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e all love a little argument here and there, but how much do we really know about what we are arguing and how much about our own opinions has been shaped and moulded by the newspapers we read? We think that if you really want to win your argument, you need to know both sides to the issues - this way you can argue your opinion but be prepared for someone else’s, without being caught off guard. So every month In-Debate will give you four debates on the month’s hottest topics that you’re www.in-debate.com going to argue with your friends about!

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Contents

Feb/Mar '11

In-Debate

p.5 Should prisoners have the right to vote?

Despite the European Court of Human Rights declaring that a blanket ban on prisoners voting is unlawful, the Coalition government has overwhelmingly decided to continue denying prisoners the right to vote. Should convicted criminals be allowed an opportunity to participate in the electoral process or are the Government wrong to ignore the EU’s Human Rights Act?

p.9 Is the call for democracy behind Arab uprisings?

Turmoil is spreading through the Arab world, with uprisings leading to the fall of both Tunisian President Ben Ali and Egypt’s President Mubarak. Many in the West have hailed these revolts as the dawn of Arab democracy and supported their calls for freedom from oppression. But are the protests really about democracy or is there something more sinister lurking?

p.15 Is this the golden age of British cinema?

The commercial and critical successes of The King’s Speech and Slumdog Millionaire has led to countless awards and several film critics claiming that the Brits are no longer just “coming”, but are there! However, with just a few hits are we getting a little carried away or is this really a “golden age” for UK cinema?

p.19 Is there is too much money in the Premier League?

After a high spending January transfer window that saw an out-of-form Fernando Torres move to Chelsea for £50m and an injury stricken Andy Carroll head to Liverpool for £35m it has to be asked if there is simply too much money in football. Have big bucks made the Premier League the best in the world or has it turned our ‘beautiful game’ ugly? Disclaimer: In-Debate’s goal is to offer a balanced platform where both sides of an argument are evenly represented. These views are not In-Debate’s, but a summation of what has been portrayed in the media.

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p.23 Brain Food

p.12 Fantastic Facts

p.25 Mind Fuel

p.13 Let’s Talk

p.27 Inspiration

p.26 London Treats

p.29 IQ2 Debates

p.30 Puzzles

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Debate

Should prisoners have the right to vote? By Tony C Scott

he European Court of Human Rights has declared that a blanket ban on convicted prisoners having the vote is unlawful. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, gave MPs a free vote on the subject this month, leading to an overwhelming rejection of the ECHR ruling by a majority of 212. The UK now faces a hefty fine if it chooses not to implement EU policy, but rarely has a ruling created so much public and political comment. The challenge was led by John Hirst, a prisoner convicted of the manslaughter of

It's a little known fact that... News

his landlady with an axe in 1980. He argued the 140-year-old ban was unlawful and won his case in 2004. The Government appealed this verdict in 2005, but in June 2010 they lost and were given three months to change the law by the EU Council. Remand prisoners are already allowed to vote, but should this right be extended to convicted prisoners or is it a privilege that can be removed? And, more importantly, is it right for any government to ignore the Human Rights Act just because they don’t like part of it?

In November 2010 there were 85,458 people being held in prisons in England and Wales.

A former prisoner who reoffends costs the criminal justice system an average of £65,000.

The projected prison population for 2013 is as high as 106,550 (Home Office).

The cost of the criminal justice system has risen from 2 per cent of GDP to 2.5 per cent over the last 10 years.

The Prison Service’s average operating costs are £2 billion a year.

In England and Wales there are 139 Prison Service establishments.

In-Debate 5

+ 1

Should prisoners have the right to vote? The European Court says they can

At its simplest, the argument is quite straightforward. The UK has signed the European Convention on Human Rights and must be bound by it. Human Rights may mean different things to different governments – witness the events in Egypt, Libya and Bahrain recently – and it’s important that a system of checks and balances are adopted to ensure some rights are universal and available to all regardless of political or public opinion. If we default on these rights then we face a hefty fine from the EU Council – which in our current economic situation is this something we can afford?

Society is judged by the way it treats its prisoners

For

Winston Churchill said: “The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilisation of any country.” Fyodor Dostoyevsky also argued that a society can be judged by the way that it treats its prisoners, he said: “The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.” To deny prisoners their legal right to vote could be seen as a sign of an unjust society. Also, if prisoners want to continue to contribute to society by engaging in the electoral process then this can only be a good thing. As the original ECHR ruling stated: “[The] removal of the vote… runs counter to the rehabilitation of the offender as a law-abiding member of the community.” One of the fundamental principles of prison is that it is as punishment and not for punishment. It is hard to see how removing the right to vote is designed to help rehabilitate and no-one has advanced any evidence that this is the case or the rationale.

It makes no sense to deprive them of the vote

It makes no sense to deprive a prisoner of the right to vote. It has never been argued that being a convicted criminal (and lets not forget that the range of offences for which imprisonment can be awarded is very wide and varies from the very serious to the potentially trivial) means that you are unable to contribute to the democratic process. As Bobby Cummines, the chief executive

6 In-Debate

of the reformed offenders’ group Unlock, said: “If people get excluded you get riots.” Also, more pragmatically, if the government does dig its heels in then prisoners will be eligible for compensation and the bill could reach £100 million. In the words of Clive Coleman the BBC’s legal analyst: “It would be turning on a tap that would never stop running.” The public outcry would be deafening and this alone makes it politically unthinkable that the Government will continue to refuse. Ken Clarke, the Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, said in a recent interview: “I don’t want the public to cotton on that prisoners are getting damages.”

Some prisoners already can so why not others?

Prisoners on remand (those committed into custody awaiting trial) are allowed to vote at the moment, so the mechanism to allow them to do so is already in place. It is straightforward and would have little impact on the running of prisons. Some MPs have expressed concern that having up to 1,500 prisoners voting in their ward would distort the voting demographics. However, the current system allows remand prisoners to vote in their home ward via postal balloting, in the same way as thousands of people living away from their home address already do. Also, many other countries – including Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland – have no restrictions on prisoners voting, while Germany actively encourage them to do so.

