Thursday 28 June 2007

New Prime Minister - New Target?

So yesterday Gordon Brown finally took over as Prime Minster, after months of us knowing and waiting for it to happen.

And what has he done since this? - changed round the whole cabinet. However the new cabinet seems to be full of a lot of old faces, many of whom are well to known for failures in the past. Surely this is something that can be of big use to use.

Brown is also looking at an early election. Something that is only fair since not only did the general public not vote for him to be Prime Minister, but neither did his own party. This is the time when we need to be united in both the lead up to the next election and beyond. Which is why we have already organised a WLDYS social :).

On Friday 29th June at 6pm there will be our first official meet-up at the top floor of Ask on Winchester High Street. Here will be a chance to meet other young LDYS members in Winchester, some of the older members and to talk to someone with experience of campaigning for the Liberal Democrats. And most important a vital opportunity to eat PIZZA!

Tuesday 3 April 2007

BEAT BULLYING!!

Unfortunutely bullying of all kinds is around in all aspects of our working and social life, but when it becomes a regular occurance especially at school or college it can effect the bullied badly as well as their school work. Victims may become shunned from their peer group, tagged a geek or a nobody, whatever the method bullyers use it has to be prevented or reduced. Bullying will never go way but if there are schemes such as this then it can make school-life a whole lot better by offering support and advise and enabling the victims to reach their potential. All schools have some sort of bullying so they all must be supported.

The Liberal Democrats have recently signed up to the Beat Bullying campaign - "4 quid a kid", this campagin is promoting that £4 a child is all that is needed to get proven anti-bullying schemes into every school in the U.K!
The Lib Dem educational and skills select committee published a daming report on the Governments record so far on bullying. The committee addressd all types of bullying, from physical, psychological, racist and faith based bullying. Homophobic bullying was focused on too, with faith schools also having to protect their pupils from such bullying. We feel that this is a very encouraging sign to see such campaigns including homophobic cases, as in the past it has been seen to be overshadowed and ignored.
What this campaign hopes to achieve if accepted by the Government is too
  • Increase in the reporting of bullying,
  • Decrease in truancy,
  • Anti-bullying training introduced in all teacher training programmes,
  • Developing support networks to sustain awareness in schools,
  • Specific proven intervention and re-educational programmes for young people who bully,

Not only would this scheme aid the victims of bullying but also the bullyers, who are usually victims themselves of other serious problems. This scheme dosen't just focus in on the pupils of the schools but also the parents, teachers and governors, so it covers the entire educational spectrum, effecting all areas.

We think this is a brillaint idea and one that needs serious consideration from the Government. To ensure this campiagn is acknowledged please sign the petition through the website below: www.beatbullying.org/4quidakid/

Monday 2 April 2007

Winchester Liberal Drinks


On Thursday April 12th @ 8:30 at the Bishop on the Bridge public house, the Winchester Liberal Drinks will be taking place, if your interested in joining the local party and/or the WLDYS then come along and have a chat with some of our councillors and activists. Sam and Amanda (co-chairs of WLDYS) usually attend so if you have any quieries and enjoy a social drink then pop along.
Through the "LIB DEM" blogs search for "liberal drinks" and through that blog get on to the Winchester site (through clicking on the map that will appear) where you will find all the necessary details of future "Liberal Drinks".

Saturday 31 March 2007

CALLING ALL YOUTH & STUDENTS!!


Hello!
We are the newly formed Winchester Liberal Democrat Youth & Students, we were formed on the basis that young people here in Winchester and Hampshire deserve the right to speak out on local and national issues.

All to often our government and representatives at Westminster are implementing policies on youth issues which are sometimes completely unsuitable and highlight the real lack of awareness they have. This is why we need to show are feelings and thoughts so such policies as the top up fees and such like, are not repeated.

You may see politics as boring, but it's not just about joining a party and wearing a rosette, its about standing up for matters which will effect you. Everyone has opinions about everything, politics is where you productively voice them through effective campaigning and demonstrating- and with us, The Winchester Liberal Democrat Youth & Students, YOU can do just that!

The Liberal Democrats are the only real mainstream party which the youth can really trust and relate too. The Liberal Democrats are pushing for a complete scrap of tuition fees here in England, a proposal they successfully issued in Scotland where they share the power base within a Labour-Lib Dem coalition. In the case of the Iraq war the Lib Dems from the very start opposed any military combat or intervention with Iraq, with environment the Lib Dems have focused it around many of their policies including their taxes where they argue that the polluters should pay more, they believe the council tax is unfair and unecessary and would replace it with an income tax, whereby the tax you recieve is determined by how much income the household gets, making much more easier for young first time buyers. These are just a few cases which show that the Liberal Democrats really are looking out for the people; especially the youth.
Labour and the Conservatives have shown a real lack of awareness when it comes to young people, the embarrassing "Hug a Hoody" saga from the Tories, and Labour's deceitful U-turn on their proposal to scrap tuition fees.

With your membership you will also be entitled to all our events we put on. At least once a month the WLDYS endeavour to put on an event wherby issues and topics that are politically controversial locally or nationally are debated and/or explained by a relevant speaker or one of our own councillors. Recently we held a film screening of "The Inconvenient Truth" at Peter Symonds College for students of all stages. This was very successful and many were grateful that such an event was put on. The film had such an impact on the audience we decided that we would offer a free donation of the DVD to all secondary school in Winchester, as we feel that all young people need to undeerstand the serious issue of global warming. As the Liberal Democrat Youth & Students is a national organisation as well, we can offer you the chance to go to national conferences which are staged all around the UK.

You will also be able to help out your local councillors in their election campaigns through leafleting or door to door surveying and canvassing.
You can also be active with the local Liberal Democrat campaigns, and can help display petitions and search for signatures as well as take part in demonstrations. The WLDYS can be an active voice within the local party and a welcomed aid to our local party's campagins.
Such local issues that the local party have campaigned for include, "Twenty's Plenty" where our local councillors ask for a 20 mile speed limit in roads near and by local primary schools, "Enough is a Enough" where we have campagned against the unfair NHS cuts towards Winchester's and Eastleigh's hospitals plus many more.
With the WLDYS we will not just help out local party but we will also create campaigns of our own over local issues.
We will focus on matters which our members feel important and relevant to our cause; national issues such as the environment, Britains relationship with the U.S, and education to name but a few. One of LDYS's most prominent campaigns is for the scrap of tutiotn fees, a campaign we feel very strongly for here in Winchester, also "Votes at 16" is another issue we want to address (www.votesat16.org.uk)

If you wish to join our branch, you will have to join the national Liberal Democrats, costing you £6, this will immediately make you a member of the national and local Liberal Democrat Youth & Students. Please inform either of us and we will ensure you get your membership.

Thankyou for visiting our blog.
Best Wishes.
Sam Butterworth & Amanda Crane (Co-chairs of WLDYS)

sam_in_goal@hotmail.co.uk (sam_in_goal)
a.s.crane@winchester.ac.uk
info@winld.org.uk - local lib dem website email address
http://winld.org.uk/- local lib dem website