David Cameron

Amelia’s Magazine | Voting Reform: An interview with Amisha Ghadiali

by

Yes to Fairer Votes Vice-Chair Amisha Ghadiali wearing Ada Zanditon. Illustration by Sam Parr

On May 5th 2011, this the United Kingdom will be asked – in the first referendum since 1975 – to vote on the following question:

“At present, price the UK uses the ‘first past the post’ system to elect MPs to the House of Commons. Should the ‘alternative vote’ system be used instead?”

The referendum on the Alternative Vote is the first time in our lifetimes that the citizens of the UK have been able to have a say in how we elect MP’s to the House of Commons.

Currently, viagra 100mg this historical moment to discuss voting reform – amongst a broader analysis on the current state of Britain’s democracy – is being lost amidst (speculated) Coalition tensions and fear mongering on the cost of moving from FPTP to AV. Whilst to some, AV may be “a miserable little compromise” that fails to push voting reform far enough, by voting Yes! on the 5th May we, the citizens of the UK, can register our disquiet with the current system (FPTP) and enable the discussion on voting reform to stay at the forefront of the political agenda.

To find out more about what the Alternative Vote is compared to the current system of “First Past The Post” Amelia’s Magazine interviewed one of the Yes Campaign’s Vice-Chair’s: Jewellery Designer, Ethical Fashion Campaigner and Founder of Think Act Vote – Amisha Ghadiali.

Photography by Anna Gordon

What is a referendum?

A referendum is when we are asked to vote, not in an election, but on a single issue. Many of us would like to see more of these on a variety of issues. However they are not that common, the last UK-wide referendum was in 1975 asking the question “Do you think the UK should stay in the European Community (Common Market)?”

What is the Alternative Vote?

The Alternative Vote is a voting system, it means that instead of putting one X on our ballot paper, we rank our candidates in order of preference. You can rank all the candidates, or just one, it’s totally up to you. What this means is that if there are three candidates that you would be happy to represent you, you can communicate this. Or if your first choice is a smaller party, that under the current system would have little chance to getting in, you can vote for them, but also somebody from one of the main parties, without having to vote tactically.

 The person who wins the seats needs to have the majority of the vote, so what they do is count the votes. If nobody has 50% of the vote, they eliminate the candidate that comes last, and add their second preferences to the remaining candidates. This repeats until somebody has over 50% of the vote. It means that no votes are wasted.

What are the benefits to AV compared to FPTP?

The current system FPTP means that who ever gets the most votes wins. This sounds fair but what it means in reality is that 2 out of 3 MPs in our parliament have less then 50% of the vote. This means that most of us are represented by people most of us voted against.

The Alternative Vote will mean that MPs will have to be voted for by the majority in their constituency, and so will have to work harder to make sure that they are listening to all of their constituents and representing all of their views, rather then pandering to their core voter support which many of them do.

How are the ‘winners’ in FPTP Elections often opposed to by the majority of voters?

Because the candidate who gets the most votes wins, it doesn’t matter how much of the vote they got. For example some have as little as 32% of the vote in their constituency, meaning that over two thirds of their consistency didn’t vote for them.

Why are you voting Yes to AV?

I think that the Alternative Vote will make our democracy more honest, make all of our votes count, make our MPs have to work harder to gain wider support in their constituencies, make our MPs more accountable to us and make our experience of voting simpler. We will still have our one local MP, but will have more of a say on who that is.

The way that we vote is how we take part in our democracy, and so having more of a say in this part of the process is vital to making ours a fairer politics.

I believe that voting yes in this referendum is the most important vote that we have ever been asked to cast.


AV – A Historical Perspective

Why do you believe this is the most important vote we have ever been asked to cast?

I have taken part in two general elections where I know that my vote didn’t make any difference to the result. Although voting in both general and local elections is an important part of our citizenship, this is us voting on the future of our democracy. It’s the first referendum that I have ever taken part in. It’s not about party politics and politicians but about how we take part in politics and have our views represented. What could be more important than that? After all they do work for us.

What is your role within the Yes campaign?

I am a Vice-Chair of the campaign. When I thought about it over Christmas, I realised how passionately I felt about this referendum, and contacted the campaign asking if I could help. They invited me to be a Vice-Chair along with other supporters including Eddie Izzard, Martin Bell and Greg Dyke. It means that we campaign and speak out about the issues to the media and at events, and as I have discovered in the pub too!

Yes to AV illustration by Mike Harman

 What are your thoughts on how both the Yes to AV and No to AV campaigns have been run?

To be honest, I have found the whole debate in the media really depressing. The focal point often is about how it is going to affect the politicians, but this is not about them, it’s about us and our experience voting. It’s about our future, not about the present.

Of course, I am a supporter of the Yes Campaign, but feel that I would have been deeply disappointed in the No Campaign tactics even if I supported FPTP. Their campaign messages are built on actual lies, and I can’t believe that people are spending millions of pounds spreading lies, rather then on creating an honest open debate about the two systems. There has been so much ‘mud slinging’ which I find shocking, because I thought our politics was better than that.

Their three arguments are that it is expensive, it will give extremist parties (ie the BNP) more power and that it is too complicated for us to understand. None of these things are actually true. They have said it will cost £250 million which is the cost of the referendum whatever the result and the cost of counting machines that we are not getting. They have said that it will encourage the BNP, when the BNP are supporting a No vote, as they know the current system works better for them. And the idea that it is too complicated is frankly insulting. We can all count to three!

The Yes campaign has had to respond to a lot of the allegations that have been made, using time when we would have preferred to talk about relevant issues. I am really enjoying the energy of the Yes campaign, it has brought together a group of passionate, committed people from a variety of backgrounds. The local groups that have been running phone banks and doing local actions are really energetic and inspiring. 

Photography by Anna Gordon

 Why do you think the Conservatives, headed by David Cameron are campaigning against AV, though Cameron himself won the party leadership through AV?

It’s baffling isn’t it. I find it shocking that he is saying that AV is a bad system when it gave him his job. If the Conservative Party leadership deserves AV, then so should we. It is a system that is used a lot in Westminster, not just for leadership contests but also other votes such as how MPs join select committees. I think it is because this change breaks down the tribalism of the Conservatives vs Labour Party, which has served the conservative party well. I thought Cameron was more progressive, but seeing him campaign on this, my personal view is that Cameron doesn’t actually want us to have more say, he is happy with the system as it is, as it works for him.

Will AV tackle the culture of tactical voting and ‘safe seats’? Thus uprooting the current system of members of parliament being parachuted intp safe constituencies?

Yes it will. There is a website called Voter Power, where you can find out what your vote is worth with AV compared to FPTP. From their analysis AV will reduce the number of very safe seats by 60, and increase the number of very marginal seats by 44. So this will make a big difference.

Safe seats are definitely a problem in our current system, as is the fact that political parties openly target the marginal seats only. In the last election the votes of only 1.6% of the electorate in 111 of these marginal seats decided the result. This is something that we have to change.

There will be no need for tactical voting. You can vote with your real preferences, and don’t have to think about voting ‘against’ people.

Why do you think the number of people who vote at each General Election is falling? What needs to change within our political system that will encourage people to use their vote?

I think that there are many reasons why voting turnout is falling, a lack of trust in politicians, declining numbers of political party membership, the number of safe seats held by MPs, feeling that votes don’t count, as just a few. I think that people need to feel more connected to politics, and feel that their voice is really heard through voting. I think the Alternative Vote will help solve these issues. It will not solve all the ills of politics in this country, but it is a small change we can and should make for the better.

Photography by Anna Gordon

In the media there have been mutterings on both the reduction of the number of MP’s and the redrawing of constituency boundaries, what effect will this decision have on politics and what is it relation to the referendum on the alternative vote?

So it has nothing to do with the referendum. This happened earlier in the year, it was part of the same bill that the referendum was on when it went through parliament, and was not something that we had a say on. This has happened, and will take effect at the next general election. There are going to be 50 less MPs which means that some of the current boundaries will be re-drawn and made bigger. The idea is that it keeps the cost of politics down.  It has been quite controversial as they are dividing some traditional boundaries and local areas. At the same time Cameron has appointed 117 new peers in the House of Lords since last May, which is actually putting the cost of politics up despite cutting the number of MPs.

Any website or article recommendations for those interested in finding out more about the referendum?

Electoral Reform
 
Yes to Fairer Votes

Elegance Rebellion

If you get the X Factor you’ll get AV – Johann Hari

You can join the campaign on Facebook and Twitter too!

