"We are working flat-out, using every tool available to us. We are not standing on the sidelines."

It was a sunny, funny day… 276th day of the year and the 2nd of the Conservative Party Conference. The most important part of it was the George Osborne’s speech. He admitted that difficult days will for the economy will come and presented a plan to avoid the second credit crunch.

“Under the novel "credit easing" plan, the Treasury will buy company bonds in an attempt to cut the cost of credit for struggling firms and boost the supply of credit.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/oct/03/osborne-treasury-credit-firms

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/oct/03/george-osborne-stunning-lack-of-charisma :

“George Osborne spoke in the morning, and received a standing ovation so perfunctory as to be offensive. The audience, which had heard him with listless courtesy, managed to combine standing with the more urgent process of heading for lunch.”

“Then there's the voice. It's too high and squeaky. Close your eyes and he sounds like Ann Widdecombe. There's the samizdat BBC tape of Margaret Thatcher being taught to lower her voice, and if she can do it, so can George. But it's not just him. Even Eric Pickles, normally a conference star, not least because people mistakenly assume that anyone fat must also be jolly, flopped like blancmange on a barbecue.”

That’s what I think,

MANU

MAKE POVERTY HISTORY

Make Poverty History is the name of a campaign that exists in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark , Finland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Great Britain and Ireland.

The Make Poverty History campaign is a Great Britain and Ireland coalition of charities, religion groups, trade unions, campaigning groups and celebrities who mobilise around the Britain's prominence in world politics, as of 2005, to increase awareness and pressure governments into taking actions towards relieving absolute poverty. The symbol of the campaign is a white "awareness bracelet" made of cotton or silicone.

The biggest ever anti-poverty movement came together under the banner of MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY in 2005 calling for urgent action for more and better aid, debt cancellation and trade justice.

Millions of people wore white bands, 444,000 people emailed the Prime Minister about poverty and 225,000 took to the streets of Edinburgh for the Make Poverty History march and rally.

The campaign ensured that global poverty was placed higher on the national and global agenda than ever before.

Television advertisements ran for many months, urging people to speak to their representatives about stopping poverty. However, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) banned the ads, deciding that the ads were "wholly or mainly political" in nature, since they aimed to "achieve important changes".

Make Poverty History won great steps forward, however there remains work to do and to hold governments to account for their promises.

On January 31, 2006, the majority of the members of the campaign passed a resolution to disband the organisation, arguing that the British coalition had only agreed to come together formally for a limited lifespan, to correspond with Britain holding the presidency of the EU and G8. Approximately forty groups argued against the dissolution.

Although Make Poverty History came to an end in 2006, the events of 2005 helped inspire various members to work together on further campaigns. These took place as the UK platform of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty.

The 2010 election campaign saw tens of thousands of people across the country contacting their candidates about global poverty.

That’s what I think,

MANU

Judicial review

Judicial review is the power of senior judges to review the actions of government and public authorities, declaring them unlawful if they have exceeded their authority. Judicial review is a process that enables judges to step into politics and override the decisions and laws of governments.

The courts have a right to monitor and change implemented laws. Judicial review may also involve reviewing on appeal cases heard previously at lower courts. In the UK, the relevance of judicial review has recently increased , while in the US it has given much control to judges, who have become powerful and influential.

In the UK, a person who feels that an exercise of power by a government authority, such as a minister, the local council or a statutory tribunal, is unlawful, perhaps because it has violated his or her rights, may apply to the Administrative Court (a division of the High Court) for judicial review of the decision and have it set aside and possibly obtain damages.

In the USA, judges have far-reaching powers of judicial review because of the existence of a codified constitution. Judges can declare government’s actions to be ‘unconstitutional’ if they conflict with the provision of the constitution.

The use of judicial review is controversial. It has proved to be an important way in which judges can protect civil liberties and ensure that ministers do not act in ways that are illegal, improper, irrational or simply disproportional. On the other hand, the growth of judicial activism has been criticized because it allows judges to make policy and to challenge the authority of elected governments.

