Southampton Waterfront: a Drift with Change

Southampton City Council are on the look out for the best architects and developers for water front that is planned to be built within the next three or four years. The plan is for the derelict pier behind Kutis Royal Thai Pier Restaurant to be demolished and in its place a new pier stretching from Mayflower Park to Town Quay via land raised from the seabed. The project means that the Red Funnel terminal will have to be moved to either Town Quay Marina or berth 101. The large plot is due to have at least two hotels, restaurants, marine-related shops, luxury flats, an eight thousand seater indoor arena and a Las Vegas-style casino.

We spoke to people in the Southampton area to find out what they had to say.

Audio insert NAME: Southampton Vox Pops
IN WORDS: I think it’s great…
OUT WORDS … high unemployment
DURATION 35‘65 ‘’

Southampton University Job Cuts

Job cuts are to be made at Southampton University this week in a bid to cope with funding costs. The University want to put more of their funding in to the University itself in order to keep its status within the top ten. The cuts of the lower paid workers such as administration, specialists and management are the ones that are being given redundancies as well as other staff that have been told that they may have to reapply for their job. As the staff loose their jobs we ask Professor Dr Atkinson what will happen to the students.

Audio insert NAME: Dr Atkinson
IN WORDS: Well Universities are all very keen to …
OUT WORDS: … but at a lower cost.
DURATION 32‘11‘’

All You Need to Know About Government and Politics

I'm going to attempt to try and do a bulleted version of our past few classes about government and politics for our test on Friday. This should be able to help with any revision for the test.

ENGLAND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• There are single and two tier system of local government.
• In the early 1990's the structure of English local governmetn was revised - single tier councils or unitary authorities are responsible for all local authorities services and functions.
• A two tier system in which responsibility for services is divided between district and county councils
• There are 55 unitary authorites (big city, southampton, portsmouth etc) They are the most important it then goes down - county councils - district councils - parish councils.
• There are 9 English Regions created in 1994 - European Constituencies (were South East)
• More than 2 million people are employed by local authorites. These include school teachers, social services, the police etc.
• Councillors are elected for a 4 year term.
• Constituencies are who get elected
• By-election just for one constituency if someone dies or resigns.
• Local authorites - all councils - spending in England.
• Councillors are responsible for making decisions on behalf of their local community about local services such as land use, refuse collection and leisure facilities.
• District councils and others provide a variety of services.
• CCT - Compulsory competitive tendering - Thatcher encouraged this
• Schools can drop out of Local Authority control and be funded by the government.
• District, metropolitan and unitary authorities are responsible for planning permission.
• Roads and highways, libraries, trading standards are local authorites.
• Fire services deal with fires :) fire safety inspections, fire certificates.
• Councils are responsible for about 50% of social housing across England and Wales.
• Poll tax 1990- 93 - replaces rates - council tax - it provides only about 1/4 of local funding. - every year it increases but no more tha 5%
• Quango "quasi-autonomous non governmental organisation" - not elected. Can be very lucrative and secretive.

LABOUR AND CONSERVATIVES

• They are the big two parties.
• Thatcher with Conservative in the 1980's.
• Labour's big moment was just after WW2, the welfare state and the NHS. (Labour is on the left)
• Clement Atlee won the election from Churchill, he won by a landslide by promising a socil, welfare state. To help the sick, poor, old, jobless people. People wanted to feel safe after living through the latest war.
• It was Atlees idea but Beverage came up with the blueprint for the NHS. The state would look after you from cradle to the grave.
• The Beverage report against the 5 evils - ignorance, squalor, want, idleness and disease.
• England owed America £3.5 billion.
• Kanes was sent to Washington to ask for an interest free loan for £8.5 million.
• 60% of Americans were against giving the UK a loan/gift.
• Kanes held court for 3 days - everyone said that he did amazingly but after 3 months the USA said no. They later gave £4 million. This was finally paid off in December of 2006.
• The heart of the Labour party - it was their time of real power - the welfare state.
• CONSERVATIVES
• Thatcher privatised all the companies - airlines - gas companies - trains etc
• they freed it all up and let the market decide - Adam Smith.
• Section 28 - Torie bill - dont promote homosexual lifestyle - interpreted an anti-gay. David Cameron ahs since apologised for it and was replaed in 2003.
• Proportional representation - voting form - 1st/2nd/3rd preference. - The votes are shared out until one gets in. Can mean huge competition via lots of little groups.
• Ministeres = the cabinet - the prime minister.
• If the party wins - the party chooses the party leader who then becomes prime minister. he then chooses the ministers.