Written by Silent City on Wednesday April 27th, 2011 1:45 pm

Categories ,5th May 2011, ,Amisha Ghadiali, ,Anna Gordon, ,Conservatives, ,David Cameron, ,Ed Milliband, ,FPTP, ,General Election, ,House of Commons, ,Labour, ,Liberal Democrats, ,May 5th, ,Mike Harman, ,MP, ,Nick Clegg, ,No to AV, ,Referendum, ,Sam Parr, ,Think Act Vote, ,Yes to AV, ,Yes to Fairer Votes

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Amelia’s Magazine | Voting Reform: An interview with Amisha Ghadiali

by

Yes to Fairer Votes Vice-Chair Amisha Ghadiali wearing Ada Zanditon. Illustration by Sam Parr

On May 5th 2011, this the United Kingdom will be asked – in the first referendum since 1975 – to vote on the following question:

“At present, price the UK uses the ‘first past the post’ system to elect MPs to the House of Commons. Should the ‘alternative vote’ system be used instead?”

The referendum on the Alternative Vote is the first time in our lifetimes that the citizens of the UK have been able to have a say in how we elect MP’s to the House of Commons.

Currently, viagra 100mg this historical moment to discuss voting reform – amongst a broader analysis on the current state of Britain’s democracy – is being lost amidst (speculated) Coalition tensions and fear mongering on the cost of moving from FPTP to AV. Whilst to some, AV may be “a miserable little compromise” that fails to push voting reform far enough, by voting Yes! on the 5th May we, the citizens of the UK, can register our disquiet with the current system (FPTP) and enable the discussion on voting reform to stay at the forefront of the political agenda.

To find out more about what the Alternative Vote is compared to the current system of “First Past The Post” Amelia’s Magazine interviewed one of the Yes Campaign’s Vice-Chair’s: Jewellery Designer, Ethical Fashion Campaigner and Founder of Think Act Vote – Amisha Ghadiali.

Photography by Anna Gordon

What is a referendum?

A referendum is when we are asked to vote, not in an election, but on a single issue. Many of us would like to see more of these on a variety of issues. However they are not that common, the last UK-wide referendum was in 1975 asking the question “Do you think the UK should stay in the European Community (Common Market)?”

What is the Alternative Vote?

The Alternative Vote is a voting system, it means that instead of putting one X on our ballot paper, we rank our candidates in order of preference. You can rank all the candidates, or just one, it’s totally up to you. What this means is that if there are three candidates that you would be happy to represent you, you can communicate this. Or if your first choice is a smaller party, that under the current system would have little chance to getting in, you can vote for them, but also somebody from one of the main parties, without having to vote tactically.

 The person who wins the seats needs to have the majority of the vote, so what they do is count the votes. If nobody has 50% of the vote, they eliminate the candidate that comes last, and add their second preferences to the remaining candidates. This repeats until somebody has over 50% of the vote. It means that no votes are wasted.

What are the benefits to AV compared to FPTP?

The current system FPTP means that who ever gets the most votes wins. This sounds fair but what it means in reality is that 2 out of 3 MPs in our parliament have less then 50% of the vote. This means that most of us are represented by people most of us voted against.

The Alternative Vote will mean that MPs will have to be voted for by the majority in their constituency, and so will have to work harder to make sure that they are listening to all of their constituents and representing all of their views, rather then pandering to their core voter support which many of them do.

How are the ‘winners’ in FPTP Elections often opposed to by the majority of voters?

Because the candidate who gets the most votes wins, it doesn’t matter how much of the vote they got. For example some have as little as 32% of the vote in their constituency, meaning that over two thirds of their consistency didn’t vote for them.

Why are you voting Yes to AV?

I think that the Alternative Vote will make our democracy more honest, make all of our votes count, make our MPs have to work harder to gain wider support in their constituencies, make our MPs more accountable to us and make our experience of voting simpler. We will still have our one local MP, but will have more of a say on who that is.

The way that we vote is how we take part in our democracy, and so having more of a say in this part of the process is vital to making ours a fairer politics.

I believe that voting yes in this referendum is the most important vote that we have ever been asked to cast.


AV – A Historical Perspective

Why do you believe this is the most important vote we have ever been asked to cast?

I have taken part in two general elections where I know that my vote didn’t make any difference to the result. Although voting in both general and local elections is an important part of our citizenship, this is us voting on the future of our democracy. It’s the first referendum that I have ever taken part in. It’s not about party politics and politicians but about how we take part in politics and have our views represented. What could be more important than that? After all they do work for us.

What is your role within the Yes campaign?

I am a Vice-Chair of the campaign. When I thought about it over Christmas, I realised how passionately I felt about this referendum, and contacted the campaign asking if I could help. They invited me to be a Vice-Chair along with other supporters including Eddie Izzard, Martin Bell and Greg Dyke. It means that we campaign and speak out about the issues to the media and at events, and as I have discovered in the pub too!

Yes to AV illustration by Mike Harman

 What are your thoughts on how both the Yes to AV and No to AV campaigns have been run?

To be honest, I have found the whole debate in the media really depressing. The focal point often is about how it is going to affect the politicians, but this is not about them, it’s about us and our experience voting. It’s about our future, not about the present.

Of course, I am a supporter of the Yes Campaign, but feel that I would have been deeply disappointed in the No Campaign tactics even if I supported FPTP. Their campaign messages are built on actual lies, and I can’t believe that people are spending millions of pounds spreading lies, rather then on creating an honest open debate about the two systems. There has been so much ‘mud slinging’ which I find shocking, because I thought our politics was better than that.

Their three arguments are that it is expensive, it will give extremist parties (ie the BNP) more power and that it is too complicated for us to understand. None of these things are actually true. They have said it will cost £250 million which is the cost of the referendum whatever the result and the cost of counting machines that we are not getting. They have said that it will encourage the BNP, when the BNP are supporting a No vote, as they know the current system works better for them. And the idea that it is too complicated is frankly insulting. We can all count to three!

The Yes campaign has had to respond to a lot of the allegations that have been made, using time when we would have preferred to talk about relevant issues. I am really enjoying the energy of the Yes campaign, it has brought together a group of passionate, committed people from a variety of backgrounds. The local groups that have been running phone banks and doing local actions are really energetic and inspiring. 

Photography by Anna Gordon

 Why do you think the Conservatives, headed by David Cameron are campaigning against AV, though Cameron himself won the party leadership through AV?

It’s baffling isn’t it. I find it shocking that he is saying that AV is a bad system when it gave him his job. If the Conservative Party leadership deserves AV, then so should we. It is a system that is used a lot in Westminster, not just for leadership contests but also other votes such as how MPs join select committees. I think it is because this change breaks down the tribalism of the Conservatives vs Labour Party, which has served the conservative party well. I thought Cameron was more progressive, but seeing him campaign on this, my personal view is that Cameron doesn’t actually want us to have more say, he is happy with the system as it is, as it works for him.

Will AV tackle the culture of tactical voting and ‘safe seats’? Thus uprooting the current system of members of parliament being parachuted intp safe constituencies?

Yes it will. There is a website called Voter Power, where you can find out what your vote is worth with AV compared to FPTP. From their analysis AV will reduce the number of very safe seats by 60, and increase the number of very marginal seats by 44. So this will make a big difference.

Safe seats are definitely a problem in our current system, as is the fact that political parties openly target the marginal seats only. In the last election the votes of only 1.6% of the electorate in 111 of these marginal seats decided the result. This is something that we have to change.

There will be no need for tactical voting. You can vote with your real preferences, and don’t have to think about voting ‘against’ people.

Why do you think the number of people who vote at each General Election is falling? What needs to change within our political system that will encourage people to use their vote?

I think that there are many reasons why voting turnout is falling, a lack of trust in politicians, declining numbers of political party membership, the number of safe seats held by MPs, feeling that votes don’t count, as just a few. I think that people need to feel more connected to politics, and feel that their voice is really heard through voting. I think the Alternative Vote will help solve these issues. It will not solve all the ills of politics in this country, but it is a small change we can and should make for the better.

Photography by Anna Gordon

In the media there have been mutterings on both the reduction of the number of MP’s and the redrawing of constituency boundaries, what effect will this decision have on politics and what is it relation to the referendum on the alternative vote?

So it has nothing to do with the referendum. This happened earlier in the year, it was part of the same bill that the referendum was on when it went through parliament, and was not something that we had a say on. This has happened, and will take effect at the next general election. There are going to be 50 less MPs which means that some of the current boundaries will be re-drawn and made bigger. The idea is that it keeps the cost of politics down.  It has been quite controversial as they are dividing some traditional boundaries and local areas. At the same time Cameron has appointed 117 new peers in the House of Lords since last May, which is actually putting the cost of politics up despite cutting the number of MPs.

Any website or article recommendations for those interested in finding out more about the referendum?

Electoral Reform
 
Yes to Fairer Votes

Elegance Rebellion

If you get the X Factor you’ll get AV – Johann Hari

You can join the campaign on Facebook and Twitter too!

