IN DEFENCE OF STUDENT POLITICS

Posted on August 26, 2019 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged 1968, activism, anti-apartheid, climate change, criticism, featured, fossil free, higher education, Hogwarts, marketisation, medicine, mental health, nurses, NUS, palestine, politics, postgraduate, precarious labour, privilege, science, social work, solidarity, stereotypes, student activism, student debt, student politics, students, students' unions, teachers, trade unions, vietnam war, voting, working class.

By Bradley Allsop

The only way to make the word ‘politics’, that great indicator of all manner of corruption and trickery, more contemptible is to plonk the word ‘student’ in front of it. It almost feels like you‘re not pronouncing ‘student politics’ right if you do it without a sneer, or at least a shudder. Student politics has an image problem.

VOTING IN THE WEST WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged Bolsonaro, Brazil, democracy, elections, featured, media, toxic politics, Trump, uk politics, US Politics, voting, xenophobia.

By Gunnar Eigener

“If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing”

Malcolm X

The US midterm elections will just about be complete by now and regardless of the outcome, something fundamental has changed. It’s subtle but significant, obvious but difficult to place. The will of the people (how many times have we heard that) will be followed but it is how the will of the people has been coerced that has changed. In the past, while campaigning has never been a polite business and politicians of all parties seek to undermine their opponents, the ultimate goal has always been the unification of a country, the understanding that whoever wins, the idea is to help the country achieve success and to help individuals thrive. Yet this year, more than most, is seeing the accumulation of toxic politics, which may foreshadow how politics will be carried out in the future.

2017: THE YEAR OF THE YOUTHQUAKE?

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged activism, agitate, analysis, BES, change, conservatives, corbyn, democracy, demographics, elections, featured, GE17, general election, Ipsos-Mori, Labour, mobilise, momentum, New Statesman, nme, organise, Parliament, Peter Kellner, politics, Prosser et al, statistics, uk, voter turnout, voting, yougov, young people, youth engagement, youth politics, youth turnout, youthquake.

by Bradley Allsop

Youth voter turnout has long been a topic of debate, controversy and worry in British politics. Always below the national average, it has plunged even more than other age-groups’ dovetailing turnout in recent decades, sparking expressions of concern (although comparatively little policy change) from political parties. This seemed to have changed last June, with sites such as Yougov and NME reporting large increases in the youth vote for the 2017 general election, with the figures suggesting the largest rise in youth turnout in British political history.

VOTES AT 16: IT’S TIME FOR TORIES TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS

Posted on February 18, 2018 by Norwich Radical in Community, Perspectives and tagged awareness, conservartives, elections, engagement, england, featured, local election, norfolk, Northern Ireland, Norwich City Council, politicians, Scotland, vote, votes at 16, voting, voting age, Wales, welsh government.

by James Anthony

In January 2018, it was announced that sixteen and seventeen year-olds in Wales will be given the right to vote in their local elections, under proposals set out by the Welsh Labour government. Along with Scotland, where votes at sixteen is already reality, Welsh policy will now be at odds with England and Northern Ireland where the voting age for any sort of election is eighteen. The idea that someone who is exactly the same age and has just as many years in education as another can be denied the right to vote based on location is extremely unfair. Perhaps it’s time the Conservative government reconsider their position on the voting age.

If the national government are seemingly ok with this being a regional disparity, why not allow it to take place in areas where there is clearly a desire for it? Just under two years ago, Norwich City Council voted unanimously for a proposal which asked for Norwich to be used as a possible ‘pilot area’ for allowing 16 and 17 year-olds to participate in local government elections. Disappointingly, but perhaps unsurprisingly, I couldn’t find any official response to this request from the government although if it exists, I suspect it would be in essence – ‘piss off’. Continue Reading

THE TUITION FEE FREEZE – TOO LITTLE TOO LATE

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged access, austerity, Brexit, child poverty, conservative party, conservative party conference, conservatives, elections, false promises, fox hunting, Free Education, government, help to buy, jeremy corbyn, Labour, less well off, living standards, migration, older people, patronising, politics, prime minister, privatisation, property ladder, repayment threshold, snap election, student debt, student loans, student welfare, students, theresa may, tuition fee freeze, tuition fee rises, tuition fees, voters, voting, young people.

by Laura Potts

As the country continues to languish in the grasp of a Conservative government, and the shadows of brexit and the snap election continue to lengthen, many are left questioning the political standing of this country’s future. This year’s extraordinary general election has made many people feel alienated from their government, especially among the younger generation. Hardly surprising, as the ultimate outcome reflected the voting preferences of their elders, with 58% of 60-69 yr old’s voting conservative while 62% of 20-24 year olds voted labour.

SELF EDUCATION, NEW SOLUTIONS

Posted on September 26, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged adulthood, books, Brexit, capitalism, ChildLine, collective action, connectivity, consumerism, conversation, coping, corporations, democracy, disaster, education, environment, environmentalism, events, facts, free thought, globalisation, government, hope, ideology, individualism, information, information overload, knowledge, knowledge is power, learning, local groups, mental health, Naomi Klein, news, No Is Not Enough: Resisting The New Shock Politics, politicians, politics, power, reading, resistance, schools, security, self education, social consciousness, society, sociopolitical situation, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate, Trump, truth, voters, voting, young people.

by Laura Potts

Schools stand as institutions of education, aiming to enhance and aid growth in various forms. Children growing through the school system will eventually leave as adults. However, in my generation, there is a trend away from exploring a key part of adulthood: continued self education.

