have the house to myself and can sing in the shower and eat dinner in bed without judgement?

I guess it depends where you’re from, but for me, there is a lot more going on in Norwich than in my hometown, ten times over. And as much as I love them, I don’t think trying to get back into a home routine living with my family for over three months would work without complications. If we move back home in the summer, we have to re-adjust to living in an environment where we can’t really do what we want, when we want – something which I think most of us would agree is what we love about uni. We are also most probably

paying for a flat or house we are not living in, which makes us feel a little bit like someone’s putting half a dozen £50 notes in a shredder each month, which essentially, they are. But, free food. It’s definitely a tough one!

There’s also a lacking of opportunity for midweek partying out of term time, so we will probably try to make up for this by booking holidays, but this is more easily said than done. At uni, we can have a fun night on £4 entry and £3 drinks. Holidays, however, cost just a tad more.

Whatever we do – we’ll have a break from uni, a glimpse of the real world (which is, to be fair, what we probably need after a year of sleeping, drinking and the occasional essay), and the chance to do a bit of travelling. It just ain’t no High School Musical.

14

Science&Environment

How climate change will affect the fish on your plate Braundt Lau Science&Environment writer Imagine what would happen if the quintessential British meal were to no longer be fish and chips, but squid and chips?

Favorite fish species from the North Sea such as Haddock and plaice might disappear from the menu and be taken over by squid if sea temperature continues to rise.

There were past assertions that the warming of waters would open up habitable sea range and increase yield of several coldsensitive species; fish species would be able to shift northwards and increase fish stock.

However, a recent paper in Nature Climate Change found that the warming climate might ‘squeeze [the fish stock] off the edge of a cliff’.

Marine experts from the University of Exeter built a fishery stock prediction model based on climate information from the Met Office and fisheries data. Taking the North Sea as a case study, it gave predictions on native fish stock, saying it may face a decline in production when sea temperatures become 1.8°C warmer over the next half-century. Haddock and plaice are among the most threatened species, the species would not be able to survive anywhere further up north, as the rockier deeper seas are unsuitable habits for such bottom feeders.

The life expectancy of these fisheries was questioned since it would no longer be commercially viable in the future, said study co-author Dr Steve Simpson. He warned that in order to eat locally caught fish, consumers would have to face a diet or species change into the likely future fish stock staple – sardine, anchovy, squid and cuttlefish. ‘’For sustainable UK fisheries, we need to move on from haddock and chips and look to Southern Europe for our gastronomic inspiration.”.

However it is not all bad news for the traditional fish and chips lovers. Overfishing had once pushed cod stock to the brink of devastation. Now after a decade of careful regulation, they are on the rise again.

Sustainability movements started a decade ago, from tightening control to encouraging consumption swap for less popular white fish such as gurnard and coley. These sustainability measures have proved worthy by the regenerating fish stock. A recent study shows the North Sea would regain its sustainable status in five years.

Don’t worry, there will still be fish on your plate, but not it may not be guaranteed for the future. It is time to step up the climate change mitigation game – for the sake of the fish on your grandchildren’s plate.

Tame HIV therapy cures debilitating genetic disease Jacob Beebe Science&Environment editor When met with the term ‘HIV’, the mind, understandably, associates it with the terrible scenes witnessed in the news about the devastating effect HIV/AIDs has had around the world. It is therefore a big leap to then consider the use of such an agent in the treatment, let alone curing, of a disease.

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is a rare recessive genetic disease predominantly

Photo: Flickr: Jens Auer

affecting males at a prominence of around one in 100,000. It is a disease characterised by eczema, low platelet count and immune deficiency. The immune deficiency is a particularly debilitating symptom that arises from a decrease in body antibodies and a decrease in a particular white blood cell activity. Its severity is variable and mutation dependent bubt can be deadly. However, scientists have been able to cure six boys of their condition following treatment using a tamed HIV. HIV, as is widely known, is the human immunodeficiency virus associated with further development of AIDs. The virus is therefore best known for causing a considerable detrimental effect to the body, for which there is no cure. The therapy, trialed in Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, and Necker Children’s Hospital in France, involved first removing a sample of the patient’s bone marrow. This was then analysed to find the cells capable of generating the immune system. Once the cells were found, a tamed HIV variety was

used to transfer the correction for the mutant gene in WAS. The trial found that six out of seven boys showed reversed symptoms and reduced hospital time. One child is no longer confined to a wheelchair. Another child, the seventh, unfortunately acquired a resistant strain of the herpes virus as a result of compromised immunity; however, the infection was contracted before the trial was carried out.

Professor Adrian Thrasher, from Great Ormond Street Hospital, said: “I think it is very significant, it is another clear and powerful demonstration that a gene therapy approach is an effective one.

One consistent problem with gene therapy is that you must overcome the challenge of fixing the genes responsible in every cell that is causing the problem, or at least the majority- circumstances depending.

The advantage with the treatment for this disorder is that the cells will continue to selfpropagate as well as producing specific cell types, giving rise to a more effective immune system in patients, if not quite as effective as

Photo: Flickr, Josh*m

those of the general population.

The world of gene therapy is a vast realm of clinical application potential. With a great deal more diseases becoming more comprehensively studied and understood, numerous new potential gene therapies are being researched for those diseases found to have a genetic abnormality component to them – promising a more prosperous future for single gene disorder-bearing patients.

Science&Environment Ice cubes being harvested from ancient glacier Louise Fitzgerald Science&Environment writer “The World’s Most Wanted Ice Cube” – that’s the tagline of Svaice, a Norwegian company proposing to make ice cubes out of Norway’s second-largest glacier.

The company have recently secured £25,000 from Norway’s Nordland County and the Norwegian forestry department to conduct exploratory “drilling” on the Svartisen Glacier.

The Svartisen Glacier spans some 369 km2 but is rapidly receding and some studies suggest it could be completely gone in 100 years.

Svaice expect to mine 3,600 cubic metres of ice per year, enough to fill 93 shipping containers and create 16 million ice cubes.

Despite the enormity of the project, Svaice state that “the amount of ice that we are going to take out is literally just a cup of water in the ocean”.

“Our product is 100% natural, thousands of years old, and very luxurious”, the company says. “We guarantee goosebumps and a memorable moment for those who can find it.”

The luxury ice cubes will be marketed to highend bars and restaurants and because they are formed under extreme pressure they are extremely dense and melt more slowly than manufactured ice.

The project has gained support in the local area and is expected to create 60 jobs.

15 What’s new in science?

It appears bees prefer food with pesticides on them.

You can tell male and female stegasaurus apart by the shape and size of the plates on their back.

A study has shown that babies feel pain in the same way as adults – leading to a review of pain relief used in painful procedures.

The British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that exercise is not key to tackling nationwide obesity - the focus shold be on changing unhealthy eating.

Ancient cat sized rats’ evolutionary history has been uncovered.

New Ebola treatment becomes effective just three days after infection.

The fuel-free aeroplane, Solar Impulse, has arrived in the east of China.

Photo: Flickr:Christine Zenino

However, it also has its opponents. Nina Jensen, Secretary General of WWF in Norway, expressed resistance to the plans saying that it did not seem right to be mining a glacier for

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The volume of ice, in cubic metres harvested each year

cocktail ice”. It seems very strange that the government should provide support to mine Svartisen when we know that it is shrinking because of climate change”.

Svaice are not the first to mine glaciers to create luxury ice cubes. In 2012 a Chilean man was arrested for trying to smuggle five tonnes of ice of ice that was illegally mined from a protected Patagonian glacier in a refrigerated truck.

A drug based on a toxic mushroom may help battle colorectal cancer.

The mysterious bright regions on the dwarf planet Ceres are now back in view.

A diver from the Isle of Arran has won the Photo: Flickr: Tatiana Goldman Environmental Bulyonkova Prize for his work over 20 years to protect the island’s marine environment and allow it to recover.

It has been found that the likelihood of being bitten by mosquitoes could be determined by our genes, according to a twins study.

The planets of our solar system formed from millimetre sized stones known as chondrules.

Photo: Flickr: Andy Murray

Endsleigh is proud to sponsor this year’s University of East Anglia Union Awards 2015 To celebrate, we’re giving away one student prize bundle including an iPad Mini, a selfie stick, £50 worth of Supermarket Vouchers and even Union Vouchers. visit the union website for more info

ueastudent.com/unionawards

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union awards 2015

16

Travel

Visiting the bizzare sights of Budapest

Photo: Javier Collado Jimenez

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he capital of Hungary is divided in half by the River Danube that runs through the centre of the city. On one side, the flat land provides the ideal foundation for the urban landscape of Pest. On the other, the natural, healing spring waters and hills make for a wonderful contrast. Just like the River Danube, Budapest is a city that has wonderful museums, intriguing ruins, pubs and relaxing baths. But within all that, lies a strange and odd Budapest that is truly worth discovering.

Without further ado, here are some bizzare things to do in Budapest: Try a traditional Polinka The drink of Hungary is a shot called the polinka. It is a 50% alchoholic apple shot that apparently is drunk in between most meals.

When Budapest was under communists rule, before the morning shift workers would go to a bar, drink a shot of polinka and walk straight back out to start their shift. The Polinka is most definitly an aquired taste with its pungent aroma that smells distinctly like bleach. But when in Budapest...

Michael Jackson tree In the centre of Pest, outside the Kempinski Hotel is a tree wearing hundreds of photos of none other than the King of Pop himself.

Famously, when touring in Budapest, Jackson stayed at the Kempinski and waved down at the crowd of fans that stood outside. Every year on the anniversary of his death, fans flock to the Memorial tree and re-enact a famous dance scene of his. It is truly a bizzare sight to behold: in the middle of a city crammed to the brim with culture and history, is a tree immortalising Michael Jackson.

Padlocks on a fence Paris’s is home to an infamous bridge that is filled with padlocks carved with the initials of loved-up individuals. Couples flock to the bridge, padlock their love and then throw

Photo: James Walsh

Travel editor, Jodie Snow, on about the best places to visit in Budapest... the key in the River Seine to symbolise the eternity of said love. In Budapest, it is slightly different and a smidge more cynical. In a park near the River Danube is a fence covered with padlocks. Legend has it that the Hungarians are slightly less romantically inclined than the Parisians so put up a fence a short walk away from the river so people can think about the longevity of their love before they throw the padlock into the river forever. However, some people have taken a more practical approach and used combination locks instead.

The changing of the guard Outside Alexander Palace, that adorns a hill

in Buda, there is a familiar sight. Guards in a flamboyant uniform protect the castle and every hour between 08.30 and 17:00 the guard ceremoniously change. But at 17:00, rather than ‘changing’, the guards flamboyantly ‘end-shift’. If you are lucky, you can spot their bus waiting on the outskirts to take them home. The tradition dates back to the early 2010’s when the Hungarian prime minister made a visit to London and was left inspired by the pagentry of Buckingham Palace.

The statue of Andras Hadik Located in the castle district in Buda, there is statue of a man riding his horse. According to

Photo: Graham C99 tradition, on the day before their exams school children visit the statue and rub the horse’s testicles for good luck. The tradition is derived from the fact that the word clover translates to horse testicle in Hungarian. If you plan to visit the statue, you may look at the horse’s shiny bollocks, but do not touch them. It is a pleasure that is exclusive to Hungarian students.

Whilst the baths, pubs and museums all make a visit to Budapest worth it, the bizrare atrractions are less busy and a good way to break up a long day of serious sight-seeing.

Travel

17

The ice caves and salt mines of Austria

Photo: Robert-Jan Van der Vorm Sarah Michaels Travel Writer A visit to Austria is not complete without a trip to the world’s biggest ice cave: Eisriesenwelt in Salzburg. The cave is a long trek uphill but once inside it cannot be beaten. As you discover a prehistoric cave where you walk on and around beautiful ice. Combine this natural wonder with a walk around the salt mines to complete your day off.

When you think of tours, you think of long walks through a city, all being narrated by an informative tour guide. A trip to the Ice Caves in Austria is somewhat different. Instead of a wander around the cultural hotspots of a town, you deck on your walking boots and venture into the world’s largest ice caves.

The walk is long and the air is cold and the journey is steep. But as you venture into one of nature’s hidden wonders, you really feel as

“As you venture into one of nature’s hidden wonders, you really feel as if you are on your own personal adventure” if you are on your own personal adventure.

The cave is open in the summer months from 1st May to 26th October.

Completely unknown until the 19th century due to its remote location, the cave is wonderfully preserved and essentially untouched by the trials of tourism. The whole experience of visiting the cave is an adventure not for the faint hearted. The steep steps and walks both outside and in the cave itself are tiring and trecherous. The air is unsurprisingly crisp due to the large amounts of ice around the place so dress warm and be prepared.

Inside the cave, no cameras are allowed so

you can really experience the caves without the blinding flash of tourist’s cameras. The cave is dark so every fourth or fifth person gets to hold an oil lantern to light the way.

As you walk through the cave, you walk across pathways and ice steps and go deeper and higher into the ice caves. The walk is long and narrow with most of the journey in single file up a tiny chasm into the ice. Inside the

“Inside the cave you can see the sheer height of the ice” Photo: Eric Hossinger

cave you can see the sheer height of the ice.

A large geolocial formation called The Great Ice Embarkment that rises to 25 metres high.

Once you have finished climbing the insides of the cave you turn back around and make your way back to the entrance to leave.

The round-trip tour takes just over an hour to complete and is well worth the visit.

A short drive from the ice caves is the Salt Mines of Saltzberg called Salzwelten.

The caves are old salt mining caves. The tour is slightly over an hour and covers one kilometre. You are asked to put on some white overalls to protect your clothes throughout your visit to the mine. Once inside the mine there is a train ride and two wooden slides in which to go deeper and deeper into the salt caves.

Salt used to be considered ‘white gold’ ,which explains the vast structure that is the salt mine in Salzburg. Whilst not as naturally beautiful as the ice caves down the road, the salt mines show a wonderful handmade crevice which takes visitors underground.

Whilst a visit to Austria is not complete without a trip to Vienna, a trip to the natural wonders of Austria is not to be missed. Hidden from view within caves and underground, these two attractions are wonderful choices on any Austrian trip.

Visiting Dubrovnik’s Lokrum Adam Reynolds Travel Writer Croatia is an up-and-coming country in the tourist industry with its numerous islands and beautiful clear sea. The Dalmation Coast is spotted with islands of all sizes and visiting all of them would be a challenge. One paticular island of interest is the uninhabited island of Lokrum, just off of the city of Dubrovnik.

The island can be reached by a half-anhour boat ride into the Adriatic. The island can be seen from the coast of Dubrovnik’s old town. As you enter the island, you stand amazed at the fact that you are indeed on an uninhabited island. Whilst normally the reserve of castaways, many pacific islands are uninhabited. But this small island off the European coast is a true delight in how unbuilt up it is.

Only a few restaurants exist on Lokrum, and there are no houses of any kind. A visit to the island will lead you around the hills and the forests of the island and in search

of a beautiful beach. The numerous beaches on the island are all rocky, with giant rocks making the perfect platform for any impromtu sunbathing. To get even closer to nature, Lokrum’s nudist beach is available.

In the centre of the island is a lake that is filled with fresh sea water. It is surrounded by a cave. This is by the far the busiest place on the island as visitors run there to float in the astoundingly salty waters of the lake. The place is a small slice of paradise for visiters.

There is something truly magical about visiting a deserted island. The sense of adventure and wonderment when you are visiting somewhere barely touched by humans and the fear of being left stranded there. With no tours on the island, visitors can make their own way around and take their time visiting and exploring it for themselves. Rather than being bombarded with places to see and things to do, the island is simply a laid back chance to do some exploring of your own. In the safety of Lokrum, you can finally get a glimpse of the adventure Christopher Columbus felt when he touched down in North America.

LIFESTYLE

Dahlia Al-Abdullah on Ella Woodward and the rise of healthy eating Page 20

Beating the stress of exam season Engagement and turnout:

the power of the student vote

Linnea Hawkins helps you stay calm while revising

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ith much of Norwich's greenery blossoming into meadows of daffodils, the turning point of the spring/summer season is here. A turning point for more than just weather: it is often a time for the closing of one door, ready for the next to open. For some, this means it's time to swap the 11:00 biscuit break for an apple and a gym session in an attempt to be 'beach-body ready' (to quote the controversial ad courtesy of Protein World). Yet for most on campus, the aforementioned beach is only a mirage on these sunny days, woefully split as they are between the library and the nearest supply of coffee. A masters student, a poor dissertation victim or a first year (relying on the fact that your year doesn't count towards your degree!): wherever you are in your university journey, this is a time where the build-up of deadlines and stress are inevitable.

Unfortunately, this year’s exam timetabling hiccup may not have worked in your favour to ease this stress. Though these frustrating timetables are now confirmed, it does not mean all hope is out the window. So firstly, let’s think of some positives: for many, that dream of summer will become a reality much sooner than initially anticipated. Furthermore, many exams frankly test memory rather than skill and understanding. So with less time between the last weeks of teaching and the beginning of exams, that means you've got less time to forget everything – assuming you went to your lectures and seminars!

Think of revision this time around like a high intensity interval training exercise. Rather than the old fashioned method of ongoing cardio, you do short intense bursts of work with short breaks in between. While you may

“Be sure to get out of the house each day, even for just five minutes” feel like throwing up at the time, it is actually super effective and has positive effects on the body even once you have finished exercising.

Similarly, time is of the essence this year when it comes to revision, so keep your sessions short and sweet, but intense. Your brain will be primed for focus from the regular breaks and short concentration periods allowing the information to sink in. Studies have also shown that re-revising the same content three times with small breaks in between can really help to move knowledge from the short-term memory into the long-term memory. Study alone, in groups, online, outside, mix it up – we can't all fit in the library!

The other thing to remember is that while these exams and essays are important – and let’s be honest, you are paying a heck of a lot of money to do them – the key to stress management is to not let them completely take over your life. Be sure to get out of the house each day, even for just five minutes.

Try to make at least one social plan a week, especially if you or your friends are graduating – small things that may not seem like a priority but truly help in maintaining your sanity during these stressful times. If it all seems to be getting a bit too much, a walk in the fresh air and a cheeky ice-cream can really help cool you off, in more ways than one! The sun is out, go see what it looks like – but not directly please!

Becca Bemment Lifestyle editor

Perhaps this is not the best way to beat exam stress... Photo: Wikimedia, Hariadhi

And if all else fails...

Kick back and atone for your laziness with Peter Sheehan, Concrete’s wellness guru

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xams are tough. I know: I’ve taken plenty in my time. All too well do I know the terror that grips the undergraduate heart as April slips coolly into May and the tick-tick tock of the exam hall clock sounds loudly in your dreams.

So how should one approach revision and exams? Sure, you can be sensible. You can be studious. But that isn’t much fun.

And sometimes, just sometimes, the last thing you want is good advice. So let’s have a gander at some bad advice. Follow this at your own risk.

I had a friend at college whose father said to him as he left the house to take an exam: “Remember son: there’s always McDonalds”. And this is very true. Not every job requires academic success. So as you stare blankly at the wall, or as you try to work out whether or not you fancy the person sat opposite you in the library, make a list of all the jobs that you could do with almost no academic qualifications at all.

You will find that having something to fall back on if the wheels come completely off can be very reassuring.

Of course, work is not the only route to fulfillment.

Have you tried travelling?

A year spent “finding

yourself” in, for example, the Far East can provide ample opportunity to distract the downcast mind and completely obliterate that post-uni budget. Moreover, a couple of nights staggering around a Thai beach party are almost certainly guaranteed to wipe your mind of any vestigial memory of the catastrophic failure that your life in the UK had become. (For the conspicuously hard-up, a trip to the likes of Malia will have a similar effect, but it may be harder to pretend to friends and family back home that you’re on a spritually awakening “journey”.)

Fancy something altogether more wholesome? Have you tried religion?

There is a truly impressive variety on offer, so a try-before-you-buy approach is very much encouraged. For the truly committed procrastinator, a life spent in quiet contemplation would be ideal, and not least because it’s kinda what you do anyway. Sitting and thinking – praying – is highly encouraged. Pick your religion carefully and you may find that tasks such as cleaning (student houses are never tidier than during the exam season) are an absolute must. What’s more, the newly devout will have as much time as they like in which to atone for their former indolence.

Finally, and with the general election campaign so rudely upon us, why not become a politician? A misspent youth that culminates in failure need be no impediment to a life devoted to public service, otherwise known as telling other people what to do. Remember: many senior political figures have never had a proper job in their lives.

Hope springs eternal.

There’s been a real importance placed on the student vote for the upcoming election on 7th May. Some students see it as a lost cause whilst others feel its importance is great.

The last election, back in 2010, showed that most students’ votes fell with the Liberal Democrats, and whilst this support has now fallen, it seems that Labour and the Green Party are taking students’ notice, according to the recent opinion polls.

In 2010, only 44% of 18-24 year-olds voted in comparison to 76% of people aged 65 and over. This may have much to do with the trebling of tuition fees, uncertainty of housing and jobs, and general cuts making a massive change to young people’s lives. All of these factors have made young people feel out-cast and unimportant. With fears rising that there will be much the same decrease in young people voting this year, there have been a few tactics to push them to vote this coming election. Now, it’s becoming more about how to get young people engaged in politics, rather than accepting that they wish not to take part. Apps, social media and vlogging have all played a part in the push towards getting young people voting. If the youth vote makes up a fair amount of people, then there seems a very important need to get young people engaged, especially when so many students do actually care about so many of the issues raised by politics. The government was said to have spent around £530,000 on trying to persuade students to vote.

Even E4, a channel largely watched by young people, will be shut down by Channel 4 on the day of the election in a bid to get more young voters. Being one of the most popular youth channels on TV, reaching around 8.7 million of 16-34 year-olds each month, this action is hoping to create a real influence on young people to go out and vote to make a difference to their country. This is believed to be the first time that a UK channel has ever shut down for an election. Their main question, which will be raised in their advert to explain their absence, is: ‘“How many times have you missed life-changing events because you wanted to watch your favourite show?”

Whatever your thoughts about the election, to make your own right choice, it’s important to know the ins and outs of each party and the pledges that they put forward. With the internet providing a lot of information on each party and their intentions, it’s easy to find out which party you suit most. So whether or not you like politics, your vote is important and it’s 100% worth your time.

Photo: Wikimedia, 159753

20

Lifestyle

Ella Woodward: the healthy eating overhaul Dahlia Al-Abdullah Lifestyle writer

Since our younger days, we hear about it all the time; in the media, through our school teachers, from our parents. Eating healthy; what once seemed like every human being’s nemesis has now turned into, what can only be described as, a major trend. With major bloggers such as Ella Woodward, author of thevegan cookbook ‘Deliciously Ella’, on the rise, and even celebrities like Beyoncé turning to the plant-based diet – is it just a fad, or is there some truth to the ‘eat yourself healthy’ mantra?

Ella Woodward describes her journey to veganism at the very beginning of her cookbook, saying that she felt ‘healed’ after taking on her new healthy eating adventure. For many people, this can seem like a completely foreign statement – healthy eating having ‘healing powers’!? It seems incredibly unlikely, as much as we are told how much the right food can benefit our bodies, to say that food can do as

much as cure us from illness seems extreme.

But why is it that so many people’s immediate reactions are that this is extreme, or that it probably wasn’t the food but some other

“Switching your diet can be a great thing for you” change in her lifestyle? After all, they could be totally right, but on that same level – so could she!

The most important thing to learn from the rise of healthy food being the new ‘cool’, is that switching your diet could be a great thing for you. Our bodies are constantly changing and developing, and our diet needs to be just as

flexible as we are. It’s great that bloggers like Ella healed themselves through a change of diet, but it is always important to remember that what works for her might not in fact work for you. It’s not always just about eating a load of fruit and vegetables every day, but working out what your body needs. Healthy could mean a totally different thing to each and every single person, whether that’s veganism or a high-protein diet.

Just like with trends in other things, whether that’s food, fashion, even music, the ‘healthy food trend’ should be seen on a different level and taken seriously.

We shouldn’t be so quick to doubt that these people

are fooling themselves, especially if we haven’t tried it ourselves. Healthy eating, whether in fashion or not, is obviously the better route to a healthy life. It’s great that it’s now been brought to the forefront of our culture by being a trend, but it’s also important to see past that. Whatever food trends come and go,

“The ‘healthy food trend’ should be taken seriously” the main point to take from stories like Ella’s is that the right diet can change a lot. So much of the vitamins and minerals we stock up on at Boots are found naturally in food, and there’s no reason to doubt food as being the greatest medicine. The key lies in listening to your body, knowing what’s right for you, and tailoring your diet with just your body and your health in mind.

Photo: Yellow Duck Photo: ZhangJinJin, DeviantArt

Ingredients • • • • • • • • • • •

1 portion ramen noodles 3 cups of chicken stock 3 spring onions Handful of mushrooms ½ a chilli pepper 4 tbsps soy sauce 2 chopped slices of ginger 2 garlic cloves 2 tsps ground paprika 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce Dash of sesame oil

Method 1. Sesame oil tastes great in lots of Asian dishes, but if you don’t have any then just

use some regular oil and get frying the mushrooms. Chop up your garlic and add that in, along with the ginger, chilli, and 1 tsp of that paprika.

2. Once the mushrooms are browned, pour in your stock. Traditionally, the ramen noodles are cooked separately from the broth, but in an effort to make this easier for exam time, add in your noodles now and let them cook in the stock.

3. Now it’s time to flavour the broth, so season it with a little salt and pepper, the remaining paprika, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce.

4. Let it all simmer until the noodles become soft, then serve up with some chopped spring onions on top for added crunch.

This dish is super easy, and super simple, and after making it once you’ll no doubt be addicted!

zl

For a meal that you can make beforehand, this is extremely easy and also very nutritious. Sometimes it helps to prepare a few portions of chicken in one go, so you can use them throughout the week without having to spend too much time cooking. In any case, this dish is easy enough to make whenever you’re feeling like a good old sandwich!

Ph ot o: Za z

Japanese ramen must be one of the world’s healthiest comfort foods, it’s packed with vegetables, but it’s those noodles that’ll get you feeling really full, really fast. During exam time, most of us will reach for the ready meals and pot noodles, this recipe will be just as fast to make, and will give you some much needed time away from the books, doing something therapeutic and fun. This version is vegetarian, but it also tastes amazing with some grilled pork/chicken sliced on top, or a soft boiled egg halved and served in the broth.

e

Chicken avocado wraps Ingredients

each side with all your spices, and turn it over often, so that each side gets evenly browned.

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

2. While your chicken is cooking, mix up the greek yoghurt, mint, and some olive oil in a bowl. This will make a really fresh sauce for your wrap, and will taste super fresh for Spring!

2 sliced chicken breasts 1 wholemeal tortilla wrap 1 avocado Handful of baby tomatoes Handful of lettuce 2 tbsp greek yoghurt 1 tbsp fresh coriander 1 tsp fresh mint 1 tbsp pomegranate seeds 1 tsp ground chilli 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground Olive oil

Method 1. Firstly, you’re going to get the chicken cooking, so heat up some olive oil in a frying pan, and add in your sliced chicken. Coat

3. Now this is the easy part, just layer up your tortilla! Avocado makes a really great spread, with some lettuce leaves layered on top for the chicken to rest on. It tastes great, however you put it together, so just have fun with it and tuck in!

Recipes by Dahlia Al-Abdullah

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22

Sport

Kat Lucas Sport editor

W

ith the end of the Premier League fast approaching, the culmination of this season looks as though it will be unsettlingly predictable.

There are a number of formalities still to be wrapped up. For Chelsea, all that remains is for them to rubber stamp their hold on the trophy. Manchester City, meanwhile, will be unfortunate not to make the Champions League places. Failure to do so would most likely spell the end for boss Manuel Pellegrini, but it is still possible while Southampton, Liverpool and Spurs retain a mathematical chance.

Many of last weekend’s games had a sense that something was lacking. Only the relegation dog-fight involving Leicester City, Queens Park Rangers, Burnley, Hull and Sunderland might be capable of salvaging the last few weeks. Aston Villa and Newcastle are also yet to confirm their safety, and the latter must do so amidst a poisonous atmosphere that has seen fans boycott St James’ Park.

Having spent most of the season propping up the rest of the table, Leicester have made a spirited fight of it recently. They are quickly becoming the mandatory ‘underdog’, spurred on by the encouragement of the rest of the other half of a more comfortable, winding-down Premier League.

It is unlikely to go down as one of the all-time classic seasons which the top tier is so used to producing. Many sides are already looking forward to what next season has to offer. For Louis Van Gaal, a Falcaoless Manchester United. For Spurs, no doubt more disappointment. Liverpool will begin life without Steven Gerrard, while Jose Mourinho must see if he can make the necessary adjustments to an excellent squad that will be one year older next time around.

Of course, there is always the possibility that the table might look different when it’s all over on May 24. As it stands, however, it seems apt to say that this has been one of the least competitive seasons in recent memory, as Mourinho’s men march to glory.

It may fall to the FA Cup final a week later to deliver the tension and drama expected of English football. Novice Tim Sherwood will take his Aston Villa side to Wembley after coming from behind in their semi-final against Liverpool.

The Villains will meet Arsenal under the arch, hoping for an upset, and with a reasonably good chance of causing one.

Under Sherwood, Villa have undergone an incredible transformation. The former Spurs man has injected a phenomenal amount of pace and optimism into his new side, and it would be fitting for him to overcome his former rivals in North London.

As for Arsene Wenger, the FA Cup is rapidly becoming his salvation. Arsenal fans may be discontent with their league placings year after year, but having triumphed over Hull City in last year’s final, Wenger looks on course to deliver silverware yet again.

It may not be what it used to be, but the FA Cup’s historic prestige was enough for Arsenal to label their season a success.

With that in mind, it is unlikely the board will respond to widespread calls for his departure, as they continue to stagnate in the big competitions.

Photo: Flickr, CNCunofficial Tom Gordon Sport writer Last week the Professional Footballers’ Association announced its six-man shortlists for the Player Young Player of the Year. The Photo: Flickr,and nicksarebi week and a half run up to the announcement is barely a blip on the radar for most footballing fans, sandwiched as it is between the U-boats of the final stages of the FA cup, the Champions League and the Premier League.

Nonetheless, April 26th should at least muster enough excitement to be if not a red-letter day, a mauve tinged afternoon.

For the first time, the two lists share four players: Philippe Coutinho, Eden Hazard, David De Gea and Harry Kane. This once again brings into question the foggy demarcations between the two lists, where 24 constitutes the upper echelon of “young”. Personally, I think either alter the nomenclature and call it “breakout player of the year”, or lower the age to 21.