It’s the Rule of Law

You can’t decide which laws you follow and which you won’t. A civilised society must obey those laws that apply to it, even if it finds them distasteful. Ken Clarke said: “I do not contemplate either the Government or Parliament suddenly deciding it’s not bound by the rule of law.” Tom Bingham, in his book The Rule of Law, explores why some governments fail to observe some human rights, even when they are enshrined in law: “A state which savagely represses or persecutes sections of its people cannot in my view be regarded as observing the rule of law.” To deny prisoners the vote despite legislation demanding it could be seen as undermining the legitimacy of the Government and the Rule of Law. We are all bound by the law, even if we don’t agree with parts of it. A policeman wouldn’t ignore flagrant law breaking on the basis that the offender didn’t feel morally obliged to stop.

In-Debate - News What about the Human Rights of their victims?

The public are fed up with hearing about the rights of prisoners when they feel that the rights of their victims are being ignored. The provision of TVs, for example, often generates outrage from the public because they see prison as being too soft and too concerned with the welfare of prisoners. Some feel that prisoners should be sent to prison for punishment and this should mean harsher sentences whilst they are there, including the deprivation of certain privileges with voting being one of these. The Human Rights Act has been used before by many prisoners to over-ride domestic decisions. Neil O’Brien writes in The Telegraph: “Strasbourgdriven judicial activism creates a culture in which public authorities are frightened to do the right thing because of a fear of infringing human rights law.“ He goes on to give further examples, including one that allowed Pagan prisoners to keep twigs in their cells for use as wands and the police force who worried that the use of “wanted” posters would breach the Act. This fear had led to some prisoners trying to undermine legitimate prison authority by constantly arguing “I know my rights.”

Strasbourg shouldn’t take precedence

It seems wrong that the will of the people – and those whom they elect to represent them – can be ignored by a non-UK body. It is a wellestablished principle that no domestic court, no matter how high, can strike down legislation passed by Parliament, it can only interpret it. However, the Strasbourg ruling has over-ridden domestic law and is one of a series of rulings that people fear is eroding the right of the British government to govern the UK. As Alan Wagner, writing in The Guardian in January about the prisoners’ voting ruling, said: “It appears that no politician thinks the Strasbourg decision is worth fighting for.” Some countries, such as Russia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Luxembourg and Romania have also banned prisoners from voting and are able to continue to do so until a challenge is mounted. So what if we are faced with a fine for disobeying the EU, as a country with so much national pride we shouldn’t be held at ransom. Where will it stop?

Those who break the law shouldn’t contribute to making it

Some feel that those who break the law shouldn’t be allowed to make it. This was the argument that David Davies – supported by the former Home Secretary Jack Straw – used in parliament when MPs debated the position before voting. Taken to the extreme it doesn’t seem logical that law-breakers should be able to influence the development of the law; surely they would have a vested interest in influencing it for the worse? This is already the case with MPs who are not allowed to continue to sit if they serve a prison sentence of more than 12 months.

When you lose your liberty you lose your human rights

Human rights must be sub-divided into those that are essential and those that are desirable. The right to life, warm clothing, a clean and dry cell, nutritious food and access to their family are very different to being able to vote. Some are inalienable and some are privileges. David Cameron is reported as being “absolutely horrified” by the thought of giving prisoners the vote and his views are shared by many members of the public, with 67% saying that they agreed with the ban. And it shouldn’t be forgotten that the Strasbourg vote wasn’t unanimous anyway – as 12 voted in favour whilst five voted against.

Against

Prisoners don’t care anyway

During the last General Election only one remand prisoner in a large local prison voted. A former prisoner turned probation officer and writer wrote: “I never came across an inmate going: ‘Oh no, I’ve lost the right to vote’.” So why did John Hirst mount his challenge on behalf of prisoners? It could be that this is not about justice and the right to vote, but about holding the country to hostage and embarrassing them. John Hirst himself has said that the Government will now be forced to “wave the white flag of surrender”. This is what some people find most upsetting, the feeling of powerlessness over something that they feel strongly about. David Cameron said he felt “physically sick” at the thought of giving prisoners the vote and many share his feelings.

In-Debate 7

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Debate

Is the call for democracy behind Arab uprisings? Image: REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

By Jules Norton Selzer

Twitter by activists as organisational tools has certainly outsmarted the authorities’ attempts to smother it. Now Middle East dictatorships appear to be in total disarray.

Events have certainly ruffled feathers across the region, with street protests also erupting in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iran, Yemen and Algeria. The diffusive use of social networks such as Facebook and

Many politicans in the West would have us believe it is the desire for democracy that has fanned the flames of revolt across the Arab world. But are these protests simply a demand for jobs rather than Westernstyle freedoms? Some talk of an “Arab awakening”, but others question that in this time of political instability if a more radical, undemocratic region will emerge.

fter the dramatic departures of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, President Mubarak of Egypt, and the violent uprising sweeping Colonel Gaddafi’s Libya political commentators are attempting to decipher the significance of these momentous few weeks in the Middle East.

It's a little known fact that... News

The Middle East has a population of 246m, nearly as many people as the USA.

In 2010, Egypt was given a corruption score of 3.1 (10 = clean and 0 = totally corrupt).

The Middle East has a total area of nearly 3,500,000 square miles.

As of 29th Jan, 105 deaths had been reported in Egypt, and 750 policemen and 1,500 protesters injured.

The Greater Middle East stretches from Africa to South Asia over six time zones, and includes some 30 countries.

The ancient Egyptian name of the country is Kemet which means “black land”.

In-Debate 9

+ 1

Is the call for democracy behind Arab uprisings? Democratic freedoms are an intrinsic right

The common thread running throughout the popular uprisings across the Middle East is a clear call for democratic freedoms – freedom of expression, the rule of law, an independent judiciary and fair elections. This underlines the depth of feeling, often underestimated, about the universality of democratic values. President Obama stated that “the right to control your own destiny is a human right,” and this is what the oppressed people across the Arab world are trying to exercise. The Gulf Civil Society forum, which includes dozens of intellectuals, academics and human rights activists, has become a focal point for the articulation of these demands. This movement has not been forced by US invasion or Western interests, but grown organically.

