Liverpool Title Winning Reflection

Not sure what people have been hoping for more the last four years or so, Liverpool to win the Premier League or the return of my blog. This may be a brief return, I'm unsure yet, I just thought it was a good place to reflect on Liverpool's title given it would be an essay on Facebook. 

So on June 25th 2020, what had seemingly been a wait through eternity was over, after many near misses and humiliations, after slips, fact rants and Macheda scoring with his backside, Liverpool have finally done it and they've made it look easy. 

Everyone knows the story though and this post isn't about why it's a story, this post is about the release of Liverpool winning the league from a 27 year old loser 😂! So here we go. 

Supporting Liverpool has been like a life lesson, which I've not succeeded in that well at times, to not get ahead of yourself, I'll always remember the celebrations watching Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-2 in the Roundabout pub, thinking the league was finally coming to Anfield, followed by, a week later, Steven Gerrard's infamous heartbreaking slip. 

But this time it was different, this time they didn't just get across the line, they sprinted to it and surpassed it to another level, they made it happen, they believed. The mental strength to come back from losing by a point last year, to win the league (with a similar story in the UCL running a year earlier) is incredible. 

This Liverpool team is the definition of the phrase "if at first you don't succeed try and try again". There was a time I ever doubted I'd see Liverpool win the league and yeah, there are and will always be more important things, but it's a constant and I speak on behalf of every Liverpool fan when I say we have taken more than a lifetimes worth of shit about our teams failures. 

Anyway, I ain't gonna go too deep.

It's time to revel in our teams success.

Thank you Jurgen, thank you to the squad, the way you've fought through the lows to get to this moment, is a genuine inspiration. 

Why Spurs Need To End The Season On A High

I can’t write what Leicester fans have been feeling last night and today. As a Liverpool fan who was born after 1990 I still await the equivilant moment. Maybe I have an idea, I still remember the euphoria of beating Manchester City two years ago, I remember the first trophies I saw Liverpool win, the drama of that 2-1 win with Arsenal in the FA Cup final in 2001 made all the greater that we looked dead and buried with 10 minutes to go…and of course I remember Istanbul. I imagine the latter two to look a bit like Leicester’s season a year ago, the low of looking down and out and the high of coming back and getting the desired prize. But until Liverpool FC finally win an elusive title. I won’t know and can’t pretend to know. So:

Congratulations on your amazing success Leicester City.

However, I can completely get what Spurs fans will be going through this morning. The hopes gone, the wait continues and what seems elusive feels like it may never come. You know that the next 3 months you’ll be sitting there, broken hearted, nothing to fix it unless you’re a die hard England fan too (The World Cup was absolutely no consolation in 2002 or 2014). You hope you can keep your players and your manager. You don’t want an injury in these international tournaments, because your club NEEDS those players. In fact you’d rather your country left your players at home to an extent, knowing that then they’d more than likely be raring to go, rather than playing with players from those rival clubs that broke your heart. I mean who wants to see Walker and Cahill or Kane and Vardy be the best of friends for a month? Probably just the same few that wanted to see Gerrard and Rooney being best buddies two summers ago.

And then there’s a realisation. All this work and the emotion put into this season is totally irrelevant to next season. You’re starting on zero again, you have 38 matches again, you have to wait 10 months possibly for the same heartbreak, embarrassment or jubilation again. You have to hope and pray your rivals don’t learn from their mistakes again. And your team might just be mentally in the worst position in the league.

Get no mistake, Spurs have a chance next season. But so do Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Leicester City, arguably West Ham and possibly even another surprise like this years champions.

And this is where Liverpool the three times they’ve come runners up since the turn of the century have managed to go completely and utterly wrong. Second in 2002 turned into 5^th in 2003, 7^th in 2010 and 6^th in 2015. In all three occasions it was the team who finished third in Liverpool’s runners up campaigns who then went on to win the title as Liverpool fell down the leagues pecking order. Manchester United and Chelsea, twice. The difference between these two teams and Liverpool…these teams knew success, league success. And when something seems so elusive, as it does to not just Liverpool’s current generation but Tottenham’s current and past generations it seems to be so much harder to pick yourself up, dust yourself down and go again.

Spurs have to be aware of Liverpool’s mistakes and they have to look at matches and see if there is anything they can do to improve next season. They’ll have too as the traditional “Big Four” of United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea will all be better than this season where they’ve all managed to perform poorly in the league hunting Spurs and the Foxes.

Spurs have done brilliantly this season and it’s compliment for this that we now talk about the fact it’s 55 years since a league title in a way that is growing into how we talk about both Arsenal and Liverpool. When people are talking like that, you know you’re breaking through into the ranks at the top.

Spurs now have two games to play and could do with ending the season on a positive. It may be the difference between challenging or watching the title race next season!

Actual Sunlight Review

Whilst taking a 3 hour trip down to Cornwall a few weeks ago, I decided I needed a game to play to pass the time. One of the game I picked up for £4.49 was a game I had seen mentioned by Greg Miller of Kinda Funny fame. This game was Actual Sunlight, a game that was said to be completely different to anything most people had played before...a game that dealt with the issues of a man suffering from depression and considering suicide. 

The Good.

Actual Sunlight does have an emotional element. The storyline of the game really does throw you back as your character considers death whilst being unhappy with his life. It's a shocking world to be thrown into.

For a short game as well, it really does take you deep into the characters mind. The game also show effectively what the people around him think with some thinking that your character, Evan Winters is just really a Scrooge and kinda lacks the emotion to be able to be depressed. Others may like him but see him as a guy they can never be close too and some may be those that have made him feel how he is today. The game really shows a day in his life at two spots, one where he's merely depressed and having thoughts and one a while later where shit hits the fan. 

The final positive is for anybody who likes their trophies, the list is easy. 

The Bad.

Okay so if you're somebody who enjoys high graphic games with action this is clearly not for you. Also if you want to hear the characters talk or for some reason can't read (if so why are you looking at this review!?) the game isn't for you. Dialogue is all set out like one of your old Gameboy Games, which is really where the gameplay seems to be in this game. To be fair, it was made to discuss issues with depression, not to be beautiful and seemless.