22 year-old Burnley forward Danny Ings could pass for an aged club rep, whereas Raheem Sterling can tuck away seven goals and seven assists, but can’t buy a beer in Mississippi. I know which I’d call young.

Cherub-faced though he maybe, it seems unlikely that Sterling, who along with Thibaut Courtois makes up the rest of the Young Player nominations, will bag the award. Despite Courtois having achieved 118 clean-sheets

I

f your only way of keeping in touch with motorsport is via the national press, you may have missed the steady rise of the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) World Endurance Championship, which is taking on Formula 1 for the title of the ‘Pinnacle of Motorsport’. Now in its fourth season, the WEC has added Nissan to its alreadyimpressive roster of manufacturers including Audi, Toyota and Porsche in the premier class, LMP1, and boasts a stellar driver line-up that many F1 fans will recognise. Joining ninetime Grand Prix winner Mark Webber are current world champions Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi, Nissan’s new recruit Max Chilton and Greys Anatomy actor turned race-car driver Patrick Dempsey, who moves across from American endurance racing to the international stage with his own team.

Force India F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg has also been bitten by the endurance bug and will join Porsche for the next round of the championship at Spa, in preparation for the jewel in the crown, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

I’ve been following this championship since its inaugural season in 2012, and have watched

Hazard leads the way in PFA race and six trophies since his debut six years ago, Chelsea’s answer to the Colossus of Rhodes is not the front-runner. That honour goes to Kane, and I’d be going over old ground analysing the season he’s had.

If Gareth Bale – who won both awards in 2013, before going to Madrid to convalesce on a permanent basis – is anything to go by, David De Gea is a frontrunner. Man United’s expert shot-stopper has at least one glove out the door, finger pointed firmly towards his hometown. Needless to say, without this man, United would not be sitting so happily ensconced in third place. South-American expats Diego Costa and Alexis Sanchez have both been essential forwards for their teams in their first seasons in English football, putting to bed to the supposed truism that a player needs to adjust to what is ostensibly the toughest league in world football.

The tireless Sanchez could have been confused for Atlas in the first half of the season, so often was he holding the entire Arsenal team on his back. And it is no grand claim to make that Diego Costa, third-highest scorer in the League with 19 goals, has been indispensible in earning Chelsea’s seemingly unassailable place at the top.

Yet, he is not even the best man in blue on the list. That honour goes to the man for whom the award seems a lock-in: the little lithe Belgian Eden Hazard. He is a player that deserves all the platitudes, superlatives and hyperbolic pronouncements that pundits

distribute with abandon. His 13 goals and 8 assists do not tell even half the story. Despite having played just shy of 3,000 minutes and featured in every Chelsea game this season, Hazard has barely put a single foot wrong, often dragging a frequently lacklustre Chelsea team through to victory single-handedly.

When simply standing still with the ball at his feet has been enough to inculcate fear in the hearts of fullbacks, it’s not surprising he’s been fouled on average three times per game.

Yet, we must end on a sour note named Philippe Coutinho. His inclusion on the list has mystified everyone – the Kop included.

Although he scored a couple of screamers against Southampton and City, when voting occurs, it will be remembered that he has hardly set the world alight. Like Ricky Martin, Philippe may be a fetching South American who comes out with a few scorching hits that stick in the mind, he’s hardly an artist at the height of his powers.

Sky pundit Jamie Carragher recently admitted that he ensured Steven Gerrard had the best possible chance by ensuring none of his club-mates voted for his main rivals, Thierry Henry or Frank Lampard. Tactical voting would certainly explain why Chelsea captain John Terry – unable to vote for clubmates Hazard and Costa – cast his ballot for Coutinho. So this Sunday, whether or not Arsenal triumph over Chelsea, it seems their local adversaries Spurs and their title rivals will be taking home the spoils.

COMMENT Laura Donaghy looks into the best kept secret in motorsport, the FIA World Endurance Championship in awe as it continues to expand and evolve. It’s a refreshing departure from the norm in that there’s no red-tape, no politics; it’s all about the racing. This year’s season started with a bang, with a six hour race at Silverstone in mid-April, a date that has become a firm favourite on the calendar. With a weekend ticket costing only £35, including paddock access and roving grandstand seats, it makes for excellent value for money too – not to mention a scintillating European Le Mans Series race only decided in the final five minutes on the Saturday.

For those hardened Formula 1 fans, the paddock can seem like a paradise available to only a select few. But those in attendance for the WEC were able to freely walk around, rubbing shoulders with the stars of our sport.

A lucky few who bought their tickets early were even able to access the pitlane, giving an opportunity for us mere mortals to meet our idols, snap a few selfies, and feel just that little bit closer to the sport.

The on-track show isn’t bad either. With 30 cars on the track at once – which increases to 56 at Le Mans – there is never a dull moment to be had, with close racing throughout the four classes. The battle for the win at Silverstone between Marcel Fassler’s Audi and Neel Jani’s Porsche was truly one to savour, with multiple lead changes and only a few seconds separating them at the flag after six hours of racing, as different strategies took their course.

Contrast that with Formula 1, where despite several gimmicks introduced with the aim of improving the spectacle, the final outcome is fairly cut and dried after the opening laps.

Already, it appears as though Lewis Hamilton is set for a repeat World Championship, but it would take a brave man to predict the outcome in the WEC; anything can happen over the course of 24 hours, and at Le Mans, it usually does.

The best kept secret in motorsport is set to be a secret no longer.

Sport

23

UEA Avalanche narrowly miss out Leah Brown reports as UEA’s Ice Hockey outfit reached the semi-finals of the British Universities’ National Championship

Photo: UEA Avalanche he British University Ice Hockey Association’s National Championship in Sheffield gives university ice hockey teams all over the UK a chance to face off against each other. For the third year running, the UEA Avalanche ice hockey team took up the opportunity to show what they were made of, fresh off a win against the Birmingham Lions. Unfortunately, however, they didn’t quite make the semi-finals, missing out by the margin of just one point.

The Avalanche’s first game of the weekend was against the UCL Yetis B, whom they had yet to face this year. It was a close game, with the Yetis starting the attempts on goal early on in the game. Luckily, goaltender Sam Birkentals executed several excellent saves, to keep the sides on equal footing at 0-0. The defensemen were on point throughout the game, with some fancy footwork from Ross Arthurs kicking the puck out and away from the Yetis. The Yetis’ netminder saved several shots from assistant captains Paul McDermott and Adam Fulford, until UCL scored the only goal of the game, winning 1-0.

Next, the Avs faced the Imperial Devils C, the eventual Tier Five winners. The Devils’ goalie had proven quite the character –

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chirping even his own teammates – so this was always going to be an interesting matchup.

UEA had the best possession, but it was the Devils who opened the scoring with 14 minutes to go. Despite this, Avalanche fought back with some excellent plays, Craig Jacobs lifting the puck past the goaltender making it 1-1. Later, in a heart stopping moment, the puck nearly teetered over UEA’s goal crease, but Birkentals saved it just in time, living up to his previous Man of the Match titles. Although

“Despite their best efforts and some amazing goals, UEA just missed out on the semi-finals” the Devils scored again on a breakaway, making it 2-1, Graham Austin scored a stunning goal with 40 seconds left on the clock, evening the scores. The score remained unchanged, despite two more shots on goal in the dying seconds for the Avalanche.

The next day was a new start for the Avs, facing off against the Birmingham Lions D. UEA needed to win their next two games to

be in with a chance of getting through to the semi-finals. For a few moments, it looked as if the Lions were down a goaltender with Hull Ice Hogs’ nearly having to fill in - luckily for the Lions, though, theirs turned up just in time.

UEA got off to a hot start, with three shots on goal in three minutes. However, despite being late to the ice, the Lions’ goalie managed to make the saves, barely keeping the Avs off the scoreboard until, with nine minutes remaining, Ben Long scored. Not two minutes later, Austin scored again for UEA with an assist from Chris Dobson, bringing them up to 2-0. Finally, Jacobs scored once more, taking it up to the final tally of 3-0, aided by some great defence work from rookie Zack Breeze. Avalanche ended with 15 shots on goal, the Lions with a paltry three. This truly was UEA’s game.

What would end up being UEA’s final game of the Nationals was against the home team, Sheffield Bears E. While the Avs won the first face-off, it was the Bears who took the first shot on goal. It didn’t reach the net, thanks to Birkentals sending it back into play for Dominic Rodwell to pick up. The Avs then executed some stylish tape-to-tape passes,

leading up to a shot that went just wide. There were some worrying moments, with the Bears nearly scoring, but Birkentals wasn’t to be beaten, hustling the puck back into play.

Frustratingly, when Jacobs was on a breakaway and looked to have a good scoring chance, he was tripped by one of the Bears who took a penalty. It was a late start, but Jacobs scored on the power play with three minutes remaining, and an assist from team Captain, Adelice Kraemer, bringing the score up to 1-0. However, the Avs weren’t finished yet, with Jacobs scoring another goal with 12 seconds remaining, this time assisted by Austin, leaving the final score at 2-0 to UEA. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts and some amazing goals, UEA narrowly missed out on the semi-finals. Nonetheless, they ended on a high note, with two consecutive wins, and two shutouts for Birkentals. Birkentals ended up joint first with Imperial Devils’ goaltender, Karl Zimmerman, for save percentage at 0.89, and Craig Jacobs made it onto the leader board for goals and points, both well-deserved achievements. All in all, though they didn’t see the finals this year, Avalanche really showed they were not a team to be taken lightly.

Can Arsenal be certain of FA Cup victory?

Will Hunter Sport writer It has been a curious season for the red and white half of North London. Reeling like drunken shambles in the first half of the campaign, with opaque tactics and a chronic lack of defenders, Arsene Wenger’s men have arguably been the best side in the country of 2015. Since losing to Southampton at the turn of the year, the Gunners have won 11 out of 12 league games and have a squad that is capable of matching the oligarchs of Chelsea and Manchester City.

Alexis Sanchez, the Chilean pocket rocket, has been one of the players of the season, while the underrated Olivier Giroud continuously improves. Meanwhile, the much-maligned Mesut Ozil is finally showing the form that convinced the club to shell out a club record £42.5m on him (and no Michael Owen, Raheem Sterling is not better than him and any attempt to pretend otherwise is utter bollocks). They are firmly on course to

claim a Champions League place for an 18th successive season and will look to retain the FA Cup on the 30th May (which also happens to be Steven Gerrard’s birthday, in case you didn’t know). That can’t be bad.

And yet…the nagging feeling persists that this side has untapped potential ready to be unleashed, and is just a final push away from reaching the promised land in the league and Europe. This was meant to be the year of a serious title challenge, the year when Arsenal, with the proverbial trophy monkey off their backs courtesy of their dramatic FA Cup win against Hull City, were finally free to tap into the financial potential their stadium move was supposed to bring about. The Gunners were finally supposed to be mixing it at the top end again. Yet, their title race was over before it had even begun, and a typically underwhelming Champions League first leg against Monaco means that the record is stuck on repeat at the Emirates.

Even the FA Cup is far from in the bag. At the risk of trotting out the usual nauseating clichés about plucky underdogs, the

competition’s penchant for the unexpected is well documented. Aston Villa’s victory over Liverpool was no fluke, but a carefully planned and meticulously organised feat, masterminded by Tim Sherwood - often dismissed as a buffoon, but one who nonetheless appears to have revitalised the

“This Arsenal side has shown more resilience than the so-called ‘Fabregas’ generation” club in the short term. Few Arsenal fans will be taking anything for granted, having learnt through painful experience that “it ain’t over til its over”. Even last season, when the semifinal draw opened up the possibility of Hull City, Wigan Athletic and Sheffield United, the overwhelming feeling was best expressed as “How can we fuck this up now?” The gifting of trophies to so-called inferior opponents is written in the club’s DNA. Leaving aside Laurent Koscielny’s air-kick against

Birmingham in 2011, clubs such as Swindon and Luton have both snatched trophies from under the Gunners noses, in 1969 and 1988 respectively (and both incidentally are the only trophies in both those clubs’ histories).

This Arsenal side has shown more resilience and nous than the so-called “Fabregas” generation. Gone are flimsy liabilities such as Denilson and Emmanuel Eboue, and the grinding out of victories away at the two Manchester clubs this season has demonstrated a new found tactical nous.

However, the exploding clown’s car element of self-implosion is never far away from Arsenal and their fans will greet May 30th with trepidation as well as anticipation.

It seems churlish for Arsenal fans to complain too much. After a nine-year trophy drought, they are starting to rediscover the winning habit again. This is undoubtedly the strongest side Arsene Wenger has built since Henry and Bergkamp were in their pomp.

The foundations for greatness are there – the question is whether Messrs Sanchez and Ozil can push on and reach the summit.

C

SPORT

SPORT

Issue 312 28th April 2015

concrete-online.co.uk @Concrete_UEA ConcreteNewspaper

Photo: Phoebe Lula, Concrete Photography

UEA’s boxers assemble for Fight Night Peter Sheehan took a ring-side seat as UEA’s biggest-ever Fight Night got underway in the LCR

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confess that I don’t really know that much about boxing. That said, I’ll try almost anything once. But this is a sell-out crowd – it’s standing room only – so clearly there are quite a few people at UEA who follow the sport more closely than I. The referee comes out to introduce himself and explain the rules “to prove that it’s not fixed”. Although he doubts that we “have enough money to organise that”. I don’t follow the finer points of his explanation, but points are scored for hits with the front of the glove, not for swings from the side; hits on the back of the head are not permitted. Fights are made up of three two-minute rounds.

The first round is fast-moving. Arjun Rohilla and Joseph Kenny are the lightest fighters of the night, and they skip around the ring with an assured lightness. The second round is by far the most aggressive, but by the third both fighters are tiring visibly. Rohilla is counted – you lose points for that – and Kenny seems to be the more agile of the two, even at this late stage. At the final bell, he Kenny takes victory.

Henry Springgate and Dan Barge don’t hang around at the start of the second fight.

Both are punching furiously but, as the second round gets underway, Springgate seems to have the upper hand. Several times, Barge is forced into the barriers, and he gets counted close to the end of the final round.

After three rounds, the referee says that the fight was a “huge win” for Springgate.

The man himself can’t really say much, but he manages to splutter that his next few hours will consist of “beer”. Barge, says the referee, “hit a wall” in the second round. Barge agrees, and says that next time his preparation will consist of “less drinking; more running”.

Sam Attwood and Max Heron face each other in the third fight. Heron, “the Slayer from Salisbury” does a pre-match lap of the ring as Shake It Off blasts out from the LCR

speakers; somehow, he still manages to look intimidating.

The fight is less punchy that previous ones.

There is more ducking and feinting as the two fighters try to provoke the other into making a mistake. They’re big guys, but they’re light on their feet. The second round is even more explosive than the first, and at the second bell Heron roars to the crowd. He has the greater momentum in the final round, although neither fighter seems to be tiring too much. It’s compelling boxing.

Heron wins, although the referee is complimentary about both men. “We’re gonna have a pint together”, says Heron: “we’re still mates”.

Billy Kensit and Conrad Francis start slowly, but sudden flurries of movement break up the weaving and feinting. Things liven up in the second round, and Francis appears to be dominating the bout. The third round, however, is more intense still: unlike the other fights, this one is getting more animated the closer to the final bell we get.

Francis wins, but the referee says that Kensit “just came up short”. It was “quite a technical bout”: apparently there’s a great deal of method in the long periods of facing off against your opponent.

In the fifth fight, Ben Phillips and James Cornforth are energetic and fast, but a little on the scrappy side: they lack the clinical precision of some of the others. They spend far less time staring each other down: most of the time in the ring is spent fighting.

As the second round gets underway, it’s clear that Cornforth is struggling. He keeps punching, but can’t seem to find his target. He gets counted in the second and third round but, as the crowd cheers on, he always gets back up again.

Eventually, the referee calls time early.

“Cornforth”, he says, was “really startled” by

Flickr: CNCunofficial

PFA Awards Page 22

a near knock-out blow in the first round from which he never really recovered. Phillips is a “top victor”, but Cornforth leaves the ring with good grace and a smile – and to a huge roar from the crowd.

Guy Chatfield and Harry “the Bollard” Pollard are big guys. And this is an aggressive fight. No feinting, no ducking: almost every punch finds flesh, arms swing wide, and the floor of the ring shakes with the strain.

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he crowd is getting louder and louder (but we are now two intervals down, and the bar has been open for several hours), and Chatfield seems to have the upper hand as the second round draws to close. In the final round, Pollard throws some huge punches as any remaining finesse is happily dispensed with.

The referee says, fairly accurately, that both fighters have “thrown everything they’ve got into this”. Pollard, he says, “really tried for the knockout punch”, but his opponent was the “clear winner”. Chatfield is magnanimous in victory: “I’m really happy, but he [Pollard] was one tough son of a bitch”.

The seventh and final fight has been billed as the main event, and not without good reason. Jordan Morris and Umer Khan don’t waste energy on swinging or stamping: every punch is straight and finds it target.

Khan falls spectacularly at the tail end of the first round, but he makes up for it with some truly impressive boxing in the second.

Things start to get a little scrappy in the final round, but both fighters retain an admirable agility.

The referee is impressed: “the fight of the night”, he says. Morris won: he “played it exactly as it should be played”. Even for a boxing novice such as myself, this fight was clearly more skilled than the others. An exciting end to a thrilling evening.

Photo: Mark Newbold

WEC on the rise Page 22

Flickr: Ronnie Macdonald

FA Cup preview Page 23

venue CLASS OF 2015

THE CRIBS

APRIL STORNOWAY

Saturday 23rd WF £18.50

TOM BAXTER

+ THE LOST BROTHERS Wednesday 29th WF £14

+ ROB RICHINGS Saturday 23rd WFS £15

MAY SON OF DAVE

HAWKEYES Thursday 28th WFS £6

+ DOVE & BOWEEVIL Friday 1st WFS £10

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venue

031 concrete.venue@uea.ac.uk

April 28 / #312

editors Holly J. McDede Adam White

art commissioner Ana Dukakis

cover art Tamara Chang illustrators Dougie Dodds Ana Dukakis Nancy Netherwood

Lucinda Swain

Adam White

Music 04-07 editors Myles Earle Mike Vinti

I have become a lot angrier since I became the editor of Venue. Although I haven’t checked yet, I might even be less of a human. For instance, the other day, an editor we’ll call Lucy Loo informed me she had not gotten the pictures I asked her to for one article. I messaged her, “You should message them. Now.” Then I felt bad. So I quickly typed back, “I mean, maybe not now. I mean, when you get a chance. I mean, get it to me next month, if you want. Or never is fine, too! Up to you!” Who have I become?

But I’m not as angry at people as I am at forms, which is more socially acceptable. I recently organized an art exhibition through Concrete, and spent entire days asking people to fill in forms. The form asks questions like, “What is your ethnicity?” and “How have WE helped YOU?” and “Do you have a religion or belief?”

I have some beliefs, yes. Do you? Go up to the nearest person and ask them, “What’s YOUR ethnicity?” and I guarantee they won’t say, “Oh my! I’ve been waiting for someone to ask! I’m German with a tinge of Hawaiian

and a spoonful of Iranian!” Stop wasting my time with your pointless forms, people.

This doesn’t feel like a goodbye. I don’t even know what I’m saying. Let me give love and gratitude a try. To be fair, I learned a lot as the Venue editor. I learned that horoscopes are a hit, that the white arrow thing on Adobe InDesign does different things than the black arrow thing, that copyright is important, that Adam White will make a great porn magazine art director one day, that Peter Sheehan is a patient individual, that Geri Scott is a powerful woman, and that life is not all that serious.

If there’s anything that will teach you how insignificant mistakes can be, it’s editing a student newspaper. No one really reads them. It’s basically an imaginary newspaper and all mistakes are basically just as insignificant and imaginary, too. I’m not sure if “life is as imaginary and fleeting as a student newspaper” is a good lesson to take away but I’ll take what I can get. As Kurt Vonnegut says, so it goes. Goodbye!

Holly J.

There was a girl who lived in my building in first year who had the worst hair to ever grace the face of the earth.

It was blonde and felt-like, and it swooped and stuck up in multiple directions like a bizarre carnival hat, or Lisa Simpson if she stuck her head in one of the machines that make candy floss. I bring that up because not telling her that her hair was ridiculous is the one thing I have slight regrets about when it comes to my university experience.

Everything else was pretty good. Like it was meant to be. People were loved and appreciated. I grew and learned as a person. Didn’t do anything too weird. Caused a couple of scenes. An all-round success!

In regards to Venue, I think we had a pretty good year. We kind of went in with silliness, annoyed everyone

under the sun, and then checked out with a bunch more ridiculousness. We had fun. I’d like to think the three of you regular readers had fun, too.

Holly has been a hoot, by the way. She is far more talented than all of us, disgustingly so, and while I have never found out how old she is, or the mystery behind the ‘J’ in ‘J. McDede’, she will always be someone I consider a friend. So long, friend. So long.

As a toast to Venue, I will be participating in what will resemble a cult-like ritual next week, throwing every copy I can find of Shake It Off, Uptown Funk and that song where Adam Levine shouts ‘sugar’ a lot into an enormous bonfire in the square. Please join me. Goodbye!

Adam

Fashion 08-09 editors Gemma Carter

Helena Urquhart

Arts 10-11 editor Katie Kemp

contributors

contributors

contributors

Mike Brett, Myles Earle, Kelsey Frick, Daniel Jeakins, Murray Roy, Mike Vinti

Sharon Abraham, Clare Bartington, Adam Dawson

Ben Baulch-Jones, Adam Dawson, Abigail Walton

Creative Writing 16-17 editor

Television 18-20 editor

FINAL ISSUE SPECIAL!

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Adam Dawson

News Eats Man! 13 Cover Retrospective! 14-15

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Adam Dawson, Dan Struthers, Adam White

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Joe Fitzsimmons

Neven Devies Silvia Rose

Daisy Jones

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Daisy Jones

FACES BY SARAH MICHAELS

music

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concrete.music@uea.ac.uk

One criticism that has been levelled at pop music this decade is that it really doesn’t seem to mean anything anymore, and it rings particularly true at present. One of the most hotly contested general elections ever may be going on right now, but stick on the radio and you’ll find the latest generation of artists more worried about ‘finding themselves a cheerleader’ than the people running our country.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

WIKI

What better way to get in touch with your political opinions, than with the soulful tones of the free-spirit that is Lauryn Hill.

The woman who put words of community and love, coupling it with the struggles of the average man and woman in a world of gender inequality. The advocate of choice who spits over a heavy beat, after showcasing the mastery of her vocals, puts into perspective the importance and power of your choice; what else is more important?

Janelle Monae

FLICKR (MARK SEBASTIAN)

The Electric Lady

The new kid on the block, Janelle Monae’s The Electric Lady’s distopian setting is an environment rife with contemporary political issues. From the marginalised sectors of society, to the criticism of the powers at play, Monae’s Cindy Mayweather, the android protagonist running throughout all of her albums, as well as from the government, is part of the equality movement Monae brings, establishing politically charged themes and issues to a soulful audience.

As a former Etonian, Frank Turner’s position as a left-wing political commentator has been brought into question by a lot of people on the internet. Personally, I don’t think anyone’s upbringing should prevent them from holding a particular political stance, and the folk-rock singer made a great political statement with his 2008 release Thatcher Fucked The Kids. An angry assault of the Tory government of the 1980’s, Turner proves with this song his ability as a diverse, extremely talented songwriter.

venue’s musical to the Selections by

Mike Vinti Myles Earle Daniel Jeakins

WIKI

Lauryn Hill

Thatcher Fucked the Kids

WIKI

Frank Turner

It wasn’t always this way, of course. Billy Bragg’s been unleashing left-wing political anthems on the world for years, whilst The Sex Pistols’ anti-monarchy chart battle on the week of the silver jubilee has gone down in musical history. There’s even been a few recent political statements in the charts – from Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead’s ascent to number two upon the death of Margaret Thatcher to an auto-tuned remix of Nick Clegg apologising about his tuition fees U-turn going viral.

With that in mind and in the wake of the general election, I’ve been flicking through my record collection to find some of the great political anthems. Daniel Jeakins

The Clash

The Clampdown

There’s a few decent choices for political Clash songs to choose from – Rock the Casbah being the most obvious option if you’re after something with mainstream popularity – but Clampdown might be the best choice out there. One of the highlights from London Calling – widely regarded as one of the finest punk records of all time – Clampdown is an absolute anthem about the working classes working for the gain of the rich and not themselves.

music

051 FLICKR (NRK P3)

concrete.music@uea.ac.uk

PJ Harvey

WIKI

Let England Shake

Triumphing in one of the strongest Mercury prize shortlists ever, PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake tackled themes such as the futility of war and decline of western culture with incredible success on her 2011 album. One of the most stunning, politically charged works ever, Harvey’s eighth studio album is adored by critics and is often cited as one of the best releases of the decade.

Jamie XX

All Under One Roof Raving

Best known for his work with working class Britpop legends, Pulp, this is Jarvis’ melodic ode to the state of the world. He blissfully rages against corporations and governments, attacking the elite that dominate seemingly every facet of the modern world. Taking to the piano, Cocker pulls no punches when it comes to disdain for our current class of leaders.

Public Enemy

Fear of a Black Planet

Released in 1990, Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet finds the hip-hop pioneers on the form of their career. Songs like 911 Is a Joke, which attacked the appallingly long call-out time for police in black neighbourhoods, enjoyed critical acclaim upon its release and has since become a modern classic. If you’re looking for something political in the world of hip-hop, you really can’t do much better than Public Enemy.

Never Mind the Bollocks

The ultimate political album, the release of Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks is arguably the most politically charged moment in British musical history. The band’s anti-establishment message was hugely controversial at the time and had a genuine impact on society – something that can’t really be said of any musical release since.

WIKI

guide general election

Sex Pistols

Bob Marley War

Punk isn’t the only genre to tackle politics head on – some of the best reggae artists also tackled important issues head on. Bob Marley & The Wailers’ 1976 release War’s lyrics were taken from a speech made by the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie before the United Nations in 1963.

Somehow despite this obvious limitation it also manages to be one of Marley’s best tracks.

FLICKR (FRANCESCO)

WIKI

Cunts Are Still Running the World

WIKI

Jarvis Cocker

Paying tribute to the glory days of Acid House and Rave before the Tories ruined everyone’s fun (again), this song is an important reminder that British culture is more than the manifesto pledges and UKIP slogans of this general election. With gentrification sweeping away much of biggest cities nightlife, now more than ever the UK needs a reminder of life outside of election hype and political posturing. Bouncing basslines and British accents litter the track creating a sense of nostalgia for the golden age of British rave, even if most of us missed it.

music

061

concrete.music@uea.ac.uk

don’t sleep....

FLICKR (FARM9)

the skints -epic studios Murray Roy

“Could reggae take over the world?” asked a sample used at the beginning of a demo recording of ‘Sociopath’ on The Skints’ first EP in 2008.

Whether or not they intended to prophesize about the ascent of their own blend of Jamaican and British styles in a sound unmistakably from their beloved East London home, a look at the band that stepped on stage at Norwich’s Epic Studios provides a persuasive argument for its fulfilment.

Making Norwich their first stop on the UK leg of the tour, off the back of a staggering 14date campaign to bring new album FM to the continent, The Skints left a serious impression of a band that has tirelessly grafted; finally getting the success and recognition has been such a long time in the making.

As I joined the queue that was already

Cherry Bomb - Tyler, The Creator Luke Brett Cherry Bomb follows hot on the heels of I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside, a well-received drop from Tyler’s Odd Future companion, Earl Sweatshirt. But, what we’re looking at here are

snaking way down Magdalene Street, barely an hour after doors the anticipation of what was now sure to be a memorable one was hard to escape from.

From the moment of arrival until lights, the entire evening was a spectacle in itself. A very special support set from Hollie Cook, another of the UK’s reggae stars, quietly rising under the studio guidance of Prince Fatty, along with her band General Roots, mesmerised the Norwich dub club in full attendance.

The Skints family has become a fully-fledged unit, with MCs Rival, Horseman and Tippa Irie, a legend of British sound system culture, all featured on the latest release and taking to the mic to bring the experience of ‘FM’ – Frequency Murderation - and its imaginary London-reggae-radio theme to life. Every fan favourite from FM was executed defiantly

with the hefty rhythms, bass and harmonies, conscious and uplifting lyrics and irresistible hooks that The Skints have built their reputation upon.

The progression evident in the difference between the band that played at the Arts Centre in my first year and the band that played tonight is undeniable. The Skints have become a truly heavyweight force, overflowing with a confidence that has certainly been earned, showing no sign of fatigue having just landed back on this side of the Channel.

Their enthusiasm to even just be playing to their biggest ever Norwich crowd emanates throughout the room, particularly when guitarist Josh Waters-Rudge recalls their first Norwich gig many years ago, which was attended by ‘”about 15 people”.

Now playing to a sold out Epic Studios,

clearly humbled and grateful, they were also deservedly relishing and enjoying the moment.

It feels right - they’ve achieved this despite reggae’s minimal representation on mainstream British radio and in its music press, without all the hype and by constantly refining and redefining the music they want to play without compromise.

Some of their earlier, punkier cuts such as Murderer, Mindless, and their staple set-finisher Culture Vulture are also still present on the set list, unashamedly showing those that first picked up the band on their newer records that they stick to their roots, and rewarding the old hardcore for staying with and supporting the band up to the present day. Nobody left Epic tonight with any doubt that The Skints have the potential to become one of the finest and best-loved reggae bands of this generation.

two musical polarities; far from Earl’s reserved been widened, and as a result, the album feels and quietly thoughtful beats, Cherry Bomb is much wider and more carefully produced fast, loud, and different. than his previous work. As mentioned, he That last descriptive is what I’ll be basing isn’t afraid to overstep the mark and put his the majority of this review upon- while feelers into unknown territory- his willingness trickles of Odd Future to experiment with a “Tyler’s flow is still syrupy still drip from the variety of samples and edges of this 13-track, mixing arrangements smooth, rumbling through the 54-minute album, it is has given us an album a fundamental change. album with masterful rhythm and that is consistently rhyme” we’ve still got Tyler’s refreshing. characteristic bassy drawl The album, while slicing its way through sparse and minimalistic home to several excellent tracks, began to tracks, Odd Future’s inherent darkness seems to feel a little too jumpy and, in some places, have become darker still- the heavy, thumping overly conceptual. While I admire Tyler’s drumlines and aggressive distortion of the attitude and flair for coming up with new album’s title track serve to remind us that Tyler arrangements, his production becomes too isn’t afraid to dig a little deeper. much on some tracks, such as THE BROWN For the most part, the album is great. STAINS OF DARKEESE LATIFAH PART Tyler’s flow is still syrupy-smooth, rumbling 6-12, where rain-sticks and kazoos combine through the album with masterful rhythm to create some of the weirdest, and heaviest and rhyme. Old-school inspiration coupled production sounds that I’ve heard on recent with new-school technology has resulted in a releases. It’s not terrible, but on some tracks, well-produced yet classically authentic album. Tyler’s experimental mixing nearly succeeds in At nearly an hour, Tyler’s creative scope has drowning out the rap itself. There are honestly

some songs that I can’t finish, purely because the various clicks and beeps are too annoying.

