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Day: 21 March 2017

George Galloway standing in Manchester Gorton by-election

Written by Jennifer Sterne on . Posted in News.

George Galloway has announced he plans to stand in the Manchester Gorton by-election as an independent candidate.

Mr Galloway, former Respect and Labour MP, said he felt he was “best person” to try fill the shoes of Labour’s Sir Gerald Kaufman, whose death last month, after representing the seat for 30 years, triggered the by-election.

In a statement released on the website Westmonster, Galloway called the “All-Asian short-list” from Labour “not good enough for the people of Gorton one of the most deprived constituencies in Britain”, describing it as the “latest in a long line of insults delivered by mainstream parties to local communities”.

Galloway also spoke to students in his statement claiming that “the struggle for students has always been a parliamentary preoccupation of mine” and speaking of being “a Labour MP when Tony Blair introduced tuition fees” and breaking “a 3 line whip to vote against them.”

Labour have called Galloway’s decision to run  “entirely self-serving” and said it “offers nothing to the local community”.

Labour announced on Monday night their shortlist of five potential candidates and the meeting to select the candidate will be held on Wednesday night.

Labour have held the seat since 1935 and won the seat in 2015 with 67 per cent of the vote.

The Labour shortlist includes Afzal Khan, Labour MEP for the North West, with the rest being local councillors Luthfur Rahman, Yasmine Dar, Nasrin Ali and Amina Lone. Sam Wheeler, reportedly had the backing of the party leadership, but did not make the shortlist, leading complaints from the left of the party.

Gorton’s constituency Labour party was suspended last year for three months, while they were investigated over claims of vote rigging, bullying and intimidation. Infighting within the CLP escalated as Kaufman’s health deteriorated, with members positioning themselves to take over.

Galloway alluded to such infighting stating that “we know that Labour is divided, an ineffective opposition still busy fighting each other, there is a danger that the people of Gorton will never be heard from at Westminster again”.

Lisa Nandy, Labour MP for Wigan, and coordinating Labour’s campaign, said Gorton constituents, “deserve better than a man who has described the sexual assault of women as ‘bad sexual etiquette'”.

She added that she was “confident that residents in Manchester will send a clear message that Galloway’s divisive, destructive politics isn’t welcome here”.

Galloway acknowledged in his statement that he was not a Mancunian but argued that “neither was Sir Matt Busby. Neither was Sir Alex Ferguson nor Pep Guardiola nor José Mourinho. Like them I want to work for you, for Gorton, for Manchester”.

He added that “if I were to win here it would be the mother of all by-election victories for the hardworking people of Gorton, who would never be forgotten again.

“If I don’t, then the alternative will be a career politician, with NO change and no Development for Gorton. It will remain the same most deprived 10% of constituencies in our country.”

The by-election is expected to run on the 4th of May, the same day as Manchester’s first mayoral elections.

The Lib Dems have selected Jackie Pearcy as their candidate, with the Green Party who came second in 2015 chosing Jess Mayo. The Conservatives and UKIP are yet to announce their candidates.

Politicians are humans too

Written by Cameron Broome on . Posted in Opinion.

British politics has been somewhat of a rollercoaster since the EU referendum. Article 50 is set to be triggered this month. Internal disputes within the Labour Party are ongoing. To the disgust of many, George Osborne was recently unveiled as the new Editor of the London Evening Standard. Nicola Sturgeon is pushing for a second EU referendum, though Theresa May says “now is not the time”. Just keeping up with day to day news is becoming exhausting.

With all this mess, we have moved on from one particular event all too quickly. On the 16th of June 2016, the hugely respected MP for Batley and Spen Valley, Jo Cox, was murdered in her constituency. Police investigations revealed that the murderer, Thomas Mair, was a far-right extremist and that Jo Cox was his target for attack.

Indicative of the character she was, Jo had used her maiden in the House of Commons speech to celebrate the role multiculturalism had played in shaping her constituency: “While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.” How could someone with so much love, warmth, and compassion have fallen victim to an attack full of such evil, anger and hatred?

