As the likelihood of a hung parliament increases, I wonder whether it is actually the best result for the UK.
After the dust settled on the final leaders debate this evening, the polls indicated that the Liberal Democrats had gained the most from the debates as a whole.
The unprecedented gains seen by the Lib Dems were groundbreaking, but in truth it has not changed what we knew before the first debate on the 15th of April: we are more than likely heading for a hung parliament.
The fear is that the economy will suffer as the government flounds around arguing with itself rather than taking action. I believe, however, that it will mean that on important issues the opinion of more voters will be represented in the commons.
Take for example the row over National Insurance. If, for example, Labour had a majority they would be able to vote through their proposals without taking into account the beliefs of everyone in constituencies who didn't vote for Labour.
In a majority led parliament, your views may not be represented in the commons if your constituency did not vote for the largest party.
In a hung parliament, everyone can pressurise their own MP on important issues and their views will have a much better chance of being represented in the commons.
Therefore, I believe, a hung parliament would be a better overall reflection of the opinions of the British public.
What is a hung parliament?
Generally speaking, the largest party in the commons has a working majority. This means that when that party wants to make new laws, it can vote them through with relative ease because it has more seats than the rest of the parties put together.
When the smaller parties have enough seats that they are collectively able to outvote the main party, that is a hung parliament - see this handy BBC guide.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
First ever leaders debate on British TV
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was the winner of the first ever leaders debate on British TV, say the media.
Clegg was the most visibly at ease early on and gave a confident pitch in which he represented the Liberal Democrats as a change from the 'old' parties of Labour and Conservative.
Both David Cameron and Gordon Brown appeared to be trying to curry favour with the 42-year-old Lib-Dem leader as the likelihood of a hung parliament come May 6th increases.
In terms of election coverage during the debate by the media outlets, there were no real surprises as to who the broadsheet newspapers, and their readers, were backing.
What was interesting was that the Daily Mail appeared to declare David Cameron the winner before the debate had even finished.
Disappointingly, the web page has since been changed to reflect the reality of what happened in Manchester this evening, and stupidly I failed to get a screen shot of the offending page which has now changed.
However, it is interesting to note how the media have reacted to tonight's events and I will make sure I pay closer attention to the how the next debate, televised on Sky on April 22, is covered.
Clegg was the most visibly at ease early on and gave a confident pitch in which he represented the Liberal Democrats as a change from the 'old' parties of Labour and Conservative.
Both David Cameron and Gordon Brown appeared to be trying to curry favour with the 42-year-old Lib-Dem leader as the likelihood of a hung parliament come May 6th increases.
In terms of election coverage during the debate by the media outlets, there were no real surprises as to who the broadsheet newspapers, and their readers, were backing.
What was interesting was that the Daily Mail appeared to declare David Cameron the winner before the debate had even finished.
Disappointingly, the web page has since been changed to reflect the reality of what happened in Manchester this evening, and stupidly I failed to get a screen shot of the offending page which has now changed.
However, it is interesting to note how the media have reacted to tonight's events and I will make sure I pay closer attention to the how the next debate, televised on Sky on April 22, is covered.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Turkish singer sets blind speed record
Turkish pop-singer Metin Senturk became the world's fastest unaccompanied blind driver last week after piloting a Ferrari 430 to 182mph.
Senturk, who has been blind since the age of three, was followed down a runway in eastern Turkey by his driving coach Volkan Isik.
Isik, a former rally driver, relayed instructions to Senturk via radio as he smashed the previous record of 176mph held by a British bank manager.
Senturk, who wept as he stepped from the car, said: "I don't think there are any words to describe this feeling. I am really happy. It was really hard, like a dance with death."
The accompanied record for a blind driver, set by South African Hein Wagner in a Mercedes-Benz SL65 Black Series last October, is a fraction over 200 mph.
Senturk, who has been blind since the age of three, was followed down a runway in eastern Turkey by his driving coach Volkan Isik.
Isik, a former rally driver, relayed instructions to Senturk via radio as he smashed the previous record of 176mph held by a British bank manager.
Senturk, who wept as he stepped from the car, said: "I don't think there are any words to describe this feeling. I am really happy. It was really hard, like a dance with death."
The accompanied record for a blind driver, set by South African Hein Wagner in a Mercedes-Benz SL65 Black Series last October, is a fraction over 200 mph.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Ugly new King Edward Tower, Liverpool
New Plans for the King Edward Tower in Liverpool have been released, and they are ugly...
The previous renders for the 540ft office, apartment and hotel tower, released by joint developers Richmont Property Ltd and Y1 Developments, looked similar to the 658ft proposed Regal Tower on Birmingham's Broad Street in terms of cladding and shape.