This is my only real gripe with Cherry Bomb.

While Tyler has once again proven that he can not only rap, but that he is prepared to continue the Odd Future tradition of pushing musical boundaries and bringing something new to the hip-hop game. In this case, though, he may have pushed the boat out a little too far- I’m a big fan of Tyler, and Odd Future, but some of the production of this album is questionable at best. However, this is not to say that this is the case with all of the tracksin fact, most of the tracks are the classic Molassesvoiced Tyler walking us through a forest of brass instruments and reverbladen beats. Finally, to top it all off, there’s a Kanye feature towards the end. Overall, a very solid album that might get a little annoying over time.

music

071

concrete.music@uea.ac.uk

artist / activist

don’t sleep DESHAUN CRADDOCK

Kelsey Frick explores how System of a Down have used their music to call for justice over the Armenian genocide

De La Soul X Nas

ALTERNA2

Ahead of their new Kickstarter funded album, De La Soul have dropped a collaboration with New York legend and GOAT Nas, check it out on their Soundcloud.

Chemical Brothers

April 24th marks the centenary of the Armenian awareness of the Armenian genocide. They’ve genocide, an event which existence has been called on the support of their fans and urged hotly debated throughout the past 100 years. them to seize this opportunity to bring justice Though often considered the first genocide to this cause and encourage discussion. of the 20th century, the Turkish government Beginning in April, the tour started in the has steadfastly denied the event and the issue US and will make its way around Europe and has become more political than ethical at this South America before finally coming to a close point. Only a handful of countries currently in Mexico. What makes this tour special is recognise the mass killings and death marches that, since their formation in 1994, SOAD had of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide. In 2015 never played in their home country of Armenia, alone, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Syria On the 23rd April they played there first home have officially condemned the genocide for the show, as part of the tour, to commemorate the first time. centennial. The tour has gotten resoundingly System of a Down, probably the most good reviews since its kick off in southern politically charged band of every metal kid’s California. SOAD has incorporated educative youth, have always been incredibly vocal about videos, narrated by fellow metal activist Tom their disgust for the Turkish government and Morello, to inform their fans of the current their war crimes. They’ve written a plethora of state of genocide denial and the harsh realities songs dealing with the subject, most notably faced by its victims.

P.L.U.C.K., an acronym for Politically, Lying, Every member of System of a Down is the Unholy, Cowardly Killers, with lyrics like, descendant of an Armenian genocide survivor.

“We’ve taken all your shit/Now it’s time In a video announcing the tour in LA, vocalist for restitution/Recognition, Restoration, Serj Tankian said, “I think you have to have Reparation”. Not only vocal through their incrimination, I think you have to have justice, music, SOAD have been featured in Screamers, courts involved, et cetera. It’s got to be done a 2006 documentary the right way.” featuring the band Tankian and “They’ve written a plethora of songs and members of drummer John dealing with the subject, most notably Dolmayan opened their families. The film highlights the P.L.U.C.K... Politically, Lying Unholy, themselves up for Armenian genocide a chat in a recent Cowardly Killers” and its denial along Reddit ‘Ask Me with various other Anything’. In it, genocides, including Rwanda and Darfur. they discussed their upcoming tour and the Although they haven’t recorded a new album implications of this centennial anniversary. since their hiatus ended in 2010, SOAD One user asked how to make the next 100 years announced their Wake Up The Souls tour at about the future of Armenia, rather than the the end of last year. Their message was clear: past. Tankian responded, “The genocide and the main purpose for the tour was to raise our quest for justice has now been engrained

into the DNA of Armenian culture and has become the most prevalent characteristic and bond among our people. No culture wants to be victimised forever.”

“But does that have to take over our cultural treasures?” Tankian continued, “Isn’t what we’re doing with System Of A Down the perfect marriage of that? To present our cultural assets while fighting for justice. One without the other is an irreversible loss I think.”

As SOAD continues to incorporate the ingrained heritage of the genocide into their music and political discourse, they have of course come under fire for their activism. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Tankian talked about how their Turkish fans defended them from a smear campaign started by whom he thinks was a Turkish government agent. That being said, there is a large minority of Turks that are disappointed with their government’s stance on the genocide. In 2008, Turkish activists launched the “I Apologise” campaign and reached over 30,000 signatures in just one month. Backlash was harsh in Turkey, some critics and politicians even going so far as to call for signatories to be punished under Article 301, a law that prohibits insults to Turkey, the Turkish nation, or their governmental institutions.

SOAD have asked the Turkish government for permission to play in Turkey, but they have never had a response. They have made it clear that they will not abandon their convictions, and I believe that they have gained a lot of ground for the movement. They’ve encouraged discussion, empathy, and solidarity for the benefit of their people the heinous crimes committed against Armenians one hundred years ago.

IDOLATOR

Everyone’s favourite big beat pioneers, The Chemical Brothers, have announced their new album ‘Born in the Echoes’, out 17 July.

Sia released her new music video for ‘Fire Meet Gasoline’ for Heidi Klum’s lingerie line, featuring the model-turned-designer herself and Game of Thrones star Pedro Pascal.

KURDISH DAILY NEWS

Sia later

fashion

081

concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk

Best Dressed UEA Media Collective Special!

beau of the ball Adam Dawson gives us the rundown on how to rock formal wear trying to say you’re an elegant gentleman, not ‘omg look how random and kooky I am lol.’

FLICKR (TOUCHED MUCH)

Leah Omonya

1st Year - Fashion Writer

If you wanted to buy into gender norms, you might start this article by saying there are certain things a man should be able to do.

Like build a shelf, or eat a plate of meat from the bone, or fix a car. There is really only one thing all men should be able to do, and do well (because it’s really not hard), and that is wear a suit. Let’s start with the basics of shopping.

The same rule applies to anything you buy, but doubly so for suits: make sure it fits. A tootight t-shirt or jumper can be excused with an ‘everything else was dirty’ or ‘it shrunk in the wash.’ A suit is an altogether different beast – you want to look like you’ve made the effort, not like you’ve borrowed your dad’s. Go for a slim or tailored fit – they’re simple and streamlined, cutting out any extra fabric which would add weight to you. The same for your trousers – slim, not skinny.

There are a lot of colours and patterns you could pick from too. Grey is hard to get right – too dark and you look miserable, too light and you look out of place. A mid-ground grey is less stuffy than black or navy, and with a solid black tie and black shoes is a wise choice. You’ll look like a 50s movie star, like Cary Grant. Navy is a good spin for a more formal occasion. If you’re feeling particularly daring, a pattern is good.

You’ll stand out, for sure. But if the pattern is overwhelming, it’ll be garish. It should be a suggestion of a pattern, nothing more. You’re

Details are what makes a suit. If you’ve been wearing the same thing to all of your formal events, accessorise it so well its own mother won’t recognise it when you’re through.

The right pocket square and a tie bar is enough.

There’s no need for overkill as white pocket squares are a good way of adding a classy touch. A patterned one is much more playful, and if you’re in a black suit it can be a little way of adding some of your ‘oh so charming’ personality. Do remember that your tie and pocket square should compliment, not match.

That’d be overkill. No one wants that.

Shoes are important on a daily basis, twice as important with a suit. The wrong shoe will make your whole outfit look messy. Unusual colours are modern and can bring out the best in your outfit. A mossy green and a navy suit will work well. A deep blue with a black suit too. Black shoes are always best though, they’re timeless for a reason. Also, here’s a tip for the rest of your life you can have for free: black monk strap shoes are the single best foot-based investment you can make. For the love of god, never wear brown shoes.

And one more thing. Don’t wear a black turtleneck or a t-shirt with a beautiful suit jacket and matching trousers. It’s not going to work unless you look like Tinie Tempah or Jim Chapman, and they’d look good even if they’d been rolling around in a sewer for hours.

After saying all that, there’s only really one thing that matters when you wear a suit.

When it’s all on and you take that final look at yourself in the mirror before you head out, you should feel like you can take on the world.

bring on the beach Clare Bartington tells us about this summer’s hottest beachwear trends Joe Jameson

2nd Year - Comment Editor

Olivia Cheeves

3rd Year - Livewire Events Photography Leah Omonya

The sun is shining and summer is fast approaching! There’s no better way of celebrating than treating yourself to some new beachwear - after all there’s no better way to procrastinate than sunbathing in your garden or hitting the beach, to start on your tan.

For some, the bikini is the way to go, maximising your tan with a bandeau bikini top. However, many will be pleased to hear, that straps are back – perfect for you girls who want that extra bit of support. Halternecks and crop-top styles are all the rage this summer, keeping you secure for those games of volleyball! There are now also a multitude of bikini bottoms to cater for all shapes and sizes; from the typical brief bottoms to the high-waisted, 1950s look, for those who want to feel like Marilyn on the sand.

SWIMSUITS However, if bikinis aren’t your thing, have no fear – swimsuits can instantly pull off that modest, classy style, whilst still looking as hot as Queen Bey. They come in numerous styles: plunge, strapless, cut-out, looped straps... the list goes on. Patterned swim wear can make you stand out from the crowd. Whether it’s a matching bikini set or

mixed with a block colour, to draw attention to where you want it! Primark, is a great shout for this, thinking of that student budget, and you can quite easily mix the sizes without the shop caring, particularly on a Saturday when we all know the shop floor turns into a jumble sale.

CUT-OUTS Why not try something new and unique with a funky swimsuit cut-out?

Swimsuits don’t have to be straight up and down, and if you’re proud of your hard earned summer body then why not show it off a little.

Though be warned, interesting tan lines could become problematic!

BLOCK COLOURS You can never go wrong with a block colour swimsuit or bikini set – from elegant greens to sophisticated shades of orange and bronze which are in this season.

You can mix it up as well and find the colours that suit you best. Love pink, but don’t want to look like the Barbie doll you had when you were six? Then grab a pair of pink bottoms and calm it down with a gorgeous blue top.

COVER-UPS To complete any beach look,

accessories are a must. The shops have some great cover ups at the moment, especially River Island who have a great selection in at super affordable prices. Patterned cover ups are also a great way of injecting colour in to your outfit. You may only be on Great Yarmouth beach, but you can pretend to be in Thailand by wearing this Asian-inspired garment.

SUNGLASSES Sunglasses always complete the look – whether you want the classic Wayfarer to finish off your elegant style, pretend to be in Top Gun with the Aviators or the more ‘hipster’ Clubmaster frame. There is a shape for all. You could even rock the catlike frame, which have become a huge, iconic hit since featuring in Swifty’s Blank Space video.

HATS Moreover, hats have made a massive comeback in recent years. Relief for mums, who no longer have to nag you to wear a hat, so you don’t get sun stroke! Floppy hats are perfect for that breezy beachy look, and exude class. Or if you don’t want such a sad looking hat, you can work a more structured one - as there’s nothing worse than a burnt head!

fashion

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FLICKR (LICENSE TO BOOT)

FLICKR (LICENSE TO BOOT)

concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk

festival fashion Sharon Abraham shares her top tips for looking flawless this festival season In the famous words of Will Smith: “Summer, Summer, Summer time!” The long awaited sunshine has arrived! Ladies, we can now finally ditch our winter coats and put on our summer dresses. With Radio 1’s Big Weekend being hosted right here in Norwich and the sun shining brightly, it’s only right to start getting festival ready!

One of the classic ways to achieve a festival look is by wearing shorts. Shorts became a festival staple in the early 90s to wear to music festivals and have stayed there ever since. They are comfortable and easy to walk around in, whether it’s a pair of denim or lace, shorts are fabulous for their versatility.

Shorts can be paired with anything such as a bra-let or your favorite crop-top.

Another good way to get that festival look is to throw on a statement t-shirt. Statement t-shirts are so versatile and can be worn with anything from hotpants to a flowing maxi skirt, instantly making your look edgy.

Alternatively, if a statement t-shirt isn’t really your look you could also opt for the new, hot

‘fringe’ look. To create the relaxed festival vibe, you could wear a fringe camisole vest top or even a fringe kimono. These simple, staple fringe pieces look cool and a kimono is the perfect cover up at the end of the day when it starts to get a little chilly.

Now we have clothes covered, what about footwear?! Whether you’re a wellies or boots kind a girl, the most important thing to consider is comfort (slightly hypocritical coming from me – whoops!) However, as you will be on your feet all day you want footwear that is not only comfortable but of course practical. Boots are the ideal choice of footwear for festivals whether they are cowboy style, boho, or grungy biker boots with studs and zips. Pairing ankle boots with an item you may already have in your wardrobe such as a pretty mini-dress or skirt can easily turn an outfit from girly to edgy, giving you that effortless festival look. In addition, you can always add some va-va-voom to your outfit by wearing some red lipstick to give your outfit a sexy edge.

With footwear sorted, what we cannot forget to do is accessorise, accessorise, accessorise! Accessories are a major factor in achieving the ultimate festival look. With Coachella music festival recently taking place, judging by all the celebrity photos on Twitter and Instagram, accessories are a MUST! First thing to bear in mind is don’t be afraid to add a burst of colour. You could do this with a cute floral headband, often favoured by the likes of Vanessa Hudgens.

But, if a floral headband is a bit much you could opt for a classic fedora hat or take it back to the 90s with a bandanna! I know it sounds obvious, but don’t forget your loyal companion - sunglasses. Sunglasses are a big fashion DO and are essential to your festival look.

Personally, I love statement jewellery and festivals are a great way to feature them.

When it comes to festivals there are no rules so you could combine multiple accessories if you really wanted to. You could wear a bright summery statement necklace, and layer on

several colourful bracelets. Or, to enhance the statement look further wearing an arm cuff looks particularly cool.

With the music playing, the most important thing is to be able to dance carefree without having anything weighing down. Carrying a small shoulder bag for your essentials i.e. phone, make-up, purse is practical. You want to be able to move and dance freely without the stress of having a big heavy bag. Not to mention everyone asking to put their stuff in there, once upon a time that was me - learn from my struggle!

Following the fringe trend you could wear a shoulder fringe bag that is small, stylish and fits all your stuff in too. Or, if you want to be completely free you could wear a bum bag, which fits right around your waist so your arms are totally free to wave in the air when the music takes you way.

Ultimately, festival fashion is about being fun, bright and colourful. Most importantly it’s about having a good time whilst looking flawless.

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ANA DUKAKIS

face of a generation

concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk

Adam Dawson questions the credibility of popular faces of contemporary art

Do you remember three years ago, when Lady Gaga was still relevant? Me neither, but she said some interesting things about three artists who had allegedly been her inspiration. The first was Marina Abramovich, possibly the most well-known avant-garde artist ever. She’s also the most overrated by a mile. Gaga admires her because of her alleged artistic integrity. Not because of her reusing old ideas or paying her assistants next to nothing, then. The second of Gaga’s artistic holy trinity is Robert Wilson, an experimental theatre director whose work is so bizarre and strange it makes Gaga look as normal as a loaf of bread. The final member of this oddball group was Jeff Koons.

Koons is an interesting one to say the least.

He has as many fans as he does enemies, as many people calling him a contemporary master as call him a fraud. His work sells for millions of dollars when it’s ‘just’ a pile of Play-Doh or a statue of Michael Jackson. No one thinks he’s just okay either – you have an opinion on Jeff Koons. If you’ve seen his work, you’ll buy into the cult of Koons, or you’ll think he’s pulling an elaborate trick in order to make money.

This is why he’s the artist who best sums up our time: either he’s an incredible, innovative creator like no one else, or he’s doing it all for the money. Or both. He’s all surface and no depth, which reflects the cultural times we have the misfortune to be living through.

The world now is stuffed with minor celebrities who stand for nothing. They are their image and nothing more. The horde of young YouTube stars (who I’m told are actually relevant) are so overly sincere that their audience doesn’t have to think or reflect critically on what they’ve seen. The same is happening in pop music. Taylor Swift, for instance, is all surface.

People accept them on a daily basis without as much anger as Koons creates, and here’s why: those people aren’t in the art world. They might be complete nothings, just empty vacuous spaces behind a pretty boy or beautiful girl face, but Koons is an Artist. And the art world is full of snobs.

There’s nothing in Koons we’re not familiar with. Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, or a shiny Popeye statue – he’s not saying anything new about these things, he’s repurposing their image.

Highbrow art about Popeye? Yes. Koons is full of contradictions, which is the source of his power.

We can stare and stare until our eyes fall out, but that’s really all there is to it. Koons made three versions of his Popeye statues, each six and a half feet tall and weighing 2,000 pounds.

One of them sold for $28m. It’s not like the

work itself is interestingly made – Koons has a studio of people to do the hard graft for him.

The surface of the statue is the thing itself, it’s not pretending to be any more than an amped up version of something you might find in a little souvenir shop in the tackiest corner of the planet. But that’s the whole point. Koons is selling – and his art is made to be bought by the obscenely rich – tacky souvenirs of our time.

Instead of spending a few pounds on a plastic Popeye, spend a few million on a gold one.

Let everyone know you’re obscenely wealthy by buying a Koons, not realising he’s just selling you something you can get for a lot less. But if you’re willing to buy into his image, you’re willing to spend your wealth on it. Koons has created a cult around himself. He perpetuates his image better than a PR manager can, and he’s certainly a better publicist than artist. All that bad artists need to get ahead is a good publicist (Banksy, anyone?), and Koons does his own work. Koons makes you believe that if you take nothing from his work, then you’re in the wrong and he’s a misunderstood genius, like Van Gogh or Duchamp were in their lifetime.

Here’s the thing: there is nothing to be taken from Jeff Koons. There is nothing more to his work than the surface. The whole point is that everything is in front of you at once. The work is empty of anything deeper than image, as vacuous as the culture that led to its creation.

Koons has won whatever game he was playing. Retrospectives of his work have taken place all over the world, the cult of Koons line up around the street to take a look at an enormous dog made of stainless steel. Koons, like him or hate him, takes the emptiness of contemporary culture and blows it up to an enormous size in order to ram down our throats just how very barren and obvious culture is right now. Of course this implicates his own work, and of course Koons knows it. He got disgustingly wealthy from it though, so do you think he cares? If you don’t like Koons’ work, take your complaint to the bland, boring people we’ve made famous. It’s their fault he exists, and it’s our fault they exist.

If Koons infuriates you, good. We’ve accepted empty image for far too long. It’s time to stop letting people like Jeff Koons become wealthy beyond belief by peddling this utterly empty, purely-image driven kind of art. It means nothing. It’s time we celebrated people who stand for something, who are more than their image. Stop letting image create our culture. Start letting ideas back in, and we’d be somewhere close to the right track again.

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concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk

David Nicholls talks at LitFest

Abigail Walton reviews David Nicholls’ latest novel ‘Us’

Us written by David Nicholls is a picaresque and poignant tale of a family under strain.

Nicholls speaks of his utmost surprise at being nominated for the 2014 Man Booker Prize, arguably more difficult than previous years, as the prize opened its doors to American authors for the first time last year. But the judges, including our own Sarah Churchwell, were right to nominate this extremely humorous but heartbreaking tale.

Nicholls published One Day back in 2009, but it wasn’t until a year later, when the book sold over five million copies, and was adapted into a major film staring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, that it was classed as a publishing phenomenon. While One Day looks at how Dexter and Emma grew up together, Us’ focuses on the time after the first kiss. Nicholls explains that he was determined “not to write a disappointing follow up,” and Us is certainly not that. This is a tale of a man who is almost the complete opposite of Dexter Mayhew.

Douglas Peterson is run by logic and seems to be a somewhat unimaginative biochemist.

At first Douglas may seem an unattractive character. However when he is thrown into crisis by his wife, Connie, the more spirited of the two, who announces that their long marriage has run its course and should probably come to an end, we grow to admire and understand a man who “loved (his) wife to a degree that (he) found impossible to express and so rarely did.” This crisis happens on the first page and is complicated by the family’s plans to have one more holiday together before Albie, their bolshie son, goes off to university.

This tale has beautifully woven together the issues of family life: the tension between father and son, the relationship between husbands and wives, and the differences between art and science. Nicholls states that although many claim his work to be ‘chick literature’, he thinks there are many aspects in his book that look past the disintegrating relationship

between Douglas and Connie. David Nicholls explains that he wanted to write about a journey that was usually reserved for young boys to prove themselves, and come back men, but for a 54-year-old man to struggle through the trials of inter-railing. “There is no reason that the subject matter cannot be worthy of serious study, especially if you look at American fiction, where love, marriage and family are frequently dealt with by critically revered writers.” Nicholls who is now 47, with a wife and child, seems to reflect this in Us, as this tale deals with the more mature concerns of middle age, parenthood and finding a way to knit together the damage done by the march of time and what that does to a romantic relationship.

During the talk, late on Wednesday night, Nicholls spoke a lot about the influence of the high romanticism in Thomas Hardy’s novels, and especially the influence his new script Far From The Maddening Crowd (released May

1st) had on Us. In an epigraph to Us Nicholls refers to Hardy, quoting the moment Gabriel Oak proposes marriage to the beautiful, but unattainable, Bathsheba Everdean, “and at home by the fire, whenever you look up, there I shall be - and whenever you look up there I will be”… “her countenance fell, and she was silent for a while.” This neatly sums up Douglas’ perception of his relationship with Connie.

He is content to be liked, and understands the inequality of their marriage. Douglas is scientific, uninspired but loyal; Connie is passionate and spontaneous, and through flashbacks telling how they met, courted and married, Nicholls movingly choreographs their awkward and unlikely dance of love.

Us is an incredibly fresh book that is heartbreakingly beautiful with a humour that will leave you laughing at inappropriate times.

Nicholls has once again written a superb novel that deserved its place amongst the Longlisted for this year’s Man Booker prize.

shock horror!

Ben Baulch-Jones reviews Horrible Histories at the Norwich Theatre Royal biting the improbably named Viking ‘Ragnar Hairy-Trousers’. Naturally, this is followed by his longboat’s figurehead leading an inspiring singalong. Predictably, the proceedings become repetitive, and eventually the flying heads and gore wore thin. Even the most bloodthirsty eight year old was left cold, whilst the onslaught was all too much for the younger kids. This is where the show fell down; in comparison with its TV counterpart, it sometimes felt slapdash and repetitive, though never managing to lose our interest.

Despite misgivings about gimmicky staging or repetitive tricks, it’s hard to react with anything other than glee to Horrible Histories: Incredible Invaders, be it childish or otherwise.

Its brilliant blending of pantomime mayhem and cynical satire was passionately delivered and thoroughly entertaining throughout.

The play’s female narrator explored a relevant range of topics in a field dominated by dead white men, whilst the play’s humorous slant on immigration bringing us together felt surprisingly pertinent, despite being rooted in the distant past. The kids were entertained, and the adults were threatened into singing ridiculous songs about place-names.

History teachers of Britain, take your notes!

HIM ME & THREE

As I entered the theatre, pen and notebook Pythonesque. The ensemble cast are fantastic; in hand, I could not help but observe I was four other actors play weather-forecasting neither a child nor a parent, a face out of place druids bothering Mavis, before performing amongst the sea of school children. A moment an off-beat musical number about slavery as of crisis; am I finally too old, too serious Roman soldiers. The audience can barely keep and boring to enjoy Terry Deary’s excellent up as the cast effortlessly switches between Horrible Histories series, a gory education in dozens of roles as the play moves through the past that includes a BAFTA award winning time, yet the air is of controlled chaos over children’s show and a million selling book utter pandemonium. Certainly the characters series? Of course not! are simple; a band of German-techno loving Though us students Saxons or marauding may not be the kilt-clad Scots, yet “Horrible Histories: target audience for the pacing and pantoThe Birmingham Incredible Invaders is a guilt- posturing of the actors Stage Company’s free treat for impressionable keeps the proceedings brilliant exploration lively and the pace young and jaded old alike” of Roman, Saxon punchy. and Viking history, On the subject of the show featured a range of humour to suit troublesome Scots, the writers have snuck in all ages. With surprisingly sophisticated dark a surprisingly serious undercurrent of on the comedy, gratuitous violence and singing nose satire and plenty of geeky jokes for the rabbits to boot, Horrible Histories: Incredible adults. Commenting on the construction of Invaders is a guilt-free treat for impressionable Hadrian’s Wall, a sarcastic Scotsman sneaks young and jaded old alike. in references to both the impending general Firstly, the scope of the play is truly election and Pink Floyd’s The Wall - a bizarre impressive. The attempt to squash 1000 years double whammy of cultural referencing. We’re of British history into below two hours of stage also treated to some wonderfully dark parallels time is gutsy in itself. Horrible Histories not between British and Roman colonialism via only succeed in this aim, but had the entire the medium of musical theatre, an impressively audience glued to their seats throughout. The bonkers feat in any play. story is a pantomime romp through early The play’s second half boasts ‘3D British history narrated by Mavis, a long- Bogglevision’, a chance for the audience to suffering Celt who can barely keep up with her don 3D glasses and have the stage show come homeland being endlessly pillaged. Never dry to life. The gimmick starts out fun, with a or didactic, the play soon takes a turn for the snake reaching out over the audience and

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131 It came to her in a flash of light, most probably. Holly J. McDede, she of the hat and accent, had unearthed and chronicled the secret art within little old Norwich, and decided the general public might like to see it to.

Many months, tears and weird administrative forms later, NEWS EATS MAN: THE EVENT finally came to fruition. For two days, St. James Place was home to a vast collection of local art and illustrative highlights from Venue and our acclaimed arts and literature supplements, alongside live music, readings, and all kinds of beautiful people.

If you weren’t there... ugh, you missed out.

Clockwise from top Arty people looking at art, artfully (Photograph by Ruth Knapp) Collections by Dougie Dodds (Photo by Ruth Knapp) An assortment of Venue covers on display (Photo by Ruth Knapp) Collections by Ruth Knapp, Lizzie Parsons and Kristiana Sizinceva (Photo by Ruth Knapp) A friendly collage outside the door (Photo by Adam Dawson)

HENRY BOON ISSUE 308 I wanted to create something that represented the intimacy of a relationship, without being too cheesy. As we all know, Valentine’s Day can be a very cheesy occasion. The girl just casually wrapping her arms around the guy and the two of them cheerfully looking at each other gave a nice sense of comfort and ease to the image.

It is a hand-drawn piece that I finished digitally.

141 ELLIE GREEN ISSUE 304 I was lucky to be able do two covers this year, along with illustrating inside of Venue itself. The Sherlock cover, done in ink pen and watercolour, was meant to incorporate the idea that it’s an adaptation, with Benedict Cucumber reading one of the original books by Arthur Conan Doyle. It was really a quick sketch of the idea, but I like the poster feel to it.

cover stars

ASIA PATEL ISSUE 305 I used watercolour paints, a black Biro, and a black fine liner to create a Christmas-themed image addressing the traditional and modern aspects of the season.

One of our proudest achievements at Venue this year has been the introduction of illustrations to the supplement, in the process shining a light on artists within UEA and Norwich itself. To celebrate the final issue of this school year, we’ve compiled a retrospective of our acclaimed cover art, all with a little note from their respective artists.

From all of us here at Venue 2014/2015, thank you for reading. Curated by Adam White.

ADAM WHITE ISSUE 299 This was something better in concept than in execution.

I had the idea of making the cover a photograph of a freshers T-shirt, with coverlines already printed onto it, along the lines of the poster for 500 Days of Summer. It came out a little weird. And vastly different from literally every other cover we’ve done.

Oh well. The actual T-shirt is hanging in my wardrobe, by the way. I’m sure you were all wondering about that.

TAMARA CHANG ISSUE 310 For the big Venue mash-up issue, Tamara put together an image made up of all of Venue’s individual sections, combining to make an enormous robot. It was drawn and finished digitally, along with the cover for this very issue, which Tamara also illustrated.

RUTH KNAPP ISSUE 303 The Sex Issue brief involved themes of sex and gender, and I had been reading a lot of old comics for inspiration, so I immediately thought of She-Hulk and another strong female character kissing. I drew her with Sheena, Queen of the Jungle as she is wild and free. They’re struggling in the composition, as if they were fighting and then the mood changed. For some people sexuality can be a struggle, but it’s also no concern of anyone else’s, so I liked the uncertainty in the piece.

ADAM WHITE ISSUE 301 Gone Girl is deliberately Hitchcockian in execution, Amy Dunne a post-modern reinvention of the traditional Hitchcock blonde. This cover was directly inspired

by Saul Bass’ Vertigo poster, only this time with a woman tumbling into a strange abyss instead of a couple. It was achieved via traditional pencils and paints on canvas.

151 TASEEN RAHMAN ISSUE 306 This drawing took about two hours to finish – it was in pencil and based on the best cartoonlike picture of a brain I could find on Google Images! It was originally intended for an article on the human brain, and the relationship between the creative mind and mental illness, hence the dark and light beams coming from each half of the brain.

LIAM PAINTER ISSUE 300 When I was asked to do the cover I had just moved away and had no art supplies. So I began making my own textiles and materials with what I had laying around, reflecting the patterns and textures from the animals in a colourful manner.

ANA DUKAKIS ISSUE 302 I wanted to incorporate Halloween elements with that of the upcoming Norwich Sound and Vision festival, so I used the NS+V logo along with a pumpkin which had music and art-inspired carvings. I also painted a skyline (the cover was water-colour) inspired by Norwich Cathedral, as it was both from Norwich and conveniently Halloween-esque.

HEATHER MILES ISSUE 298 Heather Miles is currently in Morocco, presumably not illustrating Venue covers. But she did do this one for our Handover Issue last year, which Holly personally commissioned. It’s nice, innit.

ELLIE GREEN ISSUE 309 This Drugs Issue cover had a specific brief, with Adam White, co-editor of Venue, having the idea to do a sort of optical illusion image, with the title ‘Venue Does Drugs’ incorporated into it. My drawing was very simple and I used pencils and watercolour pencils to create a light wash of colour. The patterns of cannabis leaves and pills were obvious references to drugs, as I wanted to keep the design clear and simple. I enjoyed being able to contribute to Venue this year, having illustrations has really made each issue more exciting and encouraged bigger contribution from students, which can only be a positive thing!

RUTH KNAPP ISSUE 311 My favourite medium of all time is printing with stencils, so when I saw the brief requested something Mad Men-inspired, I knew it would make an awesome print. The main character is quite dark, so I pictured a noir vibe – moody with a cigarette.