WESTMINSTER

• House of Commons - elected.
• House of Lords - not elected.
• The rules of privilege mean that you can report virtually anythin said in the House. But dont forget the subjudice rules.
• And dont mention the Royals. The Commons Rule Book, Erskine May rules against it.
• Super injunction - stops the press from printing a story and stops them from saying anything about it at all.
• Departmental questions - where the MP's are given the opportunity to question ministers at the start of the Commons daily proceedings.
• Each day, except Friday, begins with question to ministers from one department, usually lasting just under an hour.
• Ministers from each Whitehall department face questions in rotation roughly once a month.
• Ministerial questions - these are generally made when a minister either has something important to announce or wishes to bring MP's up to date.
• Voting in the Commons is formally called a division.
• House of Lords - all new law have to be approved by both Houses of Parliament.
• Peers are not paid a salary, though they can claim expenses. they are not elected and do not represent constituencies. they are not allowed to vote on changes to taxation and finance. They never have the final word, though the government may sometimes choose to compromise.
• Green paper to White paper. First reading - second reading - commitee stage - report stage - third reading - house of lords - consideration of lords ammendments - royal assent.
• Nearly 750 people are now etitled to sit in the upper house.
• Life lords do not carry their title on to their children, (Sir Sugar)
• Unions representworkers.
• Party funding subscriptions frm members. Donations from the wealth donor, state funding.
• Parties rely heavily on wealthy donors. Lead to claims of cash for honours - Lord George sold them openly.
• Ashcroft - billionaire putting money in to the conservative party - marginal constituencies.
• Scrutiny - regulation - 3 types - regulation of private sector bodies - FSA - regulation of recently privatized industries - monopoly - regulation of public sector.
• Claims of "Nanny State" "red tape"
• Statuatory bodies established, regulated by parliament
• Ofgem - gas and electric
• Ofcom - communications
• Both maintain low prices and make sure the customer is looked after.

PLANNING

• Green - never been developed on
• Brown - some development
• Belt - protected round big cities
• NIMBY -Not in my back yard. "Towna nd Country Planning"
• Planners need to balance the need for new services/developments while still ensuring they are supported by appropriate infrastructure - roads. bus routes, leisure facilities.
• Planning also considered whether the new project is sustainable.
• Development must be appropriate land - not subject to flooding etc GREENFIELD, BROWNFIELD, GREENBELT
• These conditions are covered by the Towna nd Country Planning code - consolidates all the developments which arose as part of various acts: Town and Counry Planning Act 1947.
• A called in planning application means that John Denham wants to deal with it personally.
• 60% of RDA are local councillors 40% are appointed.
• IPC is not elected they can do what they want.
• CPO - Compulsory Purchase Order.