The game also really does leave some open questions about some of the characters you meet on the way. That said, again, it was focusing on one guys depression.

Would I Recommend it

If you are a gamer who likes something different I would advise this game, possibly a game for if you've been depressed or you're trying to understand depression. It doesn't really gloss over the edges of the issue and I'm pretty sure the games maker was taking the stance of if it makes one person understand it's a success. 

If you're only interested in the next big game, with beautiful graphics or want to find an immersive world on your vita, you don't want to read a lot of dialogue or you just are impatient, then this may not be the game for you.

This said, once you're into the game, you'll finish it in that one go. It's only a couple of hours and you never know, it may come in useful. 

Actual Sunlight is available for PS vita and PC via Steam.

My Personal Top 10 TV Shows Of All Time (and a few honourable mentions)

10. Dexter

Dexter getting on this list was a debate with part of me wanting to put it sky hugh up there whilst another part of me thought the series towards the end rapidly declined and therefore didn't deserve to get on this list. A debate that was also asked of another show that deserves an honourable mention that I'll include at the end. Dexter though has an absolutely brilliant first couple of seasons and remains very good for a few seasons after. Unfortunately the end doesn't do it justice. However it does seem a show that has a feesable comeback which could see the issue with the ending sorted. This said, the show in number one gets the ending right for an antihero to a tee, whereas this show got it horribly wronng. This may be more disappointing because of how close the shows endinggs were too eachother. 

9. How Not Live Your Life

A BBC Comedy. There always had to be a BBC comedy in this list and the show How Not To Live Your Life was one of the BBC's best, even if really it was underappreciated on BBC Three. The show was about Dom, a bit of a loser in all honesty who recieved a house in a will. On moving to the house he tried to make things happen, such as getting with his crush. However there always seemed to be obstacles in the way, such as Mrs Treacher and his house servant (who it's been so long I've forgotten his name. The show would show different senarios of what Dom could do for certain things at different points in the episodes. The series itself was perhaps at a fairly good point for the BBC with comedy with Two Pints being one of the flagship comedy and BBC Three giving new comedians and writers a chance. This show and many others around that time really did show the contribution the BBC have had over the years on giving a platform for new and unheard of talent. It's a real shame that the Government are trying to screw that up. 

8. Orange Is The New Black

A Netflix Original, Orange Is The New Black really dragged people into Netflix, especially those who hadn't discovered some of the American content the streaming provider had. The show was initially notable for starring Jason Biggs in the first two series, who famously masturbated with a pie in the comedy American Pie, as Piper's boyfriend. Having to deal with coping with her as she goes to prison, where her ex girlfriend also is located. The show follows the women's prison and explores the characters back stories as well as events that happen in the prison. A show that also has the ability to binge watch when it comes out from first to last episode and this really goes for the show as the first two series especially are incredibly "more-ish". 

7. Hannibal

Hannibal, a show for a niche audience and touted as one of the shows to watch by Digital Spy at a time when everyone was wondering what to watch with the end of Breaking Bad! This said, I myself didn't watch Hannibal until last summer and still have to watch the final couple of episodes. The series is a bit of a thriller. With the overall story of Hannibal mixed up in the first two seasons with some stories of individual crimes. The show can be fairly horrific at times with the incident involving the Pig Farmer sticking out, something that if you've watched the old Hannibal films too you'd know about too even if there are small differences in that storyline itself. Unfortunately the series ended before its time was up and whether we get a real conclusion remains to be seen. But one thing for sure is that the series included some of the most enthralling engrossing television of it's time. 

6. Sherlock

Whatever you say about the BBC. The one thing it has been and the one thing it will be known for for many years too come is the incredible drama it has produced. And this is right up there with the top of these.  Sherlock is a modern take on the classic Sherlock Holmes series. And oh does it do it properly. The series are short, just the three 90 minute episodes in a series and last New Years, the one periodic special. The show really is an example of quality of quantity and is something we need more of from the BBC. That is, if Rupert Murdoch and his cronies (maybe they should get Sherlock to take him down)stop trying to cut the funding and remove the protected sports from the BBC Charter and killing competition by buying Government after Government. Shows like this should be protected and the ability to make new shows with this sort of quality should also be protected. The series should also take responsibility for really enhancing the careers of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman who have both thrived since, but still come back every now and again to carry on making this masterpiece.  

 5. Prison Break

It took thinking long and hard when it came to where Prison Break should feature. The first two seasons, like many other shows were sublime, however it could be argued from possibly half way through series three the show dropped off a little bit. The Panama Prison however was very interesting and the decline of Bellick through the series, from the top Prison Officer to the bottom prisoner was brilliant in the extreme. The show could decline from this list if the new series coming back is poor. With the end of the Final Break it's hard to really see this show working again unless it's a prequel. From where I stand the show is best left where it is now. It would be a shame for this show to be ruined. Whereas the X Files has always been open to that sort of return, this seems like FOX trying to get their hands on peoples money in any way possible. 

4. The Inbetweeners

The British schoolboy comedy, The Inbetweeners was a piece of art on Channel Four. The show followed Will McKenzie who had moved from his private school to a state school where new friends Neil, Simon and Jay attended. Together in Six Form they would get up to and fail at numerous activities based pretty much on all four trying to get laid with vastly different morales too. The show is like Britains answer to American Pie and gave two fantastically funny films after the series finished. It was one of those shows that built and built in terms of fanbase over it's course and really did end up with nearly everybody of the 14-24 age group watching it and having to talk about it. Quite something for a show that wasn't on a terrestrial channel! 

3. 24

When you think of anti terrorism controls you think of one man inparticular. Jack Bauer. The star character of 24. 24 intitially ran a strong 8 seasons and if you can get through the fact that the first few seasons have aged badly in terms of picture you can immerse yourself in a world where one man is capable of stopping countless terrorist attacks, including infilterations of the Counter Terrorist Unit he has led, worked for and been kicked out of depending which series you watch. Jack Bauer does have elements of the anti hero in him when he goes too far. The show came back for a shortened series in London and once more it didn't disappoint. The show could be arguably left open but at the same time has a good close. Will it return, who knows, but if this is where it ends, the show did well. 