That's what I think,

MANU

The Tory conference - DAY 1

Around 30,000 people join march against government cuts, as Tory minister Lady Warsi defends deficit reduction strategy
The Tory conference began in Manchester with a 30,000-strong protest march against the government's cuts and a speech from Lady Warsi defending the coalition's economic strategy. The Conservatives gathered at the Manchester Central conference centre on Sunday afternoon as TUC demonstrators marched down nearby Princess Street holding banners saying: "Fight the cuts" and "Strike back", as well as one with a picture of David Cameron that said: "He's got to go." 

George Osborne, the chancellor, said marching would not help the economy. "It's your democratic right to march," he said from the conference centre. "But in the end marching is not going to move on this economy. Every job that is lost is a matter of regret, but I'm working flat out to create jobs. There were half a million jobs created last year." 

What’s more?

It was revealed that MPs are set to vote on a referendum within the next few months, after a petition with more than 100,000 signatures was submitted calling for the public to be given the chance to decide whether Britain should stay in the EU. 

“The prime minister pledged to "fire up the engine of the economy" on the first day of his party conference in Manchester, pushing a new homes policy but thwarting the desires of his backbenchers for a referendum on whether Britain should stay in the EU.”

http://www.euronews.net/2011/10/02/uk-conservatives-open-party-conference/

Guardian

That’s what I (and the Guardian) think,

MANU

Dr Tudor Jones

Dr Tudor Jones has gained popularity among students (not only in Oxford) due to his unique approach and fascinating personality (he even has his own facebook fan page!) He has taught British politics and political theory at Mansfield, Somerville, and St. Catherine’s Colleges, Oxford. He has published several articles on British politics and in 1992 was the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Buckingham.

In his book, Modern Political Thinkers and Ideas, he provides students with a clearly presented, accessible introduction to some of the key areas of modern political thought. Combining historical and philosophical approaches to the subject, it describes the writings and ideas of the most influential thinkers of the modern era. Modern Political Thinkers and Ideas features the main concepts in modern political theory and the ideas of key thinkers such as: Machiavelli, Locke; Rousseau, Marx and Hayek.

CRA 2005

“An Act to make provision for modifying the office of Lord Chancellor, and to make provision relating to the functions of that office; to establish a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and to abolish the appellate jurisdiction of the House of Lords; to make provision about the jurisdiction of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and the judicial functions of the President of the Council; to make other provision about the judiciary, their appointment and discipline; and for connected purposes.”

The Constitutional Reform Bill was introduced to the House of Lords on 24 February 2004, approved by both Houses on 21 March 2005, and received Royal Assent on 24 March. The CRA 2005 provides for the separation of the judiciary from the legislature and the executive.

Firstly, the Act gives the government ministers a duty to uphold the independence of the judiciary. They will be specifically limited from trying to influence judicial decisions through any special access to judges.

Secondly, the Act reforms the post of Lord Chancellor, transferring his judicial functions to President of the Courts of England and Wales. He will be responsible for the training, guidance and deployment of judges. He will also represent the views of the judiciary of England and Wales to Parliament and ministers.

Additionally, the Act establishes a new, independent Supreme Court, separate from the House of Lords with its own independent appointments system, its own staff and budget and, ultimately, its own building. 

Moreover, the Act establishes an independent Commission, responsible for selecting candidates to recommend for judicial appointment and it examines the way in which judicial appointments are made. The appointments system will be placed on a fully modern, open and transparent basis.

That's what I think,

MANU

Oxford West and Abington Constituency

It is such a privilege to have been elected to Parliament for Oxford West and Abingdon where I live and grew up. I believe politicians should be honest and open and fight to protect and improve their communities. As your MP that is exactly what I will continue to do.

Nicola Blackwood MP, Conservative
Member of Parliament
for Oxford West and Abingdon




Nicola Blackwood is the MP for Oxford West & Abingdon after winning the seat in the 2010 General Election on a 6.9 per cent swing from the Liberal Democrats.

Nicola was born in 1979 in Johannesburg but her family returned to Oxford just two months later after her father had angered the Apartheid government by speaking up for the rights of the black community. Nicola now lives in Summertown and is a Governor at her local special school and recently been trained as a Domestic Violence Champion.


Political interests:

Civil liberties and human rights, home affairs, international development, universities, science and environment.