DEVOLUTION

• Remove some power from the Central Government and give it regions.
• Referendums - voting directly on policies.
• Constitution - guideline for rules
• Manifesto - each parties promises if they come in to power.
• Commonwealth - parts that used to be part of the Empire and still are now.
• Scotland Act of Unioln 1707 - following disastrous attempt to set up a colony in Central America. England and Scotland formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
• Act of union in Ireland 1801
• 1916 Rebellion - War of INdependence - 1922 Irish free state established (later the Republic of Ireland) Northern Ireland chose to remain in the UK.
• 1920's and 30's Nationalists parties, Plaid Cymru (Welsh Party) Scottish National party (SNP) were formed in order to campign for Independence.
• 1972 Northern Ireland parliament was suspended and abolished the following year in favour of direct rule from Westminster.
• 1972 Labour won the general election - their manifesto pledged to have refendums on devolution in Scotland and Wales.
• 1998 Devolution referendums in Scotland and Wales produced 'Yes' votes. The Good Friday Agreement resulted in the setting up of the Northern Ireland Assembly and power sharing executive.
• 2007 following several suspensions of devolution the Northern Ireland Assembly and executive were restored in Northern Ireland.
• Reserved powers vs devolved powers.
• Resetved: criminal jusitce, police, justice, national minimum wage and financial services and amrkets.
• Scotland has its own legal system. Scottish parliament is responsible for health, education, justice, the environment, rural affairs and transport.
• The Scottish parliament has limited tax - raising powers: it can rasie or lower the baisc rate of income tax by up to 3 pence in the pound.
• West Lothian Question - english MP's cant vote on matters of the Scottish government but scottish MP's are allowed to vote on Engliah policies.
• Wales after 2006 - the Welsh Assembly could pass primary legislation. It's responsiblefor education, trasnport, health, the environment etc.

HOUSING

• Start of the 20th Century needed proper housing to avoid over crowding, poor sanitation (disease)
• Between the wars "homes fit for heroes" programme began the clearing of slums. new planned estates were built in their place.
• After WW2 - the Blitz ad created huge sites in urban areas for new housing. whole new towns also began to be built - such as Stevenage.
• 1950's Baby boom - huge demand for housing and post war slums, prefabs cleared away using compulsory purchse orders for new housing developmetns. but due to the pressure on space the planners decided to build up - tower blocks.
• More new towns were created in the 1960's such as Milton Keynes. These has good infrastructure and were mainly 2 or 3 storey houses.
• Every local authority maintains its own stock of social housing.
• COUNCIL TENANTS
• Advantages - security of tenure - no deposit - rent set below market average - right to buy home at a discount - housing register (housing waiting list)
• The homelessness act 20902 introduced a points system to prioritze applicants
• Reasonable preferance under 2002 act: unintentionally homeless people living in unsanitary/overcrowded housing, need to move on health or welfare grounds, home needed in certain area, child in local school.
• General criteria - does person live in the area? does person have a good tenancy rating? their time on the register.
• Some councils disqualify certain people from applying for scoial housing.
• Councils are responsible for repairs and improvements on social housing.
• Thaterite housing policy
• Conservatives elected 1979 - right to buy - 5 million council tenants were given the chance to buy their homes on a discount price (50%)
• Between 1980 and 1995 a total of 2.1 million were bought by tenants - since then social housing has been sold off at a rate of about 60,000 a year.
• Thatcher said that the right to buy was the biggest step towards a home owning democracy ever taken/ and the transfer of property from the state to the individual.
• Government made about£33 billion from the scheme.
• Remainder of social housing was gradually transferred to not for profit housing associations.
• 1961 - 44% own homes
• 2006 - 70% own homes.
• HOMELESS
• It's local authorities duty to house the homeless within 28 days of being made aware. Under the housing act 1977.
• Councils are often forced to use short stay hostels and bedsits.
• Housing benefits - 2 types - standard housing benefits - paid to those on low incomes - certifies housing benefits - paid to those on job seekers allowance, income support or incapacity benefit.

I hope this ok an dmost of it is right.

2 Minute Radio Bulletin

I put this together myself, and with the audio. I hope you like my bulletin -

Hampshire Against Fluoridation

190,000 people in Hampshire are to be affected by the new decision of the South Central Strategic Health Authority. The decision has been made to add fluoride to the water supply in a bid to cut the amount of young children with tooth decay, even though fluoride is not a licensed medicine. This announcement has come after the SHA have decided to ignore a petition of over 15,000 people, against the addition of fluoride in to the water supply, including councillors and MP’s. Today Southampton Councillors are asking for a referendum against the fluoride in our water supply.

Councillor Jeremy Moulton is one of the many people that have signed the petition; we sat down and asked him what he thought of the fluoride debate.

Audio insert NAME: Jeremy Moulton Quote
IN WORDS: I think that it’s …
OUT WORDS: … then it shouldn’t happen
DURATION: 16‘ 00‘’

The Marxist Manifest

After reading the wrong literature for HCJ this week I thought I'd get ahead and post some points on Communists and their ideas and proposals.