2. The Walking Dead & Fear The Walking Dead

I'm including both shows here as they tell different sides of the same epidemic. Fear The Walking Dead almost has more of the side of shock at what is happening and the intial panic whereas The Walking Dead is more aabout the will and grit of the last few to arrive. Different characters but in the same universe both explore different sort of moments. The Walking Dead has hit a point where characters are generally much more dehumanised than Fear The Walking Dead. If you can take a bit of gore, this show is incredible however and never really stops moving. Both shows are still going and hugely worth the watch, especially as we see comic book character Neagan enter the fray on the flagship show!

1. Breaking Bad

The daddy of antihero shows. Breaking Bad features on Walter White, a chemistry teacher, as he finds out he has what is believed to be terminal lung cancer. From here, to leave his family with some money he starts creating Crystal Meth. The story from here esculates to an epic conclusion at the end with many moments of drama inbetween. It's amazing to think a show with this incredible quality was almost cancelle dat one point before the cult of the show became apparent on video streaming service Netflix. This show is a must watch, as is 

Shows That Almost Made The Cut

Bates Motel - In all honesty, given how I'll watch this show when it's on. However there were so many shows that could have just got on or been left off that Bates Motel just missed out. Mainly because I felt a need to include at least a little bit of British TV. A fantastic show in itself, it could easily make the top three if the ending of the show is correct to the films and the book. The show has another two seasons to go after being renewed by American broadcaster A&E giving it time to build up to what promises to be a momentous conclusion. 

Lost - This show missed out for one reason and one reason alone. When it came to watching it as it was broadcast on a week by week basis, the show went from amazing in series one to awful by series three. However, going back to it and watching it with the help of Netflix helped matters regarding how the later series seemed. And it actually felt there was less to complain about at the end by binging it as it felt perhaps having the show given in a rush made it seem more "right". That said, there were still a lot of unanswered questions. But is that really a bad thing about TV shows? 

The X Files - Mainly not in my ten because the original show was before my time. And because what I've seen is great but there are reservations towards the end of the original series and every other spinoff that came of the show. It's coming back though and this could see it rise in my estimations (although it is on Channel 5....a major turn off)

Why I'm not wearing a poppy.

Tomorrow is Remembrance Sunday. A day for remembering those fallen in war. Now I am aware this article may well make some people angry at me. Commenting your abuse to me is absolutely fine. If I couldn't take it, I wouldn't post this and I'd conform to something I have some issues with that I am about to note below.

1. The poppy remembers those who fell fighting for Britain and in some cases Allies in war. It does not remember significantly those innocent civilians who died in war or those who fought against is. Now maybe some think we shouldn't remember the people who fought against us, but in many cases, they did not have a choice. And how can we only remember our lost troops when some of our recent wars haven't exactly been legal (Iraq) and others we try to forget that the legacy of our war was to be bluntly honest terrible (Iraq and Libya)
2. Kind of on the same point as the first one, however one war we remember if the war in Japan. Now we remember those who died fighting for America, Britain and other allies, but we do not significantly remember the absolute horror of the nuclear bomb the USA dropped on Japan. We fail to remember those that would have had the most horrible deaths. Now yes, the bomb was dropped by America, but we still have a responsibility on it. We should not be happy that any country has ever dropped such a horrific catastrophe of a weapon, regardless of the circumstance.
3. The poppy has become political. The reality is a lot of people wear them to look good. It feels hypocritical for instance that David Cameron wears a poppy. Why you may ask, well the answer is clear. When we "won" the war, we created a welfare system including the NHS. That was a legacy made to care for all those in the country, to try and make sure we wouldn't have suffering families, women were given an education the equivalent to men and had won the vote for all women over 21 after the First World War. In the last few years we have seen the NHS mistreated, the welfare system damaged and inequality rise. So therefore if David Cameron is thinks about the legacy of the wars he is a hypocrite. 
4. The EU is not perfect, but to an extent the idea comes partly from Britain, even if we as a country weren't directly into it. Now we're being the brattish country trying to cut ties with Europe rather than helping on the inside. Churchill has a legacy in Europe and was quoted as saying "We must build a kind of United States of Europe". The EU has faults, but it was a legacy we created and despite all the lives we sacrificed in the wars we forget the legacies we tried to make and should try to improve. 
5. Everyone has a right to remember in their own way, we don't all need a poppy. And if we do, we don't need it any more than at the service of remembrance, which surely if you're so adamant on wearing a poppy, I trust you will be attending.
6. It's become normal so has lost it's effect. When football teams are going for the gimmick of an embroided poppy doing it, it proves a point. The poppy being worn from Mid October takes away any power it has.

One other point worth remembering that isn't a reason not to wear a poppy is, not wearing a poppy does not make you hate the military, just like not wearing the AID's ribbon doesn't make you hate everyone effected by AID's, just like not wearing the pink ribbon doesn't mean you hate everyone with breast cancer and just like not growing a moustache (if you're a male, obviously) does not mean you hate everyone with prostate or testicular cancer.

Now finally, one point that I think to an extent sums up my view and the opinion I will give anybody who asks me is the fact that people fought for my freedom. I am respecting them by remembering them, but I am also respecting them by expressing my freedom in having an opinion on the poppy. I respect them by my beliefs for a fair welfare system, for a top quality NHS, for nationally owned vital public services, by wanting and speaking for equality.

And that is more respect than wearing a flower of any kind on my shirt.

Rant

Fuck it, fuck it all. What's the fucking point?

What I've been thinking with all the job rejections I manage to get together.

Honestly, I'm not going to cotton wool feelings on this now. I've had enough.

The country is fucked. I'm fucked. So are many of the country.

Do a Criminology degree. Look for chances. Entry level. Ways in. Apply for PCSO job, essentially the entry level of the police here. Get to the first stage, that of an interview? No? Fuck off.

Apply for Tesco's. A supermarket. Once? No. 42 times. 1 store? No. 6. 5 in Cardiff, 1 in Newport. Interview? No. Just a casual 42 rejections in 5 bloody minutes.