Written by Silent City on Wednesday April 27th, 2011 1:45 pm

Categories ,5th May 2011, ,Amisha Ghadiali, ,Anna Gordon, ,Conservatives, ,David Cameron, ,Ed Milliband, ,FPTP, ,General Election, ,House of Commons, ,Labour, ,Liberal Democrats, ,May 5th, ,Mike Harman, ,MP, ,Nick Clegg, ,No to AV, ,Referendum, ,Sam Parr, ,Think Act Vote, ,Yes to AV, ,Yes to Fairer Votes

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Amelia’s Magazine | The ballot box calls all the boys to the yard…

by

Election Night Womens representation – jenny robins

Illustration by Jenny Robins

I didn’t plan on staying up so late on Election night. I had well-meaning plans involving a cup of tea, dosage my pajamas and being tucked up in bed with a book by 10pm. But like many people, hospital as soon as the exit polls rolled in, I was hooked. My emotions swung from disbelief to elation, despair to complete confusion, the latter being the prevailing feeling.

I am not sure if there is any other point in the year where this is the case, but all eyes were on Sunderland. Initially I was baffled by the focus on rushing to count the votes. I would rather it was accurate than rushed, it isn’t Total Wipeout (although how I wish it was! Imagine – the party leaders racing round the course, being pounded with mechanical fists and squaring up to the Big Balls?!) But as the first, second and third result came in, I realized that for a brief, bizarre moment, we had a 100% female government. Imagine that. And bloomin bizarre it was. But why? Why is it so hard to imagine an all female government?

The sad reality is that women are still dramatically under-represented in key areas of public, political and economic life: In the last British Parliament of 646 there were only 126 female MPs. This is abysmal. We lag far far behind countries like Afghanistan, Rwanda, Senegal and Latvia when it comes to women’s representation. The majority of UK senior civil servants, directors of FTSE 100 companies, senior lawyers, and key figures in the media are men. No wonder so many teenage girls cite Katie Price as their role model, though that does make me want to eat my own face. If women are excluded from the top jobs, half the talent of the nation is wasted.


llustration by Jenny Robins

I went to bed around 2.30am unable to keep my eyes open any more, with an excited, but admittedly naïve, confidence that this election would see a significant increase In women in parliament. According to the Centre for Women and Democracy and the Fawcett Society, Thursday’s General Election resulted in… wait for it….. drum roll…… 142 women MPs. Yes! That’s an extra 16! Oh- no, wait a minute… 142 female MP’s in a parliament of 649…. that’s only 22% of parliament. On a positive note, this included Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party, and the election of Britain’s first ever female Asian MPs. A tiny bit better, but overall its pathetic, quite frankly. Fuck.

As I write this, there is speculation about the leader of the labour party. Oh, more white men? Déjà vu anyone? Will a women even stand? But more alarmingly, Cameron is currently forming his new cabinet, and according to the BBC, not a single women has been appointed to the cabinet yet, and I’m pretty sure that not a single woman has even been mentioned. Sweet mercy. From bad to dire.

UPDATE: 4 women were appointed to the cabinet, none in the top jobs. This still puts us far behind our European counterparts. Theresa May is the new Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, who, according to theyworkforyou voted against rights for gay people. Go figure.

This has to change. If women’s representation continues to creep up in 1 or 2 percentage points like it has done up until now it will literally take decades before women are fairly represented in our country. Women only shortlists may sound drastic to some but when you consider the state of women’s representation nationally, you realize that it’s drastically needed.

And then there is proportional representation. Oh sweet, fair, idolized proportional representation! How we long for you! It is a clear olive branch standing out from the mushy confused mess of the election result. (Lib-lab, lab-con, Con-dem anyone?) The case for voter reform is more convincing than ever.

There are apparently gazilillions of different proportional representation systems, but roughly it means that if a party receives 10% of the vote, they receive 10% representation, which is hundreds of miles better than the system we have now when a party receives 51% of the vote but 100% of the influence in parliament. The Electoral Reform Society explains one system thus; “At present, constituencies are represented in parliament by just one MP. Under a Single Transferable Vote system, each constituency is represented by a small group of representatives…This makes it possible for representatives of different parties to be elected in each ward, thus allowing more people to have representatives of the parties of their choice.” Having a group of representatives in each constituency will mean that it will be even more blindingly obvious if women are not represented there (same for other minority groups too). In other countries that operate proportional representation more women are nominated, and the more women are nominated the more they are elected. Proportional representation also means that people can vote according to what they actually believe in (like, for example, electing more women to parliament, amongst other things) rather than tactically to keep certain parties in or out.


Illustration by Sandra Dieckmann

So yes. Women are still dismally under represented. Yes, teenage girls are growing up saving for boob jobs. Yes, we heard more about the dresses of the leaders wives than we did the policies of the female candidates. But it is time to say no. We wont stand for our outdated, old fashioned, unfair voting system any more… Takebackparliament , a coalition of a range of different voter reform groups have organised a demonstration calling for voter reform on Saturday. When you’re talking to your kids and grandkids in years to come about this bonkers election, don’t say you watched it on facebook and TV. Say you got involved and made a difference.

Join them this Saturday At 2pm at Parliament Sq.

*climbs down off soap box and sneaks away quietly….*

Written by Hannah Bullivant on Wednesday May 12th, 2010 10:46 am

Categories ,activism, ,Cabinet office, ,David Cameron, ,earth, ,fashion, ,General Election, ,Jenny Robins, ,london, ,Nick Clegg, ,Theresa May, ,women’s rights, ,Womens representation

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Amelia’s Magazine | The Hung Parliament spells serious change for our government.

by

Democracy Village Amelia Wells
Democracy Village. All photography by Amelia Wells.

Parliament Square is currently home to the Democracy Village; a few tents, visit this site treatment a couple of marquees and a whole lot of passion. It was set up on May the First and will be there… until people leave, or for some, until the war is over. I went down on Election Day, since I couldn’t vote anyway having failed to register, to see what was going on at the Festival of Peace. I found a vibrant and close knit community of anarchists, doing what they colourfully could to challenge the establishment, promote democracy and bring the war that we’re still at to an end.

Democracy Village Amelia Wells

Banners were being painted and erected as I arrived, the most striking declaring ‘Capitalism Isn’t Working’ against the backdrop of Big Ben. Others encouraged peaceful feelings, demanded ‘TROOPS OUT’, and my favourite, ‘If Voting Changed Anything, It Would Be Illegal’ – a good point when you consider quite how opposed the establishment are towards those actions which do make changes, such as occupations, mass protests, swoops and other forms of direct action. In the name of protecting our security, of course. Strangely, the police sniffing around the set-up didn’t make me feel more secure.

Democracy Village Amelia Wells

The atmosphere in the Village was peaceful and playful, in spite of the threat to national security which we represented. Peace-mongering music was played and danced to, the lyrics encouraging politicians not to go to war and to love their fellow man, with some Rage thrown in to sate the more militant. I watched people paint their shoes and bags with Ghandi’s most famous quote while a girl called Cloud handed out homemade fairy cakes.

Democracy Village Amelia Wells

Eventually, the open mic picked up, starting with a chap standing up to remind everybody why we were there and what we stood for when he asked whether politicians represent our views, or if we do? He also pointed out that being peaceful is not equivalent to being apathetic. Anything but, in fact, in a country run by the power and conflict hungry, seeking peace is downright subversive. He was rightfully applauded and whooped for his impassioned speaking, after which a gent who had been filming the event and interviewing the Villagers stepped up to spout well-crafted words of poetry in the exact spirit of peace we need – calling out the hateful on their actions and encouraging us to make a difference. Next up, a red nosed, bewigged gentleman incited us to love, respect and welcome one and all. His motto; one world, one society.

Democracy Village Amelia Wells

The most controversial speaker was a mouthpiece for the Tories who encouraged us anarchists to register as such in return for mind-altering substances. A few Villagers didn’t seem to have a prior understanding of satire and became quite riled at the ‘Tory’s’ opinions; one lady began shouting about the Village being funded by oil and arms companies… and the Israelis. After a calming down period, he suggested that we find a child and ask its favourite colour, informing us that he was voting Lib Dem because his son likes yellow, and voting isn’t going to make a difference to how the country is run.

Democracy Village Amelia Wells

Herein lies my gripe with actions such as these. It’s so easy for activists embroiled in occupations and demonstrations to believe that the means to change are obvious to all, but the man-in-the-street being told that his vote is irrelevant will only feel more powerless, if they pay any attention at all. The act of occupation is an act of power – reclaiming public space – but is standard passer-by going to stop and ask what they can do instead of voting, or keep passing by and shake their heads at foolish hippies?

Democracy Village Amelia Wells

The true message is that we can take the power back through direct action, occupations, protests, swoops and marches. Camps like these do force people to consider, if only for the moment it takes to read a banner, that our political system lies to us about the importance of our vote while trying to make us believe it is the sole extent of our political voice, and therefore reducing our power and influence over them (long banner, eh?) . However, most won’t and don’t wander into places like these and ask what they CAN do. As the Tory said, ‘I’m preaching to the converted here’. The outreach didn’t seem to be reaching out. An occupation in Parliament Square is the perfect opportunity to reach hundreds of people every day, not just with a message, but with suggested actions which everyone can take to make those changes we so desire and need.

