Lets take action! but how do it? as proposed by make.me.smile.

[DomMather]

There are plenty of sensible and plausible soultions to the UKs problems that this forum has come up with, but how do we put them into action? please answer that question below, and this one: HOW?

[make.me.smile]

Okay, well what I suggest is first of all getting our priorities straight (why I started the "priorities thread" which I guess is useless now). Seeing which are the most urgent issues, which need the most funding and which actually deserve that funding. Then we get someone (volunteers?) to right it up and send it to as many important people as we can. Also, we should all try and get opportunities to tell our own local representatives about this etc. Sound good? Any other ideas?

[Matt. P]

Write up all the solutions in one neat, detailed document and send this out to all the MYP and MP's. Post about them in the media and try and get media attentio nout anyway. Try making videos about them and putting them on YouTube as well.

We need more than just petitions and the one board meeting. We should have multiple meetings with the manifesto and agenda already planned before hand so the don't become moot before the next one. Most of all however, we need constant badgering!

[make.me.smile]

Exactly, pretty much have to keep it coming from all sides, put some pressure on them, and I do think that th only way for this to work at all is to get the media involved, because that's when i gets embarrassing for them (in a way)!
Just need to agree on this neat, detailes document...

[DomMather]

Okay here's a start

1) Votes at 16
2) More government money for sports/leisure centres
3) Make RMYPs who will represent the UKYP in parliament
4) More money devoted to helping people learn to eat and cook more healthily
5) People aged 16+ must do something whether it be A-levels, apprenticeships or take a job

that's just a start please suggest more!

[Conzales]

Make public transport free for students and yp.

Remove Uni Fees.

[DomMather]

1) Votes at 16
2) More government money for sports/leisure centres
3) Make RMYPs who will represent the UKYP in parliament
4) More money devoted to helping people learn to eat and cook more healthily
5) People aged 16+ must do something whether it be A-levels, apprenticeships or take a job
6) Make publice transport free sfor students and U18s
7) Remove universtiy fees

[make.me.smile]

These are all topics involving the Youth Parliament etc, why not also involve decisions that don't directly affect us, ie show that young people care about the world in general.
Also, I don't see votes at 16 particularly necessary as so many people wouldn't know what to do with it. If we implemented it we would need compulsory lessons guiding people on how to use their votes.
From your topics I think it should be:

1) People aged 16+ must do something bla
2) More money for sports etc
3)Votes for 16+ (with inclusive compulsory lessons)
4) Food help

The RYMPs is something we need to sort out within the UKYP, I think, but we should have more power within the government.

[DomMather]

I'm not sure about compulsaru politics lessons, but maybe an advertising campagin could help them - i.e. left is for helping the less well off, right is for making your own way in life

[Matt. P]

My education reforms, more languages at school, the "pen-friend" class at schools.

[DomMather]

Yeah sounds good can anyone with new ideas add them to the list I put together? Please

[make.me.smile]

These campaigns would always be biased, so wouldn't explain very well to people not bothered enough to inform themselves properly. More languages at schools - great idea - forgot about that! I say more politics, languages and sports at schools. And the transport system is one of the most important issues actually.

[DomMather]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1) Votes at 16
2) More government money for sports/leisure centres
3) Make RMYPs who will represent the UKYP in parliament
4) More money devoted to helping people learn to eat and cook more healthily
5) People aged 16+ must do something whether it be A-levels, apprenticeships or take a job
6) Make publice transport free sfor students and U18s
7) Remove universtiy fees
8) More real-world relevant eduaction: more languages, politics, sport

[coldkillers08]

the thing about most fp thesse ideas is that we are interested in doing somethig to benefit opurselves and others. But, most of the people we see everyday, couldn' care less about politics, or whether they should vote for this party or the other, or what they're even going to do with their lives. I mean, they wouldn't worry about the Freepubic transport because their parents pay for them...it doesn't directly affect them. Therefore, it doesn't matter to them
If you get what I mean. Basically, while we are trying to benefit the majority, we end up as a minority. I reckon that whatever I'm saying is probably coming out completely wrong, but...oh well

[make.me.smile]

Anyone agree that they aren't 100% the right way round? Guess we should also do some kind of survey or something on this to know that we're representing all young people.

[make.me.smile]

Get what you mean, Dom, even though I do think that public transport does concern everyone, even if their parents pay for them (at least I've noticed this in my social circles). But this is what I meant with votes for 16+ not being the most pressing issue.