Unfortunately, though the country mourned and paid their respects following Jo’s death, British politics is as polarised and toxic as ever before. Sky News reported this week that a specialist police unit has been set up to investigate other security threats posed to MPs.

Since Jo’s death, there have been “33 reports of malicious communications, 13 reports of theft, three reports of harassment and four allegations of criminal damage.” Furthermore, female MPs (already underrepresented in the House of Commons) are reportedly disproportionately victims of online abuse.

This issue goes beyond party politics. It’s not about left or right; liberalism or conservativism. It’s about decency, standing up for democracy, and fighting to protect the civil liberties we all hold dear. We must stand up and defend our politicians. Further, we must work to challenge perceptions and bring them closer to the public.

Too many people currently feel ‘left behind’ by an uneven global economy. This notion was often channelled in Brexit debates. However, it is systems that are at fault — not individuals. Politicians do have some agency to change economy, but that agency is rather limited. Inequalities and injustices do not justify making huge, dehumanising generalisations about politicians.

However, there are many MPs who help to degenerate the image of Parliament. The crisis of confidence in politicians is still ringing on from the expenses scandal. And, rightly, people are angry that Mr. Osborne will have editorial duties four days a week, alongside his MP duties (whilst also reportedly pocketing over £600,000 a year through a financial advisory role). Though, it is worth emphasising that not all MPs are like Mr Osborne.

Amidst the drama of the expenses revelations there lies a temptation to generalise the whole of Westminster as corrupted. But expenses are incredibly important, and they link directly to the pressures and strains of the job.

MPs have to spend time in both Westminster and their constituency, as well as frequently attending events up and down the country (especially if they are members of Select Committees, for example). It is right that taxpayers’ money is used to subsidise travel costs; if it wasn’t, only the wealthiest of individuals could afford to be MPs. By all means let’s scrutinise expenses, but let us not forget their purpose.

In this spirit, Talk Politics are currently running a “People Behind The Policy” interview project, which seeks  challenge negative perceptions of politicians by getting to know more about their background, interests, and general life as an MP.

Hilary Benn MP also recently pointed out that, “it’s not easy for families because as a Member of Parliament you have to live and work in two places and that’s quite unusual”. As fathers, mothers, husbands and wives, it can be incredibly difficult for MPs to juggle politics with family life, and they deserve a huge amount of respect in that sense.

In addition, nothing is private in politics. Investigative journalists like Guido Fawkes will bend over backwards to find stories on MPs and their families to try undermine people’s faith in politicians. Standing for Parliament takes a huge amount of courage, and the idea that MPs have an easy life is ridiculous.

So when you next hear someone make a snide remark about politicians, be the change you wish to see in the world: call them out. No, they aren’t all the same. No, they aren’t all out for themselves. No, they don’t all milk the expenses system.

Nicky Morgan put it perfectly: “It’s important that people do realise that MPs do a crazy, extraordinary, uplifting job, but we are normal people”.

It’s time we all stood up and defended our hard-working politicians.

Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool

Written by Harry Newton on . Posted in Sport.

If this game was a song…

The Rembrandts – I’ll be there for you

If only there was a successful US sitcom called F.R.I.E.N.E.M.I.E.S. so I could use their theme tune – I guess this will have to do. Despite leaving City a couple of seasons ago, James Milner’s position in the hearts of City fans has changed since then. With a few snarky comments, the Englishman turned from hero to zero as he was excessively boo’d by the City faithful all game. In a turn towards the ironically beautiful, he was marking Raheem Sterling all game who was being boo’d by the Liverpool fans all game.

Neither had an amazing game, and both tried incredibly hard to beat the other that it almost worked against their favour at times. Sterling had some beautiful little flicks and sprints that left Milner for dead, but nothing came to a goal, whereas Milner tucked away Liverpool’s goal from the penalty spot.