The Village is going on indefinitely, and there are also events this weekend at Kew Bridge Eco Village and Transition Heathrow as well. Get down there to Kew for some face painting fun, or get along to Grow Heathrow and get stuck into their work weekend.

Illustration by June Chanpoomidole

While Spring turns to Summer, generic London Fashion Week AW10 may fade in our memories, stomach but the designers that drew us in certainly won’t. One such designer that caught my eye at the Esthetica exhibition was ‘Makepiece’. The concept and techniques used were so intriguing that we couldn’t resist interviewing the owner, Beate Kubitz.

 Why did you choose to focus on eco-fashion? Why is it so important to you? 
Clothes are important to me.  I think what you’re wearing tells other people a lot about you, who you are and how you feel about yourself.  I don’t like the idea that something that makes me look great was complicit in damaging the environment or the people who made it.  You don’t want your favourite t-shirt to be dripping with pesticides, cause a water shortage or to be sewn up in a sweat shop.  But unless you’re very careful, it might be. 
There’s something wrong with the latest trend ‘buy, wear, chuck’ mentality – it’s a bit neurotic and it’s definitely bad for the planet.  We try and make clothes that are significant to the women that wear them and that they can feel really good about. 

How did the Makepiece brand begin?  
I’ve been keeping sheep for seven years now, met Nicola six years ago and Makepiece is now five. 
We’re located in Todmorden, a small town in the Pennines. It’s beautiful and has a long history of wool production so it feels like the right place to be doing it.  The landscape is scattered with mills built in the nineteenth century – but wool was being spun and woven in cottage industries and then transported to market or the Piece Halls on ponies travelling on packhorse tracks which still crisscross the moors. 

What techniques do you use in your clothing?
Knitting – with some knitted felt.  The important thing is stitch design – Nicola is the queen of 3D stitches that really sculpt the garments and give them their drama as well as their details. She uses hand operated knitting machines which give her scope to develop a stitch then apply it in loads of different ways so that it works on the body. Our knits tend to be more three-dimensional because they’re designed like this. Also, all our knits are fully fashioned (knitted to shape rather than cut out of a piece of knitted cloth) which looks better and wastes less yarn. 

What materials do you use in your clothing?
Wool – some of it undyed brown wool from our Shetland sheep, others fine Bluefaced Leicester wool, from the UK flock and English alpaca and mohair.


Illustration by Becky Glover

What was the inspiration behind your most recent collection? 
Romance, definitely. Nicola got married in the summer and the sense of romance seems to have seeped into and permeated the collection. There are lots of ruffles, little frills, translucency and volume – but not just ephemeral prettiness, really lovely things that you can adapt and keep forever. 

Do you have a favourite piece in the current collection? If so, what is it and why? 
There are a few things that are really adaptable – like the Manifold cardigan which has a ribbon tie which can be used to ruche it up to bolero length or left loose so that it’s a long, elegant cardigan. Our little Foxglove shrug also works as a summer scarf and the Manifold dresses can be styled in loads of ways so they let the wearer use her imagination. 

What are your future aims for the Makepiece brand?
We’ve really been growing our website so that people all over the country can buy our clothes but we’d like to be in more stores, for the people who are less confident with internet shopping or who like to try things on. 

Is it harder or easier to sell eco-fashion? Is there a lot of competition?
Because we make everything in the UK it’s more expensive to manufacture so that means that we have to do a good job in helping people understand.

What is so individual about the Makepiece brand?  
Style, humour and our flock of Shetland sheep.  We go from mud to mascara in a twinkling of an eye – never forgetting the roots of our fashion but always looking for beauty and grace in our designs. We try and be sustainable throughout the business – from the way we farm the sheep with the lowest impact possible (we’re just about to become part of a scheme to help protect twite – which is one of the most endangered British bird species) to buying green energy for the studio, recycling everything we can, using public transport as much as possible (I took our last collection to London Fashion Week on the train from Yorkshire – in the most enormous trunk – it was quite a feat), I even do some of the farming on my bike.   

The good thing about wool is that it is more or less a by-product from sheep farming so it’s not using up land or resources that should be in food production – and on upland farms like mine creating good grazing and farming sheep is one of the few productive things you can do (I tried vegetables once, but it was not a success!).  Compared to cotton, for example, which uses over 15% of the pesticides used in the world and vast amounts of water – so much that the irrigation of cotton has shrunk the size of the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan, wool is farmed much more sustainably (particularly in the UK where we have to look after the land as well as the animals and the government monitors your impact on the environment). 

Because we make everything so locally we avoid the CO2 emissions from shipping things vast distances. We also employ people in our community and use a local dyer who has to comply with European dyeing regulations – the REACH standards; no azos, no heavy metals and irritants, effluent is stringently monitored so no emissions into the water system, and so on. 
We also only use recycled and sustainable paper in our labelling and packaging. 

You can find the brand at: www.makepiece.co.uk and selected eco-fashion stores.

Ballot Box Colourbox
Illustration by Matt Thomas.

So today’s the day: the day that I sprung out of bed at an ungodly hour with only one thing on my mind. Who will be our next prime minister? I’ve not been so excited about a general election since 1997, sickness when I memorably got so drunk dancing on the tables in a north London pub that I thew up in the gutter. Of course back then I was excited for a very different reason. Yes, buy hands up, I was one of many who voted Blair in – after years of Tory rule we were excited about a future under Labour. Oh how very chastened we now are 13 years later.

Solving Hung Parliament Val Woodhouse
Solving Hung Parliament by Val Woodhouse.

In 2010 it seems I am not the only one who has gotten swept up in the election. Even before the tales of queues at the polling stations I had a gut feeling there would be a high election turn out this year. Okay, so in my local Tescos the regular cashiers were overheard saying “Are you going to vote?” “Nah, they’re all the same aren’t they?” but when I walked through Camden yesterday I overheard lots of people talking about voting. It seems that we’ve finally managed to reawaken our democratic spirit.

Colourbox

Illustrations by Colourbox.

I think this can be attributed to a few things – the Leaders’ Debates on television have increased popular interest in politics and Twitter allows for lots of interesting conversations, but there’s more to it than that… We are now so thoroughly fed up with the current system that we’ve collectively become hungry for change. And I’m not talking the kind of rhetorical change that Cameron espouses every time a camera is pointed in his direction. I’m talking serious, deep systemic change. Most people have been complacent for so long for only one very good reason: like the cashiers in Tescos they don’t feel that their vote makes the blindest bit of difference.

creaturemag_hang parliament
Illustration by Creaturemag.
GordonBrown_GarethAHopkins
Gordon Brown by Gareth Hopkins.

And so, whilst the big party leaders have been spinning the same old shit about how we should avoid a hung parliament at all costs because what we most need now for our country is stability or the markets will fail (big bloody boohoo) it seems that for many voters this has been like a red rag to a bull. Not even copious riot porn from Greece has phased us. Okay we’ve said: bring it on. We want serious upheaval! Nobody I have spoken to has feared the result we now have; instead we’ve positively hoped for a hung parliament precisely because we may finally see some changes to our electoral system. Of course, I’m as thoroughly baffled as the next person when it comes to the many forms of proportional representation, and I know the argument that PR could lead to as many representatives of the BNP in government as there could be Greens, but frankly that doesn’t frighten me. Our current “democracy” quite clearly doesn’t work and so something else that better represents the wishes of voters has got to be worth giving a go.

informationisbeautiful
I love this clever graph from Information is Beautiful, showing up the glaring inadequacies of our current system.

Colourbox
Illustration by Colourbox.

I’m worried, of course, about what will happen if Cameron forces a Tory led government on us without sufficient recognition of the electoral reforms so many of us want. But actually I don’t really *fear* it – I think that if he does ignore the clear wishes of the voters then there will be widespread unrest and direct action of the kind that we saw just a glimpse of last night at polling stations across the country.

POLL Station Riots- abigaildaker
The Polling Station in Sheffield Hallam, illustration by Abigail Daker.

I called in late to my polling station in Bacon Street just off Brick Lane, and there was no one to impede my progress to the ballot box. However I was lucky, and people up and down the country are quite rightly furious that they were unable to vote thanks to a higher than predicted election turnout and antiquarian voting methods which have allegedly shocked even our visiting developing world adjudicators. I was as incredulous as ever. “You mean you don’t need to take my polling card as proof I am me?” It is utterly nuts that we don’t need proof of identity to vote. Next to me a boy, surely not a day over 15, was pushing his papers into the box. Who was he voting for? Just days ago a huge amount of voter fraud was uncovered in my constituency of Bethnal Green and Bow. In fact, it was uncovered on my own street – visible from my studio window is a building in my estate that allegedly houses 18 Bengalis, all registered for a postal vote.

melsimoneelliott
mel simone elliott
Illustrations by Mel Simone Elliott.

In demonstration against our fraudulent system the Whitechapel Anarchists got together to spoil their ballots with great fanfare in Altab Ali Park, the Space Hijackers took their campaign bus on the road with the banner “Voting Only Encourages Them” and the Democracy Village is camped out in Parliament Square. There’s definitely a faint whiff of revolution in the air. That or the right to vote in a more democratic way.

caroline-lucas-election-2010-antonia-parker
Caroline Lucas by Antonia Parker.