The redesign is as a result of a protestations by developer Peel who believe it did not fit in with their vision for Liverpool Waters.
I am a supporter of the Peel project in principle because Liverpool's waterfront will look fantastic with a series of high-rise buildings.
However, with the exception of the Shanghai tower, I am not of the architecture currently on display in their renders and the new render for the King Edward Tower is no better.
Buildings made out up of out-of-line boxes, as though built with ill-fitting lego bricks, only look good when surrounded by other modern projects.
I don't believe that this new design is fitting of being a flagship building for Liverpool.
Elsewhere, the recession has taken another victim in the form of the Lumiere Towers in Leeds.
The council has, it seems, refused planning permission for the newly revised designs because the developer has not met its infrastructure requirements due being in administration.
The previous renders for the 540ft office, apartment and hotel tower, released by joint developers Richmont Property Ltd and Y1 Developments, looked similar to the 658ft proposed Regal Tower on Birmingham's Broad Street in terms of cladding and shape.
The redesign is as a result of a protestations by developer Peel who believe it did not fit in with their vision for Liverpool Waters.
I am a supporter of the Peel project in principle because Liverpool's waterfront will look fantastic with a series of high-rise buildings.
However, with the exception of the Shanghai tower, I am not of the architecture currently on display in their renders and the new render for the King Edward Tower is no better.
Buildings made out up of out-of-line boxes, as though built with ill-fitting lego bricks, only look good when surrounded by other modern projects.
I don't believe that this new design is fitting of being a flagship building for Liverpool.
Elsewhere, the recession has taken another victim in the form of the Lumiere Towers in Leeds.
The council has, it seems, refused planning permission for the newly revised designs because the developer has not met its infrastructure requirements due being in administration.
Website accessibility
A few months ago I wrote about the steps that the ChinaDaily website has taken to improve accessibility for disabled people.
I have just found this article by WebCredible on things that web masters should look for when creating a site.
As I commented previously, I believe that websites in the UK are still not doing enough to open up their sites so everyone can use them.
Individuals should take responsibility for the content of their website, but there needs to be more regulation in place to ensure that everyone can enjoy online content in the same way.
I have just found this article by WebCredible on things that web masters should look for when creating a site.
As I commented previously, I believe that websites in the UK are still not doing enough to open up their sites so everyone can use them.
Individuals should take responsibility for the content of their website, but there needs to be more regulation in place to ensure that everyone can enjoy online content in the same way.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Alt.Cardiff
As part of the postgraduate journalism course I am studying at Cardiff University, I have been contributing to the online magazine Alt.Cardiff
The magazine hunts out Cardiff's best off-beat news and reviews under five different categories: Food, Music, Culture, Active and 'No Logo' - a political slant on the Welsh capital.
Over the past 11 weeks I have contibuted two articles to all of the above categories apart from Food where I contributed three.
Clicking on an article's header below will take to you the original story.
Culture:
10. Phil Rogers Pottery Exhibition
The Makers Guild in Wales will be hosting an exhibition of Phil Rogers’s work from 1 December to 31 January next year.
9. Martin Tinney Gallery Christmas Exhibition
The gallery launched its 2009 Christmas exhibition on 27 November and this year’s show will include work by Charles Burton to celebrate his 80th birthday as well as a number of industrial paintings by Glyn Griffiths who died 10 years ago.
Active:
The Cardiff Lions, Wales’s only recognised gay friendly rugby union club, are looking for new players before the start of next season.
The Celts wheelchair basketball team may steal the limelight when it comes to disability sport in Cardiff, but the local Disability Sport Wales team offer more than just competitive activities.
No Logo:
6. Controversial Parking Charges at St David's
The new £675m St David’s shopping centre in Cardiff opened at the end of last month becoming the largest of its kind in Wales.
5. Peaceful Progress Graffitti
The community-based Peaceful Progress organisation is hoping to bring its artwork to the streets of Splott.
Music:
The Sŵn Festival was an excellent opportunity to see Cardiff's music talent. This article discusses the five local bands battling to be the next best thing.
The latest craze to hit New York is called ‘Thumping’; residents banging on railings and bollards to see how they sound.
Watch this space for the full interview with Ninjah Jones
Food:
11. Women's Institute's Christmas Cake
You can do worse than consult the Women’s Institute (WI) if you want to make the perfect Christmas cake.
2. The best named beer in Cardiff
A sign of a truly good pub is a draught with a ridiculous name.
1. All your stomach needs sold here
Not everyone can afford to travel, but Cardiff is a viable destination if all you want to do is sample foreign food.
NB: Articles are numbered according to the order that they appeared on the website. Week 11 was the week starting 7 December 2009.
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