If you were wondering if the two lads were aware that the crowd had pitted them against each other, then all you need for evidence is the moment when Milner clattered into Sterling in the penalty area. Somehow, he got away with it, and a goal-kick was awarded, but as Leroy Sané drilled the ball across goal, Sterling couldn’t tap it in the net because Milner’s boot was lodged up his

Big Willy is better

I’ve emailed three drafts of this match report over to my girlfriend, but on each occasion, she’s told me to change my opening line for this section, so looks like you’re getting no dirty pun on City’s goalkeeper this week.

Caballero, despite not saving a beautifully hit James Milner penalty, had a great game making a couple of good saves. One volley from Adam Lallana was hit with venom, but Willy leapt like a salmon to tip the ball over the bar. It’s been a funny old time for Willy at City, as he had a tough start a couple of years ago – not too dissimilar from the start that Claudio Bravo has had – but after some goalkeeper merry-go-round at City, he’s somehow managed to cement his place as the number one. His moment of zero-to-hero came against Liverpool in the Capital One Cup last season after he saved three penalties in the shoot-out… so Bravo for the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, right?

Class is Permanent

You know in the same way that a mother never calls her own kid fat, I will never talk ill of Kevin de Bruyne. But now I will say that the Belgian has been struggling over the last few games for form. It’s the first time in his City career where he’s been hit with a bad run, but he may be playing his way out of it. He delivered an enticing ball across the box for Sergio Aguero to tap in and equalise for City this game, which keeps them in the hunt for Champions League football (and the Title if you’re a beautiful romantic/simpleton).

End to End Football

City may have had a few bad results this year, and haven’t been completely consistent at the back, but there have been so many entertaining end-to-end games under Pep Guardiola. Otamendi and Stones were relatively solid today, with the penalty being the fault of Gael Clichy bundling over Roberto Firmino, but it’s their eye for attack that keeps the end-to-end antics continue.

Mix this in with two of Europe’s best wingers, the magic of David Silva, and the golden Sergio Aguero, and you have a recipe for attack. Add a teaspoon of a high-pressured Jürgen Klopp team, and you have got yourself an end-to-end bonanza of yellow cards, showboating, and… a lot of missing.

Missing

People remember where they were when the Berlin Wall fell. People remember where they were when William and Kate got married. People will remember where they were when Adam Lallana missed at the Etihad. I was there!

It was utterly hilarious, as Firmino beat the City defence (albeit too easily) and played the ball across goal for Lallana to tap into an effectively empty-goal as Caballero was left behind. Instead he scuffed the ball, and fell to his knees.

The KonMarie

Written by Kitty Mitchell Turner on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

As summer approaches, it’s high time we start considering the contents of our wardrobe — what do we fit into, what do we want to fit into and what summer clothes we can bring up from home.

Clearing out your wardrobe for the summer months is often a rather depressing ordeal. It can invoke feelings of guilt regarding expensive items you never wear but also a deflated (or maybe motivated) attitude upon discovering some summer clothes are a bit more snug than they should be. So this year, why not try something new: the KonMarie method.

You may or may not have heard of Marie Kondo’s bestselling book The Life Changing Art of Tidying Up. Considering it has sold over one million copies and is a New York Times number one bestseller, I thought this was common knowledge… But apparently not, my housemates informed me between laughing at my excitement over a book about tidying. However there is a reason Marie Kondo’s book is a best seller. It has helped thousands of people create and maintain an orderly home through one big tidy up. Therefore inspired by KonMarie, I have designed a step-by-step guide to de-cluttering your wardrobe, including some additional insight from yours truly.

Step One: Gather absolutely every item of clothing you own (I appreciate this may not necessarily be possible if you only have some of your clothes at university). This includes shoes, coats, anything piled up on the back of your chair and in your laundry basket. For this to work you need to have EVERYTHING in one big pile in the middle of your room, on your bed or in the lounge if there isn’t enough space.