Despite this unrest, I was absolutely ecstatic to hear that Caroline Lucas has become the first ever MP for the Green Party in the district of Brighton Pavilion. I met her when we did the first Climate Rush on Parliament in 2008 and I’ve been keeping my fingers and toes crossed that she would win this seat for some time now. If some form of electoral reform goes ahead there’s the thrilling prospect of yet more Greens in Parliament to represent my views. In the meantime, there’s always a nice bit of Direct Action to force change far more quickly than our government seems capable of. Climate Camp is targeting RBS this year. We look forward to making a big impact on our corrupt financial systems, whether or not change is decreed from on high.

carolinelucas_currentstate
Caroline sees green by Currentstate.

Brighton-lazaroumterror
Brighton-lazaroumterror
Illustrations by Lazarou Monkey Terror.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday May 7th, 2010 5:53 pm

Categories ,Abigail Daker, ,Antonia Parker, ,Bethnal Green, ,BNP, ,Brick Lane, ,Caroline Lucas, ,Climate Camp, ,Climate Rush, ,Colourbox, ,creaturemag, ,Currentstate, ,David Cameron, ,Direct Action, ,Electoral Reform, ,Gareth Hopkins, ,Greece, ,Green Party, ,Hung Parliament, ,Leaders’ Debate, ,Matt Thomas, ,Mel Simone Elliott, ,parliament, ,politics, ,Proportional Representation, ,RBS, ,Riots, ,Tescos, ,Tony Blair, ,twitter, ,Val Woodhouse

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Amelia’s Magazine | Protest: Why We Support The Student Occupations

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Bust Craftacular
Josie Long and Darren Hayman support the occupations. All Photographs courtesy of UCLOccupation.

Since the first protest over two weeks ago, viagra 40mg there has been something palatable in the air; occupation, seek occupation, occupation! Across Britain students have left the streets and occupied their University halls in protest against the outcome of Lord Browne’s report: tuition fees to rise, the abolishment of EMA’s and the suggested removal of the state funding Universities receive to aid their research and teaching budgets.

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In the face of the Coalition’s seemingly never-ending barrage of cuts targeting every section of the welfare state, there has been the inevitable attempts to label the student protests as self indulgent (though what is self indulgent about fighting to preserve access to higher education for all, in perpetuity?!). I was disappointed to see the always readable Polly Toynbee state: “Sorry Students, but you’re low in the pain pecking order” we should be avoiding the desire to turn the terrifying breadth and width of the cuts into a hierarchical system of the most deserving.

Emmy the Great dropped by UCL…

Yet the students are fighting back against charges of indulgency, one of the demands made by the UCLOccupation is for all University employees to be paid the London Living Wage. The inclusion of this demand has lead to increased support from Toynbee and her more recent article “Thatcher’s Children can lead the Class of 68 back into action” signaled a change in approach. The Students are using their platform of occupation not only to campaign against sweeping changes to the perception of Higher Education, but to join forces -as I learnt whilst visiting UCLOccupation- with other groups (NHS, Library Workers, Legal Aid etc) to protest against these draconian, unnecessary and dogmatic cuts.

Céilí Dancing

Personally, I completely support the occupations of Universities, I’ve tasted the education cuts proposed by the Coalition and the impact they had on my student body was terrible, morale was low, people questioned why they were plunging into debt when they were receiving so little in return. It made many students question the worth of their courses, which is what The Browne report wants to achieve – the commodification of learning. Education is not about financial worth and society will quickly become lacking in innovation and discussion if this thinking becomes the norm.

This is the inevitable problem when turning education into a competitive market rather than an individual choice about whether or not to further their learning. Maybe I was idealistic at what university would offer, but the sly cuts in teaching, space and access to workshops was not what I was expecting. During my second year at Goldsmiths we spent the year fighting against bigger class sizes on a third of the teachers, compounded by the loss of workshops and studio space so small, people stopped coming into the studios. Luckily for our third year, we managed to claw back studio space and instigate a system of visiting tutors, but the depth of knowledge we lost with the axed tutors was unmistakable.

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Goldsmiths was the second university I tried, I left my first in protest against their education cuts. I bring up my experiences because despite Clegg’s lame protestations, it is not only the higher fees that would put me off if I was applying now, it is the slow destruction of our higher education system. The forcing of universities to act like businesses is not working and nor should it. Education is not a marketable commodity and we need to protect it alongside our incredible welfare state (the first hospital has already been all but privatised – Andrew Lansley’s white paper is a slippery slope), why are we allowing free universal access to medical care slip through our fingers? No-one in the Cabinet paid for their higher education and they experienced the best it had and still has to offer. We need to support the student occupations, we need to support the preservation of higher education.

P1050438

I visited the UCLOccupation“>UCL occupation on Saturday and it was amazing hive of activity (as all the occupied universities will be). This weekend the Slade are mobilising art against the cuts, you can see their manifesto here. Since my visit the protestors marched again on tuesday and ran circles around the police’s attempt to kettle them or in the words of newspeak, ‘detain.’ There are many excellent accounts of what happened available across the internet or join twitter for live updates.

img_4642

Rather disappointingly UCL Lawyers have been called in to secure an injunction to evict the students, a move being instigated no doubt by all Universities currently occupied. It would be a breath of fresh air for the University bodies to support the students who fill their halls.

Do check out what events are happening at the various spaces, during my visit to UCL I caught the end of Billy Bragg, saw the rousing support of the National Union of Journalists, sat through a book reading and the tutor’s rallying support for the plight of students across Britain and had the opportunity to listen to David Wearing discussing a brief and indept history to capitalism and Dan Hind talk about the ideas contained -democratising debate via a public editorial system, removing the power from the elite- within his latest book, The Return of the Public.

_MG_7584

This week Slade Art School students occupied in opposition to cuts that “threaten the existence of arts and humanities education in England and Wales…we vehemently oppose the transformation of the university system into a market based model; education should be a public debate, not a private economy.” Rather brilliantly the Slade are using their space as an assembly point for all art colleges to get together and organise “non-violent direct action” against the Government’s attacks on the arts. It is worth mentioning that course that appears de rigor for politicians -the PPE- would be considered a humanitarian subject and that the people who are forcing these changes on us, had free access to University, despite being millionaires. This weekend the Slade will be hosting lectures, events and workshops to “highlight the value of intellectual and cultural exchange within art courses.” Supported by the The Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination, the events run from the 3rd December to Sunday 5th.

This Saturday (4th) sees a national day of action against ALL cuts proposed by the coalition and another protest with teachers, students and parents is being planned for the 9th. This was originally and remains banking crisis, a crisis of capitalism, we can negotiate a new space if we work together. The government bailed out the banks and populations across the world are paying the price. This type of capitalism continually fails as do the unchecked belief in unregulated markets. Why would we let people involved in this crisis, advise us that the best model for Universities is one based on the market??

IMG_4952

Written by Sally Mumby-Croft on Thursday December 2nd, 2010 2:00 pm

Categories ,Billy Bragg, ,Cuts, ,David Cameron, ,Education, ,Falmouth, ,Fees Increase, ,Josie Long, ,kettling, ,Kings College, ,Little Miss Wilde, ,Nick Clegg, ,protest, ,slade, ,SOAS, ,The New Left Project, ,UCL, ,UCLOccupation, ,UEL Occupation, ,University of East London, ,Whitehall

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Amelia’s Magazine | The ballot box calls all the boys to the yard…

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Election Night Womens representation – jenny robins

Illustration by Jenny Robins

I didn’t plan on staying up so late on Election night. I had well-meaning plans involving a cup of tea, dosage my pajamas and being tucked up in bed with a book by 10pm. But like many people, hospital as soon as the exit polls rolled in, I was hooked. My emotions swung from disbelief to elation, despair to complete confusion, the latter being the prevailing feeling.

I am not sure if there is any other point in the year where this is the case, but all eyes were on Sunderland. Initially I was baffled by the focus on rushing to count the votes. I would rather it was accurate than rushed, it isn’t Total Wipeout (although how I wish it was! Imagine – the party leaders racing round the course, being pounded with mechanical fists and squaring up to the Big Balls?!) But as the first, second and third result came in, I realized that for a brief, bizarre moment, we had a 100% female government. Imagine that. And bloomin bizarre it was. But why? Why is it so hard to imagine an all female government?