Other places? Yes. Over 800 applications. Nothing. Treated like a number, sent a rejection email with no reasons, no "this is why". Just a "we had a lot of applicants and we are not taking you forwards".

Would have more respect if these read "You're shit. Fuck off. Don't apply here ever again".

Should the rich tell the poor how to control their money?

Okay, so this started with this news article that the Chancellor George Osbourne (also the man trying his best to get us a terrible deal in Europe because he doesn't like the facts that despite it's faults the EU as it stands makes us a far stronger country) wants to make a law with how future Governments do their budgets.

My Facebook post on the matter

We all know the perceptions of the two main parties, the Conservatives do stuff for the 1%, Labour are meant too (and I stress meant too, because they have failed numerous times since "New Labour"...Iraq, NHS, ID Cards, Royal Mail...but that's not the feeling members give you when you hear how they'd prefer the party to go and their might be a chance to change it in the coming months...a post for a later day) represent essentially the 99%.

• Of course the 99% needs a good level of policing, to keep it as a service rather than as an aggressive force, to keep the communities feeling safer, feeling like they can talk to Police Officers, or PCSO's etc. 
• They also need a quality NHS, that strives to be the best health service, not just possible for the taxpayers, but in the world, with good response times, quality doctors and brilliant nurses, regardless of any of those staffs nationality. 
• They also need a fire service that will be quick to respond to any times. 
• A quality education....(personally I'd close private schools, as it would allow the complete diverse culture to meet, to socialise and so on rather than create a divide with places such as Eton, or the majority of any local private school). To have a quality state education the state needs the best teachers to be in their schools. 
• Proper support for the jobless, homeless, disabled, elderly, victims of crime, victims of abuse, people with massive life changes (such as a divorce, death in the family, a newborn child), families who need that little extra so not to depend on foodbanks and many more. 
• Legal aid should be available to all people, forget means testing, the reality is lawyers would get pretty good incomes if legal aid covered everyone when going to court as an individual. The best lawyers should represent a wide range of people, not just the ones that can dig deep into their pockets.

Of course, this may come at a cost, especially initially and that cost could see any budget not run at a surplus I'm afraid. But it's about what is morally right for Great Britain, not about what costs more, what costs less. If you need the best teachers, maybe you have to pay a few percent more for it. 

Before the election 33% of MP's were privately educated whilst 24% were OxBridge educated. So bought up hugging elitism, rather than the hoodie David Cameron claimed to hug when he came Tory leader. 

We need to break these walls down, by making sure the items the state have an obligation to provide (and as a public we should make sure these things remain an obligation) and making the public services mentioned in the bullet points above the best they can be. It's basically making what was the American Dream into a British Reality. Then we can be proud of Britain. 

And I can also promise you, that maybe these things will run at a deficit for a while, but in the long term, well it would make you be able to run a sustainable balanced economy rather than the rubbish we have today.

Celebrity Culture - Is it killing Britain like it has America?

It is common that in the morning I look at Twitter, at the moment to see if my favourite football team has signed anybody to make me excited for next season and other pieces of news regarding current affairs, the issues around the world, the next political joke of a policy or finding out a few days late that Plymouth have sacked their manager (well he resigned, but he clearly walked before he was pushed if we're honest).

Usually though on Twitter at least one one of the following is trending:

• Justin Bieber
• One Direction
• Kim Kardashian

But what I ask is why does someone who drives under the influence, an artificial band or someone who as far as I know is only famous for their arse whilst ironically having the face of a slapped arse (and I guess married to an extremely average rapper who promotes the "n word" in his music) this consistently talked about?

Well I guess these people are a bit like religions. This said, religion is partly there to give hope to people that there is something after death, I don't know what hope these celebrities are giving other than the tweet announcing their 100% retirement from the "entertainment" industry. Also religions pass on morales, some of them incredibly outdated, I am aware, but they form a fundamental background to the laws countries around the world initially made that still form the backbone of society today. 

One of the three I mentioned, Kim Kardashian is also a terrible role model to youn girls, making them think they should get plastic surgery to look "perfect". Honestly though, is there an ounce of beauty to Kim Kardashian? She looks like a badly gone wrong Madam Tussauds waxwork that's so bad it's hidden in the basement of it's Blackpool museum! Children shouldn't think this is the way to look. What we should be celebrating is people who accept themselves, who aren't spoilt brattish adults deciding they  want their nose this way, nor should we be celebrating artists who formed their band in an easy manufactured way like they're gods gift, or a "pop star" who simply is just a monumental f*ck up.

I know what some of you are thinking "But James, people including your good self, worship football clubs amongst other things". Maybe so. But a football club isn't an individual, if a player leaves Liverpool, in my case, I won't support the club where they are at because they played for Liverpool (for instance, I'm having a hard time picking who I want to win the Champions League, the underdog or a team that includes Suarez amongst others, not just picking Barcelona on players). Sport is also competitive, last time I checked being plastic or a distinctly average singer/group of singers wasn't competitive, it wasn't something that gave you a real satisfaction of winning. Football does this. As do many sports (particularly team sports domestically and internationally, individual sports just don't give you that, plus eventually they retire etc that is unless they're representing their nation). Therefore I don't buy the idea of that at all. Plus sportsmen usually have talent, some can even be humble, very few but there are one or two. They also can be a role model to someone as well to have a fit and healthy life.

Two of the three people/groups I mentioned don't do this. You can't live like a Kardashian and have a fit and healthy life, you'll always be in having balloons put into your gluteus maximus. You could be drink driving if you wanted to be like Justin Bieber with tattoos that can only be poorly based on Martin Skrtel. And unlike Justin Bieber, you won't afford bail and won't afford the best lawyer in the state and will have some time in a prison, whether in the UK or the USA.

So on the day where the Kardashians try to press some of the most insignificant news I have heard (news that makes me see Royal Babies as major) let's not worship them, lets try to get some real talent on TV, some real talent on TV and most importantly, some women on TV that won't make girls think they need surgery to look good! Let's create an accepting culture where nobody feels down because of their natural looks or personality. 