It is a youth-led movement

For

Alarmist comparisons of events in Egypt to the Iranian revolution of 1978-79 are misguided. Such assertions show a lack of awareness in the tone of what is happening, particularly the role of youth movements. With more than half of the 350 million Arabs in the world under 30, this restless demographic is at the forefront of the protests. Whether it be the marginalised young Tunisian Muhammad Bouazizi who set himself on fire or Sally Zahran, a young Egyptian woman killed during the antigovernment demonstrations, aspirational youths are the spirit. Yes, poor jobs prospects are the apparent outgrowth of their anger. But this very anger is underpinned by a lack of freedom, sullen oppression and a stifled creativity that is endemic in corrupt Arab autocracies. Ghazi Megdiche, an Egyptian Arab, said: “What defines us is not a lack of job prospects, but lack of the most basic freedoms. Being a teenager in a police state.”

The uprisings are secular not Islamic

The most remarkable aspect of the prodemocracy upheavals, apart from their very existence, is their secular character. On its website the Muslim Brotherhood states that the Egyptian revolution is “not Islamic at all” rather it is led by secular groups like the April 6 Movement. In Libya’s capital Tripoli, a sit-in demonstration demanded

10 In-Debate

the release of a human rights lawyer and other political prisoners. While Iranian spiritual leader Ali Khamenei recently proclaimed an “Islamic awakening” in the region, there is evidence to suggest this is far from true. In Saudi Arabia, state-backed clerics are repeatedly issuing fatwas against such revolutions. The calls across Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Iran are for broad political reform and greater social mobility. It’s not the Islamists on the streets, it’s the democrats.

Democracy is imperfect and adaptable

Some Western commentators argue that demonstrations are solely about economics. The view that “Arabs don’t do democracy” is not only condescendingly racist, but it underestimates the grassroots of popular support. To say that the uprisings do not follow the prescribed script of Western liberalism is not to say they are not democratic. Freedom for Egypt, or any other country, to choose its own leaders may come at a price. Each country is unhappy in its own way. Libya and Syria are more repressive than Egypt. Yemen is complicated by the prospect of secession in the south; Jordan’s monarch rules a country that is mainly Palestinian; Saudi Arabia has the safety net of oil. Democracy can not arrive box-packaged from the West. It will flourish in different forms.

Political stability comes in various forms

There is an often cited belief, especially within US circles, about the need to protect “stable” Middle Eastern autocracies like Yemen and Libya. Stability for whom, we might ask? It stretches credibility to insist that Egypt, one of the most prosperous Arab countries, is “stable”for the 17% in poverty, the 34% illiterate and 43% of young people unemployed. Moreover, the “interests over values”argument sets up by a false dichotomy – it presumes that the only thing that can come in the place of stability is a destruction of the (US-controlled) geopolitical balance, where Islamic extremists with nuclear bombs run wild. As Egyptian novelist Alaa Al Aswany argues, this reading neglects recent history. In Malaysia, Turkey and Indonesia conservative Islamic parties have come to power through the ballot box and continue to abide by parliamentary norms. The Muslim Brotherhood has already said it will respect democratic processes and favours positive dialogue with Israel.

In-Debate - News This is about freedom from oppression

Protesters are not flooding to the streets in support of democracy; they are being riled by the deaths of innocent civilians and years of oppression where there basic human rights and freedoms have been denied. No longer do they want to be locked up without trial or murdered for saying the wrong thing. Just as in Egypt and Tunisia, ordinary Libyans are now rebelling against an autocratic dictatorship but democracy is not their call, freedom is. The two are not synonymous and it is wrong to define freedom as democracy - just look at Singapore where an authoritarian leader exercises political power for the benefit of the everyone rather than exclusively for his or her own self-interest. Even David Cameron has stated: “The response to the aspirations people are showing on the streets of these countries must be one of reform not repression.” Democracy has not been demanded, but freedom from repression has.

This about jobs and social standards

Unfortunately, the truth is more mundane. With almost 50% of young Egyptians unemployed, 51% in Algeria, 25% in Syria and 25% in Iran, this is the driving force behind the unrest. In Yemen and Syria, placards demand better working conditions not multi-party democracy. Economics lies at the heart of the issue, hence why President Hosni Mubarak’s initial concession to quell Egypt’s uprising was to offer better pay and why the now ruling military’s first promise is to tackle under-development. In the Gulf state of Bahrain, demands for the prime minister of 40 years, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, to step down is an attack on favouritism. Democracy is a useful poster child to gain attention for bread-and-butter issues. The protestors are furious, but theirs is not the kind of anger that will be relieved by political rights.

Many Arabs do not believe in democracy

Egypt is commonly accepted as the most secular country in the Middle East, yet a recent poll showed that in a new government 59% of Egyptians backed Islamists and only 27% favoured modernizers. The Muslim Brotherhood is the oldest and largest Islamic organisation

in the world, but despite paying lip service to democratic principles its most famous slogan is “Islam is the solution”. Its defining constitutional principle is to create a state ruled by Islamic sharia law and like many other opposition groups in Yemen, Algeria and Libya, they are anti-Western, anti-Semitic and anti-democratic. Extremists using the name of Islam have created brutal regimes in Iran and Afghanistan. The Egyptian military’s appointment of two Islamist scholars to help review the constitution could be a sign of what is to come.

Speaking the loudest is not democracy

In Western news coverage we see Englishspeaking, well-educated protestors call for democratic reforms. However, just because some Arab middle classes say they want democracy does not make it a universal priority. One of the biggest dangers in society, as historian Alexis de Tocqueville reminds us is the “tyranny of the majority”. As distasteful as the Mubaraks and Gaddafis are, they do have supporters whose voices should be heard. In an interview former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger cautions: “We do not know what they’re demonstrating for. What they’re calling democracy is a change of regime… That does not make what they want a democratic answer.”

