What Is Alternative Voting?

Evolution NOW with Deborah Grayson (Centre) 

Evolution NOW met with Deborah Grayson (pictured), a local event organiser for the YES! to fairer votes campaign, to find out how to AV will create a TRUE DEMOCRACY.

Democracy means the ability to vote for your leader – but what about the way we vote?

The current voting system in place is a system called First-Past-The-Post (FPTP). This system is based on say three candidates, and you having to vote for one of them. Once these votes are collated, the winner is determined by the first to achieve a measly 30% of the votes.

Not only is this a poor representation of the turnout of those who voted, but as an individual, maybe the person you voted for isn’t exactly your first choice. Suppose for example, you like only one or two of that party’s manifesto pledges but can appreciate the views of the other parties on the same issue?

Much like the attitudes and views of some of our elected politicians at present, FPTP is obsolete, tired and not representative of what we all think.

Alternative Voting (AV) is a system that seems foreign to many, when in actual fact it is being used all around us:

• The recent Labour leadership race used it.
• Mayor of London Elections uses it.
• Presidential Elections in Universities use it.
• Australia’s Prime Minister was elected using this very system.

AV is simply a multiple choice ballot. Instead of an “x”, you get to chose who your favourite is out of say five candidates. Then listing from 1 to 5 (1 being the highest, 5 the lowest) you select who you would like to win. The percentage needed to be declared the winner on such a type of ballot is 50%.

This means the voting would embrace a wider audience, encompass more of the community if you will and reduce the margin of winning via tactical voting dramatically. It makes your vote a more valuable commodity to the person trying to obtain it, as literally every vote would count towards reaching the 50% target.

But naturally, there are ministers in parliament who are opposed to this voting system and are already banding together to make sure that the political system remains in the dark ages with archaic ideologies and an equally archaic voting system.

With the margin of victory so high, if there is no outright winner, the person with the lowest amount of votes is removed and the ballot is sent out again for you to vote for the remaining participants until somebody achieves the 50% needed to be declared the victor.

Think like how you vote off participants on the x-factor but on a much quicker scale. As a matter of fact...

...Even when voting for the X-factor, you’re using the Alternative Vote system.

To find out how you can say YES to fairer votes, attend one of the road-shows in your local area or be an ambassador and set up one of your very own.

Big Society? Big Deal?

The very mention of the words sounds like the latest reality TV show, but in actual fact – you may not be too far from the truth.

What does the phrase “big society” mean?

For Councillor Saima Mahmud, cabinet member for children and young people(pictured right) and Officer James Gould – Youth consultation & participation, Big Society means financial straits.

London Boroughs currently receive nearly £3 Billion in grants for current Youth initiatives and schemes. With the cutbacks proposed, all of this funding will be withdrawn and consolidated into one grant called the “Early Intervention” grant.

It is from this one grant, the council must try to fund ALL existing projects.

James further dispelled the old stereotype that young people just don’t care.

He went on to tell us that although the police are bringing back stop and search within the borough, the local police have been working with local youth to create methods of carrying out these searches that will be more appropriate.

The biggest loss suffered with the governments’ cutbacks was the Building Schools for Future programme – which would have seen 19 of the boroughs most dilapidated schools modernised.

The borough has seen a very big interest in the free schools initiative announced by the government, with no less than 7 community groups registering their interest to open one of their own.

A Free school only has to pledge to teach the core subjects of English, maths and science – the rest of the curriculum they teach is entirely up to them. Once it has been confirmed, the school will be placed in either under used council buildings or buildings up for disposal.

They are given these buildings for FREE and under a 125 year lease!

The council have several of these buildings available but as you can imagine – these buildings may be available but they can also be sold for a sizeable profit…

In Waltham Forest, there are 10,000+ homes and a waiting list of 16,000+ people. With the coalition’s proposal to move tenants from their homes after 5 years and more people moving into the borough than out – overcrowding is more of an issue than ever.

What does this mean for young people leaving home at ever younger ages for a variety of reasons? Where do they fall on the waiting list?

HOWEVER, there are proposals to reprise the opening of schools during the summer holidays to assist adult learning, filmmaker classes and even learning how to DJ. With a turnout of over 1,300 local residents the scheme is just a small example of Waltham Forest Council’s determination to provide a silver lining.

Want to do more for YOUR borough? Contact your local council and find out how!

Whose Big Society Is It Anyway?

On December 1st, I had the honour of accompanying Evolution Now to a meeting at Waltham Forest Town Hall to meet with Councilor Saima Mahmud and Youth Consultation & Participant Officer James Gould. The objective, to get a better understanding of local politics and see if they can shed some light on this ‘Big Society’ idea the government keep talking about.