The Queens Speech - Are These Tory Bills good?

So today is the queen speech. Luckily the BBC have a page on the policies the speech will use, so I shall use it's descriptions for each and then explain what I, as a reasonably normal young person of the UK makes of each possible bill.



EU Referendum Bill





This is high up on the list of the government's priorities. David Cameron has promised to renegotiate Britain's terms of membership of the European Union and put it to a public vote by 2017 at the latest. To do this he'll need to publish a parliamentary bill to pave the way for a referendum - so it's a definite to feature in the speech.


James Thinks: This is not a good idea, we have already seen how the British Electorate vote and for too many people, life depends on being within the European Union. Cornwall and Wales are two places that have a funding match from the EU and without this these two relatively deprived places would be further deprived. Therefore a vote on this matter isn't a good idea as it seems that far too many people will vote with a severe misunderstanding. Some will argue the EU needs change, but you can't change anything from the outside. Plus it could mean removing the free movement we currently have around Europe.




Income Tax Bill





During the general election campaign, David Cameron vowed to introduce a law guaranteeing no rise in income tax rates, VAT or national insurance before 2020. He said workers already paid enough tax and he would focus on other ways of clearing the deficit, such as reducing the welfare bill and tackling tax avoidance. The PM has also pledged a law to ensure that "no one working 30 hours on the minimum wage pays any income tax at all". Writing in the Sunday Telegraph about his first 100 days in office, he said: "It is a permanent measure to re-write not just the laws of this country but the values of this country. And it will be there as the centrepiece of the first Queen's Speech of my new government."


James Thinks: You shouldn't need a law to ensure you won't increase taxes. It's therefore ridiculous and the question that then comes out ends up being "where are you going to cut to make up for this". If the answer is welfare, health, public services or education then it's nothing short of a disgrace.




Immigration Bill





The government is promising a crackdown on illegal immigration, and has already set out a number of new offences to try to "control and reduce" migration to the UK. These include a specific offence of illegal working - with police given the power to seize the wages paid to illegal workers as the "proceeds of crime". Among other proposals being considered are new powers for councils to deal with unscrupulous landlords and to evict illegal migrants more quickly, while all foreign criminals awaiting deportation will be fitted with satellite tracking tags. It will also become an offence for businesses and recruitment agencies to hire abroad without first advertising in the UK - a policy which featured prominently in Labour's election manifesto - and a new enforcement agency will be set up to tackle what the prime minister called "the worst cases of exploitation".


James Thinks: We need to take people who need sure that all people who need to get away from their country due to issues are able to come. For instance Iraq, where some of the blame of what's going on has to come down to the United Kingdom for destabilising the country. It's about human lives, not anything else. And we owe a duty of care. It would be a more productive thing than to waste resources sending people out to fight.




Policing Bill





Home Secretary Theresa May has pledged to ban the use of police cells for the emergency detention of mentally ill people under the Mental Health Act. In a speech to the annual conference of the Police Federation in England and Wales, Mrs May also outlined plans to extend police-led prosecutions, overhaul the complaints system, and change the use of bail.


James Thinks: The Coalition couldn't be trusted with the police making them considerably weaker, I have a horrible thing this will happen again. They cut 34,000 police staff in the last election and many think it'll be similar again. This means that anything that happens within a police bill is likely to actually end up not being able to be enforced successfully as the stress of the job gets higher and higher.




City Devolution Bill





We know that proposals to devolve more powers to England's cities will feature in the Queen's Speech. Chancellor George Osborne said as much in first post-election speech, in which he outlined his vision to give English cities powers over housing, transport, planning and policing. He said Greater Manchester - which will take on the powers when electing a mayor in two years - should become a blueprint for other large cities.


James Thinks: It should be regional...not city. How can Devon or Cornwall have devolution by City? Or many other smaller places. Also Newcastle and many other Cities voted against elected Mayors.




Strike laws reform





The new business secretary, Sajid Javid, has said it will be a government priority to reform strike laws. Specifically, it is proposing to ban strike action from taking place unless 40% of all eligible union members vote in favour of industrial action. The government also wants to lift a ban on use of agency staff when strike action takes places. "That's something we'll give more detail on in the Queen's Speech but it will be a priority," Mr Javid told BBC Radio 4's Today programme earlier this month.


James Thinks: It's removing employees rights, at times there may be a legitimate right for a few to enter. Also ironic that a Government elected by less than 40% of the British Electorate who voted and less than 25% of those eligible could demand 40% of the vote for a strike...




Employment Bill





The Conservatives have said measures on work will be at the heart of their legislative programme, with David Cameron saying during the election campaign that the UK should aspire to "full employment". He has pledged legislation on "day one" of the new Parliament. Among the priorities will be a push to create two million more jobs and three million more apprenticeships over the course of the Parliament. The boost in apprenticeships is to be paid for by reducing the benefit cap from £26,000 to £23,000.


James Thinks: They haven't succeeded with employment issues and I know it...This'll probably at some point see workers rights fall like the bill above.




Schools Bill





The prime minister has pledged to bring in a bill to "deliver better schools - with more radical measures to ensure young people leave education with the skills they need". He said the legislation will "include new powers to force coasting schools, as well as failing schools, to accept new leadership, continuing the remarkable success story of Britain's academy schools". The Conservatives want to expand their free schools programme - which Labour opposes, with Mr Cameron committing to creating an extra 270,000 free school places by 2020.


James Thinks: Two words Michael Gove. They saw that man fit to deal with the education system 5 years ago. Now, how can things get better...well let's start with scrapping free schools and making academies go back to schools run by Governors and the more successful systems before these changes 5 years ago?




Childcare Bill





Another stated key priority of the Conservative government is childcare. Currently, all three and four-year olds in England are entitled to 570 hours of free early education or childcare a year, which works out as 15 hours each week for 38 weeks of the year. During the election campaign, the Conservatives promised 30 hours from 2017. The prime minister has also said he wants to introduce tax-free childcare for every child.