Step Two: Turn your mountain into molehills. Split your clothes into the following categories: Tops, bottoms, jackets and coats, dresses, socks/underwear, bags, accessories, swimwear, event-specific clothing (such as work uniform or gym kit) and shoes.

Step Three: Go through each pile in order, starting with tops. Pick up each item in term and ask yourself ‘does this spark joy?’ Marie’s method does not focus on the negatives, such as asking questions like ‘what should I throw away?’ Instead, she encourages you to reflect on each item. The important thing is not to get caught up with sentimental value or to think ‘I can’t get rid of this, it was so expensive’. If it was an item you wore and loved for a long time but you don’t feel the same way anymore, thank it for its use then toss it out. The objective is to end this grand clean with a wardrobe full of clothes that fill you with joy. It’s hard at first but you really have to be ruthless; if you have any doubt about whether or not you should keep an item, get rid of it. If it truly sparked joy you wouldn’t have to think twice. I like to embrace my mum’s own tidying motto here: ‘When in doubt, throw it out!’

Step Four: Repeat this activity with every single item in each one of your categories. As it takes a while to get into the swing of things, it may be necessary to repeat the process to ensure you’re only keeping the items that truly spark joy.

Step Five: Now it is time to go through your ‘get rid of’ pile. Again you want to break this huge pile down into smaller piles: bin, donate, sell, gift. If anything is broken, ruined, stained or just doesn’t look as though it is worth donating, bin it. Then immediately throw the bin bag in the main bin to stop you from making more clutter. Next, look at what would benefit from being given to charity or maybe even sold on Depop or Ebay. Bag or box this pile up (it will probably be your biggest) and take it to the charity shop ASAP, much like the bin bags. Finally, think about any items that friends/family have taken a shine to. If you have a dress your sister always wanted or maybe a jumper your flatmate pined after, why not give it to them as a random act of kindness. It will make their day as well as yours!

Step Six: Now it’s time to return all the items you have decided to keep back to their rightful place. Marie advises that you fold as much as you can and hang anything that needs it. This isn’t always possible, so work with whatever your accommodation or landlord provides. First, let’s fold. When it comes to folding, all items should be folded so they can stand horizontally (this is very hard to explain, so please refer to the book or YouTube videos on how to do this properly.)

Step Seven: When it comes to hanging, Marie instructs you should hang your clothes so that they ‘rise to the right’. This means starting with your longest and heaviest items on the left hand side and getting up to your crop tops or smaller t-shirts on the right hand side. Apparently organising your clothes in this way makes you feel lighter (although I’m not entirely sold on this, truth be told). She also advises you order by colour where possible, which I was much more enthusiastic about as it leaves your wardrobe looking like a work of art.

So there we have it! It may take you a while to get into the swing of it, and you certainly need to dedicate half a day to the method, but I promise that you will feel happy, productive, organised and refreshed after doing so. I certainly did!

Job interviews: How to get hired

Written by Sophie Manley on . Posted in Lifestyle.

It’s that time of year again. Summer, placement years, and graduations are looming, you’ve spent hours in CV surgeries and written cover letter after cover letter, and finally you have reached the next stage of the application process! Hurrah! Well done! You feel a moment of sweet relief before you realise that this means that you have an interview. Yes. A real life, face to face, palm-sweating, voice-quivering interview. Well take a deep breath and keep reading, for I have compiled an interviewee’s guide to success.

Research, Remember, Relate

Research your employer until you’re confident enough to tell a friend in detail about what they do and how they do it. Find specific points of interest; maybe a paper published, a manifesto or a project that you know you will remember, then relate it to you: either to something you’ve previously done or why it has really piqued your interest.

Look smart, Feel comfortable, Smell good

No personal hygiene issues please. Always be on the side of too smart and make sure you’re dressed in a style that suits your employer. This is more important than you realise, first impressions count. Don’t be the person that wears brown shoes to an office where everyone wears black shoes. You will not get hired. This is a true story.