The first main point I noticed was that the Communists want to abolish everything. This included, Religion, private property, freedom, justice, morality and the Bourgeoisie.

The Bourgeoisie is the Upper Classes, the ABC1's. The Proletariat are the laborers, the working class, the C2DE's. The bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat by making them do all of the work and paying very little and collecting all the money themselves. Communists believe that the bourgeoisie are the problem with society and that once them and class systems are abolished, society can become better and sort of Utopian.

If the modern laborer sinks lower and lower below the conditions of existence and becomes so that instead of feeding the bourgeoisie the role is reversed and the bourgeoisie needs to keep them alive by feeding them. Communists believe that when this happens society can no longer live under the control of the Bourgeoisie because it is no longer compatible with society.

The Communists aim is to form the proletariat in to a class, over throw the bourgeoisie and conquest the political power by the proletariat.

They also believe that family only exists for the bourgeoisie. This is because the proletariat have to make their children work, their wives are instruments that have to work and the men themselves work. All to put bread on the table and a roof over their heads. Only the bourgeoisie has money to stay a family. The father controls the factories and exploits his laborers whilst his wife and children picnic with the neighbours.

Overall,
Communsits believe, overall, that everything must be in favour of the proletariat, must abolish the bourgeoisie and that all nations should act as one. Therefore, no exploiting of some nations whilst others prosper, for example, England and Africa.

Venables ???

The whole of the United Kingdom seems to be in a debate over the case of Jon Venables. So I thought I'd give my two-cents worth over a debate thats enthralled the Nation.

I was very young when the case first appeared and didnt know very much of the story. I had heard it in passing over the years but had never read or understood the full version. However that changed after newspaper after newspaper had the young Jon Venables on their front cover. Everyone, including the Loose Women on ITV were talking about him and his sudden re-appearence back in the jail cell. This has become a debate of should he be unveiled to the public or not? This was something I had only read or watched and hadn't actually thought about my own opinion. That was until I was at work on Sunday, when a colleague randomly asked, out of the blue, "What do you think about Venables"?

I was speechless for a second that this was something that was making it in to my social banter at work, literally, EVERYONE was talking about it. Forced to give my opinion I stood and thought about it for a while. My first thought was, "killer, let him rot in jail," my second, "oh but he was only a child" and my third, after much deliberation was, "let him be".

In my opinion, yes he was young when he killed a child but he was old enough to know what he was doing. He may have been abused in his home but surely this made it clear to him how it felt to be abused and punished, and should know it doesn't feel good; so why do unto someone else?

I also do not think that he should be unveiled to the public. He served his time in jail, he spent 8 years being punished for what he did, (however I will grant the idea that this sentence is nowhere near as long as it should be for killing a child) why should we punish him anymore? If the public were told, his life would be over. The first gang that got to him would kill him. Sadly I also think that the newspapers would applaud the killers of Jon Venables. This is not what a Great Nation should become. Killers, of any kind, are, at the end of the day, killers; and should never be appluaded or congratulated.

Venables will have to live every day, knowing that his country hate him, that the child he killed will always be with him and he will know the pain he has caused to the family of the child. I say this is nearly enough, this with a longer prison sentence is what is needed for Venables, not public humiliation and goading. Let the justice system sort him out.

Let me know your opinion.

Council Sends £10,000 Down the Culture Drain

Not only has Southampton failed to gain the status of City of Culture, it has taken £10,000 of the tax payers money to do so. The partnership with Portsmouth failed to make the shortlist after investing thousands of tax payer’s money to impress the panel. The joint venture was unsuccessful in winning against other competitors, Birmingham, Norwich, Sheffield and Londonderry. The lucky City is thought to receive an estimated £100 million in investment and tourism. We went out on to the streets of Southampton to see what the backers of this venture thought of the money that had been spent.

Audio insert NAME: TAX PAYERS OPINION
IN WORDS: The money…
OUT WORDS: … pounds on a competition
DURATION: 16’43’’