Against

Revolutions have been exaggerated by media

Amongst the overstated commentary about a pan-Arab democratic awakening an unfashionable truth emerges. While there may have been genuine revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, this is being used by Western media as a licence to proclaim that all Arab brothers are suddenly rising up in democratic solidarity against their repressive autocratic governments. Other protests have remained relatively small in Yemen, Jordan and Morocco. It appears the scope, scale and substance of each uprising is of secondary matter to journalists who want to package the unrest as a fight between good and evil, where democracy must prevail. This may be a noble narrative, but it fails to reflect that often the protests are for different things.

In-Debate 11

Fantastic Facts If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you produce enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee. President George W. Bush was once a cheerleader! The KFC slogan “finger lickin’ good” was mistranslated into Chinese, meaning “eat your fingers off”. The Yo-Yo originated as a weapon in the Philippine Islands during the sixteenth century. Approximately $25 million is spent each year on lap dances in Las Vegas. The animal with the largest brain in proportion to its size is the ant. They are the smartest species of insects with about 250,000 brain cells.

In-Debate 12

All of the clocks in the movie Pulp Fiction are stuck on 4:20. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit. ABBA got their name by taking the first letter from each of their first names (Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, Anni-frid). The name for Oz in the “Wizard of Oz” was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence “Oz.” The expression “to get fired” comes from long ago when clans wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them they burnt their houses down. The term, “It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye” is from Ancient Rome where eye gouging was disqualifiable in wrestling.

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Debate

Is this the golden age of British cinema? Image: IFCdotcom/Flickr

By Andy Gibbons

ith the current success – both critical and commercial – of 127 Hours and The King’s Speech giving the British film industry an enormous sense of pride, there is talk that the UK is enjoying a “golden age” of cinema. But are we getting a little bit carried away here? Do a couple of well-received films such as The King’s Speech and Slumdog Millionaire really herald the dawn of a new era or are we all happily glugging away on the hype machine’s very own brand of KoolAid (or champagne, darling!)

It's a little known fact that... Entertainment

We’ve long been a nation steeped in filmmaking traditions and have a proud cinematic heritage dating back decades so is this really the best we’ve ever been? Can’t this wide-eyed optimism similarly be applied to Lawrence Of Arabia (1962) or Chariots Of Fire (1981)? Also what constitutes a “golden age”? Is it the legitimising of a project through awards or the state of the industry as a whole? And does this mean we’ve peaked or can our achievements exceed even higher?

The Oscar statuette isn’t made of gold – it’s made from an alloy called Britannia, which is 93% tin.

The UK film industry now contributes approx. £4.3bn a year to the UK economy.

The “Red carpet” at the Kodak Theatre is about 500 feet long and 33 feet wide.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the most successful UK film at the UK box office of all time, taking £66m.

The British film industry employs around 36,000 people directly in the UK.

The first moving pictures were developed in London in 1889 by William Friese Greene.

In-Debate 15

+ 1

Is this the golden age of British cinema? Our films and industry are more celebrated than ever

Back in 1981, actor Colin Welland famously declared “The British are coming,” while picking up his Oscar for writing Chariots Of Fire. It may have taken us the best part of 30 years, but Welland’s declaration seems to be coming true. In the last few years the Brits have enjoyed more award nominations – both Oscar and Bafta – than ever before. Films like The Queen (6 Oscar & 10 Bafta), Atonement (6 & 12), Slumdog Millionaire (10 & 11), An Education (3 & 9) and The King’s Speech (12 & 14) have ensured that our nation has left a cultural impact on the world. And since the British Academy pulled their bash ahead of their Hollywood rival in the awards calendar, the Bafta’s credibility is riding high. Every year a veritable who’s who of A-list movie talent grace the London red carpet and make gushing speeches about how important the Baftas are.

We’re bursting with emerging acting talent

For

With the old guard of Helen Mirren, Judi Dench and Colin Firth all firmly rooted in the public’s hearts, a massively talented group of up-and-coming actors look set to keep the British reputation of churning out outstanding thespians strong. Among these are Firth’s A Single Man co-star Nicholas Hoult, the vulnerable yet tough-as-nails Thomas Turgoose, the delightfully sweet Felicity Jones and the already lauded star of The Social Network Andrew Garfield. Throw the likes of established young ‘uns Aaron Johnson and Carey Mulligan into the mix and casting directors around the world look set to have a tough time casting anyone who isn’t a Brit for the foreseeable future! And it must say something about the calibre of our talent when three of the biggest roles in Hollywood - those of Batman, Spider-Man and Superman - belong to actors raised in Pembrokeshire, Surrey and Jersey.

Behind the camera we’re big players

It’s not just our actors who are wowing the world; our filmmakers aren’t doing too bad a job either. Three of the biggest movies in the world last year were directed by Brits - The Twilight Saga: Eclipse by David Spade, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 by David Yates and Inception by Christopher Nolan. Between them these three

16 In-Debate

films took just over £1.5billion around the globe – that’s not too shabby, I’m sure you’ll agree. And let’s not forget those who have shunned Hollywood’s big budget blockbusters – Mike Leigh enjoyed huge critical success in 2010 with Another Year, while Ken Loach’s Route Irish received rave reviews at last year’s London Film Festival. And with the likes of Richard Ayoade, Gareth Edwards and Ben Wheatley all cutting their teeth to a positive buzz the future looks assured.

UK production is on a high

Our indie scene has never been stronger

It’s not just in front of the cameras that the British film industry is enjoying success – our studios and the highly skilled folks who work there have never been busier. The likes of Pinewood and Shepperton, while also playing host to a variety of UK productions, have been raking it in thanks to some huge blockbusters taking advantage of their facilities. During the last year, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, X-Men: First Class, Hugo Cabret and Captain America have all called the UK home, while Alien prequel Prometheus is set to take over most of Pinewood during 2011. And with the Harry Potter franchise vacating Leavesden Studios after a decade long residency, it’s been confirmed that Warner Bros. have bought the place outright and intend to give it a £100 million facelift in order to use it as their permanent base in the UK.