Write an ‘Elevator Pitch’

This is a 20 or 30 second excerpt (the length of an elevator ride, hence the name) which describes you, your skills and abilities, how these relate to the job you’re applying for, and why they should hire you. It should roll off the tip of your tongue and sound natural in a conversation, or in response to a general question asking about you. Make it clear, concise, engaging, and relevant. Also, it might be a good idea to memorise it; that way you won’t forget any key details when you’re nervous and tongue-tied in an interview.

Be the best version of yourself

Before you walk through the door, your interviewer will have an image in her or his head about what they’re looking for in a new potential employee. Let’s call this image a unicorn (because they’re a magical and perfect being that doesn’t actually exist). Over time, their image of what they want will change and evolve, and your job is to make that image you. Be the person who is perfect for the job; prove to the person interviewing you that they need you working for them, by telling them exactly what you will bring to the table and why you’re so valuable. Don’t be afraid to blow your own trumpet (in a modest and endearing way, like a trumpet serenade or something).

Make them like you

I have no doubt that you’re a well-mannered, friendly and likable person (probably), but it doesn’t hurt to work extra hard to make sure that you give a really good impression of yourself. People generally feel like they’ve had a successful and enjoyable conversation with someone if they themselves have talked the most throughout. This interview is about you, but remember to ask lots of questions and create a dynamic and active two-way conversation. Engage with them personally and find common ground in order to make the conversation flow better. Secondly, people like to feel in charge. Make yourself physically smaller than your interviewer, that way they feel completely in control and thus better about themselves, leaving them with a good feeling after the conversation. Also, if your interviewer asks you how you would act in a certain situation, don’t be afraid to ask them what the deeper meaning behind this conversational role play is. Ask them what they are really trying to discover about you, this will open up the conversation and also make it less likely that you’ll give a ‘wrong answer’.

Don’t be disheartened

If you’re not right for the job, the chances are the job wasn’t right for you either. If you are not what they are looking for, don’t take it personally. You have no idea what the unicorn in their head looked like. Make sure you’re only applying to jobs you really want, as your passion and enthusiasm will shine through you in the interview. One more thing, allow each rejection to become a learning curve. Either you learn how to do the next interview better, or you learn that actually that job wasn’t right for you in the first place. Good luck!

Going crazy for gingham

Written by Talia Lee-Skudder on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Whilst gingham has never completely disappeared off the high street, this season has seen all the major brands including Zara and Topshop embrace the folksy print and have give it an updated twist. For this season’s take on the pattern, ruffles and unconventional cuts are taking centre stage.

Taking a browse on Zara’s website reveals nearly fifty different gingham pieces. From the ruffled blouse to a full gingham suit for men, this trend is dominating the high street.

Taking inspiration from the big designer names of fashion week, the high street has yet again proved to be in the know with what’s hot in the fashion industry at the moment. The fashion weeks on both sides of the Atlantic showcased the print with designers such as Creatures of Comfort, Peter Pilotto and House of Holland all incorporating the print into their collections.  House of Holland’s motto for gingham seems to be ‘the more ruffles the better’, whilst Peter Pilotto combined blue, red and green in a gingham mini dress.

Gingham is the perfect print as the warmer days and longer evenings draw nearer. Keep it simple with a gingham mini dress or go all out and dress yourself head to toe in the print; there are certainly enough options available.

Whilst black gingham can take you from a BBQ to a bar, for a laid back summery style why not opt for a red or royal blue ensemble? Or for some Audrey Hepburn inspired styling, wear your black gingham cigarette trousers with a black sleeveless polo neck to nail that chic 50s aesthetic.

Although wearing the print may overwhelm you with nostalgia for the summer days of childhood, this season gingham is the trend to invest in with what’s left of your vastly diminishing (likely diminished) student loan. Rock the gingham trend, look forward to long summer days in the sun, and forget about your looming deadlines…