The sad reality is that women are still dramatically under-represented in key areas of public, political and economic life: In the last British Parliament of 646 there were only 126 female MPs. This is abysmal. We lag far far behind countries like Afghanistan, Rwanda, Senegal and Latvia when it comes to women’s representation. The majority of UK senior civil servants, directors of FTSE 100 companies, senior lawyers, and key figures in the media are men. No wonder so many teenage girls cite Katie Price as their role model, though that does make me want to eat my own face. If women are excluded from the top jobs, half the talent of the nation is wasted.


llustration by Jenny Robins

I went to bed around 2.30am unable to keep my eyes open any more, with an excited, but admittedly naïve, confidence that this election would see a significant increase In women in parliament. According to the Centre for Women and Democracy and the Fawcett Society, Thursday’s General Election resulted in… wait for it….. drum roll…… 142 women MPs. Yes! That’s an extra 16! Oh- no, wait a minute… 142 female MP’s in a parliament of 649…. that’s only 22% of parliament. On a positive note, this included Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party, and the election of Britain’s first ever female Asian MPs. A tiny bit better, but overall its pathetic, quite frankly. Fuck.

As I write this, there is speculation about the leader of the labour party. Oh, more white men? Déjà vu anyone? Will a women even stand? But more alarmingly, Cameron is currently forming his new cabinet, and according to the BBC, not a single women has been appointed to the cabinet yet, and I’m pretty sure that not a single woman has even been mentioned. Sweet mercy. From bad to dire.

UPDATE: 4 women were appointed to the cabinet, none in the top jobs. This still puts us far behind our European counterparts. Theresa May is the new Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, who, according to theyworkforyou voted against rights for gay people. Go figure.

This has to change. If women’s representation continues to creep up in 1 or 2 percentage points like it has done up until now it will literally take decades before women are fairly represented in our country. Women only shortlists may sound drastic to some but when you consider the state of women’s representation nationally, you realize that it’s drastically needed.

And then there is proportional representation. Oh sweet, fair, idolized proportional representation! How we long for you! It is a clear olive branch standing out from the mushy confused mess of the election result. (Lib-lab, lab-con, Con-dem anyone?) The case for voter reform is more convincing than ever.

There are apparently gazilillions of different proportional representation systems, but roughly it means that if a party receives 10% of the vote, they receive 10% representation, which is hundreds of miles better than the system we have now when a party receives 51% of the vote but 100% of the influence in parliament. The Electoral Reform Society explains one system thus; “At present, constituencies are represented in parliament by just one MP. Under a Single Transferable Vote system, each constituency is represented by a small group of representatives…This makes it possible for representatives of different parties to be elected in each ward, thus allowing more people to have representatives of the parties of their choice.” Having a group of representatives in each constituency will mean that it will be even more blindingly obvious if women are not represented there (same for other minority groups too). In other countries that operate proportional representation more women are nominated, and the more women are nominated the more they are elected. Proportional representation also means that people can vote according to what they actually believe in (like, for example, electing more women to parliament, amongst other things) rather than tactically to keep certain parties in or out.


Illustration by Sandra Dieckmann

So yes. Women are still dismally under represented. Yes, teenage girls are growing up saving for boob jobs. Yes, we heard more about the dresses of the leaders wives than we did the policies of the female candidates. But it is time to say no. We wont stand for our outdated, old fashioned, unfair voting system any more… Takebackparliament , a coalition of a range of different voter reform groups have organised a demonstration calling for voter reform on Saturday. When you’re talking to your kids and grandkids in years to come about this bonkers election, don’t say you watched it on facebook and TV. Say you got involved and made a difference.

Join them this Saturday At 2pm at Parliament Sq.

*climbs down off soap box and sneaks away quietly….*

Written by Hannah Bullivant on Wednesday May 12th, 2010 10:46 am

Categories ,activism, ,Cabinet office, ,David Cameron, ,earth, ,fashion, ,General Election, ,Jenny Robins, ,london, ,Nick Clegg, ,Theresa May, ,women’s rights, ,Womens representation

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Amelia’s Magazine | Behold, the Cleggeron Riseth.

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A selection of elephants by Paul Shinn

Allow me to introduce you to Marjorie, web picture below. She’s one of 258 fibreglass elephants in and around London decorated by some of the capital’s most prominent artists, more about designers and image makers.


Clare Bassett’s Marjorie (#81)

It’s London’s largest outdoor art event and it’s creating quite a stir in the capital. From people like John Shinn, who’s trying to photograph them all on Facebook, to work colleagues printing out lists of the elephants and checking them off, it seems that they’ve gripped London like nothing before.

So, where to start? Well, the aim of this project, whilst cheering up many a London street, is a simple one. It’s to raise awareness for the plight of the Asian elephant, dangerously close to extinction. Created by father and son duo Mike and Marc Spits, all the revenue from sponsorship and the auction of the elephants will go to the Elephant Family charity.

Here’s some you should see, and some you can just see here.

A range of fashion designers have applied their own style to the elephants, including this creation by red carpet luminary Julian McDonald.

It’s fun, no? It’s not the best one by a long shot, and I question the ethics of decorating one endangered animal in the beautiful coat of another, but I’m sure this is totally off McDonald’s radar. It’s suitably camp and stands perkily out Liberty, and this clump of Italian teenagers certainly seemed to enjoy it.

Other fashion names include Issa, Diane von Furstenberg, Matthew Williamson and Sir Paul Smith (one of my favourite elephants so far)


The Paul Smith Elephant by Sir Paul Smith (#173) at The Royal Exchange

The beauty of the project, besides raising awareness in a super fun way, is that you never know when you are going to bump into one of these creatures. They are literally everywhere – hell, they’d have to be to fit 250 of the buggers in our city. Just as you put your camera away after photographing one, you turn a corner and there’s another!


Illustration by Gemma Milly


Illustration by Matt Thomas


The Cartier elephant (#107) at the Royal Exchange by Rachel Liddington


The City in the Elephant by BFLS Architects (#255) illustrated by Lisa Billvik

This beauty is pretty simple on the outside, but peer inside any of its small transparent domes and inside you’ll see an incredible model of London featuring teeny tiny elephants, too!


Photograph by Paul Shinn


Thammakit Thamboon’s Polkadot (#12) at More London by Jenny Robins


Helen Cowcher’s Hornbill (#116) at More London by Naomi Law


Illustration by Eben Berj

Of course, this art project wouldn’t be complete with a good ol’ dash of politics. ‘Anonymous’ has created three elephants dressed in boxing gloves and silk shorts in the colour of the three main political parties – appropriately titled ‘Mr Brown’ ‘Mr Cameron’ and ‘Mr Clegg’. The Elephant Parade haven’t yet confirmed, however, if they’re to remove ‘Mr Brown’, or indeed move ‘Mr Cameron’ and ‘Mr Clegg’ together so they can whisper sweet nothings to each other.


Photograph by Paul Shinn

So, go out and enjoy some fun art right on the street. Tweet your pics @AmeliasMagazine !

A selection of elephants by Paul Shinn

Allow me to introduce you to Marjorie, website picture below. She’s one of 258 fibreglass elephants in and around London decorated by some of the capital’s most prominent artists, this web designers and image makers.


Clare Bassett’s Marjorie (#81) at More London

It’s London’s largest outdoor art event and it’s creating quite a stir in the capital. From people like John Shinn, who’s trying to photograph them all on Facebook, to work colleagues printing out lists of the elephants and checking them off, it seems that they’ve gripped London like nothing before.

So, where to start? Well, the aim of this project, whilst cheering up many a London street, is a simple one. It’s to raise awareness for the plight of the Asian elephant, dangerously close to extinction. Created by father and son duo Mike and Marc Spits, all the revenue from sponsorship and the auction of the elephants will go to the Elephant Family charity.

Here’s some you should see, and some you can just see here.

A range of fashion designers have applied their own style to the elephants, including this creation by red carpet luminary Julian McDonald.


Bertie by Julien McDonald (#139) on Foubert’s Place

It’s fun, no? It’s not the best one by a long shot, and I question the ethics of decorating one endangered animal in the beautiful coat of another, but I’m sure this is totally off McDonald’s radar. It’s suitably camp and stands perkily out Liberty, and this clump of Italian teenagers certainly seemed to enjoy it.

Other fashion names include Issa, Diane von Furstenberg, Matthew Williamson and Sir Paul Smith (one of my favourite elephants so far)


The Paul Smith Elephant by Sir Paul Smith (#173) at The Royal Exchange

The beauty of the project, besides raising awareness in a super fun way, is that you never know when you are going to bump into one of these creatures. They are literally everywhere – hell, they’d have to be to fit 250 of the buggers in our city. Just as you put your camera away after photographing one, you turn a corner and there’s another!


Illustration by Gemma Milly


Illustration by Matt Thomas


The Cartier elephant (#107) at the Royal Exchange by Rachel Liddington


The City in the Elephant by BFLS Architects (#255) illustrated by Lisa Billvik

This beauty is pretty simple on the outside, but peer inside any of its small transparent domes and inside you’ll see an incredible model of London featuring teeny tiny elephants, too!