For a lot of people, a trip to the cinema involves munching popcorn and watching people fire guns and blow things up. But for others a slightly more cultured approach is required – and this is something we Brits are providing in droves. Would tough, thought provoking films like Anton Corbijn’s Ian Curtis biopic Control or Steve McQueen’s politically-charged Hunger get made anywhere else? Could Mike Leigh or Ken Loach enjoy the freedoms they do if they were making films in the Hollywood system? Both are unlikely. And I haven’t even mentioned names like Andrea Arnold, Shane Meadows and Clio Barnard yet. We seem to have a prevalent independent film-making chromosome which doesn’t exist in the same concentration anywhere else in the world. Sure there are other great indie movie makers around the globe, but I challenge you to name me any other country in which this talent is able to shine.

In-Debate - Entertainment For all our reputation, we seldom win the big awards

Despite the obvious high esteem in which we Brits are held in Hollywood, the big awards seldom come our way. Surely if this is a “golden age”, then our mantelpieces should be festooned with trophies, but if you look at the significant Oscar wins over the last five years our record isn’t great. We’ve won one Best Picture (Slumdog Millionaire), one Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis), two Best Actress (Helen Mirren and Kate Winslet) and one Best Director (Danny Boyle) – those are hardly “golden age” statistics. And when you look at this year’s nominations, The King’s Speech aside, we weren’t overly represented. Christopher Nolan wasn’t even nominated for Inception, arguably the most creative and ‘directed’ film of the year. The best films don’t always win the awards, but Oscar success is a sure fire way to build a legacy.

Despite the glowing reviews, UK box office is down

If we’re making such spectacular movies, why are less people going to the cinema to see them? In 2009, the UK public spent £173.5 million going to the pictures. In 2010, they spent £169.2 million over the same period. Any “golden age” can’t just be about the films we’re making – it has to encompass the health of the whole industry in general – and if less people are going to the cinema, then that’s not a great sign. There are lots of reasons why attendances are down, the main ones being the recession (although weirdly the film industry seems to have ridden that storm reasonably well) and internet piracy (there’s little doubt that more and more movies are being downloaded and watched at home), but how can this be considered a great time for the cinema if less people are actually going?

How many of these ‘classics’ will stand the test of time?

While the likes of The King’s Speech and Slumdog Millionaire have both been praised and honoured through the roof, are they films people will still be watching over and over again in years to come? The DVD explosion of the last decade means that movies really can live forever, but are any “classics” of the last few years destined to take pride of place in people’s libraries 25 years from now? It seems unlikely. When you talk of

British classics, its films like The Third Man, Brief Encounter, Lawrence of Arabia, The Red Shoes, The Ladykillers and The Italian Job that spring to mind. Add the word “modern” to that description and step forward Trainspotting, Four Weddings And A Funeral, The Full Monty and Withnail and I. Will Colin Firth’s stuttering monarch join that illustrious list? I guess only time will tell but – and be honest - is The King’s Speech really as memorable as any of the others on the list?

Spending cuts won’t help

Where are the great cinemas?

Back in July of last year, the Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that the UK Film Council, the Government funded agency responsible for nurturing British cinema, was to be scrapped. What a great way to crown this supposed “golden age”! By scrapping the UKFC and its £15 million annual budget, it is no doubt going to save a pot load of money but it hardly establishes the UK as a hotbed of creative and cinematic arts. Admittedly, the UKFC did pump a lot of cash into some truly dreadful films but for every Sex Lives Of The Potato Men or Donkey Punch, there was a Last King Of Scotland or This Is England. And ironically one of their biggest successes was The King’s Speech – the UKFC injected just over £1 million into the film’s budget – but its success has come too late.

Against

How can we claim to be enjoying a “golden age” when the environment in which we’re watching films is the worst it’s been in years? Many intimate, independent cinemas have been forced to close in the face of competition from giant, faceless multiplexes that have opened down the road. These soulless megadomes are horrible places – the sound often bleeds through from screen to screen, you are shoe-horned in and the magic of the silver screen is lost on the plastic decor. But perhaps the backlash has started as some movie stars themselves have joined the fight to help small independent picture houses – Dame Judi Dench recently became the latest in a long line of celebs, including Tilda Swintona and Robbie Coltrane, to become a patron of the Phoenix in Oban, Scotland in a bid to save it from being sold off.

In-Debate 17

Debate

Is there too much money in the Premier League? Image: 123RF/Photoshop

By Sam Mendelson

he most extraordinary transfer window in living memory has just closed. This period saw Andy Carroll, a striker with a dubious off-field reputation, just one England cap and barely a dozen top-flight goals, sold by Newcastle to Liverpool for £35 million. This was more than World Cup winner David Villa cost FC Barcelona in the summer, and was a British transfer record. Or at least it would’ve been – had Fernando Torres not moved to Chelsea for a mindboggling £50m an hour later. And to add

It's a little known fact that... Sport

to these incredible sums of money, we have witnessed the transfer wranglings of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, who held Manchester United and Manchester City respectively, to ransom in pursuit of bumper multi-milion pay rises. The Premier League is the most watched in the world, and the billions in TV revenue have created a spectacle far removed from the old First Division. But has it been a good thing or not? Are the mega-salaries, megatransfers and mega-audiences killing the sport or making it better than ever?

Cristiano Ronaldo is the most expensive transfer on record at £80m.

The Premier League’s TV domestic rights for 2010-13, were sold for £1.782bn.

In the first Premier League season the average player wage was £75,000 per year.

Real Madrid’s revenue of £341.9m made them the highest grossing team.

In 1979, Trevor Francis moved from Nottingham Forrest for £1,180,000. smashing the British transfer record.