I hand-cut four stencils and painted through them, then used Photoshop to brighten the colours and make it look more graphic, but still hand painted.

SAM HARRONS ISSUE 307 This was a commissioned piece, but one strongly linked to Sam’s own aesthetic. Like several of his recent pieces, this was inspired by the redsplashed walls of Norwich’s Playhouse bar, with bright colours and a sun-drenched desert landscape at its centre.

creative writing

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concrete.creativewriting@uea.ac.uk

‘Yes, of course we were pretentious -- what else is youth for?’

Meditation Writes on the Dream’s Back Dream Carlo Saio

o

Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending The best endings are short and sweet.

Bye!

--Jake Reynolds

Bode Radio / Glass Light / Broken Hearts Hugo Douglas-Deane I am reminded of the opening of the millennia I have passed over two thousands and live to tell the tale they told everyone everything would stop.

Broken glass, radio lights out, and a huge knockout to the hearts of all those looking toward to writing three zeroes in a row, even if with pencils or typewriters.

I remember the light, the beauty which overcame those who came to the ceremony to accept death, not as death but as a gift, not as a broken heart, or a light going out, they did not see the ceremony as death.

The serenity, the calm, the robes stripping off history, bringing them to with a stoic blank, and surely, as my eyes really saw it They flew To the ceiling like our friends did in the factory, and yet it was all a ruse. There was no truth in the prediction, the planes fell not from the sky, only the people who fell in with the myth.

They fell. They struck the ground. They were felled and lay in three giant circles.

Untitled Scarlet Dawson The voices and laughter flicker and fade, extinguished by the icy morning air.

Outside, muffled birdsong accompanies the first lights of dawn.

r

1 F

r

o m m the centre of nothing The world untethers and in the blushing birth of the stars forgets the end it was uncurling towards lapped by the scatter-spray span in the shade of its own Blink 2 the lotus bazaar of life is alive inside a flower you may never touch with the eyes that feed you Eternity in what you cannot see 3 absolve the surface to feel where legs find feet to the rootmind of a baobob tree and in their X of infinity, they meet to spread in arms across the palm beleaf of sky, above and beneath the seams to the Holocene fracture-screen Scree of what to perceive meditation written on the dream back’s dream

Microfictions

Submit your own to @miniaturestory on Twitter The lobby pay phone rang twice. Then stopped. Then three times more. They were coming for him. He took one last sip and loaded his Beretta.

ANA DUKAKIS

It strikes me as strange that the parties I go to always end at the beginning.

That the birth of a new day should coincide with the demise of our absurdities and that, as waves of fire brim on the horizon and eventually reach out to stain red bricks and church spires, we scatter and retreat. Like so many slumberous stars.

creative writing

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concrete.creativewriting@uea.ac.uk

Untitled

ADAM WHITE

Julian Canlas

My Stalker Louis Pigeon-Owen 1 My stalker has one breast like an apple, the other like a pear.

She has a turned-down lip, a lazy eye and A tangle of thorns for hair that devoirs brushes and combs.

My stalker has one leg longer than the other And corrupted, nicotine-washed teeth.

She spits and burps and has one mole on the tip of her nose, Sprouting a single black hair.

2 My stalker broke in through the window And stood in my room glittering with splintered glass.

We should never have existed, but She refused to leave when I dialled 999; She called my bluff, So we fucked And watched crap on TV until our eyes burnt out.

3 Now The world is mapped out with pizza boxes and We throw stale crusts at each other Screaming that this is love.

I can hear god howling through the broken window And the devil giggling between her legs.

Now The bed is stained with semen and clotted blood And I caress the bones poking through her skin.

4 My stalker let me tumble from her mind, She left early and only half of her came back, smelling different.

It wasn’t like the sex was good: raw and chaffing like coarse sandpaper; Nothing poetic, But the piles of junk-food began to ache and my heart grew mould.

5 Now She has escaped, so I insert myself back into her life, Hijacking her calls And breathing electricity into her brain.

Now I trace her to work, where I cling to the shadows And watch my stalker working behind her window.

‘I missed you.’

Sitting in the restaurant next to the windows, Rob reached for Aurelio’s hand, first slowly interlocking fingers with his to feel the friction—the tickle—of his skin, then into a tight grip. Rob had forgotten how warm Aurelio was, and when he looked at him Aurelio smiled; Rob bit his lip to feign composure.

Aurelio glanced around the room.

Filled with people by 8pm on a Friday, the restaurant was notable for its authentic representation of Indian cuisine (defined by whom?

No idea.), and even recommended by the few Indians that lived in here. Not dubbed by a tripadvisor.co.uk (presumably white) reviewer as ethnic Indian vegetarian for nothing! The inside of the restaurant had humble décors, with plastic chairs comfortable enough to enjoy some vegetarian delights, one unscented tealight in a recycled jam jar on the middle of each table for eclectic romanticism, and a framed photo of a Mahatma Gandhi statue propped by a beautiful white Rover next to it. East meets West as a dynamic, with the former showing itself as accessibly authentic. Aurelio himself was also ethnic. In fact, he was the only ethnic person inside the restaurant.

‘Yeah, such a long time,’ Aurelio said.

‘Since November,’ Rob added. ‘Norwich was really foggy, cold, and windy back then. But now warm and sunny!’ He paused and frowned. ‘What have you been doing during these last six months?’

‘Working really.’ That was true. What was he doing? Was there even a singular motive behind his actions other than to exist and to try to assimilate in this foreign place? When Rob tried to catch his eyes, Aurelio turned to stare at the street. A group of bikers whizzed past the cobblestones, students in uniform smoking, a beggar slumped on a building opposite to the restaurant, an old couple walking slowly while holding hands, two magpies perched upon the roof of a van in still existence despite the clamour. Aurelio was scared to look at him and feel for a flickering instant that past self emerge out of himself, that self deeply in love.

‘You said you needed some time alone, and before you know it six months has passed.

Six months.’

Before Aurelio could answer, the waiter came to them with a notepad and a pen like a distraction given with consciousness. ‘Good evening. What would you like?’ the distraction enquired in a high baritone that could swoop tips out of any person’s wallet. Rob forced a smile at the distraction. After the distraction left, Rob rose from his chair and gently tapped Aurelio’s cheek. Rob leaned his forehead against his and whispered, ‘Look at me. What’s wrong?’

Despite the humdrum, everything around Aurelio whirred into a halt; he’d only hear Rob’s short, shallow exhales, feel the tips of their noses touching. Aurelio felt Rob’s gaze like a clear, blue sky—threateningly gravid with the emptiness. Uttered words were never enough, Aurelio thought. He found that despite having been with him for a year, they never changed from their dynamic binary existence---Rob,

pale, blonde and patient, and he black-haired and stubborn. Both of them reveled in their impulsion as travelers, but Aurelio knew that with that came a state of temporality, something that Aurelio didn’t want as a new inhabitant.

‘Sit down. Nothing’s wrong,’ Aurelio answered. ‘I’m just really tired.’

‘Wait until you taste the food. When you told me you’ve turned vegetarian, I was so surprised! You used to consume a farm-full of meat every week!’

Aurelio laughed, as Rob told the memory, as if it was something told only yesterday. Aurelio thought their experience together came and went out of Rob’s head as a blur.

‘I didn’t eat that much!’

‘You would eat an amount of meat bigger and larger than my forearm. When I asked you why you ate so much you said “for the sake of protein!”’

The waiter arrived with the food.

Aurelio took a spoonful of his soup.

‘This is delicious!’ Bits of vegetables clung around the corners of his mouth.

‘Still such a messy eater.’

‘It’s great food. You always know the good places around.’

‘I have the best tongue for fine dining.’

The sky had darkened, a black canvas.

Where the students used to be were now occupied by adults talking; the two magpies had flown away; the old couple gone; the beggar remained.

‘Now, you think we can see each other more often?’ Rob said as soon as Aurelio had finished eating.

Aurelio stiffened a little. Rob extended his hand to the middle of the table. Aurelio drew back his. The silence returned, less tense than before. Aurelio thought about Rob’s question before; what’s wrong? It echoed inside him, inexplicably anchored with grief. But the answer to him was clear. After all the time they hadn’t seen each other, Rob didn’t even show any sense of frustration, no yearning. Rob might not be aware of it, but Aurelio knew that his being alongside him was, in itself, bound up to a state of transience. Ben broke up with his lover, right before they first met. Aurelio just turned out to be there.

‘I’ll see,’ said Aurelio.

The waiter placed the bill on the table.

‘This is on me,’ Rob said.

‘No, it’s all right, let me pay for once.’

‘All right, but do you want to go to the pub after this? Drinks on me.’

But Aurelio had reminded himself that love was not like the 2-pound coin given by the bus driver as change, then revitalized into new life by being left next to the empty plate, a solid upon the receipt, as the waiter’s tip.

‘I don’t think I can.’

‘Come on. What did I do wrong?’

I don’t know, Aurelio thought. I don’t blame you. I think we just met each other under the wrong circumstances.

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don’t reboot me Mr. Ghostface A lot of 1990s nostalgia, that gimmicky, ridiculous and occasionally heartfelt pastime propped up by parody Twitter accounts and a sizeable chunk of the infrastructure of Buzzfeed, is a symptom of what we’ve allegedly lost. Throw in some natural aching for the freedoms and real-world ignorances of our collective childhoods, as well as a dash of pre9/11 whitewashing, and you have a solid foundation for treating the era as something arguably greater than it really was.

But there are certainly elements to 90s nostalgia that feel relevant and worthy of acclaim, notably in that era’s pop culture teens. Whether it was Angela Chase or Sabrina Spellman, Dawson Leery or Kenan & Kel, there was a truthfulness to the era’s youngsters. Even when they had magical powers, they still worked dead-end jobs, slobbed around at house parties and hung out in skate parks. There was an interest in reflecting actual truth, or at least a superficial interpretation of it. It’s in direct contrast to the representation of teen idols today, representation which is dominated by the glossily aspirational, rather than the sometimes uglier truth.

It’s a distinction particularly highlighted by last week’s reveal of MTV’s Scream, an upcoming television thriller inspired by the 90s comedy-horror series of the same name. The Scream franchise, created by one-time teen titan Kevin Williamson and

horror maestro Wes Craven, was always a lightning rod of broad appeal (a YouTube compilation of Scream 2 TV spots is an interesting case study, with commercials tailored for practically every irresistible demographic: Teens! Adults! Gore hounds!

Comedy fans! Black people!), so it’s no surprise that MTV, already home of the radically rebooted Teen Wolf, would seek out such a pan-generational, multi-faceted audience.

While Neve Campbell’s perpetually pained heroine Sidney Prescott lounged around in ugly sweaters before being chased through her suburban abode by a man in a Munch mask, the cast of MTV’s Scream reboot appear to have stepped straight out of Gossip Girl - boys styled like the second coming of Zayn Malik, girls plonking around in too-high heels and tiny cocktail dresses. But the show’s first minute-long trailer felt alien to what came before it, characters hanging out in plush mansions and jacuzzis, Abercrombie & Fitch long having thrown up all over them.

This all in spite of being set in the same middle-America heartland as its cinematic predecessors.

It’s all characteristically millennial.

Which would be fine, if this were any other series. But a fundamental part of the Scream franchise’s appeal was its ordinary-ness, a world populated by relatable, diverse and endearing people who we then watched get

FOR WALLPAPER

Adam White tells us why the Scream TV show is going to be a car crash. horribly killed. Unlike its slasher ancestry, Scream granted its protagonists actual dimensions. That bag of meat chewed up in a doggy door in 1996’s Scream wasn’t just straight-up meat.

She had a personality, agency, a style and character of her own. It’s no coincidence that the series’ least-regarded chapter, the tone-deaf Hollywood pastiche Scream 3, sacrificed a lot of its character work for a parade of faceless lambs gearing up for the slaughter.

Which isn’t to say MTV’s Scream will inevitably abandon any pretense of characterisation. Hell, we’ve only seen a rapid smattering of clips from it so far.

The scenes used to promote it though, along with its visual aesthetic and styling, are notable – an extension of the teen pop culture landscape as it stands. Right now, we’re conditioning young people to fantasise, encouraging the worship of the hyper-real.

A quick Google reveals it starts young. Of the 13 live-action series currently running on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, seven are centred around worlds very few of us actually inhabit. If protagonists aren’t actual pop stars or former Hollywood celebrities, they’re normal kids who find themselves, through typical sitcom shenanigans, occupying worlds populated by the 1%.

All teen television is somehow fantastical,

whether it’s the cool, grungy aesthetic of My So-Called Life, or the pop video wildness of Skins, but somehow it seems worse, more damaging, when it’s the fantasy of wealth.

Series like the aforementioned Gossip Girl or vintage trash like Beverly Hills 90210 are set firmly and proudly within gilded hallways, tongue firmly in cheek where opulence is concerned, but when the 1% creeps in insidiously, on shows supposedly reflecting real life and real young people, even if they’re existing in extreme circumstances, it can’t be healthy.

Nostalgia for a different time is a generational tradition, one that stretches back to the very cementing of ‘culture’ as a thing. It’s easy to dismiss, so entrenched as it is in a fantastical view of the past.

But some of it is relevant and potentially helpful, more a time capsule chronicling generational transition and less a bunch of whiny fear-mongering.

MTV’s Scream probably won’t rattle pop culture in the way the film franchise did, neither will it likely make much noise in a crowded, youth-oriented television landscape. But it’ll at least contribute to a lingering cultural problem, one driven by image, consumption and aspirations of wealth and excess. Treating them as ordinary, or the things that should be.

NOW GET OFF MY LAWN.

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long live the (second) golden age

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Dan Struthers is our guide to the second so-called Golden Age Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Sherlock.

These are just a few of the shows which mark this current TV renaissance, otherwise known as the second golden age of television, which has seen a surge from the late 2000s onwards. Even films are jumping on this bandwagon with the emergence of film to TV adaptations such as Fargo, Hannibal and Bates Motel, which all capitalise on the success of their film counterpart. Marvel in particular recognise this global trend in popular culture and have exploited this through their numerous TV shows: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Agent Carter, Daredevil and the up-and-coming A.K.A Jessica Jones.

Shows such as Breaking Bad showcase stellar writing, brilliant acting, and intriguing

characters and plot which have inspired various other TV shows in this recent age. This trend in TV has helped pave the way for other TV successes such as The Walking Dead, American Horror Story and Homeland which have all, despite receiving mixed reception during some of their later episodes, enjoyed at least one series of well written

YOUTUBE

and acted drama. This focus on quality drama has taught a modern audience to expect a certain quality in TV which, previously, many had not anticipated from television in the days of trashy reality TV as seen in American Idol, The X Factor and Celebrity Big Brother which all still exist today.

HBO may be the root of this current expectancy for quality TV drama with the network showcasing Oz, The Sopranos and The Wire in the late 90s and early 00s. This introduced the viewer to intelligent drama.

HBO marks a milestone in TV history as it does not treat the viewer like a brainless sheep and refuses to ‘dumb down’ complex drama to make it more accessible to a mainstream audience, which many channels choose to do in order to hit the high ratings. Even to this day HBO is enjoying commercial and critical success with Girls, True Detective and the almighty Game of Thrones: an impressive track record for just one channel.

Possibly another reason why we are more openly critical of TV shows which do not

conform to this exceptional calibre is due to the surge in social networks which allows us to voice our opinion on things, whether it be the most recent episode of Game of Thrones or which actor is hot at the moment. Whilst this ability to tweet or post an opinion on TV programmes can damage them irreparably, it can also create fanbases for new TV shows which helped the likes of Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones become the global successes they are today.

The foreseable future looks stable in this golden age with the current series of Game of Thrones, the upcoming Christmas special and new series of Sherlock, and the continuing success of Netflix which continues to spurn out hits by the second. Whether there is anything original on the horizon which will continue this extraordinary era of TV remains to be seen but, touch wood, long will this glorious small screen revolution last.

another superhero show review The story is a familiar one. Netflix commissions a series, people go mad for it, a day is spent in bed with ice cream and biscuits, consuming not only your body weight in snacks but also in TV. Then you forget about them the next day. You did it with House of Cards, Bloodline, and Kimmy Schmidt. Along comes Daredevil and its host of Marvel fanboys, wetting themselves over yet another chunk of the over-saturated they can pretend to be interested in. Except this time, Daredevil is actually quite good.

The premise sounds like any other Marvel TV show/movie: a man is blinded by generic chemical X as a boy, but his other senses develop to the point of superpowers. So obviously he uses them to fight crime.

That’s where the similarities stop though. Daredevil is a gritty, urban thriller so dark you might have trouble seeing what’s actually going on, as far away from the shambles which is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The show breaks away from the formulaic structure of the movies too. Without change, they go like this: superhero A/B/C/D/E/F/G has to fight an unstoppable villain, who will inevitably be stopped because the hero has three more already announced films to do.

Daredevil is on a much smaller scale, the focus is a neighbourhood instead of all of creation. Hell’s Kitchen isn’t the hipster’s paradise it is now, instead it’s infested with scum and thuggery. Daredevil (Charlie Cox) wants to make it better the only way he knows how – being a genius lawyer by day and a vigilante at night.

Here’s the kicker though: the fights are good, almost understated set pieces. When our hero has to fight four thugs at a time, it takes him a little while to deal with

them because it actually would. He doesn’t heal quickly either; he has to take his time to recover from a battle.

How nice to actually see a character in a superhero role, not just a blank slate with superpowers.

Kingpin, who could easily be bland bad guy number 86, is given as much a focus as the hero. The show is as much his backstory as it is Matt Murdock’s. Plus, Vincent D’Onofrio, who plays Kingpin, knows how to be a sinister, malicious presence. Every time he’s on screen, he looks like he’s thinking about the best way to kill you and get away with it. There’s no doubt he could too. The focus on the villain is another step forward for this stale genre. There are twelve episodes, which means twelve hours that can be used to really ramp up the menace. Kingpin himself doesn’t appear until the third episode, but by then we’re already terrified of him.

Binging isn’t the right way to watch Daredevil, despite what Netflix always wants you to do. The episodes are too dense, too dark and gritty – which is a good thing in a market ripe with interchangeabley dull superheroes. The episodes shouldn’t be consumed all at once because they’re too good to be instantly forgotten about in favour of powering through the whole series.

Daredevil is a step in the right direction for Marvel – a TV format allows for a much better look at a single character and stops them becoming just their super powers. There’s even character development and interesting storylines, shock horror! Who would have thought Marvel could have a hand in something that is actually worth spending 12 hours on? Watch this instead of seeing Age of Ultron, you’ll enjoy Daredevil so much more.

NANCY NETHERWOOD

Adam Dawson actually likes Daredevil. Who’d have thought?

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beginnings are endings

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Adam Dawson

TV GUIDE

PODBEAN

HIDEF DISC NEWS

So this is it, then. The final time I’ll be editing this section. But all good things start somewhere, and below are the 3 best opening scenes I’ve come across in my TV watching life. Next time, this section will be under someone else’s control. Not all endings are terrible though, so here are the 3 best final scenes too. Happy watching, happy ending.

Pushing Daisies

Desperate Housewives

Miniseries, Night 1

Pie-lette

Pilot

A beautiful woman in a red dress asks a shocked looking man if he’s alive. They kiss. That scene is intercut with bombs being dropped at various locations. So begins the dark sci-fi show, where the focus from the very start is about character and story, not on over the top special effects or ‘cool’ things nerds wet themselves over. From the start, Battlestar was all about saying something interesting about life and living it.

No other show so strongly hits you in the eyes with its unique aesthetic from the start. For all its instantly dark subject - young Ned’s dog and mother die within five minutes - the lush, storybook-esque colours make this strange little world so inviting, it’s impossible not to fall deeply in love with the adventures of the Piemaker and his brought-back-to-life girlfriend, Lonely Tourist Charlotte Charles.

A housewife goes about her business, taking care of her home as all proud housewives like to do. Then she shoots herself in the head.

Marc Cherry’s opening completely subverts your expectations for the show - not all boring housewives are bored. So begins the life and times of the desperate housewives, whose lives are so filled with secrets and sexy murders you’ll be thankful and a little bit jealous your neighbourhood isn’t this interesting.

PEOPLE

FILM SCHOOL REJECTS

endings are beginnings

The Sopranos

30 Rock

Made in America

Last Lunch

Everything has already been said about the ending of The Sopranos. The family gather for a meal in a diner, we wait to see if Tony is going to get shot.

Instead, a Journey song plays over a montage of mundae events: struggling to park a car, talking about what to order. The tension rises, everyone could be a hitman sent to kill Tony. Then a startling cut to black. The finale aired eight years ago and we’re still talking about it. That’s how to make a masterpiece.

At its best, 30 Rock was the most brilliant, ludicrous, and utterly ridiculous sitcom ever.

Jokes never went where you thought they would, and that’s doubly true for the finale. But more than the hilarity, it was incredibly touching. Jenna and Tracey did something geniunely selfless for Liz. Jack found himself on a boat trip. Liz got everything she deserved. The only terrible thing about this finale is knowing there’d be no more episodes. They were truly the best days of our flerm.

I DIGITAL TIMES

Battlestar Galactica

Twin Peaks Beyond Life and Death The culimnation of David’s Lynch surreal murdermystery-comedy-drama-tragedy seemed like it was going along nicely, all the twisted plots pretty much sorted. Dale Cooper knew who killed Laura Palmer and was preparing to leave Twin Peaks.

Until he begins cackling maniacally as he slams his head into a mirror. BOB had taken him over because, like the rest of the show, it was never going to as simple as it seemed.

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he got game

Tom Bedford reviews the marvel that was The Norwich Gaming Festival

If your interest in gaming surpasses mild curiosity, there were many lectures and talks over the course of the week. On the Monday, two NUA students talked about their video game art, showing the processes and programmes they use for creating 2D and 3D art. On Wednesday some of the indie developers showcasing games formed a panel do discuss what ‘indie’ meant for them, wondering if it had becometoo commercialised.

Apparently, indie development is not as freeing as it may seem. For the more industry focused talks, Destructoid UK’s

the games! Most were created by local developers from Cambridge, London, and other nearby places. Of course there was not time to play all the games, and not the space here to report on them all, but there were some standouts. One highlight was Teaboy Games’ Fallen, (PC) a neat little colour-matching mobile game. While it wasn’t as large as some of the other games shown, the team seemed incredibly cool, speaking honestly about the game and problems they’ve had with creating it. A team having a public face can be a great help in engagement with a

Laura Kate hosted a discussion about games journalism and how to proceed with it, emphasising how crowded the industry is and how to make yourself stand out in the crowd. Not an uplifting speech for any budding journalists. Mark Johnson was also present to talk about procedural content generation with regards to his game Ultima Ratio Regum.

It was mind-blowing how much detail is put in to creation of mottos, religions and aesthetics for a PCG database, and appropriately the game looks amazing.

Enough of the talks though, the highlight of the week was certainly

product. One of the only games playable all week, The Swindle (PC) is a yet-tobe-released Spelunky-esque heist game that seemed simple to understand yet got harder - making it really compelling to play. Another fascinating title was 0rbitalis, (PC) a gravity/physics game where you must predict orbits around planets for a satellite. The creator, Alan Zucconi, was keen to meet the people playing and was passionate about what he was doing.

As well as these standouts, other games worth mentioning include 10 Second Ninja (PS4) from Four Circle

Interactive. Giving you small levels where you need to destroy targets within ten seconds, the short but manic levels were great fun to play. Spilt Milk Studio’s Tango Fiesta (PC) and Aniode’s Nature’s Zombie Apocalypse (X1, PC, Mobile) were top-down four-player shooters, the first being retro action heroes against ‘bad guys’ and the latter animals vs zombies. Both were enjoyable in their own ways, feeling hectic due to four players and many enemies dashing round. Despite being much more graphic than other games, these two seemed especially popular with the younger audience, with the consoles almost constantly being assaulted by waves of small children eager to mow down the next wave of zombies.

With so much on offer, it was unfortunately impossible to get first hand experience of all playable titles. Sadly missed titles included FPS Illuminascii, which had a wacky namesgeneration system for characters and enemies. Some titles were more suited to one audience.

Niche and Weeble were childfocused games; almost to the point of excluding us grown-ups.

Line Wobble on the other hand, was just something special.

Instead of conventional consoles and a screen it was a single strip of LEDS showing different colours, forming an abstract dungeon-crawler. The creator Robin Baumgarten, lamented on its lack of commercial value in their ‘indie dev’ panel. It’s a shame, since it was so bizarrely entertaining.

As well as promotion of gaming, NGF was also a force for good across the week. The event was run to support GamesAid, a charity that raises money for young & disabled gamers and a few other causes, as an umbrella charity. Norwich Gaming Festival is perfect proof that gaming is more inclusive than ever. NGF presented a wide-ranging community of gamers with a range of genders, ages and races present. The standard of games were amazing, the talks were informative and it was very professionally organised.

I absolutely recommend jumping in your time machine to experience it - or failing that, playing the games described and attending next year.

HOT SOURCE

Norwich isn’t known for its prominence in the gaming scene. However, you would think otherwise after visiting the second Norwich Gaming Festival in the Forum from 6 th-12 th April. For a whole week the foyer was host to East Anglia’s best celebration of gamers.

As part of a continued move in the industry to bring videogames ever more into the mainstream, the event was very family friendly, with many of the attendees much younger or older than the stereotypical gamer. Watching a young girl beat her older brothers at one of the games showcased was amusing, and great for challenging preconceived notions of the identity of a gamer. There was a great range of diversity in the attendees, which provided a more welcoming environment to the event. The younger audience brought ironic humour too – one overheard highlight was a young boy playing Super Mario Bros, stopping to ask the question “what’s the point of this game?”

Throughout the week, the main foyer held ‘The History of Gaming’. A small exhibition with playable classics from gaming’s history, complete with appropriately antique TVs. This was especially remarkable to some of the younger audience; surprised non-flat screen televisions still exist. Games such as Super Mario Bros, NBA Jam and LEGO Star Wars were available to play, and a big screen showed clips from other acclaimed games in the form of muted YouTube Top-10s.

As well as games, the NGF had everything else that make up gaming culture covered. On display was a variety of interesting game artwork by artists from NUA. There were also small stalls selling vintages and modern games at remarkably cheap prices, making accidentally buying a Gamecube a very real problem. Ubisoft had a table where you could play some of their recent games that you’ve probably already played such as The Crew and Rocksmith 2014. Unfortunately, due to their decision to bring Just Dance 2014, Let It Go was almost constantly audible throughout the week from hordes of small girls playing. Turns out you can get very sick of it. Very, very sick.

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concrete.film@uea.ac.uk killed. These outlaws, aided by the cowardly townsfolk, capture our hero, only for him to be freed by his brother, who is in turn killed for Director Kristian Levring his part. The film climaxes with the inevitable Screenplay Anders Thomas Jensen, shootout in which the hero emerges victorious Kristian Levring (despite the odds unsurprisingly being stacked against him), thanks in part to the leading lady, Starring Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green, pulling the trigger on those whom Eva Green, Jeffrey Dean Morgan she once worked for. An array of characters are Runtime 92 mins met along the way and it is these characters, Drama/Western and the actors who portray them, that really make this film worth watching, rather than the Jamie Parsons almost predictable storyline.

It is hard to shine in a film when your In an age where the superhero blockbuster reigns supreme, it may come as a surprise to character has no lines, but Eva Green manages some that Westerns are still being made, but just that; she thrives in the role of the mute those who are aware of this genre’s enduring (Madelaine, or Princess, whose tongue was cut popularity know that more often than not out as a child) and steals the focus in any scene these films fall into one of two categories: they she is in (not surprising to anyone familiar with either naively (and unsuccessfully) attempt to her work), with her piercing looks and evocative add something new to the genre, or they pose body language. Indeed she would have stolen as successful imitations of the Westerns of old. the show had it not been for the equally sublime The Salvation falls into the latter category, and performance of Mads Mikkelsen as our hero, the film stands up well against the backdrop of Jon. Mikkelson flourishes as the distraught widower hell-bent on revenge, playing the the Western giants of the early 20th century.

The plot is relatively simple and definitive role with a deathly coldness that is matched in the final scenes by of the genre: the hero, Mads Mikkelsen, is “We’ve been hopin’, prayin’, the remorselessness of wronged and retaliates for someone like you to come Green. The rest of the cast are also strong, with violence against along” although as a football those who killed his son before raping and killing his wife. As is so often fan, it’s a struggle to detach Eric Cantona the the case, it turns out that these wrongdoers actor from Eric Cantona the violent karatewere part of a greater band of outlaws, who kicking footballer from the 90s.

The meticulous attention to detail is don’t take kindly to their own kind being

Isis Billing

evident throughout, from the flies hovering around the corpses to the beads of sweat on the bodies of Madelaine and Delarou post-coitus, adds a resounding and thorough depth to the landscape and story. However, if you’re looking for ingenuity or innovation, you’ll find neither here. Director Kristian Levring acknowledges from the start that the way to succeed in a western is to not deviate from the tropes of the genre but to embrace and deliver them well.

The gritty characters, the dusty landscapes and the clichéd storyline of The Salvation all conform to what we expect from the genre, and rather than trying to be overly clever as others have attempted and failed, Levring

simply allows us to immerse ourselves in the world he has created to great effect.

For those not fans of the Western genre, this film won’t be for you. It won’t change your opinion on the genre, nor will it change the way the genre interacts with the world, The Salvation merely embodies everything that you probably already dislike about the genre. But for Western buffs or potential first-timers of the genre, it’s worth giving it a watch, even just for the prowess of Green and Mikkelsen.

introduction of the film’s foliage-obsessed McCrory) and a good deal of melodramatic widow Sabine de Barra (Kate Winslet) who is flashbacks about the death of her daughter. to be interviewed for a position as a gardener It is undeniable that A Little Chaos is at Versailles. Sporting a ridiculous hat, visually pleasing with its picturesque settings Sabine arrives for her appointment with chief and lavish period costumes, but the lack of horticulture honcho Andre le Notre (Matthias chemistry between its two leads is so painfully Schoenaerts) whose draconian landscaping dull that watching the film on mute may is supposedly at odds with her rather more in fact prove to be an improvement. One anarchic planting. In a particularly flaccid would not lose the stunning visual allure attempt at showing this clash we see Sabine but Kate Winslet and Matthias Schoenaerts shift one of Andre’s pretending to be attracted symmetrical plant pots to one another could prove “This abundance of before they engage in a more convincing without the sassy little spat over her chaos, this is your Eden” mediocre dialogue. Winslet apparently unstructured does however offer a few blueprints. moments of sincere suffering which can only Sabine of course gets the job against all go to demonstrate how she has earned her odds, triumphing over a gaggle of catty Parisian place as one of Britain’s period drama darlings. gentlemen and receiving a patch of soil and a Although Alan Rickman’s directing is not strict budget. Rolling up her sleeves and lifting entirely convincing, he and Stanley Tucci are the occasional log, Winslet’s fictitious pseudo- a delight to watch as they flourish around in feminist withstands the sabotage of her their wigs. One even occasionally gets the envious male peers but develops a rather saucy feeling that Rickman’s desire to create the attachment to her gardening guru. A shabby movie was directly proportional to his appetite outsider with poor taste, she is coolly ignored for fancy dress. at court by all except for Andre and his cheeky A Little Chaos was brimming with friend the Duc d’Orleans (Stanley Tucci) who possibility with its classy cast and brings a touch of effervescence to their bland costumes but seems to have been conversations. let down by a sadly dull story and Due to the film’s stuffy conventionality, it a complete lack of sex appeal. is possible to mention without fear of spoiling That being said, it will not a riveting plot, that Sabine does indeed finish disappoint those who have her garden and win the heart of the tepid a particular love of wigs, Andre. But this is not before a bit of scheming Alan Rickman and soft-core from his promiscuous waif of a wife (Helen gardening porn.