Photograph by Paul Shinn


Thammakit Thamboon’s Polkadot (#12) at More London by Jenny Robins


Helen Cowcher’s Hornbill (#116) at More London by Naomi Law


Illustration by Eben Berj

Of course, this art project wouldn’t be complete with a good ol’ dash of politics. ‘Anonymous’ has created three elephants dressed in boxing gloves and silk shorts in the colour of the three main political parties – appropriately titled ‘Mr Brown’ ‘Mr Cameron’ and ‘Mr Clegg’. The Elephant Parade haven’t yet confirmed, however, if they’re to remove ‘Mr Brown’, or indeed move ‘Mr Cameron’ and ‘Mr Clegg’ together so they can whisper sweet nothings to each other.


Photograph by Paul Shinn


Eko by Paul Kidby (#195) in Green Park, illustrated by Rachel de Ste. Croix

So, go out and enjoy some fun art right on the street. Tweet your pics @AmeliasMagazine !
Cameron-Clegg-Antonia-Parker
Cameron and Clegg in bed together, mind by Antonia Parker.

Who watched the joint press conference given by David Cameron and Nick Clegg from the Downing Street back garden on 12th May 2010? Who else boggled at the back-slapping camaraderie of this sudden coalition? Within the space of just one week Cameron and Clegg have gone from flirtatious – or so it now seems, buy looking back – bickering to full on coitus. Watch them chuckle at each other’s jokes like old mates! See them smile lovingly at each other! Yes, I feared that a hung parliament would produce my least preferred coalition, but I never for one moment anticipated this classic bromance.

sandra dieckmann-lib-con love
Lib-Con Love by Sandra Dieckmann.

And I can’t help but think – how on earth is this love-in actually going to work? How many concessions will the Cleggeron make to keep the spark alive? These are interesting days, to be sure.

The opportunity to put out an open brief to picture this unholy union was just too irresistible. This then, is a blog devoted to the brilliance of illustrators. Enjoy.

bex_glover_nc_dc_tandem
The tandem by Bex Glover.

The Cleggeron-Lazarou Monkey Terror
The Cleggeron by Lazarou Monkey Terror.

Abi Daker - clegg - cameron
Illustration by Abigail Daker.

camerlegg-Colourbox
Camerlegg by Colourbox.

louise rowland-clegg cameron
Bathtime by Louise Rowland.

mel-elliott-clegg-cameron-krankies
Krankies by Mel Simone Elliot.

Reena-Makwana-Clegg-Cameron
Illustration by Reena Makwana.

tom_dench-layton_cleggcam
Cleggcam by Tom Dench-Layton.

simonwild_CLEGG&CAMERON
Surprise!! by Simon Wild.

pearl_law_cleggcam
Illustration by Pearl Law.

Nikki-Pinder-Clegg-Cameron
Illustration by Nikki Pinder.

If you fancy getting involved in my open callouts the best thing to do is follow me on twitter and get stuck in. Until the next one…

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday May 14th, 2010 3:53 pm

Categories ,Abigail Daker, ,Antonia Parker, ,Bex Glover, ,Bromance, ,Cleggeron, ,Coalition, ,Colourbox, ,David Cameron, ,Downing Street, ,General Election, ,Hung Parliament, ,illustration, ,Lazarou Monkey Terror, ,Louise Rowland, ,Mel Simone Elliott, ,Nick Clegg, ,Nikki Pinder, ,parliament, ,Pearl Law, ,politics, ,Reena Makwana, ,Sandra Dieckmann, ,Simon Wild, ,Tom Dench-Layton, ,twitter

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Amelia’s Magazine | Behold, the Cleggeron Riseth.

by


A selection of elephants by Paul Shinn

Allow me to introduce you to Marjorie, web picture below. She’s one of 258 fibreglass elephants in and around London decorated by some of the capital’s most prominent artists, more about designers and image makers.


Clare Bassett’s Marjorie (#81)

It’s London’s largest outdoor art event and it’s creating quite a stir in the capital. From people like John Shinn, who’s trying to photograph them all on Facebook, to work colleagues printing out lists of the elephants and checking them off, it seems that they’ve gripped London like nothing before.

So, where to start? Well, the aim of this project, whilst cheering up many a London street, is a simple one. It’s to raise awareness for the plight of the Asian elephant, dangerously close to extinction. Created by father and son duo Mike and Marc Spits, all the revenue from sponsorship and the auction of the elephants will go to the Elephant Family charity.

Here’s some you should see, and some you can just see here.

A range of fashion designers have applied their own style to the elephants, including this creation by red carpet luminary Julian McDonald.

It’s fun, no? It’s not the best one by a long shot, and I question the ethics of decorating one endangered animal in the beautiful coat of another, but I’m sure this is totally off McDonald’s radar. It’s suitably camp and stands perkily out Liberty, and this clump of Italian teenagers certainly seemed to enjoy it.

Other fashion names include Issa, Diane von Furstenberg, Matthew Williamson and Sir Paul Smith (one of my favourite elephants so far)


The Paul Smith Elephant by Sir Paul Smith (#173) at The Royal Exchange

The beauty of the project, besides raising awareness in a super fun way, is that you never know when you are going to bump into one of these creatures. They are literally everywhere – hell, they’d have to be to fit 250 of the buggers in our city. Just as you put your camera away after photographing one, you turn a corner and there’s another!


Illustration by Gemma Milly


Illustration by Matt Thomas


The Cartier elephant (#107) at the Royal Exchange by Rachel Liddington


The City in the Elephant by BFLS Architects (#255) illustrated by Lisa Billvik

This beauty is pretty simple on the outside, but peer inside any of its small transparent domes and inside you’ll see an incredible model of London featuring teeny tiny elephants, too!


Photograph by Paul Shinn


Thammakit Thamboon’s Polkadot (#12) at More London by Jenny Robins


Helen Cowcher’s Hornbill (#116) at More London by Naomi Law


Illustration by Eben Berj

Of course, this art project wouldn’t be complete with a good ol’ dash of politics. ‘Anonymous’ has created three elephants dressed in boxing gloves and silk shorts in the colour of the three main political parties – appropriately titled ‘Mr Brown’ ‘Mr Cameron’ and ‘Mr Clegg’. The Elephant Parade haven’t yet confirmed, however, if they’re to remove ‘Mr Brown’, or indeed move ‘Mr Cameron’ and ‘Mr Clegg’ together so they can whisper sweet nothings to each other.


Photograph by Paul Shinn

So, go out and enjoy some fun art right on the street. Tweet your pics @AmeliasMagazine !

A selection of elephants by Paul Shinn

Allow me to introduce you to Marjorie, website picture below. She’s one of 258 fibreglass elephants in and around London decorated by some of the capital’s most prominent artists, this web designers and image makers.


Clare Bassett’s Marjorie (#81) at More London

It’s London’s largest outdoor art event and it’s creating quite a stir in the capital. From people like John Shinn, who’s trying to photograph them all on Facebook, to work colleagues printing out lists of the elephants and checking them off, it seems that they’ve gripped London like nothing before.

So, where to start? Well, the aim of this project, whilst cheering up many a London street, is a simple one. It’s to raise awareness for the plight of the Asian elephant, dangerously close to extinction. Created by father and son duo Mike and Marc Spits, all the revenue from sponsorship and the auction of the elephants will go to the Elephant Family charity.

Here’s some you should see, and some you can just see here.

A range of fashion designers have applied their own style to the elephants, including this creation by red carpet luminary Julian McDonald.


Bertie by Julien McDonald (#139) on Foubert’s Place

It’s fun, no? It’s not the best one by a long shot, and I question the ethics of decorating one endangered animal in the beautiful coat of another, but I’m sure this is totally off McDonald’s radar. It’s suitably camp and stands perkily out Liberty, and this clump of Italian teenagers certainly seemed to enjoy it.

Other fashion names include Issa, Diane von Furstenberg, Matthew Williamson and Sir Paul Smith (one of my favourite elephants so far)


The Paul Smith Elephant by Sir Paul Smith (#173) at The Royal Exchange

The beauty of the project, besides raising awareness in a super fun way, is that you never know when you are going to bump into one of these creatures. They are literally everywhere – hell, they’d have to be to fit 250 of the buggers in our city. Just as you put your camera away after photographing one, you turn a corner and there’s another!


Illustration by Gemma Milly


Illustration by Matt Thomas


The Cartier elephant (#107) at the Royal Exchange by Rachel Liddington


The City in the Elephant by BFLS Architects (#255) illustrated by Lisa Billvik

This beauty is pretty simple on the outside, but peer inside any of its small transparent domes and inside you’ll see an incredible model of London featuring teeny tiny elephants, too!


Photograph by Paul Shinn


Thammakit Thamboon’s Polkadot (#12) at More London by Jenny Robins


Helen Cowcher’s Hornbill (#116) at More London by Naomi Law


Illustration by Eben Berj

Of course, this art project wouldn’t be complete with a good ol’ dash of politics. ‘Anonymous’ has created three elephants dressed in boxing gloves and silk shorts in the colour of the three main political parties – appropriately titled ‘Mr Brown’ ‘Mr Cameron’ and ‘Mr Clegg’. The Elephant Parade haven’t yet confirmed, however, if they’re to remove ‘Mr Brown’, or indeed move ‘Mr Cameron’ and ‘Mr Clegg’ together so they can whisper sweet nothings to each other.