Last year, the most watched sport event on the planet was, the Champion’s League final with 109 million viewers.

In-Debate 19

+ 1

Is there too much money in the Premier League? Where’s the value?

People should be rewarded according to how much they contribute to society. While there is no objective measure of this, we can probably agree that nurses, teachers, police and doctors are indispensable. Life would go on, however, without footballers so it is obscene that they are paid as much as they are. Nurses earn around £30K per year if they’re lucky…teachers and police a bit more. Squad players in bottom-half Premier League teams earn that much in a week, and the superstars of the modern game earn it in a day. Wages should reflect value – and they should be valued less than public servants.

Too many foreigners are keeping out local players

For

Twenty years ago, a top-division English side would be almost exclusively British, with one or two overseas players like Eric Cantona or Tony Yeboah adding some exotic colour. There are now 337 players registered from 66 countries, and an all-foreign XI running onto the field no longer raises eyebrows. However, these players – attracted by the enormous wages – keep young British players on the bench or in the reserves. Once-in-a-generation talents like Jack Wilshere and Wayne Rooney notwithstanding, the tactical naivety of the England national team compared to the top club sides is evidence that young British players are not getting the chances they used too. As the La Liga President Jose Luis Astiazaran told The Guardian after Spain’s World Cup win: “In La Liga there are 77.1 per cent Spanish players, 16.7 per cent [other] European and 6.7 per cent non-European. We invest in young Spanish players. In Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United there are a lot of young Spanish, French and Italian players – maybe this is why at the moment you are not creating young English players.”

It’s taken the game away from ordinary people

Unlike rugby and cricket, football was always the working man’s game to which a working class father could affordably take his kids to watch in the terraces. Tickets now cost £40-50, which means to take a couple of kids along, with travel, costs hundreds of pounds and has taken the game away from ordinary families. Roy Keane famously bemoaned the “Prawn Cocktail Brigade”, and many

20 In-Debate

a fan has blamed the lucrative hospitality boxes from sanitising football matches. Whether or not it makes fiscal sense for the clubs, supporting one’s team in person has become too expensive for many and this has ultimately had a negative impact on the atmosphere of footaball stadiums.

It’s made the beautiful game ugly

Many who have followed the sport for decades feel it has turned plain nasty. The money at stake for Champions League qualification (£30m or so), for surviving relegation (possibly £50m), for TV rights and merchandising as well as corporate sponsorship, has spread a culture of shirt-tugging, continual diving, cheating, poor sportsmanship, and encouraged a generation of kids to learn from this behaviour. Virtually the entire England XI has been caught having illicit affairs. And barely a week passes without referees being surrounded by foaming-mouthed prima donnas, apoplectic at a yellow card or the referee having the nerve to award a penalty. Andy Burnham, former Minister for Sport, summarised it well. “I think money has poisoned our national game. Our game has rampant commercialism. We have put money before the sport and we are reaping the dividends of that.” He also claimed it was behind England’s World Cup bid failure: “They [FIFA] dislike the arrogance of English football and think we have failed to tame commercialism in our own sport”.

Haven’t we learnt anything?

Transfer fees have exploded along with wages, pushing clubs deeper and deeper into debt. If we’ve learned anything from the recent economic crisis, it’s that eventually all bubbles burst. This finding was contained in UEFA’s official report of 2010, The European Club Footballing Landscape analysed the annual accounts of all 732 clubs licensed by UEFA and calculated that the combined €4bn (£3.5bn) debt of 18 Premier League clubs was almost four times more than the next most indebted top division, Spain’s La Liga. Despite earning more, the 18 English clubs were vastly more reliant on borrowed money from banks and club owners than the 714 other clubs combined. “English clubs contain on their balance sheets an estimated 56% of Europewide commercial debt,” the report says. Put quite simply, anything built on a tower of debt will always be vulnerable to shocks and collapse.

In-Debate - Sport The market knows best

Although it’s unpopular to say so in some circles, we live in a market economy and the market knows best. Footballers are paid their enormous salaries because they generate even more income for their clubs, for the FA, for sponsors and for the television providers. And great players demand more than good players. According to the Mail, of the 736 players at the 2010 World Cup, 106 played in the Premier League – ahead of Serie A with 75 and La Liga with a mere 57. Spain may have Messi, Ronaldo and Kaka, but the English teams have the lion’s share of the top global talent.

Players careers are short, they deserve it

Footballers’ careers last 15 years at best – and only a few play at the top level for the whole time; mostly they work their way up from the lower leagues and switch clubs several times along the way. Of course, many can retire at 35 as wealthy men but only a few can earn big money after that. For every Gary Lineker with the charm and intelligence to front Match of the Day, there’s a Joey Barton with the charm and intelligence of a chipped coffee mug. Moreover, nobody should think top-level football is an easy life. Professional footballers must maintain a strict physical regime, travel from home often and be bought and sold like a commodity – effectively forced into moving themselves and their families at the behest of a new owner or manager. Their personal lives are raked through by the most intrusive and mean-spirited press in the world, and they are castigated for their failures by a public whose expectations are not always reasonable.

It has made football more exciting

The money to be earned by Champions League qualification, promotion or avoidance of relegation adds to the thrill as so much is at stake. This current season in particular has provided a league more competitive than any in recent memory. Currently, only 12 points separates relegation from Europe, and the Top Four has now become the Top Six. The Spurs vs Man City game at the end of the 2009/10 season was a case in point. Spurs beat City to get the 4th Champions League spot and have now gone on

a cup run beating Inter and AC Milan. The money on offer in Europe adds another dimension to the end-of-season run-in and makes for captivating viewing.