James Thinks: Three words: Labour offered better




Enterprise Bill





The government has outlined plans for a bill to cut red tape for British business by at least £10bn and, for the first time, independent regulators will be expected to contribute to that target. The bill is also expected to propose a new Small Business Conciliation Service, to help settle disputes between small and large businesses, especially over late payment practices.


James Thinks: It's not easy to set up a business and many can't afford to it, where is there help? It's important we see people do well, but we need to do this in ways that also help people who don't own their own business. Also Labour also offered help to small business whilst keeping in mind those who don't have their own.




Scotland Bill





The prime minister has pledged to include a bill on devolution which would be based on the cross-party Smith Commission agreement on Scottish devolution. The Smith proposals included giving Holyrood the power to set income tax rates and bands, as well as control over a share of VAT and some welfare benefits.


James Thinks: Scotland's going to be better to live in than England very very soon.




Human Rights Act Repeal Bill





The Conservatives have pledged to abolish the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights. The Conservative manifesto says: "This will break the formal link between British courts and the European Court of Human Rights, and make our own Supreme Court the ultimate arbiter of human rights matters in the UK."


James Thinks: It's a disgrace that we even consider removing this. It is Churchill's legacy and it's an important act. Only one country in Europe isn't signed up to this and this country is also the only dictatorship.




Counter-extremism Bill





The government is expected to bring forward a new bill to crack down on radicalisation. It will include new immigration rules, powers to close down premises used by extremists, and "extremism disruption orders". Mr Cameron has repeatedly stressed the need to confront and defeat the "poisonous" extremist ideology. The proposals are likely to encounter some opposition in the new Parliament on the grounds that some of the plans could infringe people's right to free speech, BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said.


James Thinks: This simply comes down to whether it effects our privacy. Which is a right.




Communications and Data Bill





This was the bill that the Conservatives' smaller coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats, refused to back in the last Parliament. Current legislation expires in 2016 and will have to be renewed. So now the Conservatives are governing alone, they can bring back what opponents call the snoopers' charter. The previous plans proposed to extend the range of data communications companies have to store for 12 months. It would have included, for the first time, details of messages sent on social media, webmail, voice calls over the internet and gaming, in addition to emails and phone calls. Officials would not have been able to see the content of the messages without a warrant. Currently communications firms only retain data about who people send emails to, and who they ring.


James Thinks: And this is exactly what I mean when I said it comes down to the privacy. We should not live in a society where people can see everything we are sending. It's not private and could be used for the wrong reasons. The Snoopers Bill can't happen. End of.




Housing Bill





Housing was a hot topic during the general election, featuring in all of the parties' campaigns. One of the Conservatives' key pledges was an extension of Margaret Thatcher's Right to Buy scheme to 1.3 million housing association tenants in England - and the government has confirmed this will feature. Under the plans, housing association tenants will be able to buy the homes they rent at a discount. Communities Minister Greg Clark told the BBC the government wanted to extend the opportunity for people to own their home. There will also be help for first-time buyers, with 200,000 starter homes made available to under-40s at a 20% discount - another Conservative manifesto pledge.


James Thinks: See this article.




NHS Bill





The Conservatives made several commitments on the NHS during the election campaign - and David Cameron used his first major post-election speech to focus on his plans for the health service in England. He has pledged to boost funding by at least £8bn extra a year by 2020 and to create "a truly seven-day NHS". The government is also promising to recruit 5,000 new GPs.


James Thinks: Let's wait and see, I have a funny feeling we could be waving goodbye to our NHS sooner rather than later.




Wales Bill





David Cameron has pledged to implement "as fast as I can the devolution that all parties agreed for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland". Wales Secretary Stephen Crabb has said his officials were writing legislation to transfer further powers to Wales, so these could be included in the Queen's Speech.


James Thinks: I've got a feeling this won't go brilliantly for Wales. But again, could this mean the Government just wiping their hands and trying to set a rival party up. It wouldn't surprise you.




Hunting Ban Repeal Bill





Could David Cameron throw a bone to his Conservative backbenchers and introduce legislation to repeal the law that bans fox hunting with dogs? The ban has been unpopular in many rural areas since its introduction by Labour in 2004 - and David Cameron has indicated he would like to undo it. Their manifesto stated that a Conservative government "will give Parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting Act on a free vote, with a government bill in government time".


James Thinks:Fox hunting is wrong and elitist. We should be trying to eradicate elitism. Watching the Queens Speech we are a long was off being successful with removing elitist rubbish. First elitist establishments that would need sorting are Eton (close the place) and a bit of a nudge on Cambridge and Oxford who have no right to regard themselves as supreme to others (I would make the boat race have a week of time trials before a race between the top 2 or 3 rather than the Elitist rubbish that it is).




Legal highs ban





Legislation to introduce a blanket ban on so-called legal highs is expected to feature in the Queen's Speech. The proposal was included in the Conservatives' general election manifesto, which stated: "We will create a blanket ban on all new psychoactive substances, protecting young people from exposure to so-called 'legal highs'." A Home Office source told the BBC that the proposal would be enacted upon.


James Thinks: If you cut the police, good luck enforcing this!

Liverpool FC Season Review 2014/15

Initially this post was going to be about the European Cup Liverpool won ten years ago after a magical night in Istanbul, however yesterdays performance meant that a radical rethink and an earlier season review post.

Yesterday saw the end of the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League season for Liverpool FC, where the team took part in a match, if you can call it that, at the Britannia, where Liverpool suffered their record Premier League defeat losing 6-1. Definitely the most embarrassing defeat I have ever known as a Liverpool FC fan. 

But what about the season overall? Well it all started to go downhill right at the death of last season where Liverpool lost their chance to win the league accumulating in a shoddy defensive display against Crystal Palace, letting a 3-0 lead slip to only draw the game now known as "Crystanbul". The defensive displays all through that season led to concern, however the one thing Liverpool had was the goals, experts at outscoring their opponents. Then Luis Suarez left. And in came what turned out to be pretty inadequate and/or overpriced replacements such as Lambert, Lovren, Markovic, Moreno, Lallana, Balotelli, Can, Manquillo. Liverpool also signed Origi, who for some reason went back to Lille on loan, Origi has just finished in Ligue 1's worst team of the season.