DEBT RISING – HOW TUITION FEES ARE KILLING UNIVERSITIES

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged Aberystwyth University, campus closures, ConDem coalition, course cuts, cuts, Durham University, Free Education, GE17, government, graduates, Green Party, HE funding, interest, Labour, Manchester Metropolitan University, marketisation, Parliament, student debt, student life, student loans, student loans sell off, students, teaching, tony blair, Tories, tuition fees, universities, university closures, university of manchester, votes, voting.

by Robyn Banks

Last week it was announced that the total student debt in the UK has reached over £100 billion for the first time. Whilst this milestone was inevitable, it is nonetheless an indictment of the current government’s claim that it is easy and convenient for students to pay off their debt under the post-2010 system.

THE 2017 GENERAL ELECTION – LEFT US HANGING

Posted on June 9, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged #GE2017, Amber Rudd, austerity, Brexit, Britan, caroline lucas, Chris Jarvis, coverage, democracy, exit poll, forecast, general election, greens, jeremy corbyn, John Bartley, Labour, leadership, libdems, manifesto, media, MSM, NHS, nick clegg, nicola sturgeon, Norwich Radical, paul nuttall, people, Plaid Cymru, PLP, politics, poll, prediction, propaganda, Scotland, snp, theresa may, Tim Farron, tony blair, Tory, uk, UKIP, vote, voter, voting.

by The Norwich Radical

The following piece was created, compiled and co-written by a number of Norwich Radical contributors, across a number of locations, devices, and even countries. We followed the exit polls, the first counts, the calculations and predictions as they became available across the media. We do not have any inside information, but have combined our experience and information during the night to produce this article in time for the morning readers.

There is no final result confirmed at the time of publication, but it has been confirmed that we have a hung parliament, as it is mathematically impossible for any party to claim an overall majority.

A BEGINNING, NOT THE END – THE 2017 GENERAL ELECTION

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged #GE2017, austerity, Brexit, Britan, caroline lucas, Chris Jarvis, coverage, democracy, exit poll, forecast, general election, greens, jeremy corbyn, John Bartley, Labour, leadership, libdems, manifesto, media, MSM, NHS, nicola sturgeon, Norwich Radical, paul nuttall, people, PLP, politics, poll, prediction, propaganda, Scotland, snp, theresa may, Tim Farron, tony blair, Tory, uk, UKIP, vote, voter, voting.

by Chris Jarvis

In a couple of hours, polling stations will close, and the fate of the United Kingdom will have been decided. Throughout the night the gentle trickling of results will sprinkle their way in, as the aftermath of the most fascinating election for a generation will begin to unravel. Psephologists will debate the relative merits of their predictions, political spin-artists will argue their respective parties have actually done quite a lot better than they expected, and the hacks (myself included), will drift further into the early hours, wearing out their laptop keys.

Right now, we know that the election campaign has been riddled with ups and with downs. We’ve seen Labour climb steadily in the polls, narrowing the Tory lead from over 20 points to single figures; two atrocities claimed the lives of 34 people; campaigning was suspended twice; the Tories launched a manifesto into a whirlwind of negativity; UKIP’s support collapsed; and Labour proposed a political programme further to the left of any Government in four decades. Any one of those alone would make this election remarkable. Combined they make it unique.

THE PARADOX OF TORY EDUCATION POLICY – STUDENTS AND THE ELECTION #7

Posted on June 7, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged #GE2017, conservatives, cuts, education policy, employment, EU, EU students, exports, general election, HE policy, higher education, immigration quotas, international reputation, international students, manifesto, marketisation, migration, NHS, non-EU students, nurse bursaries, politics, racism, reputation, rights, skilled graduates, snap election, student numbers, student politics, student vote, students, Students and the Election, tuition fees, universities, university funding, university league tables, university rankings, voters, voting, xenophobia.

by Alex Powell

In the midst of multiple crises faced by students, universities and schools, the outcome of the snap general election will be a major indicator of the future of the UK education sector. Each week until the vote we are featuring perspectives from our regular contributors and guests on what the election could mean for students.

There is a severe dissonance between the conception of higher education that the Conservatives purport to support and the policies presented in their 2017 manifesto. In order to show this I have to work from within the Tory understanding of the purpose of higher education, and the role international students play within achieving that. Despite my adoption of this form of argumentation, I wish to make it clear that I do not subscribe to the idea that higher education is purely about reputation, financial stability, or the production of an effective workforce. Further, I do not accept the idea that international students are valuable only in terms of what they can offer to either educational institutions or the UK more generally. The current treatment of international students, and the blatant disregard shown for their welfare, is one of the most indefensible aspects of modern higher education policy.

voting

VOTING IN THE WEST WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN

2017: THE YEAR OF THE YOUTHQUAKE?

VOTES AT 16: IT’S TIME FOR TORIES TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS

THE TUITION FEE FREEZE – TOO LITTLE TOO LATE

DEBT RISING – HOW TUITION FEES ARE KILLING UNIVERSITIES

THE 2017 GENERAL ELECTION – LEFT US HANGING

A BEGINNING, NOT THE END – THE 2017 GENERAL ELECTION

THE PARADOX OF TORY EDUCATION POLICY – STUDENTS AND THE ELECTION #7

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