It’s put the Premier League and Britain on the map

It is the world’s most lucrative football league in terms of revenue with combined club incomes of over £2bn in 2008/09. Promoted as “The Greatest Show On Earth”, our game is the world’s most watched sporting league with a global audience of over half a billion people in 202 countries. The biggest clubs in particular have massive fan bases around the planet. The Premier League has done more to make football the “world’s game” than anything else, save the World Cup. Being the most popular sporting league in the world drives tourism too. According to VisitBritain, in a survey of 50,000 international travellers, the most popular sport for visitors to watch was football. And in 2008, 1.2 million overseas spectators went to see a game, thereby contributing in large measure to the £2.3bn spent by foreign tourists on watching and playing sport that year.

It may be lucrative, but it’s competitive

Against

It’s not about money; it’s about the way the money is spread around. La Liga may have some megastars, but it is a duopoly because the clubs negotiate to sell their TV rights on an individual basis. The Premier League by contrast sells its television rights on a collective basis – giving more to the weaker clubs, allowing them to buy more competitively and this is reflected in the league tables. Right now there are currently five contenders in the title race. La Liga is boring, every year it’s a two-horse race. Some observers have complained for years that the Premier League has a Big Four. Firstly, four contenders for the top spot is more than many other leagues. Previously we could have banked on who finished in the to four but this season’s ebbs and flows have put to bed any criticism of a stagnant table. And finally, ask the fans of a Championship club or a weak Premier League team what they want. They just want a shot at the big time next year or to be able to stay up.

In-Debate 21

In-Debate BOTH SIDES OF THE STORIES

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BE CREATIVE. BE CONTROVERSIAL. BE CURIOUS. BUT CRUCIALLY, BE INFORMED

Listings Brain Food Live talks, events, debates and inspirational listings As usual we have sourced events from some of the leading institutions in London. We have spent the month fine-combing the best on offer throughout March, which are guaranteed to keep your brain ticking and even provide a place for that special date. For more information on any event please visit the event providers website.

Business

Society / Politics

The Economic Outlook and Financial Industry Challenges

The Doha Round is Alive; and more important than ever

LSE – 30th Mar, Sheikh Zayed Theatre, 6.30pm-8pm, Free Thomas M Hoenig is president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. He assumed the role of president on October 1, 1991, making him the longest serving of the 12 current regional FRB presidents.

LSE Director’s Dialogue

LSE – 21st Mar, Sheikh Zayed Theatre, 6.30pm-8pm Free, TR Howard Davies is director of LSE. Prior to this, from 19972003 he was Chairman of the Financial Services Authority and from 1995-1997 he was Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. John Varley is the group CEO of Barclays Bank and was Chief Executive of Retail Financial Services. John is also a non-executive director of pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca PLC.

The New Global Economy: Policy and Financial Markets

LSE – 12th Mar, Hong Kong Theatre, 10.30am-6pm, £20/£15 The conference seeks to explain the current global dilemmas of both the public and private sectors, providing an insight into possible solutions. Speakers include: Sir Samuel Brittan, Financial Times columnist, Richard Moat, managing director of T-Mobile UK, and Dr Richard Wellings, deputy editorial director of the Institute of Economic Affairs.

The Language of Persuasion: Communications, slogans and word of mouth

British Library – 23rd Mar, Conference Centre,6.30pm, £7.50 Some of the most creative, memorable and persuasive language of modern times has been created in the service of selling. What makes a brilliant advertising slogan or the ultimate press communication? Advertising legend Trevor Beattie, joins ‘PR guru’ Mark Borkowski for a revealing conversation about how language and communication make an impact in the fast-moving worlds of media and business.

Will financial reform succeed in preventing regulatory and sectoral arbitrage?

Chatam House – 30th Mar, SW1Y 4LE, 9am-4.40pm The governments of the US, Europe and the UK are legislating for financial reform at speed. To what extent will there be global co-ordination of financial regulation? This conference will bring together senior to discuss the political realities of financial regulation. Speakers include: David Sayer (KPMG), John Authers, Chris Giles (Financial Times), Charles Haswell (HSBC), Verena Ross (FSA), Paul Tucker (Bank of England), Bill Winters (JPMorgan).

LSE – 3rd Mar, Old Theatre, 6.30pm-8pm, Free Since 2008 it has looked to many as if the Doha Round trade negotiations were dead. However the G20 Summit last November, signs of life in Geneva. On the last day of his 6 month assignment Lord Brittan, Trade Advisor to the Prime Minister, presents his unique perspective on the importance of an open global economy. Lord Brittan has been Vice Chairman of UBS Investment Bank since 2000.

Why is the European Left Losing Elections?

LSE – 8th Mar, Old Theatre, 6.30-8pm, Free For the first time since First World War, governments in Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and Italy come from the centre-right. Is this just an accidental quirk of fate or is it more serious? David Miliband has worked at the top of UK government and politics for over 15 years and was the youngest Foreign Secretary in thirty years.

Leadership at a Time of Transition and Turbulence

Gresham College – 8th Mar, 6pm, Free Professor Costa conducts a discussion with Peter Sutherland, Chairman of Goldman Sachs International, to examine the challenges of leadership at a time of financial and geo-political dislocation. Peter Sutherland is also Chairman of BP, and is currently UN Special Representative for Migration and Development.

Sixty Years of British-Israeli Diplomatic Relations

Chatam House – 30th Mar, SW1Y 4LE, 9am-4.40pm At a time of regional flux, it is pertinent to reflect on past British-Israeli relations, as a foundation for a discussion of future cooperation and challenges. Bringing together both Israeli and British speakers, the conference will reflect on the past 60 years of bilateral diplomatic and economic relations, scientific innovation and security cooperation in the face of global threats.

Was Iraq an Unjust War?

Chatam House – 22nd Mar, SW1Y 4LE, 6pm-8pm This debate will mark the launch of Morality and War - Can War be Just in the Twenty-First Century? by David Fisher. It will explore how just war thinking can be developed to address twenty-first century security concerns. In recent years no foreign policy issue has aroused such concern as the US/UK military operations in Iraq, the morality of which will be the focus of the discussion.

In-Debate 23

Listings Mind Fuel Live talks, events, debates and inspirational listings

Science

Art / Literature

The Myth of Mars and Venus: Do men and women really speak different languages?