Now I'm not saying all these players need to go, now we have Lallana we should keep him, but we paid far too much, Can, Markovic and Moreno all have some brilliant potential, but have either been misused or underused. And these players were meant to take Liverpool to a next level with Liverpool knowing they could attract a certain calibre of player being back in the European Cup since 2009/10. 

I'm trying to think of matches now that I can be positive about, matches that I can say Liverpool turned up. I can find one match and that was the away game against Spurs where Liverpool won 3-0. That was really the only time the Liverpool that myself and many other Liverpool fans had come accustom too.

Now negative games, losing 3-1 to City was argued as "oh it's the champions and it's away" yet a week later Stoke won there, then there was a 1-0 home defeat to Paul Lamberts Benteke-less Aston Villa, a 3-1 defeat to West Ham at Upton Park and at this point the only positive was how badly United had started. Then there was that Champions League campaign where Liverpool mustered a measly 5 points, 4 of them earn't against Ludogorets from Belarus and the final point in what was a piss poor performance against Basel in a game Liverpool had to win, yet other than Gerrard the team looked content to lose. Then there's the humiliating 3-0 defeat to Manchester United before Liverpool went on a welcome unbeaten streak, even if it included poor results against teams such as Swansea, Bolton, Blackburn and Burnley. But after another defeat against United and a hugely controversial interview from Raheem "I need a dollar" Sterling everything capitulated and the season died, losing 4-1 at the Emirates but then it got even worse as Liverpool's one chance of silverware remaining disappeared as the team lost 2-1 despite briefly having the lead against Aston Villa.

Obviously, since January 2nd the second we all were aware that Steven Gerrard had decided to end his career in the MLS, but in May all we found ourselves playing for was Steven Gerrard, to send him off in style. Something you would imagine would fire up the players. But did it? No, Liverpool conceded 9 goals, scoring 2 in their last two games of the season going down 3-1 to Crystal Palace, again despite having the lead briefly before the biggest defeat in over half a century against Stoke City leaving Gerrard humiliated as he left Liverpool. This was subsequently followed by the majority of the squad going on a holiday to Dubai whilst fans were left absolutely furious by the lack of passion, desire, character or whatever else you want to call it!

But who can you blame for such a disastrous season? Well you start with the manager. Any manager that signs a right back and refers to another less than a year before as "one of the best", regardless of anybody disagreeing, should start with one or the other rather than a midfielder like Emre Can who is utterly exposed there. His last team used him once or twice, as a left back, but only as a last resort, however it is quite obvious that despite his talent, he is as bad as it gets as a right back. Any manager that doesn't realise the talent that a team like Palace have on the wings and therefore plays no full backs is also a big factor to his blame. A manager that changes nothing as a match goes from 0-0 to 5-0 down is completely unacceptable (especially when it's completely obvious it's not working at 1-0 down, never mind 3,4 or 5 down!). A manager who spends £116m but gets 22 points less, regardless of "mitigating factors" is appalling. Especially when you have a whole summer to sort one of those factors out (Suarez) and the other one is well known about before (Sturridge - spent a lot of last season out - people just don't notice because a certain Suarez went on a mental scoring run). Therefore this makes both less of a mitigating factor. So honestly, I didn't say it until yesterday this season but Brendan Rodgers has to go. Klopp is my first choice on the basis Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid has said if sacked he will take a year out, Benitez is another option and even Big Sam would be an improvement putting some iron and brute into the performances, his defensive way of playing with West Ham, Bolton or Blackburn wouldn't be so much the case either, being that he is a brilliant manager and makes the most of whatever he has, still he's a way off top choice with the others mentioned being considerably preferable and much more "Liverpool".

Regarding players, I'll start with Sterling, if he wants over £100k a week, sell him, he's overrated, he can't shoot nor can he cross, Suarez made him look so much better, Sturridge helped too, without them, he is dreadful, so get as much as you can and run to the bank. Regarding new signings, Balotelli and Lamberts use depends really on who manages Liverpool next season, if they somehow don't change the manager, it's clear neither will suit the tactics, to the other new signings, they probably all need an extra year, some need a different manager who will use them though. Six months ago I'd have told you Mignolet needed to go, but he has massively improved since and warrants a season, however Jones is being released, rightly and Liverpool need a very good keeper to challenge Mignolet, like Chelsea, United and Arsenal have. I would also release Toure, no pace left, makes mistakes, but apparently he's getting a new deal. I'd consider keeping Johnson if Liverpool didn't have enough money for a new right back as this season proved that four at the back is better than three. 

In conclusion though, ten years on from the greatest night of football in my lifetime, ten years on since the pinnacle of my Liverpool supporting life, rather than celebrating we as fans should be looking at how it's come to this shambolic state of affairs and asking how can this be fixed. Because right now another night as great as Istanbul looks centuries off. 

Aidy Ward

In recent days the whole Sterling situation has taken a turn. Apparently now he won't even sign for essentially £1m a week at Liverpool. All this according to agent Aidy Ward. Also according to Aidy Ward, Jamie Carragher, long term Liverpool vice-captain and Champions League winning defender is a "knob". Is there really a place for Aidy Ward and agents in football or are they just a waste of time.

Whilst this was happening, Jordan Ibe another Liverpool youngster signed a new five year deal for Liverpool. About a week before this deal, Ibe was quoted in the media as saying "I don’t believe in having an agent. I don’t really see the need for one to be fair. My parents do the same job and they are my family which is number one to me. I can trust them and they are the best people.".

In fairness, I agree with Ibe, parents and family, maybe even friends are better to talk to than a man, like Aidy Ward, who know that a move will also see them get a big pay day. This is especially the case when agents try to ruin the clubs name, which Mr Ward did say he didn't care about.

To finish this I thought I'd include Liverpool fans views on Aidy Ward:

The Idea of Arming Police, an American ideology

In the news last night I noticed the Police and Crime Commissioner of Dyfed-Powys Christopher Salmon had set up an online poll for people about all police carrying a gun on duty. Here I address in a letter to the elected Commissioner as to why this would be a huge mistake. 