The building had the kind of mundane atmosphere I have come to expect from most government buildings but on being introduced to Councilor Mahmud and Mr.Gould, my impression immediately changed. They had very pleasant demeanour and strangely enough the room they led seemed to be the only place in that building to have natural light.


Both Saima and James started out by telling us about their roles and what they were responsible for and some of the duties they each had to carry out on a daily basis. It was clear from the way they spoke about their work that they take their roles very seriously and are very passionate about making positive changes in the lives of people within the local community.


The only problem here is that they have limited funding and resources to work with which means their work has to be targeted to whatever groups of people are deemed most vulnerable. Here lies the reason for my frustration with the system of government. Yes there are some great individuals with integrity and genuine desire to make changes working within the government, but a system that is built on hierarchy will only serve to create as much problems as it solves hence prolonging the illusion that we need a government at all!


I can’t see how targeted support is ever going to work as all that will happen is that as the government the focuses its attention on one group, more and more vulnerable groups will appear.


This is one of the reasons I started my campaign 'I Refuse To Vote Until Politicians are Paid Minimum wage'.

Everybody needs support in some form or the other and it’s the government’s job to figure out how to manage that with the resources we have available. What we currently have is a government telling us what they are prepared to give and we, the people they are supposed to serve, have to conform to their rules.


This leads me into the other main part of the conversation, planned government cuts and this ‘Big Society’ the new government keeps talking about. Funnily enough, they were as enlightened as we were when it came to the ‘Big Society’ in that nobody really seems to know what’s going on. All that’s confirmed is that there will be cuts and local governments have to figure out to carry out all the work they have been doing with less budget.


It seems central government is expecting the voluntary sector and local communities to handle most of the work they used to do, which I think is great personally. People should be more empowered and government less relevant but the transition will not be an easy one for most to make and I’m not sure how prepared this government is to deal with that. I think Evolution Now can and will play a big part in waking people up to their power and responsibility to create the future they deserve.


On a brighter note, it’s good to have people like Councilor Mahmud and James Gould working on behalf of local communities. I know it would be virtually impossible for everybody in the local community to be happy with the work they do, but I am convinced that they do all they can to serve the community within the constraints set by central government.

All in all, this meeting has further fuelled my desire to see politicians on minimum wage!

Blee

Would YOU like to accompany Evolution NOW on their next big meeting and write about your experience?

Contact us on our Facebook page and find out how!

Nick Clegg makes a desperate plea To students: “look before you leap into protests”

Why pay more to go to university?

Well according to the liberal democrats, and the conservative party. They think, increasing the tuition fees to £9,000 would be beneficial towards young people, who are currently at university or planning to go.

This change would only benefit political parties themselves.

This morning (24/11/10) Nick Clegg stated:

“Examine our proposals before taking to the streets. Listen and look before you march and shout.under the new plans, many of the lowest income graduates would repay less than they do under the current system. Nobody will pay a penny back until their earnings reach £21,000 per year, compared to £15,000 now. The highest-earning graduates will pay back the most.”

The proposal which has been made by the liberal democrats does NOT benefit students in any way what so ever.

They feel as though increasing the amount you earn, before you start paying the loan money back, would be beneficial to all?

In actual fact, this means that students would be indebt for a longer period of time. Also if students have to pay less every month, this also means that they would be stuck in an on going barrier of debt, which would take a extensive time to pay back.

So who is this really benefiting?

Students or politicians?

Let us no what you think!

Ismael Hinds

NUS Student Protest: You Had To Be There

From the beginning, I knew it was going to be one hell of a long day.

On Wednesday the 10th November 2010, students from all around the UK boarded coaches and other assorted means of public transport to join as one group, in order to protest against rising tuition fees.

Being a current student at Teesside University in the North East of England, this meant setting off in our convoy of 3 privately hired coaches at the unholy time of 5:15am - there was plenty of time within our exhausting 6 hour journey to London to catch up on our missed sleep.

Our arrival in London instantly replaced our fatigue with a new sense of excitement and anticipation. As our coach parked by the Victoria Embankment we could see many other students who had also decided to join the cause, all walking alongside the River Thames on their way to the start of the march.

With over 50,000 students present, the march took a while to get some movement going. In the meantime this gave me perfect opportunity for me have a look at all the signs and banners brought along.

The most common signs gave a direct and simple message about the injustice of education cuts.

There were also a variety of very light hearted and comical signs, like this 'kitten' sign.