COLLIDER

Director Alan Rickman Screenplay Jeremy Brock, Alison Deegan, Alan Rickman Starring Kate Winslet, Stanley Tucci, Alan Rickman Runtime 117 mins Drama/Romance

One can safely say that Alan Rickman’s floral fiasco A Little Chaos is anything but chaotic.

It is an uncharismatic romance with the occasional flare of costume drama silliness, making the film so stiflingly rigid it would go perfectly with high tea on daytime television.

Opening in the bedroom of Louis XIV, there is a touch of charm about the elegantly attired Alan Rickman declaring his desire to construct a new Palace to his little gang of rosycheeked cherubs. This initial burst of delight is, however, immediately abandoned for the

STANDARD

A Little Chaos

LA TIMES FILMBLERG

The Salvation

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shaky camera to illicit a more raw and personal experience. Perhaps because of this, the effect gives the film a lack of aesthetic clarity which Director Ester Martin Bergsmark mirrors Sebastian/Ellie’s stumbling through Writers Eli Leven, the fog of self-exploration.

It is also very refreshing to see a film that Ester Martin Bergsmark deals with sex scenes completely openly, not Starring Saga Becker, Iggy by hiding various parts of people’s anatomy Malmborg, Shima Niavarani behind rapid scene changes, but in several long Runtime 85 mins camera shots. This story is about love, having Drama/Romance sex, and being seen as naked in its own honest, calm depiction of both. Slow-motion shots Louis Pigeon-Owen capture moments of acute pleasure and pain This love story between transgendered with palpable intensity through forcing the Sebastian/Ellie and straight-identifying viewer to observe facial expressions and bodily Andreas is undoubtedly one of the most reactions in minute detail. important films of the year so far. Directed by The film is also a kind of ‘anti-romance’ Ester Martin Bergsmark and co-written with love story as the use of the blood-caked tissue former lover Eli Levén, the feature follows the as an emblem of devotion, along with Andreas stunning story of Sebastian/Ellie’s journey of and Ellie/Sebastian seducing an older man self-acceptance and the finding of peace in- and tying him up in order to steal his electric between the two identities of an androgynous whisker and alcohol, would never initially male and trans female. have appeared romantic “You’re so beautiful but become amorous all the Something Must Break also shows the other side of the more because they are so I want to vomit” relationship, beautifully unusual and startling. capturing the struggle of Andreas who states Something Must Break is a seminal work, not emphatically that “I’m not gay!” as he attempts only with regards to its representation of sexual to come to grips with who his lover is and what exploration, the fluidity of gender identity and loving Sebastian/Ellie means for him. preconceptions about both, but for giving a Something Must Break really holds its own voice to trans people both in front of the screen against the colossal backdrop of Nordic Noir and behind it. Bergsmark identifies herself as Swedish directors, with their love of shadow and a transgender person and previously critiqued smooth, naturalistic shots; instead, Bergsmark the binary gender system in the award-winning favours melodrama and continued use of documentary She Male Snails and lead actress

Saga Becker (who plays Ellie/Sebastian), for whom this was her debut acting role, became the first transgender actress to win a Guldbagge award (the Swedish equivalent of the Oscars).

Saga spoke at the award ceremony, describing the experience as being "about so much more than just some movie award. We've made history here tonight".

And that they did. Hopefully, in a few years’ time, this film will be attributed as being a major turning point in making the voice of trans people heard through TV and

uncovering a series of brutal child murders committed by a serial killer at the height of Soviet rule, during Stalin’s era. Whilst this all Director Daniel Espinosa sounds riveting, the end result is an overdrawn Writer Richard Price jumble of multiple sub-plots and becomes so Starring Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, distorted you may become confused with what Noomi Rapace you are even watching. Sitting at around 137 Runtime 137 mins minutes long – that’s over 2 hours of bizarre bleakness – it’s undeniable that this particular Drama/Thriller feature is just way too long and drawn out for Melissa Haggar its own good. Unfortunately, often is the habit The spy thriller genre has been a popular of Hollywood films to stretch running times feature of recent years, with a new invigorated to insufferable lengths when they could have audience flocking to screens to see the iconic spent less time and achieved far greater success.

James Bond battle it out in the highly successful One of the only positives of Child 44 comes Skyfall, as well as showing a keen interest in from its impeccably talented cast, with Tom Kingsman: The Secret Hardy fully immersing Service, released “Murder is a capitalist disease” himself in the role as earlier this year. But Agent Leo Demidov, and thrills are difficult to get right and sometimes the amount of effort and dedication required things just fall completely apart. This is where to fill this role is thoroughly appreciated.

Child 44 comes in.

Amongst the clumsy construction of the film, Directed by Daniel Espinosa (Safe House), his role is perhaps elevated to dizzying heights. this new addition boasts a star-studded cast Hardy has it all: the thick Russian accent, including Tom Hardy (in the lead role as Leo the strong mannerisms and the unapologetic Demidov), Noomi Rapace as Raisa Demidova delivery that readers of the novel will recognise (whose previous notable acting credits include as quintessentially Leo. Equally so, Noomi the Swedish film adaptations of The Girl with Rapace’s performance is captivating as Raisa, the Dragon Tattoo) and the formidable Gary but even her and Hardy’s combined efforts Oldman, who portrays General Nesterov. are not enough to save Child 44 from being Child 44 is, of course, based on Tom Rob a disappointment, especially considering its Smith’s novel of the same name, which surely potential to be a solid, mystery thriller with means with source material this promising that sublime source material.

Child 44 is an exceptional cinematic success?

In this respect, it seems unfortunate that Right? Not so much.

Tom Rob Smith’s fantastic plot gets more than The basic plot centres on Demidov a little lost amidst the high drama and narrative

construction of the cinematic adaptation; perhaps this is just the case where a novel does not translate as well from book to screen, although you can’t help but wonder whether it would have fared better in different hands.

Whilst the visuals and cinematography are intriguing and almost sustain enough interest to make it through the film reasonably unharmed, the entire piece is a distinctly dark and cold, with a particular sense of lifelessness – and not in the gripping way it should be.

There is a constant feeling that this particular

COLLIDER OUTPLAYFILMS

Something Must Break

film, an honour of which it is undoubtedly deserving. Yet, as much as Bergsmark’s film is important for its addressing of gender and sexual politics, Something Must Break must be remembered above all things as one of the most exquisite and shocking love stories ever to be told.

AUSTRALIANSINFILM

COLLIDER

Child 44

effort just never quite culminates or grips in the ways it should; to put simply, it is plain and bordering dull. The film adaptation loses all of the novel’s original grit and vitality.

In this respect, the general consensus on Child 44 is that it’s a mystery thriller without the thrill, although there is plenty of mystery – such as how it ever made it to post-production.

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i wish i could be...

Our writers embark in some roleplay and reveal their on-screen alter-egos

HERMIONE GRANGER OK, honestly, who doesn’t want to be Hermione? She goes to a thrilling wizarding school, can do all sorts of useful spells, is a total bad-ass (she did punch Draco after all) and seemingly has time to do all her work and still have fun. Oh, and she also has two best buds to go on awesome adventures with. If you were in Hermione’s shoes you’d simultaneously never be late to class (timeturner? Yes please!) whilst also being able to have free time to pretty much save the entire world (hey, Harry and Ron would have died from devil’s snare if not for Hermione).

Melissa Haggar

OBI WAN KENOBI

PETER QUILL

THE BRIDE

Who wouldn’t want to dance around in a space cave listening to Come And Get Your Love and other 70s and 80s hits whilst kicking space lizards? I am of course referring to Peter Quill, AKA Star-Lord (AKA Chris Pratt) from Guardians of the Galaxy. Quill has the wit of Han Solo and the action hero status of Indiana Jones – he is essentially Harrison Ford from the 1980s. Okay, he has parental issues. His mum died when he was a child and he doesn’t know who his dad is, sounding on the surface like an episode of The Jeremy Kyle Show, but he gets the best line, the girl, and has a great time during the film.

Dan Struthers

Single-minded, superhumanly agile, and perhaps the only person in history to look good in yellow, Beatrix Kiddo is the epitome of ‘Strong Female Character.’

Even though her past in the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad catches up with her – violently gatecrashing her wedding and leaving her in a coma – she doesn’t give up, thirsty for blood and vengeance. She may be a killing machine, but the bride is still human. When she learns that her daughter is still alive, a whole new layer emerges, one that reminds us of the pain she’s been put through, that she is really just a mother in mourning. She even inspired the name of a new species of parasitic wasp - Cystomastacoides kiddo, which proves her legendary status.

Silvia Rose

His mentor is killed, his friends are taken from him, his brother-in-arms becomes his worst enemy and he is left to a life of exile…but Obi-Wan remains calm, composed and fair.

When we face unimaginable odds, when we are tasked with preparing the next generation to make the world a better place, we should all be lucky to muster a third of his commitment and nobility. Asides from all that, who doesn’t want to be a swashbuckling knight of the galaxy, saving distant planets and toppling evil rulers every other day? Surely it’s worth it for the lightsaber alone?

Chris Rogers

LEFT TO RIGHT: LUCINDA SWAIN, ANA DUKAKIS, DOUGIE DODDS

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DAS LIST All good things must come to an end...

This is our final issue, and to celebrate a wonderful, exciting, intellectually stimulating academic year, we present to you the definitive must-see movie list (in no particular order).

Trust us kids, we know our shit. Stick this on your wall and give yourself a gold star every time you cross one off.

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, goodbye! Fly my pretties! We are your fathers! Hasta la vista bitchez! Yippee ki-yay motherfuckers!

SILVIA 1. A PROPHET 2. THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES 3. ALL ABOUT EVE 4. PULP FICTION 5. BAD EDUCATION 6. GOODFELLAS 7. THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS 8. DO THE RIGHT THING 9. COUSCOUS 10. FRANCES HA 11. PRINCESS BRIDE 12. AMERICAN PSYCHO 13. RUN LOLA RUN 14. SEXY BEAST 15. SHAME 16. CACHE 17. BOYHOOD 18. A SINGLE MAN 19. BLACK CAT WHITE CAT 20. LOCK STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS 21. TRAINSPOTTING 22. HANNAH AND HER SISTERS 23. ANOTHER YEAR 24. NAPOLEON DYNAMITE 25. PINEAPPLE EXPRESS

NEVEN 1. IN THE CUT 2. AMER 3. RESPIRE 4. I SAW THE DEVIL 5. DEEP RED 6. KLOWN 7. STOKER 8. KILL LIST 9. IN FEAR 10. WALLACE AND GROMIT: A CLOSE SHAVE 11. RED NIGHTS 12. DEATHPROOF 13. AMELIE 14. THE RUINS 15. EXCISION 16. BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW 17. ANTIVIRAL 18. LOURDES 19. DAMSELS IN DISTRESS 20. IN BLOOM 21. CRIES AND WHISPERS 22. PRETTY PERSUASION 23. SERIAL MOM 24. CRUEL INTENTIONS 25. THE OPPOSITE OF SEX

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50 things to do before you leave uea*

*(the sequel)

It’s my final semester at UEA – and this is the last issue of Venue that I’ll be a part of. So I wanted to give the year a proper send-off. Guided by an old Concrete article called 50 Things to do Before You Leave UEA, I’m going to see how many I’ve actually done in the past three years – and if I can cross off a few more…

When I started UEA, I was young, innocent, and regularly mistaken for a boy.

Honestly, people still look twice at my campus card. First year was full of new experiences – such as sharing my room with a student who had very clear personal space boundaries.

Living in halls isn’t always easy. Using the combi microwaves takes a bit of getting used to, as I found out via an exploding jacket potato which nearly claimed my life. During first year, my diet consisted mostly of cheese on toast – not that the searing hot metal of the grill at eye level was much less hazardous. These days, I can make a mean spag bol, and just wait till you try my toad in the hole. And that’s not a euphemism.

A few times in my first semester I overslept and ended up going to my 9am lecture in my Muppet pyjamas, newly obtained from the Disney store (aged 11-12). I was embarrassed, and then I saw a guy in a dressing gown that didn’t quite hide the fact he wasn’t wearing anything underneath. It was November. I saw things I’d never seen before that day.

9. Go to both malls (Chapelfield and Castle Mall) Yeah, you haven’t really lived until you’ve experienced the height of Norwich shopping.

28. Do the stride of pride Just don’t do it into your 9am seminar.

Because your teacher looking at you and saying, “Have a good night?” is not a fast track to a first. Not that I’ve ever done that.

Daisy Jones

Being a part of Venue has been amazing – and I haven’t been paid to say that, I’m just terrified of Adam White. A year ago, I became Competitions and Listings Editor, and while I admit there wasn’t a gruelling application process, I am very proud of that.

I went to Concrete’s Big Meet and Media Ball. They were my first ever society events, and afterwards I seriously considered never drinking again. And I did a blind date for our Valentine’s issue, which I think counts as “doing something incredible or incredibly stupid so you end up in Concrete”, because I essentially got burned by my date.

There are some things on the list that have always been a part of the student experience for me. Staying up ‘til the sun comes up is one of them – not because I’m a wild party animal, but because I live dangerously and pull all-nighters. Student discounts have sustained me through three years’ worth of a serious Waffle House habit. And I’ve always enjoyed gigs at the LCR – although seeing Blue and meeting Duncan James afterwards was a definite highlight, I’m not going to lie.

There’s plenty on the list I haven’t done. I’ve never been on a protest, because I don’t think I’m angry enough about anything to spend that much time outdoors. And I’ve not done any of the five L’s – shame. I’ve also never hosted a study group, although strangely everyone seemed to be less enthusiastic about that one.

49. Sit in on a class that’s not in your field I think we’ve all done that at the start of the semester. The worst thing is the slow creeping realisation that you know nothing about differential equations and if someone asks you a question, the jig is up.

17. Visit the castle and the cathedral ... When your parents come to visit.

Because you don’t want them to see the state of your kitchen.

bonus round: fancy dress

I know that “make an amazing fancy dress outfit” is only one item on the list, but I feel I deserve a special mention. I have never missed a chance to dress up – and here are some of my best (or worst) outfits.

ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAISY JONES

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The Waterfront stornoWay & the Lost Brothers

The Nick Rayn’s LCR

son of Dave - fiLthy 45’s tour part ii & Dove & BoWee-

Damn GooD presents... skittLes Lcr

WeD 29 apriL (£14) viL

fri 1 may (£10)

moBB Deep & music Lessons & chrome mon 4 may (£26.50-100)

tue 28 apriL (£2)

uea’s annuaL Dance shoW fri 1 may (£4.50)

sunset sons

Damn GooD presents... t-shirt party

Witchers - aLBum reLease thu 7 may (£5)

Open

Lucy spraGGan & kaL LaveLLe

craiG charLes funk & souL cLuB

The Playhouse

BeLLe anD seBastian

tue 5 may (£9)

mon 11 may (£14.50)

Demon BarBers XL: Disco at the tavern sat 2 may (£15-17.50)

The Bicycle Shop marc o’reiLLy & aLBert jones tue 28 apriL (£10)

the sonGs of nick Drake WeD 29 apriL (£10)

jim causLey & Lukas DrinkWater tue 5 may (£8)

kieran Gross

WeD 6 may (£12.50)

The Blue Bar Damn GooD presents... pyjama party tue 5 may (£2)

tue 12 may (£3.50)

fri 1 may (£15)

fri 8 may (£25)

Epic Studios the earLy novemBer tue 28 apriL (£10-12)

chinese man

tue 5 may (£15-17.50)

Beans on toast & Benjamin foLke thomas fri 8 may (£9)

The Owl Sanctuary DeviL soLD his souL sun 3 may (£10-12)

transit & such GoLD mon 4 may (£10)

find more listings at concrete-online.co.uk/events

Issue

28.04.15

312

election2015 Interviews

Analysis

Comment

Predictions

Joe Jameson & Dan Falvey Comment and News Editors

W

elcome to Concrete’s General Election Supplement! We’ve put this special publication together in order to have a detailed look at the upcoming election which will most likely be one of the most important for a generation. While it is certain to be a landmark moment in British politics, many have questioned just how much this one election will change the political landscape, which is the subject of the article opposite. We have tried to capture as many voices, from as many parties, which are relevant to students first and foremost but also relevant to Norwich South, whilst striving to ensure that we have remained neutral in our coverage.

We have interviews with five local candidates, as well as interviews from big names in those parties, which should provide an overview of what they stand for but also how they differ from their rivals. For those who are undecided about how to vote, we have tried to ensure that the articles are as open and engaging as possible, as well as providing a very brief rundown of where the parties stand on some of the biggest issues in this general election. Norwich South is the third most marginal seat in the country, Simon Wright’s majority in 2010 was only 310 votes.

UEA has a serious opportunity to swing this vote, with a home student population of nearly 14,000, our vote could decide who represents this constituency come May 8th.

We spent an afternoon on campus, canvassing your opinions on the election, political parties, and important issues which matter to students. It is interesting to see that the views expressed here reflect the national mood. This can be seen in Chris Hanretty’s predictions, which show that there is no clear winner as we approach polling day.

Since the last general election more people have become disengaged with politics, so we have included an article which explores the reasons why you should or should not vote and a guest article by the ex-Home Secretary and Norwich South MP, Charles Clark, on what happens after the polls close on election night.

We hope that these provide an interesting insight into why elections are not just about political parties.

We would like to thank everyone who has made this supplement possible, from the many writers and reporters who have interviewed candidates and individuals as well as written the comment and analysis pieces, to those who have given us the time to be interview. Obviously we would also like to thank Geri Scott and Peter Sheehan, for the endless help, advice and Concrete wisdom, without which we would almost certainly have been lost.

We hope that you find the range of articles both informative and interesting, irrespective of who you are voting or for, or even if you don’t plan to vote.

Front cover Ed Miliband: Flickr, the CBI; David Cameron and Nick Clegg: Flickr, Number 10; Nigel Farage: Flickr, Gage Skidmore; Nicola Sturgeon: Flickr, First Minister of Scotland; Natalie Bennett: BillyMay Jones, Concrete

This page Union flag: Flickr, Adrian Clark; Palace of Westminster: Flickr, Max Bisschop

election2015

3

COMMENTcartoon

Will this election change British politics forever?

Chris Roberts

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or those of us that enjoy a good teen drama (think Gossip Girl, The OC, etc.) there’s always a point a couple of series’in when the soppy, cliché relationships that began the show predictably run out of steam. It’s at this point writers begin a process of mixing ever-increasingly bizarre couples together in the hope of keeping their show ‘interesting’, ‘relevant’ and most importantly ‘on television’; and this is basically where British politics stands approaching the 2015 general election.

Increasingly, the parties that have dominated Westminster politics are struggling to connect with voters; in the eyes of many their offering has become stale. So now the system has splintered open and offers a number of compelling alternatives from across the political spectrum. Parties that before would have been considered ‘single issue’, such as the Green Party or Ukip, and others that were considered ‘national’ parties, such as the SNP and Plaid Cymru, have now been presented for the entire country to see as genuine alternatives to the status quo.

This has of course led to an election which could leave us with a number of curious parliamentary relationships for the next five years: Greens and Ukip teaming up

on electoral reform? Lib Dems and the SNP teaming up against EU withdrawal? Perhaps even Labour and the Conservatives teaming up to force their austerity agenda upon us?

Yes, in the bizarre world we will awaken to on the 8th May, anything is possible. Unlikely, perhaps, but possible. So will this election change British politics forever? Unfortunately, the answer is still probably going to be no.

Sure, according to some of the latest polls there will be around 40% of voters that will stand up against the two-party politics that has characterised Britain for a century on 7th May. But don’t expect that to lead to 40% of Parliament sharing that sentiment, we have the archaic first-past-the-post electoral system to blame for that.

If the Commons were considered a business (an argument for another day) then it would certainly have been referred to the Competition Committee by now over its voting system that suffocates the chances of small parties and elects governments on the basis of 30-odd percent of the vote. In this environment, political reform happens at the same rate as the white cliffs of Dover beat their retreat from the shores of France.

So let’s not bother. Let’s not bother voting.

Let’s not bother campaigning. Let’s all give up, go home and get on with our lives knowing that we have the country’s least-worst option in charge, right? Wrong. This reasonably logical view is about the worst thing we as citizens and voters can do. Whether we are 18 or 80, whether we are women or men, whether we are students or not, we only get one tangible chance every five years to let them know how we feel. And the only way they listen is if you vote.

To illustrate this, which societal group do you think is most likely to vote? The answer is pensioners. Their rewards? Protections on their pensions and reductions on inheritance

Photo: Flickr, Eric Hossinger tax. The group least likely to vote? Young people. Our reward? Well where to begin

“In the bizarre world we will awaken to on the 8th May, anything is possible” – tuition fee rises, benefits cut, affordable housing cuts – the list goes on and on.

So when we consider that question: will this election change British politics forever?

I guess a more appropriate answer is no but that does not mean it cannot start the process.

Every journey has a beginning and this election could be a dramtic step change in the way in which we do politics forever if we really want it to.

At the end of the day any election, in any place, under any voting system has the chance to change a country’s political establishment, but only if that is the will of the people, the will of all the people, not just 64% of them.

At the recent general election hustings on campus Lesley Grahame, the Green Party candidate, said that we could either “rearrange the deckchairs or change the direction of the ship”. This sums it up pretty nicely because change is going to come after this election, but how much and how quickly depends upon all of us getting out to the polling station and making a choice.

Otherwise the British political system will end up like so many good teen dramas have over the years: losing all its viewers, dragging on a series too long and ending with a whimper.

4

election2015

y interview with Lisa Townsend probably couldn’t have been more Norwich. Sat in a Delia Smith owned cafe next to Carrow Road, home of Norwich City FC, I half expected Alan Partridge to walk in at any moment.

It’s five in the evening and Lisa Townsend has spent all day canvassing, trying to persuade the people of Norwich to vote for her come 7th May. Since leaving university with a Law degree from Sheffield Hallam and then a Masters in Islamic Law from UCL, Townsend has spent a good proportion of her career in politics.

Initially volunteering on the Conservative campaign in Sheffield during the 2005 election, with roles as an assistant and a researcher for an MP, and a brief stint at a London PR firm.

Experience in the world of Westminster is certainly her strong suit, so one could be forgiven for tenuously labelling her a ‘career politician’. When I put this to the Tory, however, she was reluctant to take the label:

M

“I admire anyone that’s prepared to dedicate their career to public service” “Going into politics wasn’t something I grew up thinking I would do, with the background I have growing up for a time in a council estate, going to a comprehensive school and being the first in my family to go to university, the idea of even working in Parliament as an intern was something that felt so beyond my reach.

We didn’t know anybody, there was no family friend, I just had to work really hard to get there. That informs my decisions more than any time working in the House of Commons”.

She then followed up her justification by saying: “I admire anyone that’s prepared to dedicate their career to public service”.

Growing up in Hertfordshire, I asked Townsend whether she felt that not having particularly close ties to Norwich, with only a family connection to the area, really put her in a position that meant she could represent the views of such a close knit community. She was quick to dismiss the suggestion: “It’s an interesting one” she says, “but one of the great things about an election campaign is people coming to you because they want to share their experience with you and you get to go talk to them and that’s great”.

She adds that “last week I met an 18-yearold man in a wheelchair and until last week I had no idea what the right thing for an 18-yearold man in a wheelchair would be. And I still don’t know, but now I know somebody that does. What’s important is that you listen and talk to people whether that’s in Norwich or wider Norfolk, because everybody’s experiences are going to be different, and finding out what their concerns are”.

Issues and policy are at the forefront of every MP’s mind, and Townsend makes no secret of the issues that are her priorities: boosting the local economy, quality of public transport and the provision of mental health care.

I asked the Conservative candidate her thoughts on the living wage, and whether she felt that replacing the national minimum wage with a living wage would be a good idea given that the increase in wages would arguably promote spending in the area, thus boosting the local economy; she said that “I would absolutely back any company that was looking to introduce the living wage and would actually support them to do so, what I don’t want to see is any company forced into paying the living wage at the expense of jobs.

“I would rather somebody was in a job and earning as opposed to someone earning a bit more at the expense of someone else”. I then touched on the cost of public transport, an issue close to the heart of any student that lives beyond the golden triangle, pointing

LISA TOWNSEND Photo: Phoebe Lula Harper, Concrete Photography

The Conservative candidate for Norwich South spoke to Sam McKinty out that maintaining a bus pass for a year at university can cost close to £400. Townsend pointed out “competition is an issue within

“I would absolutely back any company that was looking to introduce the living wage” Norwich, so maintaining a constant dialogue with the bus companies within the area is very important to ensure students get the best deal possible, whilst also ensuring bus companies still get out of it what they need.

“I do have some concerns about the routes, any reduction to the routes is something I think always effects students and I’ll ensure that a good area of Norwich is covered”.

Then we began to discuss to mental health provision within Norwich, and wider Norfolk.

I pointed out that earlier this year Norwich and Suffolk Mental Health Trust had been placed into special measures, all this in spite of North Norfolk being represented by Norman Lamb, the Minister for Care.

I asked Townsend what she felt she could offer to the issue in the local area that the

Minister for Care couldn’t. She responded: “One thing I’d like to see certainly within Westminster is someone whose role would focus just on mental health.

“The other really important thing is that mental health shouldn’t just be an issue for the Department of Health, it should be an issue for every department, and that’s something we’ve made enormous progress on.

“If you look at something like the Crisis Care Concordat, which has been signed by a lot of businesses across Norwich. What we need to now is make sure is that organisations talk to each other on a local level, so mental health trusts talking to GPs or Housing Associations to ensure that care is being received at all levels”.

Townsend confessed to being a Conservative voter from the very first time she voted, and when I asked why UEA students should vote Conservative she was keen to highlight that the last five years proved that her party’s ‘long term economic plan’ was working: “In the past five years the economy has approved greatly, a lot more money is going into teaching and resources and we’ll be making sure loans are available beyond undergraduate level.

“For those graduating, more homes are

going to be built with an expansion of the Help-to-Buy scheme and there are two million more people in jobs than there were five years ago”.

Would you vote for Conservatives as a student today, I ask: “Of course, because it’s the party that helps invest in my future.”

By the end of our conversation we had spoken for nearly an hour. With exactly two weeks to go until polling day Lisa Townsend is eager to spend every minute of every day

“It’s the party that helps invest in my future” doing all she can to maximise her chances of winning Norwich South. Election Forecast’s current polls imply that she is currently set to finish second.

Just as we were finishing our conversation I asked her: “why should students vote for her over any other candidate?”; “Why vote Lisa Townsed as an individual?”

Without any hesitation she said: “Because students all have individual concerns, a different story, and listening to those individual voices is something I’m passionate about, and will do”.

election2015 ndrea Leadsom, fifth most senior member of the Treasury, and currently campaigning for the Conservatives spoke to Concrete last week about youth unemployment, political tactics, and why it’s better to be a graduate in Yorkshire than France.

Throughout the campaign the Conservatives have been keen to highlight that youth unemployment is falling, however while it is heading in the right direction, many students still feel that it is far too high.

Yet Leadsom believes this is all down to perception.

She said: “I think there is a difference between perceptions and what is happening, and I think there is a time lag. Over the last five years there has been a fall in unemployment for young people, but it takes a while for people to feel that there are jobs out there.

“It was an enormous recession - the biggest in peacetime - and it shocked the economy, not just for young people. But the economy is just starting to recover. There are now two million apprentices, mainly young people, and 80 per cent of which are full time. Quality and decent pay is just starting, but it takes a while for people to see what is happening”.

But have they done enough to help young people? Leadsom said: “Ultimately everything we do is to help young people. At the moment, we have so much debt because we are spending so much beyond what we can afford. We have this mountain of debt and it falls to young people. For example, Greece doesn’t have a credible plan or any hope of paying back their debt because of their mad economic policies. They have 57% youth unemployment”.

However, Labour still seems to be the party of choice for young people, particularly in Norwich South. Leadsom tackled this issue straight on and said that she believed this was because young people are more optimistic and idealistic when it comes to politics: “Young people aren’t cynical; they tend to be very optimistic. The problem with this specific election is that the more left wing parties are effectively saying that living within your means is an optional choice, not a necessity.

They say it’s fine to continue borrowing.

Young people aren’t necessarily naïve but they are optimistic. They need to face the harsher realities that older people are more prone to accepting.

“Young people are more inclined to believe Labour, that they’ll lower tuition fees. They aren’t cynical, and are very tender hearted, as I’ve seen with my own children. However, the Conservatives offer a very realistic view at life.

In order to pay for good quality you have to

A

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an the Tories be proud of their record in Government? “Hell yes” (to quote a preposterous man), the Tories can be proud of their record! Over the past five years, the Conservative-led government have successfully managed to make Britain the fastest growing major economy in the world.

It has been repeated often, especially in the run up to the election, but the Conservatives’ ‘Long-Term Economic Plan’ has worked and has got the country back on track, fixing the disgraceful mess Labour left behind. When Labour left government in 2010, their Chief Secretary to the Treasury left a note “I’m afraid to tell you there’s no money left”, acting as if the way in which Labour left the economy was a joke! The economy is no joke. A successful, strong and growing economy is fundamental to a more prosperous nation, which the Conservatives have produced over the past five years in government. The economy grew at a rate of 2.8% in 2014, the fastest growing major economy in the world. They achieved this economic growth whilst also reducing the massive deficit left behind by Labour by a half, a huge achievement for the Tories, and for the country.

