THE CAMPAIGN SURVIVAL GUIDE

Selina Seesunkur November 12, 2019

By Selina Seesunkur

Whether you are campaigning during an election or fighting for an ongoing cause, canvassing is generally a must-do. Here are some essential tips to help you whether you are knocking on doors or standing in your local town square.

Stay hydrated

Speaking to people for a few hours can be thirsty work. It is important that you stay hydrated.

In the interest of being environmental, we recommend using a reusable water bottle

Take Notes

You will be asked to record key information, pen and paper is always handy!

Pucker up

Dry lips can be uncomfortable, carry lip balm on you, especially on those cold winter days, after all, you need your mouth for talking!

Weather-Ready

You never know whether it is going to rain or shine, you have a couple of options here

Carry an umbrella
Wear a cap
Wear a rain poncho with hood.

Minty Fresh Breath

There is nothing worse than talking to a person with bad breath. Don’t let that person be you.

Hours of talking, lack of hydration or you might have simply eaten lunch, can all lead to bad breath, drink plenty and carry mints on you, just in case.

Be Bacteria Free

With the spread of flu in the winter months, hand sanitisers help to deter the spread of germs and illness-causing bacteria

A tissue is also a good idea in case you do get a cold while you are out.

Stay Charged

There are a number of reasons for keeping your phone charged. The first is for your safety, if you are using a location tracker your teammates can find you if you get separated from them. But you may also find that there are Apps in the market that help you record the information you collect from your canvassing session. Finally, photos are a great way of showing how active you are and raising awareness for your cause. We encourage you to carry a small USB battery pack or power bank.

Mind your back

Worn across your upper body to ensure you do not get backache, this bag is ideal for carrying campaign leaflets. You can also hang your water bottle from the strap.

Let them know who you are

When approaching the public it is a good idea to let them know who you are and what group or cause you are campaigning for. Either carry business cards, a badge which identifies the group you are with or literature which outlines the nature of the organisation that you represent

SHARE MY OPINION OR ELSE

Selina Seesunkur November 8, 2019

By Alan O’Kelly

You may have come across the story about the famous actress, talk show host and LGBT activist Ellen DeGeneres. For those of you who don’t know the story, Ellen while attending an American football game, sat beside former U.S President George W.Bush. For American Football aficionados out there, it was Dallas Cowboys vs Green Bay Packers. The response on social media was swift and unrelenting. Most of the anger arose from Bush's poor record on LGBTQ rights. For example, one of his key promises in the 2004 election was a constitutional change barring same-sex marriage, which came to nothing. As a prominent LGBTQ activist Ellen was criticised for not just sitting beside him, but for also clearly engaging and enjoying his company.

When the internet was first introduced, the expectation was that it would open up a world of debate and discussion where people's views and ideas would be enlightened by hearing from people whose views differed. In fact, the opposite has happened, communities have become tribal, willing to hear only from those who agree with us or whose views essentially conform to what we already think.

How can we ever have civilised conversations or enhance our knowledge when people and their individual views are being so easily dismissed?

A recent study for the independent found that more than one in 20 Britons (6 percent) say they have fallen out with or stopped speaking to a family member, and almost one in 12 (8 percent) have fallen out with a friend due to disagreement over Brexit. Regardless of which side a person is on - to truly understand the world I believe that listening to both sides of a debate is healthy, and by kicking people out of one’s social circle we are simply narrowing our worldview. Of course, this is not to say we should tolerate abhorrent views, but rather we need to reverse the trend where people become defined simply and completely by their differing views.

And if nothing else, as Ellen rightly said: "I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have. We’re all different. And I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s OK that we’re all different.”

THE LEFT HAVE CREATED A CULTURE OF EXTREMISM

Selina Seesunkur November 1, 2019

By Shabnam Nasimi

Who knew that there was so much hate within the Left?

I grew up listening to my dad, a refugee from terrorism in Afghanistan teach me the evils of hatred and prejudice. And that led to me, as a teenager to become active in political and social activism determined to fight extremism. I would never have believed that the party of equality and social justice has become a racist party. It is because of Jeremy Corbyn and the people around him that the party has turned what was a mainstream political party into something really very different. They have created a culture of extremism, intolerance and bullying and it’s unbelievable that decent people, who have devoted their entire lives to mainstream politics are being driven out.

The Left no longer debate: they try to annihilate the other side, destroy opponents and get them fired from their jobs. It’s barbaric and it is profoundly illiberal. Our discourse has mutated into a holy war, with the Left convinced that the other side is not just wrong but also self-evidently morally inferior. It’s a horrendous, civilisation-imperilling regression.

Jeremy Corbyn routinely claims Conservative policies are “killing people”. John McDonnell talks about “lynching” female Tory MPs and in 2010 he praised violent thugs as “the best of our movement” for “kicking the shit” out of Conservative Campaign Headquarters.

Other Labour MPs use similar language every day while turning a blind eye to anti-Semitic and misogynistic bullying in their own party. Lib Dems sing about killing Tony Blair at their conference, promise to “decapitate” Boris Johnson in his constituency, and proudly say “bollocks to Brexit.” And Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, poses for photographs with campaigners in “F*ck Boris” t-shirts.

Just three years after the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox on the streets of Britain, the depiction of a murdered politician has no place in British politics.

Britain and our political system were reputed around the world as the cradle of democracy, tolerance and downright decency. No longer. The Left has destroyed our civilised and tolerant political discourse to violence in our streets directed at people who have different points of view.

The threat is no longer Brexit, but Labour. In my opinion, Britain will survive leaving the EU, especially with a deal. But even the danger of crashing out would be nothing compared to that of rule by an extremist Labour Party. I dearly hope Brexit is delivered but the political crisis will not end until the hate and contempt of the extreme Left towards other political views is resolved. This has to change if we want people, particularly young people, to have faith in politics and Westminster again.