An Evening with Barbara Dickson

British Library – 1st Mar, Conference Centre, 1pm-2pm, £3 As debates continue to rage as how men and women’s brains may or may not differ, Deborah Cameron tackles some of the most persistent myths about language use: that women are more verbal than men, that women talk more about people, relationships and feelings, while men talk more about things and facts. Deborah Cameron is Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication, University of Oxford.

Living With Technology

School of Life – 17th Mar, WC1N 1AB, 7pm-9pm, £20.50 Every day technological advances open up new ways in which we can access information, communicate, work, play, relax and live. We are promised more and more, faster and faster. Author, game theorist and expert on all things digital, Tom Chatfield, is here to explore how we can harness the creative potential of new media whilst remaining alert to its pitfalls.

Eyes on the stars – Space as inspiration

The Royal Society – 30th Mar, SW1Y 5AG, 7pm, Free Little Eagles, tells the extraordinary story of Sergei Korolyov, chief designer and unsung hero of the Soviet space programme. Under the leadership of this remarkable man, the USSR trounced the Americans in the space race throughout the fifties. Playwright Rona Munro, Professor of Space Science John Zarnecki and NASA astronaut Piers Sellers will discuss the legacy of the space race and compare the challenges faced by Korolyov with those for space exploration today.

Climate Change needs Climate Justice LSE – 10th Mar, Old Theatre, 6.30pm-8pm, Free, TR The debate on climate change is moving from stopping it to how best to manage its effects. Climate justice links human rights and development to achieve a human-centered approach to the issue, safeguarding the rights of the most vulnerable and sharing the burdens and benefits of climate change and its resolution equitably and fairly. Mary Robinson was president of Ireland and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

South Bank Centre – 5th Mar, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 7.30pm, £30/£25 For over four decades Barbara Dickson OBE has continued to deliver songs in her own incomparable fashion and has firmly established herself as one of the most popular entertainers in Britain today. Barbara Dickson brings her sensational show to London providing audiences with a musical treat as she performs her classic hits, as well as other material, in her own inimitable style.

John Gray in Conversation

South Bank Centre – 16th Mar, Level 5 Function Room, 7.45pm, £8 John Gray, one of the UK’s most provocative and trenchant writers, discusses the human obsession with death and the quest to achieve immortality. From Edwardian England to the scientific research of Communist USSR, Gray’s research offers up a fascinating secret history of human attempts to live forever.

Will Self: Stockwell Bus Garage

Critics Choice: London’s Most Important Building Royal Academy – 14th Mar, Geological Society, Piccadilly 6.30pm, £12/£11 As part of the lecture series ‘Critic’s Choice: London’s Most Important Building’, author Will Self has proposed the Stockwell Bus Garage designed by Adie, Button and Partners, with the engineer A E Beer for its revolutionary, beautiful and highly utilitarian form.

Alexander McCall Smith

Daunt Books - 2nd Mar, Marylebone, 7pm, £8 We are delighted to welcome back Alexander McCall Smith to celebrate the publication of The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party, the 12th book in The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. Our favourite raconteur will give us the latest news of old friends such as Mma Ramotswe, Isabel Dalhousie, the inhabitants of 44 Scotland Street and Corduroy Mansions... and of course, little Bertie.

Wellcome Image Awards Insight

Wellcome Centre – 24th March, 6pm-7pm, Free Wellcome Images is one of the Wellcome Library’s major visual collections. Join Dr Laura Pastorelli, Biomedical Images Coordinator, to find out more about the stories and techniques behind the winners of the 2011 Wellcome Image Awards, on display in the Lightbox.

Annie Nightingale

South Bank Centre – 12th Mar, Royal Festival Hall, 10pm, Free Annie Nightingale has been blazing a brilliant trail for over 40 years. Join Radio One’s longest standing broadcaster and legendary DJ on The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall on 12 March. From 10pm Annie will be in discussion about her life and work with Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of Southbank Centre, followed by a very special DJ set.

In-Debate 25

London Treats

Chessie Felber

EAT The Providores One of New Zealands finest chefs has treated London to a restaurant of astonishing delight. Peter Gordons long list of dishes with an eye widening list of ingredients make decisions next to impossible, luckily the first floor dining room offers his delights tapas style to be shared and relished with friends. Flavours that wouldn’t occur have been expertly combined and are perfectly paired with one of many wines from the back wall. If you’re looking for a more formal experience and are less inclined to share your delicious meal, The Providores provides a ceremonial experience of 3 courses where the plates are equally scrumptious and the ambiance a little softer.

109 Marylebone High Street www.theprovidores.co.uk Call 0207 935 6175

DRINK Milk and Honey The creators of Milk and Honey NY have crossed the pond and landed gracefully in the heart of Soho. Whiskey fusion cocktails and unlit intimate corners are, in fact, the highlight of this exceptional and exclusive club. “House rules” are not meant to be broken but maintain a smooth and sociable crowd, there is no namedropping and gentlemen must remove their hats. Don’t be put off by the list of commandments, for the experience is unlike any other. Milk and Honey is luxurious and seductive and the bartenders, who have descended from cocktail heaven, will create any concoction that will leave your taste buds tingling in every way.

61 Poland St, W1F 7NU www.mlkhny.com Call 0207 734 0700

SLEEP One Aldwych Inventive and creative minds have mastered one of the most stylish hotels located in the heart of London’s theatre district - One Aldwych gracefully combines century old structures fashioned with Norwegian granite, displaying modern interiors, raw silks and neutral tones with a 400 piece modern art collection. Bath tubs big enough for two and 100% pure and natural bath products encourage you to take advantage of their saunas, steam rooms and deluxe in-room spa treatments. This privately owned luxury hotel has a fabulous reputation with two chic restaurants serving some of the finest Martinis.

In-Debate 26

1 Aldwych, WC2B 4RH www.campbellgrayhotels.com Call 0207 300 0500

Listings Inspiration Live talks, events, debates and inspirational listings

Inspirational