Photograph by Paul Shinn


Eko by Paul Kidby (#195) in Green Park, illustrated by Rachel de Ste. Croix

So, go out and enjoy some fun art right on the street. Tweet your pics @AmeliasMagazine !
Cameron-Clegg-Antonia-Parker
Cameron and Clegg in bed together, mind by Antonia Parker.

Who watched the joint press conference given by David Cameron and Nick Clegg from the Downing Street back garden on 12th May 2010? Who else boggled at the back-slapping camaraderie of this sudden coalition? Within the space of just one week Cameron and Clegg have gone from flirtatious – or so it now seems, buy looking back – bickering to full on coitus. Watch them chuckle at each other’s jokes like old mates! See them smile lovingly at each other! Yes, I feared that a hung parliament would produce my least preferred coalition, but I never for one moment anticipated this classic bromance.

sandra dieckmann-lib-con love
Lib-Con Love by Sandra Dieckmann.

And I can’t help but think – how on earth is this love-in actually going to work? How many concessions will the Cleggeron make to keep the spark alive? These are interesting days, to be sure.

The opportunity to put out an open brief to picture this unholy union was just too irresistible. This then, is a blog devoted to the brilliance of illustrators. Enjoy.

bex_glover_nc_dc_tandem
The tandem by Bex Glover.

The Cleggeron-Lazarou Monkey Terror
The Cleggeron by Lazarou Monkey Terror.

Abi Daker - clegg - cameron
Illustration by Abigail Daker.

camerlegg-Colourbox
Camerlegg by Colourbox.

louise rowland-clegg cameron
Bathtime by Louise Rowland.

mel-elliott-clegg-cameron-krankies
Krankies by Mel Simone Elliot.

Reena-Makwana-Clegg-Cameron
Illustration by Reena Makwana.

tom_dench-layton_cleggcam
Cleggcam by Tom Dench-Layton.

simonwild_CLEGG&CAMERON
Surprise!! by Simon Wild.

pearl_law_cleggcam
Illustration by Pearl Law.

Nikki-Pinder-Clegg-Cameron
Illustration by Nikki Pinder.

If you fancy getting involved in my open callouts the best thing to do is follow me on twitter and get stuck in. Until the next one…

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday May 14th, 2010 3:53 pm

Categories ,Abigail Daker, ,Antonia Parker, ,Bex Glover, ,Bromance, ,Cleggeron, ,Coalition, ,Colourbox, ,David Cameron, ,Downing Street, ,General Election, ,Hung Parliament, ,illustration, ,Lazarou Monkey Terror, ,Louise Rowland, ,Mel Simone Elliott, ,Nick Clegg, ,Nikki Pinder, ,parliament, ,Pearl Law, ,politics, ,Reena Makwana, ,Sandra Dieckmann, ,Simon Wild, ,Tom Dench-Layton, ,twitter

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Amelia’s Magazine | Illustrators take on the Leaders’ Debate. Brown, Cameron and Clegg, watch out!

by

We are currently working under capacity without an earth editor intern. If you are interested in this position you would need to be available to work on it from Monday-Thursday every week for the next three months. Please email me with the title I WANT TO BE THE EARTH EDITOR and tell me why you would like the position, viagra ed what you currently do, and with some relevant examples of your writing. You would need to write and collate your own blogs, as well as co-ordinating contributing writers and illustrators. It’s a great section to work on if you care about the world we live in.
Nick-Clegg-Election-2010-Antonia-Parker
Illustration by Antonia Parker.

Last week it occurred to me that if one drew something remotely funny and sent it around twitter at the same time as everyone was going mental with the hashtag #leadersdebate whilst watching the Leaders’ Debate on the TV, medications one was more or less garunteed a huge amount of retweets and a viral hit.

Except there was something that was irking me about this twitter phenomenon: and that was the poor quality of the drawings that were tickling the fancy of so many. So I sent out my own twitter message to see if anyone was up for drawing something satirical and vaguely amusing that we could send out on twitter at the appropriate time this week, and knowing that I hang out with lots of very talented illustrators on twitter.

Then I read in the Evening Standard that the election has already brought about a vast outpouring of artistic ingenuity: drinks (slightly poisonous looking concoctions in virulent red, blue and yellow), logo decorated jellies and even rag rugs have all been created with the election in mind. So it seems I am not the first to cotton onto a general feverish mood in the artistic firmament.

Here, then, are the results of my callout. This blog is not about my political leanings – though I’d happily take a pop shot at Cameron’s flabby potato head (sorry Sam) before I’d see him in power – but rather about an experiment in the way we communicate during election time in 2010. So these images will also be twitpic-ed out come 8.30pm tonight. Feel free to join in the fun and let’s see how far they travel!

With thanks to the lovely illustrators who answered my callout with such glee. It seems I touched a nerve…

jenny robins - leaders debate
jenny robins - gordon brown bigot
Illustrations by Jenny Robins.

Clegg, Cameron, Brown-Abi Daker
Illustration by Abi Daker.

Leaders Debate Katie Harnett
Illustration by Katie Harnett.

Gordon-Brown-Election-2010-Antonia-Parker
David-Cameron-Election-2010-Antonia-Parker
Illustrations by Antonia Parker.

Marnie Hollande-Leaders Debate
Illustration by Marnie Hollande.

DEBATE-Matt Thomas
Illustration by Matt Thomas.

Colourbox leadersdebate
Illustration by Colourbox.

kellie black leadersdebate
Illustration by Kellie Black.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday April 29th, 2010 1:04 pm

Categories ,Abigail Daker, ,Antonia Parker, ,Colourbox, ,David Cameron, ,General Election, ,Gordon Brown, ,illustration, ,Jenny Robins, ,Katie Harnett, ,Kellie Black, ,Leaders’ Debate, ,Marnie Hollande, ,Matt Thomas, ,Nick Clegg, ,TV, ,Twitpic, ,twitter

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Amelia’s Magazine | Illustrators take on the Leaders’ Debate. Brown, Cameron and Clegg, watch out!

by

We are currently working under capacity without an earth editor intern. If you are interested in this position you would need to be available to work on it from Monday-Thursday every week for the next three months. Please email me with the title I WANT TO BE THE EARTH EDITOR and tell me why you would like the position, viagra ed what you currently do, and with some relevant examples of your writing. You would need to write and collate your own blogs, as well as co-ordinating contributing writers and illustrators. It’s a great section to work on if you care about the world we live in.
Nick-Clegg-Election-2010-Antonia-Parker
Illustration by Antonia Parker.

Last week it occurred to me that if one drew something remotely funny and sent it around twitter at the same time as everyone was going mental with the hashtag #leadersdebate whilst watching the Leaders’ Debate on the TV, medications one was more or less garunteed a huge amount of retweets and a viral hit.

Except there was something that was irking me about this twitter phenomenon: and that was the poor quality of the drawings that were tickling the fancy of so many. So I sent out my own twitter message to see if anyone was up for drawing something satirical and vaguely amusing that we could send out on twitter at the appropriate time this week, and knowing that I hang out with lots of very talented illustrators on twitter.

Then I read in the Evening Standard that the election has already brought about a vast outpouring of artistic ingenuity: drinks (slightly poisonous looking concoctions in virulent red, blue and yellow), logo decorated jellies and even rag rugs have all been created with the election in mind. So it seems I am not the first to cotton onto a general feverish mood in the artistic firmament.

Here, then, are the results of my callout. This blog is not about my political leanings – though I’d happily take a pop shot at Cameron’s flabby potato head (sorry Sam) before I’d see him in power – but rather about an experiment in the way we communicate during election time in 2010. So these images will also be twitpic-ed out come 8.30pm tonight. Feel free to join in the fun and let’s see how far they travel!

With thanks to the lovely illustrators who answered my callout with such glee. It seems I touched a nerve…

jenny robins - leaders debate
jenny robins - gordon brown bigot
Illustrations by Jenny Robins.

Clegg, Cameron, Brown-Abi Daker
Illustration by Abi Daker.

Leaders Debate Katie Harnett
Illustration by Katie Harnett.

Gordon-Brown-Election-2010-Antonia-Parker
David-Cameron-Election-2010-Antonia-Parker
Illustrations by Antonia Parker.

Marnie Hollande-Leaders Debate
Illustration by Marnie Hollande.

DEBATE-Matt Thomas
Illustration by Matt Thomas.

Colourbox leadersdebate
Illustration by Colourbox.

kellie black leadersdebate
Illustration by Kellie Black.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday April 29th, 2010 1:04 pm

Categories ,Abigail Daker, ,Antonia Parker, ,Colourbox, ,David Cameron, ,General Election, ,Gordon Brown, ,illustration, ,Jenny Robins, ,Katie Harnett, ,Kellie Black, ,Leaders’ Debate, ,Marnie Hollande, ,Matt Thomas, ,Nick Clegg, ,TV, ,Twitpic, ,twitter

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