Every Labour government throughout history has left unemployment higher than when they entered government, a record

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Andrea Leadsom The Economic Secretary to the Treasury spoke to Megan Baynes about the Conservative election campaign have good incentives to create wealth within the economy. Saying let’s tax the rich is not reasonable. People work hard because they want to do well for their families. Conservatives are more realistic, and young people are more idealistic and less critical. They think with their hearts, not their heads, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing”. his might explain why a lot of the Conservative campaign has been largely negative in its portrayal of Labour post general election, arguing that they will be a ‘puppet’ to the SNP. This is an interesting tactic to use, rather than focussing on Conservative achievements over the past five years: inflation has decreased, unemployment is down, and wages are now increasing higher than inflation. Do PPCs, such as Leadsom not worry that this style of campaigning will put young people off politics entirely? Apparently not; however, that didn’t stop the high flying Tory from condoning her party’s tactic: “I don’t think, with regard to the mud-slinging, people by virtue of their age are more or less keen.

I personally don’t like the negative politics, but my son who is nineteen likes the cut and thrust.

“We should be singing from the rooftops about our brilliant economic achievements, and not be talking about anyone else. It’s all thanks to hardworking people and it’s a superb achievement. The UK has produced more jobs in the last five years than all of Europe.

Yorkshire has produced more jobs than all of France! We shouldn’t be talking about anyone else. We’ve got to use the positive movements in the economy to get us back living within our means.

“If we don’t solve the problem with the debt, then the problem is going to be left to the younger generation - to your generation.

And if they can’t pay it off it will go to your children’s. I am determined to not let that happen”.

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Photo: Flickr, Policy Exchange

The Conservatives can be proud of their record in government Gary Walsh COMMENT

to be ashamed of. The Conservatives have proven over the past five years that they are the party of employment, massively reducing the levels of unemployment, with two million more people now employed than when Labour left office in 2010, an increase higher than all the other EU countries put together.

When the Labour, Green party and other leftwing ‘activists’ try and demean this exemplary record on employment by whinging about zero hour contracts, the truth is that only 2% of employed people are on zero-hour contracts, and 2/3 of these people don’t even want any more hours.

Working people are also much better off in terms of wages thanks to the Conservatives, with wages rising faster than inflation, meaning that those who have worked hard to gain employment are experiencing the benefits of having more money in a successful and growing economy. The Conservatives

have achieved this by providing for a positive economy built around those who want to work hard and get along in life.

Not only did Labour tax the rich less than the Conservatives (with a 40p tax rate up until their last year in office), they taxed the poor more. Under Labour you would begin to pay income tax when you earned £6,475, meaning the poorest in society were unfairly paying taxes on their earnings. Under the Tories, this has been raised to £10,600 and is set to rise again to £12,500 after the election, meaning that the lowest earners in society can keep more of their wages, thanks to the Conservatives.

The Conservatives have had to make some tough decisions to get the economy to where it is now, including the raising of tuition fees, a policy unpopular with some students. This policy was essential, as students now pay for themselves to go to university, rather

than relying on the tax payer. Why should somebody who didn’t have the opportunity to go to university have to pay for me to do so? It was a deeply unfair system. Whilst the Conservatives raised the cap on fees universities can charge, they also change the rules on paying the loan back. The Tories increased the minimum earnings from when the graduate starts paying the loan back from £15,000 to £21,000, meaning that those who earn more will pay back more of the loan. The lowest earning 30% of graduates will now pay back less of the loan than before the 2012 changes came into play, whilst the richest 70% will pay back more. This has been an important factor in encouraging more people from disadvantaged backgrounds to apply for university, who are now a third more likely to apply to university than five years ago.

Looking back over the past five years; The Tories have overseen the fastest growing major economy in the world. The Tories have reduced unemployment and increased employment. The Tories have increased the numbers of disadvantaged members of society going to university. The Tories have taken the poorest members of society out of paying tax, and will continue to do so if re-elected on 7th May, ensuring those who work hard are being rewarded. A record to be proud of.

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Harriet

Harman

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The deputy leader of the Labour Party spoke to UEA:TV

Words by Geri Scott

big name in modern politics, Harriet Harman is known to many as a comeback queen.

Earning this accolade due to the way she has rebuilt her standing in the Labour party after being sacked from Tony Blair’s cabinet in 1998, she is still a key player in this year’s election as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, a PPC for Camberwell and Peckham and an avid campaigner on women’s issues.

When Harriet Harman first entered parliament in 1982, it was a parliament made up of 97% men. It would be another 15 years until the role of Minister for Women was introduced (now known as Minister for Women and Equalities), a change that was spearheaded by Harman herself.

Now, however, she feels that the role has fizzled out. In an interview with UEA:TV back in January Harman said: “Equality is not going to happen on its own, it needs to be fought for” and she sure has fought. Throughout her time in politics, Harman has focussed on women’s representation, including the controversial women-only shortlists in 50% of all target seats.

Introduced in 1993, this campaign resulted in the election of 101 Labour women MPs in 1997. However this didn’t go without criticism, with some claiming women-only shortlists send the message that women are not able to make it alone.

Nonetheless, in 2015 Harman is disappointed with the progression and development of the role, asking if anyone has even heard of the Equality and Human Rights Commission recently. In this, she moves her answer away from focussing purely on women.

She said that unless there is a minister there to support the grassroots desire for equality for the disabled, for the LGBT+ community, for those who are unfairly treated due to race or ethnicity and for women, that equality simply won’t happen.

Naturally critical of the ConservativeLiberal Democrat coalition, she believes that progress towards equality has stalled and that the clocks are beginning to turn back, stressing that if these parties are reelected the case will only worsen.

However, it seems that Harman is only concerned about one of the two coalition partners this election, telling Zoë Jones of UEA:TV that: “there will only be one Prime Minister in number ten Downing Street, and the reality is that that will only be a Labour or Tory Prime Minster”. With a lot of

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Ken

Livingtstone The former Mayor of London spoke to Dan Falvey about the Labour Party under Miliband

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oncrete and UEA:TV were lucky enough to catch a few minutes with the Labour veteran politician to ask him a few questions on his thoughts about the Labour Party and the general election. Confident on how his party will perform on 7th May he said: “Ed Miliband will be the next Prime Minister.

I’m absolutely certain about that. The question is just whether it’s a majority or whether it will

Photo: UEA:TV for Concrete media attention over the last few days being dedicated to the possibility of a Labour/SNP coalition, it could be the case that the Prime

“Equality is not going to happen on its own, it needs to be fought for” Minister will be from the Labour party, but the possibility of a coalition may not be something which sits well with Harman.

She believes that if you have coalitions, you get a situation where promises are made and

be a Labour and SNP coalition”.

Speaking passionately about his love for Labour and the party leader Livingstone claimed that voters faced a stark choice this election: “This is the most important election for the next thirty years or so” he indicated.

“Britain can go down the route of a fair society with Ed Miliband but if Cameron wins a second term this won’t be a country worth living in. The NHS will be wiped out, they’ll introduce an American style insurance policy, and they won’t build any council housing.

They are there just to serve an international elite; the mega rich”.

However, while he was clear in his belief that only Labour could truly represent the people in the next parliament, he was not afraid to argue that he wanted to see Labour be more socialist in their policies: “I’ve always been in favour of Labour being more radical.

I think when we moved to the centre we laid the foundations for electoral defeat. Blair

then broken due to the power-sharing nature of a coalition, citing the Liberal Democrats as an example of this. If you vote for a manifesto then you want it to be delivered, she said, and that is “not going to happen if you vote Ukip, Green or Lib Dem”.

Later in the interview, Harman was asked how important she felt the student vote was to the Labour Party. Starting out by reaffirming that it is “really important for the legitimacy of our democracy that everyone is on the register and is entitled to vote”, she then identified two key problems she saw with student voting figures.

These were that students are either not

registering to vote at all, or are registered but aren’t voting. Whilst she didn’t reveal exactly why she thought those in the latter group weren’t voting, she did use this opportunity to highlight Labour’s criticism of the coalition in terms of encouraging people to register to vote.

In her criticism of the current government, Harman said that those who were older, who lived in the countryside and those who own their own home are much more likely to be registered to vote. On the other hand, young people, those who rent their home, those who live in the city or those who come from a black and minority ethnic background were likely not to be registered, creating an inequality in the system. It is for this reason, she says, that although Labour wants everyone to be voting for them, this is even more true of young people as if only older people vote “democracy is skewed”.

Considering that policy was most likely still being devised in January, when this interview took place, it is unsurprising that Harman was not able to offer much in the way of what Labour would be promising voters this election.

However, she was able to share the Labour proposal for a Time to Care fund which would increase the numbers of doctors, nurses and home carers, as well as combining the health and social care services. It has since been revealed that this £2.5bn fund does not match the £8bn budget shortfall which the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have promised to meet.

The interview finished by returning to an issue close to Harman’s heart, women’s rights.

Speaking about The Sun’s Page 3, controversial on campus due to the boycott of the Sun in union outlets, Harman said that her objection to the feature wasn’t about the young women who are posing for the newspaper, but instead with “the editorial decision that this is news and in a newspaper the role of women is not what women are doing in all walks of life”. She went on to emphasise that: “they report news about men, but when it comes to women they seemed to be dressed only in their knickers”.

Since her beginnings in politics in the eighties Harman has spoken for women, and seems to be loved and loathed in equal measure. But, the truth is that come 7th May 2015, if the Labour party take victory, she could be the first female Deputy Prime Minister – and that is something for women everywhere to be extremely proud of.

did it in ’97 but he didn’t need to. We would have got elected whoever was leader. People just wanted to get rid of the Tories and [Blair]

“If Cameron wins a second term this won’t be a country worth living in” believed we had to live off the centre ground.

We have a choice, there’s a neo-liberal agenda and there’s a socialist agenda. There is no real agenda of the middle, it doesn’t work”.

The ex-Mayor of London had been in Norwich canvassing on behalf of the local parliamentary candidate Clive Lewis.

Judging from Livingstone’s comments, Lewis is clearly the type of Labour MP he wants to see: someone who claims to be a socialist at heart and wants to see Labour quickly become more left wing.

Photo: Zoe Jones, Concrete Photography

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The Labour candidate for Norwich South spoke to Dan Falvey

and the fact that my dad came from the West Indies. Everything this country has done for me I am so grateful for and I’ve made the most of it. I don’t think that should be denied to others who want to come here and contribute to our economy and society”.

However, despite his disagreement with Labour’s immigration policy, Lewis firmly stated to me that international students had no reason to fear a Labour government: “The Labour party has been quite specific that we are not targeting overseas students, they will not be in any target or any quota system on immigration. They are free. They are fantastic for our country”.

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hen meting Clive Lewis your immediate impression is of a man who feels confident in his own ability and a person who is not afraid to speak their own mind. In the half hour that I interviewed him in one of the upstairs rooms of the Union of UEA Students’ premises, it became increasingly obvious that this first impression was correct: Clive Lewis happily gives his own opinions, even if it means openly criticising his own party.

Clive Lewis grew up on a council estate in Northampton and so the most obvious starting point to our conversation was: “why the move to Norwich?”

“I got accepted onto the BBC trainee scheme for journalism” he explained to me, “and after my year as a trainee contracted to BBC East Midlands I sought a full time position with BBC Look East. I grew up with BBC Look East and so I went down to the old building back in 2001 and I got the job so that’s when I first came to Norwich… To be working in the newsroom that I grew up with watching on television was quite amazing. It weirded me out at first”.

As a man who appears to have always been heavily political and staunch supporter of the Labour party, it seems strange that Lewis did not try to enter the world of parliament earlier and first sought to be a journalist.

However, when I questioned him on why he was not a prospective parliamentary candidate for a constituency until 2012, the first evidence that Lewis does not always tow the Labour party line emerged.

“When I finished at the NUS I kind of annoyed the Labour party a bit because I stood against some Labour student candidates because we disagreed over issues. I wanted a free education, I thought that was best and what the NUS should be arguing for, even if negotiations with the Labour government came out with a different outcome, you go in with the strongest possible hand which was obviously free education… So we hasdthis complete disagreement over this period where New Labour was in the ascendency and for socialists like me, that wasn’t always

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here were two terms that came to define Labour’s 2010 General Election campaign and their resultant removal from Number 10 after thirteen years in power: those two terms were ‘banking crisis’ and ‘Gillian Duffy’.

Gordon Brown’s government had to bear the brunt of the world economic crash that had begun two years previously and almost bankrupted the nation; and if you can’t quite remember why that name rings a bell, Gillian Duffy was the woman that confronted Gordon Brown on his approach to immigration just weeks before the general election. Their widely photographed, tense encounter in a Rochdale street led to Brown labelling the woman a ‘bigot’ in front of the nation as he didn’t realise that his television microphone was still active.

The banking crisis and Gillian Duffy: as far as the British people were concerned, Labour were bad with people and bad with their money. Why were this economically incapable and out-of-touch party deserving of votes and a place in Downing Street? Unsurprisingly, Labour lost in 2010.

The past five years have not all been plain sailing for the opposition. The loss of power in 2010 led Gordon Brown to revoke his role as leader of the party, a move that many people, both supporters and oppositions of the party, welcomed. Gordon Brown was considered

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CLIVE LEWIS Photo: BillieMay Jones, Concrete Photography

going to be compatible.

“I was told… how do I put this… that I had burnt a few bridges with the Labour Party back then... I was told to just go away for a little bit. But then the thing that made me want to go back into politics was when I was serving in Afghanistan in 2009”.

Explaining his experiences on what was one of the most deadly tours of the country, Lewis says that his experiences in the army suddenly made him realise what he still wanted to achieve in life: “It really hit home [when on tour] that I might not be going home, or that I might not be going home in one piece… I was thinking about all the things I hadn’t achieved in my life and all of the things that I wanted to do still and it dawned on me that I still wanted to make a difference in politics”.

As we moved away from his experiences prior to being selected as Labour’s candidate for Norwich South in 2012 we began to talk more about his views on Labour party policies. Here again he highlighted that he is very much to the left of the Labour party:

“I believe that my party needs to move away at an increasing velocity from what I call the extreme centre.

“I think that the trajectory on which Miliband is now taking the Labour Party is the right trajectory, we might not be at the end of that trajectory yet but it’s heading in the right direction”.

However, while Lewis made clear that he was happy that Miliband was taking his party in a direction which he agreed with, he was not afraid to indicate that he still did not believe some of Labour’s policies represented his own opinions.

When I asked him his thoughts on Labour’s plans to reduce tuition fees to £6000, given that he had fought within the NUS to keep higher education free, he made his thoughts quite clear: “That figure needs to go”.

During our meeting he also highlighted his staunch opposition to Labour’s crack down on immigration policy: “On the record, I’ve questioned our rhetoric on immigration…

I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for immigration

After five years in opposition, is Labour a changed party? Caitlin Doherty COMMENT by many to be the problem of the Labour party, he had never been actually elected and his record with the electorate, as highlighted by the Gillian Duffy incident, wasn’t great.

Party members envisioned the departure of Brown as a new start for the party, resetting themselves on the road to success.

Such renaissance wasn’t achieved as quickly as many as hoped. The election of Ed Miliband to the top spot within the party in October of 2010 surprised and disgruntled many. People were convinced that the role was going to be awarded to Ed’s brother, David, and thought that his longer record in politics made him better for the job. Ed was not a popular choice.

Despite several blunders in the immediate aftermath of the previous election, Labour have slowly, but surely, managed to win back the support of the general public, the key to which probably resides in their adoption of new policies.

Five years is a long time in politics. Five years when you’re not at the forefront of

politics is a long time to sit back and watch other people get a lot of things wrong. Five years is a long time to sit back and perfect your approach to the election challenge.

Labour’s policies serve as a correction of all of the mistakes that have been made under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition,

“The past five years has not all been plain sailing for the opposition ” as well as adapting to the changing trends in British politics, mainly those of the rise in parties that were previously considered parties of a speciality interest, such as Ukip or the Green party. They’ve listened to people’s concerns and have moulded their manifesto to fit the needs and wants of the British people.

They pose a challenge to the shockingly high tuition fees that have been hated by so many, they intend on tackling the extent to

iven his clear differences in opinions with some aspects of Labour party policy I asked the Norwich PPC whether he believed that Labour needed to be more radical in their move away from the political centre ground: “The problem is, if you look at the polls on economic competency, the Greens are offering, I think, a very left wing, radical alternative to the economy but they’re kind of bumping around six and seven percent in the polls. They’ve doubled that from three percent to six, that’s great, but why haven’t the British public flocked to their banner, to their economic outlook?

“When you look at the polls, even Labour ,who I think have quite a moderate approach to reforming the economy, isn’t getting the traction and support from the public. The public overwhelmingly trust the Tories, the people who delivered austerity… that begs the question, we on the left, those who want to see a fairer and slightly more radical approach to the economy, we haven’t made the argument with the British public. Some people say ‘well that’s because Labour haven’t been radical enough’ but that’s not just a failure of the Labour party, that’s a collective failure of the left”.

Just before we parted I gave Lewis the opportunity to explain why he as an individual was the right person for be elected as the MP for Norwich South.

His answer almost summed up everything that he had been trying to say over the last half an hour: “I’ll bring to the job passion and life experiences. I’ve packed a lot in from being a student leader, through to being a BBC reporter, a soldier in the army, I’ve worked in telephone call centres, I’ve worked in factories, food factories, I’ve had real world experiences of life. That’s the first thing but secondly, I think I will speak up, I’m happy to say what needs to be done”.

which the rich have become richer under the tax breaks allowed by the Conservative government by implementing a mansion tax upon Britain’s wealthiest home-owners.

The rise in zero-hours contracts and unpaid internships that have left thousands of people struggling to find the money to live and eat are to be banned, alongside a rise in the minimum wage.

The party’s manifesto, accompanied by a leader that, according to recent polls, is growing in popularity on a daily basis thanks to a recent improvement in public speaking skills and impressive performances in televised debates, has led to a sudden spike in popularity meaning that many political experts believe that it will be Ed Milliband sitting in Downing Street come May 8th.

Have Labour changed in the last five years? At their core, no. They still remain Britain’s best hope for a left wing government, committed to welfare, taxation, education and a universally free NHS. But Labour have changed. They have managed to rebuild themselves from the disastrous remains that were left in the wake of the 2010 election.

They’ve managed to reignite their passion and core values, demonstrating themselves to the British public as the party that cares for the interests of the many, rather than the privileged few.

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Nicola Sturgeon has turned failure into victory for the Scottish National party, and should be taken seriously Peter Sheehan looks at the rise of the Scottish National party, and analyses their post-election prospects in a hung parliament he Scottish National party has done a mighty good job of turning losing into winning. A little over six months after having its raison d’être pulled sharply out from under it, the SNP looks set to send the largest contingent of Scottish MPs to Westminster and could, if the maths plays out to its advantage, play king maker to a minority Labour government. If this is a party of failure, there must be plenty of others in politics who’d like to be failing with them.

It is illuminating to view the SNP’s popularity in the context of the wider disengagement with Westminster politics.

England lacks a party that can build a positive, pro-English message into its narrative: English nationalism has long been associated with the far-right, and Ukip, for all its antiestablishment blustering, is strongly rooted in negative campaigning. What’s more, England does not have the same appetite for anti-union politics as Scotland. In contrast, Nicola Sturgeon can position her party as the left-wing replacement of a discredited Labour that is tied to Westminster centralism and has tacked too far right. Independence may be the centre of the SNP’s politics, but losing the referendum has not dented its strong Scotland-first message; it can still portray itself as Scotland’s champion in Westminster, something that is much harder for parties with national reach.

Yet, for all her pro-Scotland rhetoric, Sturgeon takes a more mature and constructive approach to the rest of the UK than Alex Salmond ever did. Whereas the former First Minister seemed to rather enjoy baiting the English establishment – and no-one more so than David Cameron – Sturgeon has made a concerted effort to assure voters outside of Scotland that, at Westminster and within the union, the SNP will work constructively with other like-minded parties to advance its agenda.

It’s working. After the first debate, the percentage of people who said that Sturgeon had come out on top was, allowing for the inherent blunderbuss accuracy of these polls, broadly comparable to the percentage who gave the debate to Farage, Miliband and Cameron. You don’t get that kind of reception on the national stage from Scottish voters alone. (Interestingly, audiences at debates for Scottish leaders have given her a harder time.)

There is a lot that the SNP has to contribute to national politics, and not least because they represent a significant portion of the population. Their anti-austerity message chimes with those in England who are similarly opposed to Cameron’s economic policies, and their pro-immigration, proEurope platform is one that is as much a part of politics in London as it is in Edinburgh, if not more so. This is a point that Sturgeon has made when talking to voters in England. By deliberately reaching across the border, she has made the SNP significant and constructive, and part of national politics to a far greater extent than it has been at previous general elections.

This contrasts with the approach of Leanne Wood, the leader of Plaid Cymru, whose focus on talking to voters in Wales has made her seem somehow less relevant.

On something of a side note, I can’t help but feel that another part of

Sturgeon’s popularity, at least in England, may well be down to her robust disagreements with Nigel Farage. Since the advent of Ukip, it seems that the debate on topics such as immigration has been held very much on its terms. Until, that is, Sturgeon gets going. She set the precedent in the first debate; in the second, Wood, Miliband and Natalie Bennett were noticeably more combative towards, as Wood put it, “my friend on the far right” – in particular, I cannot remember seeing Miliband speak so positively of the EU. Yet, once again, it was Sturgeon who delivered the most assured attack.

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o what lies in store for the SNP after the election? Contrary to what the Conservatives and seem to believe, the party’s negotiating position is actually rather weak.

Unlike the Liberal Democrats five years ago, the SNP has already showed its hand: under no circumstances will it prop up a Tory government, and as both Sturgeon and Miliband have said they will not enter into a formal coalition deal the only option is for the SNP to support a minority Labour government on a vote-by-vote basis –assuming, of course that the centre-left has enough votes to defeat the centre-right.

Unless both leaders change their minds and do form a coalition, this is the only course of action open to them. Sturgeon has indicated that she would be happy to ensure that her party supported a minority Labour administration, although the lack of a formal coalition deal would keep her MPs out of cabinet. The advantage of such an informal arrangement is that both parties can keep their hands clear: Labour could count on the support of the Tories for renewing Trident, while the SNP would not have to formally water down its drive for independence.

It’s an arrangement that could work well for both parties, and there’s no reason why it should be any more unstable than the outgoing coalition government. On the face of it, the SNP and Labour have far more that they agree about than did the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats five years ago. Granted, the question of independence could prove to be a thorny one, but the outcome of last year’s referendum could settle the issue for at least the length of the next parliament.

It would be an alliance, formal or otherwise, with substantial differences to that of the ToryLib Dem coalition. In the new age of multiparty politics, it could be an exciting thing to try. And, perhaps for the first time, it would truly force Westminster to look outwards.

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Photo: Flickr, First Minister of Scotland

IN BRIEF The SNP for English voters

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he SNP’s most well-known proposal is, perhaps obviously, the creation of an independent Scotland. But, as with the other political parties, they have a raft of other pledges in their manifesto. Given that Nicola Sturgeon’s MPs may play an important but as-yet uncertain role in a post-election, centre-left government, these other policies are receiving more attention nationally than previously.

The SNP is very much a centre-left party, hence

why it would likely side with Labour rather than the Conservatives in a hung parliament. But the campaign so far has proved that Sturgeon is further to the left than Miliband. In its manifesto, the SNP declares that it wants to “put fairness back at the heart of Westminster”: the fine print makes clear that this will be done by raising and spending more money; ending austerity has been a common theme of its campaign.

The party wants to increase govenment spending by 0.5% each year – areas earmarked to receive this include the NHS and education – and proposes to fund this by raising taxes: bringing back the 50p tax band, taxing banks and bankers more heavily, and introducing a so-called mansion tax.

Other headline elements of the manifesto include the pledge to vote against the renewal of the UK’s Trident nuclear weapons programme – the navy houses its missile-carrying submarines at Faslane, near Glasgow; the party’s committment to keeping Scotland in the European Union; and a promise to build 100,000 affordable house across the UK every year.

The SNP has never received so much attention outside of Scotland – nor has it ever gone looking for it. But given that multi-party politics seems to be here to stay, and with a campaign that has so explicity acknowledged voters outside of Scotland, people across the country are starting to look more closely at the policies that sit behind the SNP’s demand for independence. Peter Sheehan

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To vote or not to vote

Concrete takes a look at the arguments on both sides of the debate on whether it is worth voting.

Yes Emily Fedorowycz ver the past few years, the lines between the political parties have become increasingly blurred, and for some this has been a source of discouragement when it comes to poll time. But don’t let it! Just because the politics scene isn’t quite as clear-cut as it used to be, doesn’t mean we should just shrug off the whole thing or vote for the first candidate that says something we agree with.

Your vote matters. We often take it for granted that we live in such a free and democratic society, but people have fought long and hard to get us here: some have even given their lives. To date, it’s not even been 100 years since women first won the right to vote, In the past century we’ve come a long way towards equality and each being able to have our say, so making the most of your vote is important, if not for you, but for every person who has fought to give you that right.

But don’t just do it for them. You should do it for you more than anyone! Politics affects everything in your life: your education; your work; your community; your roads; your justice system; your healthcare. Your vote today will change the way everything around you will develop in the next few years, and all of these things will impact your life in unimaginable ways, as well as those who will come after you. Your choice now will have a huge influence on the society the children of today will grow up in, and perhaps, someday, even your children. So when you vote for party policies that will make education better, vote because you have the power to make studying at UEA the best it’s ever been, now and for all the students that are to come.

Speaking of the ways in which politics will directly affect those at UEA (and in the Norwich area), voting also gives you say on who will be representing you locally, and knowing what they hope to do within your community can sometimes mean more than national party politics. The policies your local

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No Yes, it might involve a little bit of research, or even having a quick glance through a few of the election leaflets before they go into the recycling bin, but it’s worth the effort now for the impact it will certainly have on you later. Plus, it’s never been easier to do the research in the first place. You have the great advantage of living in the age of technology, so this research is possible to do anywhere, anytime, on the go or from the comfort of your own home, so you don’t have to go out

“In 2010 nearly 16 million people didn’t vote” of your way to listen to party reps spiel on at a public event. There are also hundreds if not thousands of websites to help you collaborate all of this information, and quizzes to help you understand your own political views. (Try whoshouldyouvotefor.com) And whether or not you’re one of the inordinate amount of people who are put off thinking that their vote won’t make a difference, know this: Your vote will make the difference. According to The Mirror’s statistics, in 2010 nearly 16 million people didn’t vote. That ended up being 5.2 million more than the winning party recieved. If even half of those 16 million had voted, they could have completely changed the 2010 elections and perhaps some of the issues we have today might have been very different. Plus, of all the years to vote, this year is looking to be “the closest election in living memory” according to the Telegraph, so you can rest easy in the knowledge that your vote is going to have an even bigger impact!

So vote for the people who gave you the right in the first place, vote for the things that you believe in, and change will happen.

o not vote in elections, especially to the progressive university student, is often seen as a grievous crime. Yet in the past abstaining from voting has been a powerful tool for showing public dissent; there is more to the choice to not vote than something Russell Brand said. If you feel that our current political system is broken then next election could be your chance to show it.

It is clear to anyone who looks closely that first past the post is broken. Any system where 49% of the votes are wasted cannot be fair or representative. I don’t have enough time to relate all the failures of first past the post, but if the electoral system used does not reflect accurately who the people voted for I would say that it is not doing its job. By continuing to vote and partake in elections we legitimise this system that isn’t representing

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“If you live in a safe seat, there is no point in voting... your vote will be wasted” us. It’s highly unfortunate that the referendum on introducing the alternative vote system closed down this debate but by not voting you can show your dissent.

Another failure of our voting system is the number of safe seats. 59% to be precise. Over half of the seats in the House of Commons will not change and so if you are living in a safe seat there is no point voting. If you agree with the prevailing party then your choice is secure

and if you disagree your vote will be wasted.

So you feel as if your vote doesn’t count. Once every five years you supposedly are able to change your country’s political landscape and you might as well not have wasted the ink.

Once every five years. But what about between elections? We are all part of a social contract where we agree to give the government day to day responsibilities of running the country in exchange for a vote that is most likely useless, once every five years.

So what if you feel the election system used is unrepresentative or you feel government favours privileged Oxbridge graduates or that you aren’t listened to between your potentially pointless vote? What if you want to opt out of this social contract? You can’t. Not voting is the only way you can show your displeasure with the government’s side of the deal. Join a pressure group, go to a protest, but if you feel the contract isn’t working you can’t vote.

Though there is another option. By not voting you risk being lumped in with that group of lazy, disinterested folk who politicians demonise and dismiss. When you choose to abstain from voting you have no way to tell them why you didn’t vote. So go to the polling booth, make the effort and spoil your ballot. Spoiling your ballot counts, it says that you do care about politics but don’t want to vote for any of the candidates. et should we have to spoil our ballot if we disagree with the small selection of candidates available to us? Some countries have ballots with a ‘none of the above’ option so that citizens can democratically express their dissatisfaction with the candidates. If enough people spoil their ballot or tick ‘none of the above’ then it illegitimates government and sends a clear message that the people didn’t vote for them.

So why do we need a ‘none of the above’ vote? Because the major political parties are all the same. What is the point in voting if you know that no matter which party gains power,

Y

“Spoiling your ballot counts, it says you do care about politics, but don’t want to vote”

“We often take it for granted that we live in such a free and democratic society” MPs propose can also give you a small-scale insight into the priorities of the party, whilst showing you which ideas you can really get behind to make your local area a better place to live.

However, when all’s said and done, nobody can make you vote; it only matters if you make it matter. But many people will agree that if you don’t vote, you can’t really complain. Sure every political party has their flaws, but the only way to see change in politics is to get involved. Even if you vote and your candidate isn’t elected, at least you can say you took a shot, and at least your one vote went towards trying to put someone sensible in power or get some good policies passed (and one less for the not-so-good parties, ensuring that some racist or homophobic totty doesn’t take over).

Susannah Smith

Photo: Secretlondon123, Flickr.com

the outcome will be virtually the same? Before the 2010 election Labour was planning on implementing 80% of the cuts the coalition brought in since. So even if the election system was representative, even if you are in one of the few swing seats, if you don’t want to spoil your ballot and haven’t got a ‘none of the above’ option, then your vote still makes very little difference.

However, don’t choose not to vote because you don’t care about politics, or because you don’t know what each party stands for. Most of all don’t choose not to vote because you can’t be bothered. Once every five years we are asking you to have a peek in a newspaper, switch on your television or to just be on the internet for a while, and if then you still don’t want to vote, that’s okay. Make an informed choice and make sure to show your disillusionment because sometimes disengaging with politics can be just as powerful as engaging in it.