I also saw one hastily scrabbled together sign that was an ominous indication of things to come.

Gradually students began to move; the march was now underway. There was definitely a tangible energy about the place and it was liberating to march past such famous political landmarks like Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament.

There was also a variety of interesting costumes worn by some of the more creative protesters. My favourite was someone dressed up as the grim reaper but with a David Cameron mask.

The good humour was also continued by the occasional musical instrument brought along to the march. A guy cheerfully played staccato phrases on his trumbone inbetween the student chanting.

The chants that students shouted had different levels of anger and malice. The most common chant was:

“No ifs, no buts, no education cuts”

Then there was the more aggressive:

“You cut back, we fight back”

And finally the chant that created an angry mob:

“Build a bonfire, build a bonfire put the Tories on top,

put the lib dems in the middle and then we burn the f**king lot”

That bonfire. That infamous bonfire at Millbank tower where there was vandalism and riots. It's amazing how the actions of the few can taint the actions of the many.

Generally though it was a very peaceful, successful protest. A very serious message was delivered: students won't stand for the rise in tuition fees and education cuts.

After spending the day on my feet and travelling halfway across the country, it was time for me to get back on my coach and brave the 6 hour return trip back to Teesside University.

I always said I knew it was going to be one hell of a long day.

Nick Adams
Guest Contributor

University Degree? £9,000 Per Year Please...

Universities minister David Willetts announced proposals to raise the tuition fee cap to £6,000, with institutions able to charge up to £9,000 in "exceptional circumstances."

Students currently pay £3,290 per year in tuition fees.

What exactly is an exceptional circumstance? With all the other cuts in place surely we already have families living under exceptional circumstances: cuts to child benefits, caps on housing benefits which students who commute are NOT entitled to anyway, The abolition of working tax credits which added extra money to your parents’/guardians’ pockets will be GONE. And the tip of this horrible ice berg? If your parents are public sector workers, there are to be 500,000 jobs CUT over the next 4 years.

Under a "progressive" repayment system, university leavers would not need to start making contributions until they are earning at least £21,000, he said.

Under the proposals, students will start repaying their loans at 9% of their income at a real rate of interest when they earn £21,000, up from the current £15,000 threshold.

Outstanding loans will be written off after 30 years.

So based on this information, you’re 22, if you graduated from university 3 years ago and you cannot get a job because of the current economical climate, you would look at getting another qualification. You head to university; you struggle through with little to no financial assistance from the government, somehow graduate 3 years later.

When you get out, it takes you 6 months to a year to find employment – you work and start paying off your already huge debt. It gets cancelled after 30 years at this point you’re 56 and have another 10 years of working life ahead of you to save for a pension that will not even begin to help you survive for a week? Is this fair?

The universities minister also announced a £150m national scholarship scheme which would be targeted at bright potential students from poor backgrounds.

"Under our proposals, a quarter of graduates - those on the lowest incomes - will pay less overall than they do at present," How far will this fund go? Where is this money magically appearing from? Who gets prioritised? Which boroughs, communities, demographic?

Research conducted by the NUS and HSBC has found nearly eight in 10 young people would be put off university if fees were raised to £10,000, while 70% would be deterred by a rise to £7,000. Will this create a nation of “underachievers”? no job prospects, not enough money to go into further education – what happens? But hey, DC needs to look good in his photographs and the money to pay this photographer has to come from somewhere. Pick on the little guy who is trying to better themselves.

Right?

Lem Leon

Project Manager

THE £65 MILLION QUESTION...

Residents of Waltham Forest are being asked to take part in a mass budget conversation in which they can say what services they want Waltham Forest Council to spend its budget on.

Waltham Forest Council has saved £30 Million over the past 3 years but with the recent spending review, the council estimate they will have to save a further £65 Million in the next FOUR years.

So Councillor Chris Robbins, Leader of Waltham Forest Council – has taken the unusual, but quite refreshing step of writing to the residents of the borough, offering them a chance to see how the current budget is spent, where the money comes from and most importantly – how they would like to see it spent in future.

There are several road shows available to assist completion of the online tool and ask any questions about things you may not fully understand within the questionnaire.

Due to the massive scale of the operation and the complexity of the information involved within the online tool, it is not possible to obtain a copy of this questionnaire in paper format. Plus it would be better for the environment this way.

Visit the Waltham Forest Council Website for information on where library drop in sessions will occur, road show dates and more information.

Have your say before 26th November!

Not a resident of this borough? How is your borough engaging with you to tackle the upcoming cuts? Speak to your Local council and find out now!

Lem Leon
Project Manager