Dear Christopher,

I couldn't help but notice on the news you had been asking whether the police should carry around guns on general duty and as a graduate in Criminology and the Criminal Justice System I felt obliged to write to you about this.

I honestly from my studies think there could be no worse ideas than having police with guns on the street. The idea carries one hell of a lot of risk. And here are some reasons why.

I'm sure you will agree that America isn't exactly totally unlike the UK, however this is a country where guns are readily more legal and the police do carry guns with them. Now all police having guns does enter a slippery slope of how many people actually can get their hands on guns and this leads to more murders, America for instance has a five times higher murder rate than the United Kingdom. Why? Because they have more access to firearms. And when you look at this stat regarding homicide, you also need to bare in mind that cases such as Zimmerman wouldn't count thanks to a not guilty verdict.

There is also the problem with the police having them on them if they fall into someone of the wrong hands somehow when they are out, this could lead to chaos. On top of this, without knowing every bit of detail about the personal lives of these police officers you don't know whether one could be close to cracking, again you have seen officers in America in recent months shoot innocent people to death. They could claim a hard time, but they still killed somebody, just because we are British does not mean we can rule that out from happening. In fact there have been two obvious occasions in London where people who should never have been shot, were killed by the police. Jean Charles da Silva e de Menezes and Mark Duggan. The latter of those killings led to the London Riots. The reality here is that the police often get it very wrong when it comes to a gut reaction such as in these two incidents because they had guns.
So rather than listening to a pretty unrepresentative poll on your website, I advice you to think about the safety of people and therefore reject the idea of police having guns on them in general duty. We already have arguably too many armed police officers as it is.

I say these comments as somebody who once aspired to be in the police but down to the cuts it has been impossible to find a route in. I hold nothing against the police therefore, but I do regard the idea of police having guns as creating a much more unsafe community. Maybe we need more police on the streets, but for that I realise you'd need money off the Government, money that probably is there but won't be given to the police, but guns is never the way to fix something.

Yours Sincerely

James


Update - 23rd May 2015
I have received a reply from this email and will share it here

Dear Mr Martin,

Thank you for your message. I'm not in any sense suggesting the police should be armed. I'm just asking the public how they would like currently armed specialist officers to be deployed.

The survey will help me understand how the public to view the issue and inform my discussions with the chief constable. We've had a massive response and I will publish the findings shortly.

Thank you for your interest.

Kind regards,

Christopher

General Election Evaluation

So last week the Conservative party got a majority of 12 seats. In all honesty, this wasn't the result that the majority of us wanted based on votes. So in this post I will sum up where it all went wrong.

People thought until 10pm that there was a huge chance that Ed Miliband would be walking into 10 Downing Street eventually as the Prime Minister from the 2015 General Election, offering a living wage, preventing tax evasion, keeping the UK in Europe, keeping employee's rights. Instead we saw Ed Miliband unfortunately resign from Labour and David Cameron enter 10 Downing Street, essentially promising us what the S*n newspaper (don't buy this paper...ever JFT96) have decided should happen, in other words, we are run once more by an Australian who has decided it's in his best interest to randomly become American. Rupert Murdoch.

The Sun Newspaper Announces Cameron has used their manifesto.

Now this is one of the areas I fear the election was lost. If you read the Mail you will dellusionally disagree with me, but the right wing papers played a fear game. A game of "do you want this guy, who looks dodgy in a freeze frame running (improving) this country we live in? He may join the Scots, wouldn't you hate it if the Scottish had a say? 

Let's be honest here, the idea of the Scots having a say isn't exactly invalid. They are a country in the Union but our papers did decide the only way to run an election campaign with the Tories winning was to in fact make us hate another nation in our Union at a time when the nations are already divided after the referendum on Scottish Independence. Surely if the Conservative party was that brilliant:

1. They wouldn't have needed scaring the public to vote for them to win
2. The Scottish Nationalist Party wouldn't have opposed them as strongly as they did (ie "we will block any Tory Government on the back of a hung parliament) 

Anyway we have elected to be controlled by Rupert Murdoch, so for the good of me and my career prospects I should probably congratulate him. So here is a picture of the winner from last Thursday.

The most powerful man in (well not in) Britain Rupert Murdoch

I shall also now send my condolences to all foxes seeming the Government want to bring back the most cruel activity of them all. I can only apologise for the way our country voted (well 24% of those eligible to be precise).

A fox, unaware that soon it will be hunted down and ripped into pieces.

And in all seriousness. What did Ed Miliband do wrong?

Well I am of the opinion some of the people coming out to attack Miliband from inside Labour are totally out of their minds. And let me explain why! When we look at countries like India we look and imagine their poorest range of people living rather than the few millionaires, when we looked at Brazil in the World Cup a lot came up about the poor people living in Shanty Towns. Just because the UK is apparently richer and more developed, shouldn't we judge ourselves on the same basis as we judge them? Shouldn't we judge ourselves on the issue of the poorest? Shouldn't we judge ourselves on how our disabled, our young, our single parents, our homeless, our carers, our low wage workers are treated? The majority of Labours policies actually helped these people at the expense of those that could afford to pay a little more tax or in the form of non doms a lot more tax. 

Maybe going against the non doms was a bad move in terms of elections for Miliband because the owners of the right wing media get let off on tax in non dom schemes and similar ways and therefore were bound to go against the guy. But really shouldn't they look at the poorest people in the country with empathy and want to pay their part? 

Yes, he wasn't the same sort of speaker as Obama, but he was a man who genuinely wanted to make lives better for people, a man who was determined to change. Maybe not enough, but in many aspects in the right direction. A man who wanted to give us a full democracy in regards to the House of Lords, a man that wanted to see the NHS public, rather than private. 

Miliband didn't fail. We failed. 

And I have a feeling we may also miss those Lib Dems. Well other than Vince/Danny.

Now let's rebuild, regroup and fight for a fairer Britain. 

I will post in the future regarding the poor appointment of members of the cabinet and the proposed loss to our Human Rights.