10

electio

How Great Britain is likely to vote...

Leading psephologist and UEA lecturer, Chris Hanretty, presents his predicted election results

B

efore this election campaign started, I should have made myself a promise. I should have promised to keep a count of every time someone on radio, on television, or in the press said that this was “the most unpredictable election” ever. I didn’t make that promise, so I don’t know how many times someone has claimed this: but it’s a big number.

The claim sounds exciting: but interpreted literally, it’s false. No one really means that this election can’t be predicted *at all*. We might not be able to predict exactly and without error the number of seats won by each party (which is what really matters, rather than vote share). But ask anyone who believes that the election is “unpredictable” whether they think Ukip will get three hundred seats, or whether the Conservatives will start winning seats in Glasgow. They’ll prevaricate, because everything we know – from past elections, from polls – tells us that these scenarios are incredibly unlikely.

The trick, of course, lies in combining these different sources of information – electoral history, demography, and polling – in a principled fashion. Together with colleagues at the London School of Economics and Durham University, I’ve developed a website which does just that. electionforecast.co.uk has been producing daily forecasts of the general election outcome since September. We supply Newsnight with their Newsnight Index, and have also tied up with the American site 538, whose founder Nate Silver won fame for correctly predicting all but one of the 50 states

in the presidential election of 2008.

Our predictions haven’t changed much since that time. Nor should they: a forecast aims at a point in the future, and shouldn’t be distracted overmuch by “shock” polls today or tomorrow.

The key message of our forecasts is that this election is very unlikely to produce single party majority government, and may require more than two parties to form a legislative majority of 326 seats. We’ll either see another coalition

E

Scotland The SNP leave Labour with only four seats in it’s former stronghold

“No one really means that this election can’t be predicted” government, or that if we do see single party government, it’ll be a minority government, forced to negotiate all its major policy proposals with other parties in the parliament.

That legislative arithmetic is finely balanced.

At the time of writing, we predict that the Conservatives are likely (59%) to finish as the largest party in the Commons, with 284 seats compared to Labour’s 274. The SNP is very likely to finish as the third largest party ahead of the Liberal Democrats, who we expect to win 28 seats.

That means that the Conservatives, as the largest party, might claim the right to govern – only to find they can’t get anything through a hostile Commons. But if forecasting the election is difficult, forecasting the government that forms after 7th May is even more difficult.

How Election Forecast gets its results lection Forecast is widely considered to be one of the most reliable predictions of what will happen on 7th May. This is because their predictions are made not based on the opinions of voters on one particular day but rather take into account a large range of data: past election results, frequent current and historical polling. This information can is used to understand the proportion of people who intend to vote for each party.

By using the outcomes of recent elections Election Forecast can set rough boundaries for what is likely to happen at any given election. For example, they state on their website that it is very unlikely that the Conservative party will get less than 25% or more than 45% of the vote.

This provides them with an initial outline to work within. Further, it helps to identify how well other sources of information predicted previous election results and therefore help decide how useful information that is available about the current election is.

Another aspect of data which is taken into account by Election Forecast when making their predictions is the individual characteristics of each constituency. Each

Ross, Skye & Lochaber Charles Kennedy, former leader of the Liberal Democrats, is unseated by the SNP

constituency will have their own incumbent party, population density, average age and religious distribution along with many other characteristics.

Using a special model, Election Forecast try to predict how these characteristics relate to who people vote. The stronger the correlation between characteristics and an individuals’ choice of vote, the more confident Election Forecast claim they can be in estimating how vote shares are likely to be split within a constituency.

Many people are sceptical of seat predictions and whether it is actually possible to accurately predict the outcome of a general election, let alone how many seats each party would get.

However, in order to test their model, Election Forecast have applied their methods to the 2010 election to compare their retrospect predictions with the actual outcome of the election. They were able to predict every party’s share of the votes within a margin of just nine seats.

This means that Election Forecast’s new method of prediction would have produced the closest result to reality when compared to all other predictions at the time. Dan Falvey

Sheffield Hallam Nick Clegg defeats Labour by the slimmest of margins

Wales Plaid Cymru make modest gains in the far west

Buckingham John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons and former Conservative, is standing for re-election as an independent

Bristol West The Green Party are pushed into third place, behind the Lib Dems, in their numberthree target seat

IN BRIEF Polling predictions, party Conservatives The party has held a steady position over the past fortnight. It is very likely that they will lose seats and it is very unlikely that they will be able to form a majority. However, a plurality government is possible.

Labour Party Has seen a slight rise in the number of seats they are predicted to win in recent weeks.

It is probable that they will gain seats at the election but it is unlikely

that they will win a majority. Like the Conservatives it is possible that they could form a plurality government.

Liberal Democrats The predicted number of seats for the Liberal Democrats in the next parliament has held steady: it is almost certain that they will lose seats.

SNP The projected number of seats for the SNP has also remained

on2015

11 COMMENT Dan Falvey examines why we bother forecasting the results of elections

P Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath Gordon Brown’s old seat falls to the SNP

Graphics reproduced by kind permission of Election Forecast

Norwich South Labour’s Clive Lewis comfortably defeats the Green Party’s Lesley Graeme (see breakdown below)

Labour Conservatives Green Party Liberal Democrats Ukip Other

35.1% 21.1% 18.9% 14.7% 7.7% 2.5%

olling elections has proven to be a tricky business. The number of times that polls prove to be wrong is phenomenal.

Further, the different results that arise from polls taken at the same time have often provided amusement.

In this election we have seen one poll that predicted that the Liberal Democrats would lose three quarters of their seats while on the same day a poll implied that the party would see gains in their seats.

More famously, in the 1992 election, pollsters predicted that Labour would form the new government or that there would be a hung parliament. However, in reality the Conservatives won a fourth consecutive term and win by a comfortable margin of 7.6%.

The truth is that polls have often proven to be unreliable and fluctuate on a daily basis.

Again in last year’s Scottish independence referendum one poll five days before the day of the ballot implied that the majority of Scots would vote ‘yes’ to independence.

Since then this poll has been accused as an anomaly following the clear victory of the ‘no’ campaign by 55% to 45%.

These results clearly indicate that polls are untrustworthy, so why do we bother to conduct them in the first place?

In some cases polls provide a snapshot of the national opinion and how the public would be likely to vote if there was a general election tomorrow.

For example, following the release of their manifesto a party will usually see a fluctuation in their share of the popular vote in the polls; if voters like their manifesto they can expect to see an improvement in their

ratings, while if voters disagree they can expect to see a decrease in their share of the polls.

This can provide amusing analysis about how voters perceive election gaffs such as Lord Prescott punching a heckler or Gordon Brown calling an old woman a “bigoted lady”. However, more importantly it can help us see what voters think of an isolated incident.

Further, by looking at the polls over time we can attempt to grasp an understanding at the direction of a party’s popularity. A stead increase may imply that a party can be expected to perform particularly well come polling day.

Most interesting, at this election is the fact that polls taken by different companies on the same day are providing a much wider variation in results compared to normal.

However, when this is all taken into account in a poll of polls the clear result is that the Tories and Labour are neck and neck. This in itself tells us a great deal.

It tells us just how much the p u b l i c cannot decide which party it wants to govern. It proves exactly why the country is heading towards a hung parliament on the 8th May. While some voters see certain acts by a party in a positive light, others are seeing them in a negative one; there is no general consensus, the polls help us understand just how undecided the nation is.

Polling over time

Great Yarmouth Ukip fail to take their key target seat from the Tories

Clacton Douglas Carswell holds onto Ukip’s first parliamentary seat

Brighton Pavillion Green MP Caroline Lucas is re-elected

by party steady and it is almost certain that the party will gain seats on 7th May. Plaid Cymru The numbers for the Welsh party have held stead over the course of the forecast. It is possible that they will gain seats at the election.

Green Party With just one MP in the last parliament it is unlikely that the party will lose seats. Their predicted seat numbers for the next

Shading indicates the region of uncertainty

parliament have remained steady.

Ukip The party has held steady in terms of how many seats it is predicted to hold post polling day.

While Ukip currently has two MPs due to by-elections, they did not win any seats in the 2010 general election. It is therefore likely that they will see an increase in the number of seats they hold when compared to May 2010.

Sep 15 Last party conferences before the election 9th Oct 14 Clacton byelection: Ukip’s first MP elected

Jan 15 “Green Surge” 30th Mar 15 Disolution of Parliament

12

election2015

The Liberal Democrat candidate for Norwich South spoke to Dan Falvey itting in the small reception area of Simon Wright’s workplace just off Dereham Road there is no doubt that he is the incumbent MP for Norwich South. Framed on the wall are newspaper clippings and cards highlighting his record in government and thanking him for some of the things he has done.

When Wright takes me through into his office, we start our conversation by discussing what exactly drew the Liberal Democrat into politics and why he had sought election in 2010: “One of the things that I found as a teacher before I was elected was that education policy had an enormous influence over how you go about your day to day job� he explained to me. “Whether it’s the way the national curriculum was prescribed, whether it was resolutions around the profession, there were a lot of things, some of which were quite frustrating and quite restricting on how I felt I was able to be as a teacher so for me, standing for parliament was partially about being able to represent issues which communities care about�.

Indeed, education policy is something which Simon Wright is very interested in and admits that aspects of the Liberal Democrats education policy that have been implemented in government are among the things he is most proud of his party having done in government: “I’m really proud of the pupil premium, the front page of the last Liberal Democrat manifesto was a commitment to give schools more resources to specifically support children from less welloff backgrounds. One of the greatest scandals with education outcomes in this country is how closely correlated likelihood to achieve in school is with the wealth of the parents�.

However, while Simon Wright was happy to explain how proud he was of this aspect of education policy, there was one policy, one which the Liberal Democrats are notoriously

to stay here�.

Throughout our conversation Simon Wright gave off a sense of great enthusiasm and belief that he could secure his place as the MP for Norwich South once again on polling day. Speaking to him about his narrow majority of just 310 votes in May 2010, something which he described to me as being “permanently imprinted� on his mind, I questioned him on whether he was being realistic in his belief that he could be re-elected.

Election Forecast, put together by UEA lecturer Chris Hanretty, claim that there is a 97% chance that Labour’s Clive Lewis would be the next MP for the constituency. “I don’t accept that conclusion at all� exclaimed Wright, brushing away the idea that the election battle in this constituency had already been won. “I think the idea that you can somehow create a percentage likelihood of how each candidate is likely to do seems quite bizarre�.

Finishing off our conversation he argued that his experience over the last five years in government made him the perfect candidate

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“I think that supporting the next generation is absolutely crucial�

Photo: BillieMay Jones, Concrete Photography

SIMON WRIGHT /FXT 'FB

“My biggest regret is tuition fees; that we weren’t able to get a way forward within the coalition agreement� known for not sticking to, that he wasn’t so happy about: “On behalf of my party, my biggest regret is tuition fees; that we weren’t able to get a way forward within the coalition agreement that was satisfactory. “The deal that was stuck was that Liberal Democrats could abstain when there was a vote on tuition fees. But for some of us, having looked at the deal that was on the table and having discussed it, whilst there were elements of the policy that were more progressive in terms of how the loan repayments work, none the less the deal fundamentally included a significant raise in tuition fees which for a lot of us we weren’t going to be able to support�.

In 2012 Simon Wright voted against the rise in tuition fees to ÂŁ9000 despite it being a part of coalition policy. However, in 2012 when an opposition bill was brought forward that sought to lower tuition fees to ÂŁ6000, Wright voted against the motion. “It wasn’t fundedâ€? he indicates. “It’s very easy in opposition to come up with token gestures, but unless you’ve got a plan to deliver it then it is nothing more than

to represent Norwich South for the next term of parliament: “I’ve had five years of representing Norwich South and the experience that comes with that means that I’am aware of a wide range of issues that affect the local communities�.

Just as we are about to shake hands and end our conversation he adds that he has one final message to give to students who are planing to vote: “I think that supporting the next generation is absolutely crucial and my commitment as an MP is that if I’m reelected I will carry on fighting for a fairer deal for Norfolk schools, fighting for education, fighting for the opportunity that young people need to succeed�.

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election2015

13

Photo: Norwich Liberal Democrats

Shirley Williams S The baroness, a founding member of the SDP, and later a Liberal Democrat peer, spoke to Joe Jameson

tanding in Chancery Hall, which is tucked just around the corner from Chapelfield shopping center, surrounded by a small army of volunteers stuffing letters and preparing campaign material for Simon Wright. Baroness Shirley Williams spoke to me about the Liberal Democrat campaign, and why it was important that the party was able to influence government policy from within.

Shirley Williams explained that it was “almost certain” that we would see a hung parliament in May, but I wanted to know what would be different between what the Liberal Democrats had to offer the Conservatives in

A

fter decades of two party politics, with Labour and the Conservatives swapping and in and out of No. 10 Downing Street the British public had the surprise of their lives in the run up to the 2010 election. Faced with the prospect of not two, but three viable candidates, a coalition government was voted in. Nick Clegg and David Cameron may have been uneasy bedfellows and even unlikelier political colleagues these last five years but amongst the compromises and arguments of splitting power between the Tories and the Lib Dems, out of the ashes has emerged a new way of seeing politics and a set of brand new expectations for Prime Ministers, general elections and everything in between.

Heated debates between party leaders are nothing new, but the involvement of such a wide range of political parties and groups in so many different formats demonstrates that something has fundamentally shifted in British politics. We are no longer content with two opposing viewpoints, two economic plans and two colours of tie to choose between. The 2015 election campaign has been more fractured and contested than ever before with votes and seats split between far greater ranges of candidates. From the idealism of the Greens, the threat to Scottish Labour of the SNP and the controversies of Ukip, it all began with Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats back in 2010.

Coalition government throws up a whole range of issues, the consequences of which will play out in this general election and the choices of voters. Loyal Lib Dem supporters may feel the party has lost appeal and capitulated to the Conservative economic ideology of austerity far too many times and students were rudely awakened to the brutal reality of broken political promises over tuition fees. However, while “Cleggmania” doesn’t

2010, and a potential partner in 2015. Would it be more of the same, or had there been a re-think in their strategy following five years in government? “I think there is something new, that is to an extraordinary extent over the last few years, the Conservatives have run… very much a set of domestic policies”.

Baroness Williams said that this had also been the case with Ukip following Nigel Farage’s comments about non-British citizens who seek treatment for HIV in the UK, which she thought represented Mr. Farage’s desire to “stop the world, I want to get off”.

Williams claimed that “quite simply, if we [the Lib Dems] are about anything, then we are about being part of the world, and I think particularly being part of Europe, the Lib Dems are committed internationalists”. Baroness Williams explained that David Cameron had made a series of shortsighted mistakes over Europe. “The most foolish things that he ever did was to leave the Christian Democrat grouping, which would have given him the leading position in the European Parliament.

What he gave up, essentially, was the position of leading influence in Europe”.

I was curious to ask whether the Lib Dems would present a compassionate side of a coalition, not just domestically, but also internationally. “Absolutely, the best example, is that it was our MP, Michael Moore, who not only sponsored, but actually fought all the way through, for the building the commitment of 0.7% of GNI to be spent on the international aid budget, which is now statutory”. The Baroness expressed a desire to see it raised to 1%, but said that the most pressing issue was national debt.

As we spoke about the Lib Dem’s committed internationalism, Baroness Williams mentioned, in reference to UEA’s student population, just how important the number of international students in Britain is. “Students should not be considered as part of the immigration figures, which we have fought like mad for, Teresa May is not the easiest person to fight with, to put them in as though they will all live here forever is completely dotty”.

in the toxic and competitive atmosphere of Westminster, and hopefully within the government itself. The media will try to convince us that the party will be decimated by 7th May. A dramatic headline that will sell more newspapers but not reflect the truth of the change that has been brought into politics.

Truthfully, the Liberal Democrat’s record in government could have been far worse and many examples of where Nick Clegg and his party have had a noticeable impact in this government, such as scrapping the plans for an ID cards system, saying no to a replacement

“Politics does not have to be about ideologies, winning and losing” Photo: Flickr, Liberal Democrats

The liberal Democrats have changed the face of British Politics Jessica Frank-Keyes COMMENT

look set to be sweeping the nation this time around, the Deputy Prime Minister could be in

“Coalition government throws up a whole range of issues” a far worse off position this close to the 7th May. He remains the leader of the only party either Labour or the Conservatives would willingly,

if not happily, enter into a coalition with and the Lib Dem’s clever positioning of themselves as moderates, centrists, “the heart of a Tory government” and “the brain of a Labour one,” is sure to win them votes from those who see the value of balance and compromise in Westminster.

The Lib Dem’s have always focused on community politics, social justice, equality and fairness for all. It would be good to give them the chance to continue sharing those values

of Trident and investing over £1bn to crack down on tax avoidance all suggest the Lib Dem’s brand of reasonable policies combined with social justice and welfare would be an ideal ingredient in the makeup of our next government.

Politics does not have to always be about ideologies, winning and losing arguments and the endless cycle of opposition. Shouting at each other across the chamber floor should not be our overriding image of the people we elect to lead us. I, for one, would like to see a process of consensus, coalition and compromise becoming the norm both in Parliament and government and I believe that despite the failings and mistakes that rightly anger people about Clegg and Cameron, we have made the first step into improving the way we run our democracy in the long term future. Changing the system will always be difficult but a vote for the Liberal Democrat party is in no way a vote wasted.

14

election2015 The economy

Conservatives

Labour

Liberal Democrats

Ukip

Greens

SNP

The NHS

Europe & the world

The two main themes of the Conservative pledges on the economy include reducing taxes – increasing the tax-free personal allowance to £12,500, raising the 40p tax threshold to £50,000 and freezing income tax, national insurance and VAT – and bringing down the deficit: the party aims to have Britain running a surplus by 2018-19.

It says this will require a further £30bn of “fiscal consolidation” up to that point.

The manifesto also talks about building a “northern powerhouse” in an effort to boost regional growth and create jobs.

The Tories pledge an extra £8bn, above inflation, for the National Health Service by the end of the next parliament. They also want to introduce seven-day opening hours for GP surgeries, and say that people over 75 will be able to have a same-day doctor’s appointment by 2020.

The party’s headline pledge is to hold an in-out referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union by the end of 2017.

In advance of this, the Conservatives want to renegotiate the country’s place within the union, to repatriate certain powers from Brussels and keep Britain out of the single currency.

The Labour manifesto opens with the party’s “budget responsibility lock”, a pledge that every proposal in the document has been paid for, and that a Labour government will reduce the deficit annually.

Labour says it will increase taxes for people earning over £150,000 a year, reintroduce the 10p tax rate to lower taxes for those on low incomes, and raise the minimum wage to £8 an hour by late 2019.

In addition, the party will end non-domicile status and close tax loopholes.

Labour would seek to ensure people could see a GP within 48 hours, and will spend £2.5bn more than the Conservatives in order to hire more doctors and nurses.

It also pledges to reverse what it calls the “government’s privitisation plans”, and to link up various care services.

The party commits to employ a further 1,000 border guards, and plans to reduce net unskilled migration. On the EU, Labour says that Britian’s membership is important for economic growth, but says it wants to reform the workings of the union and guarantees that no further powers will be transferred to Brussels without an in-out referendum.

The headline message of the Liberal Democrats’ economic message is that the party will “borrow less that Labour”, but “cut less than the Tories”. Specifically, the party says that it will borrow only for capital investment that leads to economic growth, and that it will reduce spending reductions to half of that agreed for 2015-16.

The Lib Dems also want to introduce a banking levy, and to increase corporation tax for banks.

The Liberal Democrats pledge to spend £500m annually on mental health provision in the NHS and want to introduce standards for waiting times.

Financially, the party would spend an extra £8bn on the NHS in England, and says it would also make extra funds available for healthcare in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Once the budget deficit has been eliminated, spending would increase in line with economic growth.

The Lib Dems are in favour of the UK’s membership of the EU but, like Labour, want to reform the workings of Brussels and increase accountability. The party would hold an in-out referendum if further powers were to be transferred.

Ukip pledges to ‘restore incentives for workers by cutting taxes’, which would see the personal allowance raised to £13,000, inheritance tax abolished, and the threshold for the 40p rate of tax raised to £55,000.

Ukip insists that it is committed to reducing the national debt, and outlines key savings in the budget: £9bn from direct EU contributions following Britian’s exit; £4bn from ending HS2; and up to £11bn from reducing the international aid budget from 0.7% of Gross National Income to 0.2%.

In their manifesto, Ukip claim that Labour and the Conservatives have treated the NHS as a ‘political football’, but insist that Ukip would deliver value for money.

Ukip’s headline pledge on the NHS is that they would invest another £3bn a year on frontline patient care. This increase in spending on the NHS will deliever 8,000 more GPs, 20,000 more nurses and 3,000 more midwives.

Ukip’s outlook to Britain’s committments abroad would see the UK leave the EU and build closer ties with countries in the Commonwealth. Ukip, however, remains firmly committed to trading relationships with the EU, and plans to negotiate these as part of the UK’s exit.

Ukip also wants to overhaul the immigration system, by adopting an Australian style, points based arrangement.

The Green party wants to build an economy that “works for all”, and tackle the divide between the rich and poor. As part of their aims to transform the economy, the Greens plede to raise the minimum wage to £10 an hour by 2020, and create over one million public sector jobs which pay the living wage.

This would be paid for by a new wealth tax on the top 1%, and a one off Robin Hood Tax on the banks.

In their manifesto, the Greens express their concern that the NHS is currently being eroded by gradual privitisation, and pledge to remove the profit motive out of public healthcare, in an effort to ensure that the NHS remains, a public health service which is free at the point of use.

The Green party wants to see the UK rethink its approach to international conflicts, whilst maintaining a “defensive defence” policy, which would not imtimidate, but would show resolve to not capituate to any external threat.

The Green party is resolute to see the UK take an active role in international agreements on global climate change which are both just and effective.

In the SNP’s manifesto, they outline their stand against austerity, whilst maintaining that the deficit must be cut each year. The SNP hopes to ensure that by reducing the severity of austerity, there will be money available for investment in skills and employment around the whole of the UK.

The SNP pledges that its MPs would vote against any further privatisation of the NHS, and rise to the funding challenge which the NHS will represent by 2020, when the NHS is projected to require a budget increase of £24bn.

The SNP has consistently been in favour of scrapping Trident, the UK’s nuclear capability, as they believe that the expected £100bn required to overhaul the programme could be better spent on housing, welfare and the NHS. In their manifesto, they outline how they would like to see an immigration policy which works for the Scottish economy.

election2015

15

The view from the Square

We asked people what they thought about the general election “I don’t really know any of the policies of the parties really”.

“For me it’s more about the person who is the party leader rather than the party themselves because for example, David Cameron could make it to one of the debates out of his own choice but as a Prime Minister you want him to be there so he lost my vote. Whereas the others all went head to head and I don’t see why he thinks he is so special and sees himself above it”.

“I don’t believe [the Greens] are a realistic alternative. I think they offer a bit too much. It’s great to see but I don’t think they have the facts to back it up and the financial evidence as proof. They just say ‘we’ll give you this free and that free’ and that’s just not enough”.

“I’m not completely sure who exactly I align with but I think that party politics is a load of crap”.

“I just haven’t got round to registering to vote”.

“I’m voting for the Greens. I did one of those little quizzes online that show you policies but don’t tell you which party they belong and the Green party I agreed with 90% of their policies apparently [also] I find it difficult how Labour is arguing that they’re going to get rid of tuition fees [at £9000] because I don’t think it’s going to work”.

“I registered to vote at the ‘Goats for Votes’ campaign… It prompted me to do it straight away, I probably would have missed the deadline otherwise”.

“I’m a bit unsure whether to vote Green or Labour because I feel that Labour might help the nation but Green might help get Norwich South a louder voice”.

Photo: Dan Falvey, Concrete Photography “I don’t think [the Greens] have a realistic economic plan but I’m going to vote for them anyway because [they] will kick balls”.

“I think the Lib Dems are the only ones who care about mental health within the NHS”.

“I’m going to vote Labour, definitely. Simply, I just don’t feel the Conservatives have done enough over the past five years and I don’t believe that the coalition itself has really worked because of the differences between the two parties”.

“This is my first election and I feel like because I’ve only just got to the age where it’s going to affect me I almost don’t feel ready to vote in the election because I don’t know enough about it. I feel it’s really difficult to access what policies are out there”.

“I’d say Ed Miliband [is the best leader]. I don’t know if I’m going to vote Labour but if I had to vote for an individual It would be Ed. He got a lot of stick about him and his brother and people saying he’s not fit to run the country and he has dealt with that stick well. I know Paxman gave him an absolute grilling… but Ed dealt with it really well. I think if he can deal with personal issues then that can translate into dealing with issues in the country quite well”.

“I think to an extent [all the parties] are the same and also, I feel that uni is a bit of a bubble that’s not quite connected with the outside world”.

“I think Labour will do a good job if they keep to their policies but that’s unlikely to happen”.

“I think the NHS is important. That’s the one most important thing that I’m voting on”.

“I started off quite interested in [the general election] but that’s kind of dwindled as it’s gone on. By May 7th I’ll be completely bored. I feel like the first week every party says something and then the next four weeks they just say the same things again. It’s so cyclical. We already know what everyone thinks so why do they need to keep saying it on TV”.

“I don’t have a problem with the Cameron and Clegg coalition that’s existed over the past five years. So in that sense I almost feel that they haven’t caused any problems and there’s nothing I don’t like about them so they must be doing a good job”.

“[In the TV debates] the smaller parties seemed to shine the most. Farage and Miliband seemed to just crumble whereas the three women seemed to just kick their arses. I think to a certain extent, because they are smaller parties they are freer to make elaborate claims whereas larger parties are more restricted”.

“As a foreigner I think that the parties have differences which are quite deep”.

“There’s going to be change whether we like it or not because the smaller parties are gaining a lot more power and the big established parties which were keeping political stability are losing their credibility which is good because it’s more representative or the voice of the people so in a democratic sense it’s probably good. But it means there could be weaker governments who aren’t able to get as much done”.

“I’m desperately apathetic”.

“It’s all become so beside the point. Five years ago and certainly ten years ago, if you didn’t want to get the Tories to power you would vote Labour but now if you don’t want to get the Tories to power do you vote Greens or Plaid Cymru”.

“I was unsure whether to vote Lib Dem, Green or Labour. I’ll probably vote Labour in this constituency just because I think they have a better chance of winning”.

“I think it’s just the same every time we have an election, parties have one policy you like and the other policies you don’t like. I just wish that you could have just that one ideal party that you want to vote for but it doesn’t exist”.

ANALYSIS Joe Jameson reflects on the views on campus

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eading through the responses that we received on campus, it is clear that this election has made its mark upon us as a group of students. One theme which stands out through a lot of the comments is that this election will be characterised by tactical voting, rather than an increase in ideological, or partisan politics. What is telling is that people are aware of differences between the parties, whether they are ones of image, policy, or respectability, whilst other students seemed to be generally despondent about politics, remarking that parties rarely say anything outside of the box, or that they have little personal interest in this election.

Many people who we spoke to weren’t sure whether they should vote because they believed in a party’s message, or for a party which would prevent a different party from winning. This is particularly interesting, as some people were caught between voting for the party who they felt

would be better for Britain, and the party who they felt would be better for Norwich South. Campus also seems to mirror national interests such as the future of the NHS, and the economy, with some people raising concerns about the financial plans and reputations of parties.

One thing that is quite interesting is that there was little mention of the coalition, positive or negative, while a couple of people did think that the coalition had done a good job, it is perhaps surprising that nobody raised the issue of tuition fees as a reason why they felt disengaged from politics, or that they would not vote for one of the coalition partners.

This perhaps represents the sentiments of a number of students, who felt that campus is a bubble, some highlighted how that without initiatives, like ‘Goats for Votes’, they would have been unlikely to vote. Others said that as this is the first general election for a lot of UEA’s population many feel there are few issues which will directly affect them whilst they are at university.

16 don’t promise to keep this schedule up!” Natalie Bennett, the leader of the Green party, is on her second visit to Norwich in as many weeks, proof of the attention that the party is paying to its number-two target seat in next month’s general election. “Norwich South is one of our incredibly important seats. It’s an area where we’ve been strong for a very long time: we’re the opposition on the council – and obviously it’s a very strong student seat”.

The Greens pay a lot of attention to the student vote. Polling shows that the party has high levels of support among 18 to 24-yearolds, with some surveys putting it on a nearequal footing with Labour. Why does Bennett think that the party’s message resonates so strongly with younger generations? “Young people are really looking at imagining their life, looking forward and thinking: ‘I’ve done everything right. I’ve worked hard at school, I’ve got the degree, I’ve done the masters – and what does my life look like?’ And they really feel like: ‘This isn’t working for me, I need a different kind of society where my efforts are gonna be rewarded and where everybody’s really gonna have a fair chance of a decent life’. And young people saying: ‘This isn’t being delivered, we’ve got to look around and do something different’ ”.

Then again, one could be forgiven for thinking that it should be higher, not least because the Greens have pledged to abolish tuition fees, while Labour will only reduce them to £6,000. “It’s interesting if you look at the directions of travel. Ever since, really, the debates issue erupted we’ve got a little bit of air time, a little bit of space, so that people are actually having the chance to hear our message. And so, if you look at the trends, people are hearing us more and more, liking what they’re hearing and are coming in our direction”.

In Norwich South, what is it that sets Lesley Grahame, the Green candidate, apart from Labour’s Clive Lewis? “Well, I don’t know much about Clive, and I wouldn’t personalise it. What I’d focus on is the fact that the Green party is offering real change in politics. We’ve got three business-as-usual parties who are really just tinkering when it’s clear that we’ve got an economic, social and environmental crisis. And just continuing to do things pretty much as we are with a little bit of fiddling isn’t an option. We need jobs you can build a life on; we need housing you can afford to live in; and we need to live within our environmental limits. And that means big change”.

The Green party talks a great deal about the disintegration of the two-party system.

Indeed, its 2015 manifesto includes a pledge to introduce proportional representation in the House of Lords and switch to the singletransferable vote system for elections to the Commons. How does Bennett think that her party can fit into the new multi-party world?

“Well I think that the certain loser of this election is gonna be the first-past-the-post electoral system. It looks very stale, very failed now. We might see quite a significant number of people elected on not much more than 25% of the vote: it’s going to be clear that we need change. So we’re heading into an entirely different political landscape. The future of politics doesn’t look like the past.

“But I think there’s a real possibility in this election that we could see something like the [Scottish independence referendum], where we saw an 85% turnout, 97% of eligible people registered to vote, young people voting in almost the same proportion as the over-60s.

And if that happens we could just have an utterly transformative election. It’s really in voters’ hands to deliver a peaceful political revolution”.

After the election, transformative or otherwise, what possibilities does Bennett envisage for enacting some of the Green party’s policies, especially given that we may very well end up with another hung parliament? “We’ve said we would not in any way support a Tory government: line one. Line

“I

election2015 two: if we were looking towards some sort of Labour coalition or minority government that we might support on a vote-by-vote basis, we’d be starting very much with an anti-austerity [objective]. Austerity is a failed policy that’s making the disadvantaged poor, the young pay for the error and the fraud of the bankers.

“But actually someone the other day asked me: ‘Where would you start?’. And one of the places that we really wanna start is: who’s been disadvantaged? Who’s suffered awfully under this government? And disabled people is an area [where] there’s huge suffering. So [we] would be campaigning to restore the Independent Living Fund and lift Personal Independence Payments back up to the level of need .

“Benefits: lifting them up to, at an absolute

minimum, the real level they were in 2010.

And particularly the benefits that affect single parents, because it’s single-parent households that have really suffered enormously under this government. And we also very much want to restore public-sector pay. We’ve seen the real levels of public-sector pay plummet – these are people who are doing really important, good jobs we all need and they should get a decent wage for it”.

But the Green party will not be forming a government after the election, so what, if anything, would Bennett be willing to compromise on if, for example, Green MPs were to support Labour, either formally or informally? “The thing is, rather than becoming a coalition, you operate on a voteby-vote basis”. She uses the issue of the Trident nuclear weapons upgrade as an example.

NatalieBennett Photo: Patrick Sumner Stokes, Concrete Photography

The leader of the Green Party spoke to Peter Sheehan and Dan Falvey Words by Peter Sheehan

“Sadly, at the moment both Labour and the Tories support a Trident nuclear replacement, so presumably that would be something they’d be able to get through anyway – and it’s not something we would dream of voting for. But we wouldn’t necessarily have the numbers to stop them”. e ask about a more student-focused issue.

Students are always complaining about the bus service in Norwich – “As long as you don’t ask me about bus route 47A, because I probably won’t know the answer!” – so what would the Green party do to improve public transport?

“We’ve said that we’ve got a transport hierarchy that starts with walking and cycling, and local buses are the next step up where we want to see a lot of investment. We’d put in money to reduce bus fares by about 10% across the board. But that reliability and regularity are two of the really key things.

If people are actually going to be relying on buses – and this means a lot ,not just students but people who might have the option of using a car, but who would use the bus if it was reliable and ran when and where they needed it to.

How would the party pay for this kind of increase in expenditure? “The short answer to that is we need to make multi-national companies and rich individuals pay their way. We’ve got a real problem under this government: corporate tax take is down 14%.

We have the website Amazon which last year paid 0.01% of its turnover in tax. And that means it’s a parasite: it’s taking profits out of Britain but not paying for the roads it needs for its lorries to run down on. And that can’t continue.

“And also, in terms of inequality in society, the richest 1% just keeps getting richer. And that’s why we’re calling for a wealth tax, which would take one or 2% from [people] worth more than £3m. And that’s not a punitive measure: that’s a reflection of the fact that your wealth came from society – Bill Gates on a desert island wouldn’t actually make any money at all. You need customers, you need workers, you need the whole infrastructure of society to make money. And also the fact that the rich are actually people too. If they get really ill they’ll probably end up in an NHS hospital. They need roads, they need policing, they need all that stuff. And they would have a better life as well as everyone else if they paid for decent public services”.

Part of the problem with tax avoidance, though, is that companies take profits offshore. So isn’t Bennett trying to solve an international problem? “In terms of the multinational companies, there is international action. How far or well it will go is the question.

“Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, had a private member’s bill in 2011 – the tax and financial transparency bill – and that’s got a whole host of detail. But just to focus on one bit of it: [she proposed] country-by-country reporting, which means if you do business in Britain – so this is a rule that Britain can make on its own – you have to report: every other country in the world you operate in; your profit there; your turnover there; and the number of staff you have. So if you’re a big company with a whole lot of business in Britain, but somehow 50% of your profits are made in a tax haven where you employ two men and an office dog, [the government] can really start to do something about that if you insist on the country-by-country reporting”.

Bennett talks quickly: from the beginning of the interview, she fires off long answers that cover a lot of ground. She sounds most assured when reciting the kind of stock phrases one hears a great deal from poiliticians, but she nevertheless comes across more naturally than, for example, in the debates. And she may not be going to end up in Wesminster herself, but this is undoubtedly the election where people started to take her party seriously.

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The Green Party candidate for Norwich South spoke to Dan Falvey

how was it possible to trust another party given the broken promises of the past?

“You can’t demand people’s trust, you’ve got to earn it and we’ve been earning it as councillors and campaigners on justice issues for the last thirty years” argues Grahame before pausing. For a second she asks whether she can have a minute to think about the question before quickly changing her mind as she thought of what she wanted to say: “I suppose one of the things about trust is, if I were a normal career politician, do you think I would have joined such a small party?”

A small party it may be, but they are currently surging in support and Norwich South is their second target seat and one area of the country that the party is keen to be representing in parliament. When I asked Grahame about whether she believed that the seat could possibly be retained by the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP she was very confident in her opinion: “occasionally strange things happen but it’s unlikely”.

“You have to remember that [Simon Wright] had a majority of just 310 which is one of the smallest in the country”.

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he Green Party’s parliamentary candidate for Norwich South is Lesley Grahame. Sitting in Marzano café inside The Forum, literally 100 metres away from where she launched her campaign back in January we discuss her campaign so far as I try to get to know a bit more about the softly spoken candidate that the Green party have chosen to represent them in this constituency in May. Up until when she took leave in January to focus on her election campaign, Lesley Grahame was a district nurse in the NHS. Her role is one she takes great pride in and is eager to tell people about on her campaign leaflets.

“The NHS is a really critical issue within this election because it’s one of the institutions most unifying in British politics” she says to me when explaining why she campaigns so passionately about her job. “Everyone cares about it and one way or another everybody is likely to use it at some point in their lives.

Even if they always use private healthcare they always know that it’s there if they need the NHS in an emergency”.

Working inside the public service, she claims, has provided her with a unique insight into the decline of the health service.

“I want to be elected to stand up for patients and nurses. I’ve been standing up for patients as a nurse and part of that role is advocacy in supporting patients. I’ve watched services deteriorate and nursing moral tumble over years and years and it’s really important to reverse the rot”.

Passion is one thing which Lesley Grahame clearly has and her willingness to stand up for causes such as the NHS has been proven through active campaigning throughout her life. Most notoriously she was arrested in 2008 for trespassing at RAF Lakenheath, I asked her whether she believed that the way she had acted was wrong and whether she would ever consider doing something similar again: “I’m really passionate about the rule of law” she stated. “I don’t think you should ever break the law unless you have a really good

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he Green party is set for its most successful general election result so far on the 7th May and is likely to retain its one MP – former party leader Caroline Lucas, in her Brighton Pavilion seat. The Green candidate for Norwich South, Lesley Grahame, stands a very real chance of becoming the party’s second elected MP. Despite this imminent success, however, the media coverage around the Greens often focuses on questioning how their policies would be paid for, as well as branding them unrealistic. Current party leader Natalie Bennett stated in numerous interviews that the funding would be spelled out in great detail in a fully costed manifesto, which has now been launched and is available to read online. The mainstream media may pursue questioning the merits, but the policies the Green party aims to implement are logical ways to reduce inequality, improve the quality of life of the population and to combat climate change. Green policies are not utopian, they are reasonable and realistic ways to change the country, because the Green vision is one based on sustainability.

There is a huge issue of growing economic inequality around the world and in the UK. Oxfam calculated that the richest 1% of people in 2014 hoarded 48% of the world’s wealth.

Everyone can see that this is an unfair way for society to exist. It is completely ridiculous that those 1% of humans control so much

Photo: James Dixon, Green party

LESLEY GRAHAME A reason to. We had a good reason to”.

She highlighted that despite breaking the law to make her point she received praise for her efforts from members of government: “They took us to trial and on the day that the verdict was reached David Miliband was in Oslo signing the cluster ammunition convention which outlawed the sale, transportation and use of cluster bombs. He commended the societies and campaigning organisations that had brought the convention about”.

She went on to explain that if she was in power she would still consider using such methods of direct actions if she believed it necessary: “It’s not something you’d do lightly as a parliamentarian, you aren’t and you shouldn’t be above the law [but] being a parliamentarian is campaigning by other means. Similarly I would say campaigning is politics by other means and you have to use the techniques which are most available to you”.

Sipping our hot drinks in the vibrant atmosphere of the café we had found ourselves located in we quickly moved on to discussing tuition fees: “If you look at our education policies you’ll see that they’re the

most student friendly on offer. We believe education is a privilege and that tuition fees are a huge barrier to people receiving the education they need and deserve and want.

So if your education makes you rich you should pay for it through your income tax, you shouldn’t have to pay for it before you start”.

With the number of people studying at university having continued to rise over the past few years despite tuition fees tripling, some people have argued that there is no need to get rid of tuition fees because it is having no impact on demand. However, when I put this to Grahame as an argument she was quick to respond with why the argument was wrong.

“Why should anybody have to start their career with a debt which is so large? When you first start your career you might want to think about buying a house, you might want to think about settling down, you might want to go travelling and if you’ve got fifty grands worth of debt pulling you down how can you do these things?”

While the Green Party’s pledge on tuition fees is likely to be popular with students I reminded Grahame of the feeling of being let down by the Liberal Democrats that students felt in when tuition fees increased in 2011,

The Green Party’s vision is not utopian, it is the change that the country desperately needs James Chesson COMMENT while hundreds of thousands of people in the UK must use food banks. The Green party will introduce a wealth tax on the richest 1%, taking surplus money and using it to create living wage public sector jobs. This is

“The economy remains largely dominated by people with interests in oil” not a utopian idea, this is simply making the country fairer.

The living wage is what the Living Wage Foundation calculates as the minimum amount of money that a person can actually live on.

Unfortunately, successive governments so far have chosen to allow companies to continue paying workers below this and, as a result, we have a huge number of working people requiring benefits just to survive. That is a

blatant example of a failing system, as paying people the minimum amount that they can actually survive on has to be a priority in a fair society. The Green party wants to implement a living wage and to combat the current economic model being based on infinite growth in the economy, which clearly is impossible on a planet with finite resources.

This finite planet is still being stripped unsustainably of its resources, with little consideration towards fighting climate change.

We know that we face a major crisis in the form of climate change, but despite constant campaigning and appealing to the government, they still do not do enough to fight it. Sadly, the economy remains largely dominated by people with interests in oil firms, and consequently the mainstream political parties allied with such people refuse to act. It is thought that we could transition to having renewable energy sources as our major

s our conversation slowly moved on and our cups of tea began to get cold from talking rather than drinking we moved on to discussing the perceived belief that the Green party was sometimes seen as a one issue party. However, Grahame was keen to argue the exact opposite: “I think we’re the only party that’s not a one issue party!” she exclaimed.

“The one issue preoccupying the other parties is GDP growth. Well GDP measures the amount of money people spend but it doesn’t tell you anything about the distribution of wealth. If you or I got knocked over by a bus that would increase GDP because an ambulance would be sent and we would be treated in hospital, we might even employ a caretaker… the point is GDP doesn’t tell you everything you need to know”.

As our conversation is drawing to a close I ask Lesley Grahame one last question. The question that has been asked to all Norwich South candidates at the end of our interviews: “Why should people vote for you?”

At first the question caused Lesley Grahame to stumble: “That’s the one that always fools me!” But, after a few moments to gather her thoughts she responded: “I have a long history in campaigning on peace and justice issues, I have 20 years’ experience in the NHS, three kids – one of them disabled-, and a lifelong commitment”.

energy supplier within 15 years if we tried to.

If we can move away from the dependency on fossil fuels, then that is definitely the most logical course of action. The Green attitude is not about a utopia, it is about making sure the planet we have survives.

By scrapping tuition fees, we can build a sustainable economy, for the present and the future. Studies suggest that 45p per pound of student debt will never be repaid, which produces an inevitable funding problem 30 years in the future when such loans have to be written off. Tuition fees are a way of freeing up and redistributing some government funds in the short term, but will create a long term crisis. The Green party will fund higher education through general progressive taxation, because it is a public good and should therefore be paid for as one, as part of a significantly more sustainable system.

With a hung parliament a near certainty there is a clear movement in British politics away from the two main parties that dominate the arena. The Green party is a genuine alternative, a party that puts people first, not money. A party that has a realistic vision for making the country a sustainable one that we can actually be proud of. This election will be a major platform for the Green party. A vote for the Greens is not a wasted vote, it is a vote for the change that our country desperately needs.

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election2015

hen we were shown into the meeting room for the interview with Douglas Carswell it was clear that he wasn’t fazed or nervous, and was every inch the professional MP. His recent move to Ukip had obviously been a major landmark in his career, and one which was particually controversial. Concrete was eager to interview the Tory rebel, who made a splash defecting to the anti-establishment party, in order to better understand the man beneath the headlines.

Dan started off our round of questions by asking whether the Ukip campaign would be able to make inroads into the student vote, given the fact that the party has always received a strong backing from an older proportion of the population.

“Historically I think that’s absolutely right, Ukip has tended to draw more support from an older demographic, rather than a younger demographic, but in the Clacton by-election we saw the opposite, so I think that can be

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“Ukip is a different sort of party, it’s a genuine grassroots organisation” turned around”. Carswell went on to explain that he felt Ukip appealed more strongly with voters who are tired with; “Cartel politics, with the cosy clique, who run our political system, and I think that message will resonate with younger people”.

Dan jumped in, interested to know what he thought Ukip would need to do in order to achieve this. “Absolutely, in politics you start with your base and you have to work out beyond your base. Political parties like to talk to themselves where they’re strongest, Ukip I think is a different sort of party; it’s a genuine grassroots organisation. I think that a really important pre-condition of being able to do that is to make absolutely crystal clear that Ukip’s values are in tune with modern Britain”. Without prompting from either of us, Carswell dealt with the issue of Ukip’s history of troublesome candidates. “Lets go straight to the issue. There have been one or two people who were standing for Ukip who had views that were obnoxious, and offensive, and those individuals are not Ukip candidates”.

Dan swiftly brought the interview back to focus on what Ukip’s chances were in winning the support of UEA and Norwich South, following the postponement of an event on campus where Steve Emmens had been due to speak. “You get these small groups of people who find a new idea quite challenging.

Sometimes the innate conservatism of people, who ironically wouldn’t see themselves as conservative, shines through. I think most people realised that was the wrong response, if you disagree with people you have to engage”.

Clarifying Carswell’s opinion, Dan wondered if he still felt that Steve Emmens could win the Norwich South seat. “Absolutely, he’s a good candidate, he’s doing the right thing, and there are a lot of voters out there in Norwich South [who have been let down by the other parties], which shows that there is a certain volatility in the local electorate”.

Moving the interview along, I was interested to see, as a humanities student, what Carswell (who graduated from UEA with a degree in history) had to say in relation to Ukip’s policy on tuition fee reductions for science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects. “I start from the position, that the principle of tuition fees, allowing people to invest in themselves, is not a bad one. However, one of the unintended consequences of the tuition fees proposal as its been implemented, has created an bizarre incentive, particularly for doctors, to in effect, get their degree and look at the pile of debt they need to pay back and think ‘you know what, I’d be better of if I moved to Australia,

Douglas Carswell Photo: UEA:TV for Concrete

The first MP for Ukip spoke to Dan Falvey and Joe Jameson Words by Joe Jameson Canada or somewhere else’”. Mr. Carswell went on to explain that it was right to say that there are certain skills the country needs, so that it is right that the taxpayer covers the cost of those degrees. “If you have anything other than 100% universal state funded higher education, you are going to have to draw the line somewhere”.

Dan opened up the discussion, interested to know how Ukip reflected some of the decisions taken by Union Council, such as how Ukip planned to address issues like tax avoidance, which he responded to very quickly. “Tax avoidance is possible because EU rules allow big corporations to choose which EU jurisdiction they pay their tax in. Until we leave the European Union it is going to be a growing feature of inequality and injustice”.

I was keen to see what Douglas Carswell thought about the fact that Ukip doesn’t have a central whip, unlike most other parties, and whether he thought that this was part of the reason why the party seemed to have proportionally more disciplinary issues than

“Ukip recognises that we do need whips, but they are voters” others. ‘Where do we get this doctrine of party discipline from? What is a parliament?

A parliament is a group of people who are elected by voters to represent them, historically against the Crown. The Crown, who wants to spend our taxes and declare

foreign wars and impose laws on us. Where did we get this idea, that our representatives should be disciplined by an internal party machine. I think that it is one of the reasons, regardless of which lot of muppets holds office, is badly run. Ukip recognises that we do need whips, but they are voters”. e then expanded by saying the the presence of whips in British politics had been disastrous for the country, and that the British political system needed a serious overhaul. “Lets get away from the idea of party whips; we need more free votes, we need a right of recall so that constituents can sack their MPs if they don’t think they are up to the job, and open primary candidate selections, so that we can install candidates who have a popular mandate, not people who toady up to party whips”.

It became clear that we were running out of time, so we started to wrap up the interview by asking Carswell why Ukip has proposed to take international students out of immigration figures. “I think it’s sensible. We need to control our borders and we need to have a sensible migration policy which allows us to attracts the brightest and the best. I am very smitten by the Australian approach, where they actively integrate the fact that their universities are very popular, and attract very able people. If we were to include international students it would ultimately damage this because it would mean that very able people would go to America, Australia or somewhere

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else”. Dan quickly interjected and suggested that this could perhaps be detrimental to British students, because universities can charge international students a lot more.

“Universities that are attracting international students are doing something right” “If you scrapped tuition fees, then I think you’d create an incentive for British universities not to have any British students at all. Lets not blame overseas students for some of the unintended consequences of the tuition fees policy that needs to be slightly refined. universities that are attracting huge numbers of international students are doing something right. There should be scope for universities to expand to accommodate all”.

Just as the interview was wrapping up I couldn’t miss the opportunity to ask Carswell why he defected to Ukip in the first place.

“I used to think what was wrong with this country was the colour of the rosettes that ministers used to wear. Now I’ve realised that politics is a cartel, run by the same sort of people for their own convenience, you don’t really get any change, and the cartel needs to be broken. I think that Ukip could become a revived version of Gladstone’s party, free market, small government, pretty hands off, sensible in terms of its foreign policies, and a wide base of support from all sections of society who are sceptical of patrician elites”.

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The Ukip candidate for Norwich South spoke to Megan Baynes

answers, but Ukip have also said they want to scrap tuition fees entirely, but only for particular degrees.

Questioning the Ukip candidate on this policy led to a moment of uncertainty in which Emmens had to ask: “What do you class as humanities? Sorry, I’m not a student, I don’t know what that means”.

Clearly still uncertain about the definition of ‘humanities’ subjects after I gave him examples of such subjects he said: “We want a policy that means no loans for certain degrees; for examples medicines, sciences and mathematics. We will give grants for them. We

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teve Emmens looks like your average guy; he moved to Norwich 20 years ago in the pursuit of love, but then fell in love with the city and never left. He has been married to wife Tania for 15 years, has a cat called Marmalade and an enthusiastic smile when he talks about what he loves most about our ‘fine city’.

He told me, “I love the cathedral and the museum and the shopping’s awesome and the people are lovely. I really like Norwich. I can’t consider going anywhere else. Derbyshire, near where I grew up is very beautiful, but there is just something about Norfolk.”

But there is more to Steve than meets the eye, and my first clues are the gaudy yellow and purple tie, and the small ‘£’ badge on his lapel. Steve is more than a Norwich enthusiast: he’s also a member of Ukip, one of the country’s most reviled political parties, and is running for Parliament in May. He maintains Ukip has something unique to offer Norwich South, and is proud of his party’s reputation of being “radically different”, and breaking the status quo. “You’ve got green-labour, blue-labour, yellow-labour and red-labour, and they are all very, very similar and they all offer the same sort of solutions.

We offer something different.”

But do the students at UEA really want something so radically different? Emmens was postponed from speaking on campus in December due to one student publishing a petition on Change.org, which gathered over a thousand signatures. The people who supported the petition were unhappy that their feelings were disregarded, opinions were not consulted and that a highly controversial event was organised in such a secretive manner. Emmens however, is dismissive of

W

ith the general elections drawing ever closer, Britain’s parties are naturally being increasingly scrutinised. However, due to the political agendas of Britain’s media, the militant acts of ‘progressive liberal’ protest groups, Ukip and its leader have been criticised far more than the other parties. One of the points raised by this is whether the party exists beyond Nigel Farage. And the answer to this is undeniable.

It most certainly does.

Many would argue that Ukip is based around Nigel Farage purely because he is the only ‘face’ of the party. But this is not the case. Ukip remains to be a new force in British politics, much like the Green Party. How many people can name a prominent Green party politician other than Natalie Bennett? My guess is very few. And this is the same reason why many people cannot name another prominent Ukip politician; for neither party has had the time to establish themselves.

The three main parties have had decades to establish their politicians and members via Parliament and cabinet ministers. Ukip, as of yet, has not been able to do so to the same degree, so Nigel Farage is naturally at the forefront of the party, being its leader.

In his role as leader, he has been establishing the party within Britain’s political environment through his appearance on televised debates and interviews along with coverage in the press. And it is this that has seen Ukip’s popularity rise, along with the rising role of other Ukip politicians.

People have also failed to take into account that Ukip does in fact have two well-known politicians in the light of the party gaining its first two MPs: Mark Reckless and Douglas Carswell, a UEA alumnus. The media coverage surrounding this at the end of 2014 is evidence

“What do you class as humanities? Sorry, I’m not a student, I don’t know what that means”

STEVE EMMENS Photo: Steve Emmens, Ukip

their actions; “Free speech is enshrined in the Education Act. I just thought to myself, what on earth are they doing? All they did was give us publicity, they didn’t actually achieve anything.”

As a man who feels “quietly confident” in the run up to May, what is he doing to win back a big part of his potential constituency that clearly do not support him? Chris Jarvis, Campaigns and Democracy Officer at the union said: “the student vote is going to play

a key role whatever happens”, so clearly the winning party will need to win over UEA as well as the rest of the constituency.

Well, Emmens assured me: “We won’t triple your fees. The Conservatives are going into the election with £9,000 a year student fees and won’t rule out any increase. We are looking to reduce that down, but until the manifesto comes out I don’t know where we are going to go with that.”

So not the most promising or specific of

There is more to Ukip than just Nigel Farage Harry Austin COMMENT

just feel it’s wrong. I mean £9,000 a year, so you’re coming out of university on the wrong end of nearly £40,000 worth of debt, now that can hardly be right, can it?” He went on to clarify that he could not comment further on the policy before the publication of the Ukip manifesto.

Of course, this won’t make much difference for those of us coming out the wrong end of £40,000 worth of debt with a humanities degree in our grasp.

So it appears although Ukip would indeed make life a bit easier for students, it would only be those with an interest in a science, or mathematic-based degree.

Above all, Emmens is a realist and he knows of his party’s reputation, particularly in the media and on campus: “I would say to everyone, we are not beasts, we just have our own point of view and we would rather put our own people first”.

That’s all very well, but it seems ‘our own people’ still only refers to a very specific group, and some UEA students are actively rebelling against this. If the recent petition showed anything it’s that they seem to be saying ‘if you don’t want all of us, you can’t have any’.

of this. Now that Ukip is making advancements politically, new faces are joining Mr Farage as Ukip’s popularity has increased.

The involvement of the two MPs supporting Ukip via the political establishment and the media is further proof that the party is no longer based entirely around Nigel Farage.

Indeed, Nigel Farage himself is not currently an MP, so in this sense Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless are playing a role just as crucial as that of their leader, if not more so.

The 2015 general election will see Ukip move away from being the party of Nigel Farage.

With the inevitable victories Ukip will have in at the very least several constituencies, more faces will join Nigel Farage by acting

“Nigel Farage himself is not currently an MP, so Carswell and Reckless are just as crucial”

Photo: Wikimedia, Euro Realist Farage

as well known representatives of the party.

Admittedly, there was a stage when Ukip was a single policy party, which was viewed as being a party run by one man.

When I met Nigel Farage at a lecture in a modestly sized lecture theatre at UCL over four years ago, this was certainly the case – Ukip was a party in the wilderness.

However, that is something which the party certainly cannot be accused of now. Following the party’s victory at the European elections in 2014 where they recieved the largest share of the vote and after the result of the general election on 7th May, I am certain that Ukip will prove that there is more than just Nigel Farage in its political arsenal.

20

After hours

election2015 What happens after voting closes at 22:00 on the night of the election?

Former Home Secretary and Norwich South MP, Charles Clarke, explains what happens at the election count...

COMMENT Joe Jameson explains the value of marginal seats

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harles Clark’s experience in 2010 highlights the importance of marginals, and how the whole election can come to hang upon the campaigns run in those constituencies. Some marginal seats have a history of voting in the candidate from the part which goes on to win the election, and have become crucial for number crunchers, and electoral strategists.

What is interesting is that while the Lib Dems snatched up Norwich South as part of ‘Cleggmania’, it is not certain that they will retain the seat due to the high number of students registered in the constituency, and the total collapse of Student support for the Liberal Democrats. Marginals can highlight the growth of a new party, but they can also result in disappointments, not only for the candidates, but also for supporters, to lose by only a few hundred of votes, is harrowing, and very dispiriting.

Living in a safe seat, as my parents do, can make you feel entirely disconnected from the national issues, because the high-flyers never visit your town, or talk about your local schools, hospitals and railways, which are in need of attention and investment, just as much as those in marginal seats. Living in a safe seat can be fine if the party is in government, but when the party is in opposition it can be very frustrating, because it is so unlikely that the incumbent will be usurped.

However, there are always going to be a few surprise results where big names are caught in the middle of a snap swing, or surprisingly high turnout. One of the most famous scalps, was back in 1997, when Michael Portillo, a charismatic member of the Tory party in the 90s, and solid leadership material, lost his safe seat to Labour.

Elections are never certain, and we will surely some surprise results in an election as undecided as this.

T

he election count which concludes all parliamentary elections has its own rituals and procedures - similar in every parliamentary constituency.

In Norwich the count takes place in St Andrews Hall, a splendid medieval building full of history which conveys its own sense of significance for all those in the hall.

Events are overseen by the Returning Officer, the Chief Executive of the City Council, whose legal responsibility it is to conduct the count accurately and fairly, a process concluded by her reading out the formal statement of the result, concluding with “I declare ………. the duly elected Member of Parliament for Norwich South”.

She is supported in this work by dozens of City Council staff who actually do the counting.

They sit on one side of long tables running the length of the Hall. Directly opposite them sit representatives of the candidates. Their job is to confirm that they are happy with the way that the counting has been done and they affirm that, from their point of view, it has all been done fairly – no ballot papers put into the

“In 1997, my count didn’t conclude until about 05:00 and I still wasn’t confident that Labour had won until we got out of the hall” wrong pile, none introduced from some other nefarious source, none tampered with to alter the voter’s true preference.

From about 22.15 onwards, after the polls have closed, the ballot boxes start arriving from each of the different polling stations throughout the constituency, at which voters have been casting their ballot from early that morning. Brought by council staff, and sometimes escorted by police, they arrive at a room in St Andrews Hall to join the ballots already cast by post in the days before election day itself.

Once the boxes have all arrived and been checked, they are sent to the tables and the count begins.

At each table the ballot boxes are emptied out, and then each paper is picked up by a counter and allocated to a pile, one for each candidate and one for doubtful papers where the voter’s intent is unclear.

And the tension of the evening begins.

The piles start to rise, votes then sorted into bundles of 100, and the speculation begins as to who is winning. In Norwich South attention this time will centre on five piles, those of the Liberal Democrat sitting MP, Simon Wright, Clive Lewis, seeking to regain the seat for Labour, the Conservative Lisa Townsend, the Green Lesley Grahame and possibly Ukip’s Steve Emmens though he’ll be doing well to compete with the top four.

Around the rest of St Andrews Hall are the candidates, their agents and supporters, and the media with cameras and microphones. They are all tense and nervous, all well informed with their own often detailed assessments about what happened during the day, all interested in what’s happening in the rest of the country but pretty ignorant as televisions and radios aren’t allowed though of course information drizzles through giving

Photo: Flickr, Policy Exchange their partial illumination of what is happening.

In 1997, my count didn’t conclude until about 05.00 and I still wasn’t confident that Labour had won until we got out of the hall.

And the count always drags on. As only a limited number of party supporters are allowed into the hall most are gathered in the upper room of a nearby pub to wait and then hopefully celebrate a win for their candidate at the end of the night.

So by about two or three in the morning the ballot papers have all been counted and put into their bundles, the bundles put into their piles and then totted up.

If it’s close, no one will know who has won. Emotions wax and wane. The Returning Officer gathers together the candidates’ representatives, their agents, to consider the doubtful ballot papers and decide how they should be allocated – to a particular candidate or to the spoilt ballot pile.

The crowd watches all this happening, trying to read the runes and speculating ceaselessly.

Once the ballot papers have all been resolved, the Returning Officer then has a provisional result. She will again bring

together the candidates’ agents to tell them.

As she does everyone tries to read from their expressions the fate of their candidate.

I

n 2010 my agent came over to tell me that I had lost by 310 votes (out of 47,551 cast) and to ask if I wanted a recount, which is the right of any candidate who wants to go through the whole process again to check the results if they are close.

I decided that 310 was too many to be changed by a recount and so my agent went back to the Returning Officer to accept the result.

At that point the Returning Officer asked all the candidates to go up to the platform for the result, and we formed our line to listen to our fates.

She read out the results, declared the Liberal Democrat the winner (as it turned out resulting from the postal votes cast at the swell in Liberal Democrat support which followed the first 2010 election debate – It seems that Labour won the votes cast on polling day itself).

We all then made our brief statements of thanks to the Returning Officer and her staff,

to our own supporters and to others and the ceremony came to its dramatic end.

I then went to face the media barrage to express my own thoughts, and then back to the pub where our supporters were commiserating and warm, despite the disappointment. And then back home.

The whole process is thankfully brutal.

The people decide, as is their right, and then

“In 2010 my agent came over to tell me that I had lost by 310 votes and to ask if I wanted a recount” everyone else responds to what they have decided.

The often vapid speculation and punditry is over. The business of creating a new government begins and all the individual players start to rebuild their own lives in response to the verdict which has been delivered.

That’s the way it’s been over centuries and that’s the way it will be again this year on 8th May 2015.