[DomMather]

It's good to have them all in one place so we can act on all of them + votes at 16 is one of the major policies for UKYP

[coldkillers08]

wasn't Dom who said that. lol
I've noticed it in my social circles too, small as they are. i mean, I'm lucky to have a friend who is interested in politics and told me about the UKYP. But, most kids in our class at school, when asked to debate whether the vote should be given to 16 year olds, they can all find reasons to argue why it shouldn't but none for why it should. They all say that young people aren't interested. But we can simply argue back that what happens in this country affects all of us....

[DomMather]

What's the worst that will happen if votes are given at 16 - people won't vote?

[make.me.smile]

Just don't think votes 16+ should be first especially seeing as we're already campaigning this a lot.
Sorry, coldkiller! This is why I mean that 16+ voting should not be first, as the young people willing and informed enough to vote is a very small minority. So the least we would need would be the extra education so people can make an informed vote.

[Hamsterwaffle]

I must point out that we cannot have MYP's representing us and vote for an MP at the same time, that gives us more power in parliament than the rest of the voting public.

[DomMather]

They weren't in any particular order :)

[coldkillers08]

yeah, i see what you mean. I was trying to voice the same opinion roughly. I sit on the fence because while votes at 16 could be classed as a good thing and almost as important, we are a minority that would want to vote. What I mean to say is, we can't vote fora nyone else, but we can vote for ourselves when we reach a certain age...that certain age should also be lowered maybe beause when we are 16 we are classed as adults...am I right? We will either be going to work or going into further education..so...we should get a say in the way the country is run. However, some wouldn't use it wisely, and would either throw away their vote or nhot use it at all. I'd rather that people didn't use their vote than throw it away on something that will not, in the long run, benefit anyone...
anywho....

[DomMather]

well some representation - perhaps as official advisors to ministers who have jobs connected to youth

[make.me.smile]

Okay here's my suggestion (in order):
1) education reform - more PE more politics
2)public transport - free
3)16+ must do something
4) more money for sports for youth and healthy eating campaigns etc
5)involvement of young people in the government ( eg MYPs power etc)
6*) right to vote from 16+
Number 6 I don't really agree with for all the reasons we've mentioned, but this is about what the majority wants, so I guess that means voting from 16+, even though hamsters right - we can't have more power than them!

[DomMather]

Sounds very good, the only thing is that you to be specific with politicians

[DomMather]

1) Votes at 16
2) More government money for sports/leisure centres
3) Make RMYPs who will represent the UKYP in parliament
4) More money devoted to helping people learn to eat and cook more healthily
5) People aged 16+ must do something whether it be A-levels, apprenticeships or take a job
6) Make publice transport free sfor students and U18s
7) Remove universtiy fees
8) More real-world relevant eduaction: more languages, politics, sport
9) Tobacco adverts have been banned so why not completely ban junk-food adverts

[Matt. P]

I think univeristy fees should be raised in that agenda. I don't know about you but I see them a higher priority than cooking lessons, as that is also a persons responsibility. I think junk food adverts should be banned during children TV hours, but there's nothing wrong with showing them later at night as adults are mature enough to take account of what they eat, and in a capitalist society companies should be able to advertise their products farely. It might start a slippery slope.

(and don't forget "education reforms for anti-social students")

[Hamsterwaffle]

Well I don't see how "junk food" adverts on during kids tv time is harmful. The responsibility lies with the parents.

[make.me.smile]

I agree with hamster that banning junk food adverts should not be on the agenda. I think we need to keep this as simple as possible, seeing as it'll already be a mircale if they don't completely ignore this (also due to badgering we mentioned).
I also agree with matt that healthy eating help should be lower on list, if not completely removed as plenty of these exist already and would not neccessarily get to the people who need them.
I also say, as we are already campaigning on votes for 16+ and we can't actually agree on its priority on this board, it should be put further down.

1)education reform
2)more money for leisure centres etc
3)public transport reform
4)young people need to do something 16
5)more representation of UKYP in the government

The uni-fees thing I kept off the list for now, as I don't see how the government could ever do this - can anyone explain to me how we're supposed to get the same level of education minus the fees? Who can write this up properly? Then we can post it here and people can alter/add to it!

[make.me.smile]

By the way, should we start a discussion on each of these topics so thatwe can actually narrow down what exactly we want etc?

[DomMather]

Yes, make.me.smile. and Scotland have free uni and a good quality of education

[DomMather]

1) Votes at 16
2) More government money for sports/leisure centres
3) Make RMYPs who will represent the UKYP in parliament
4) More money devoted to helping people learn to eat and cook more healthily
5) People aged 16+ must do something whether it be A-levels, apprenticeships or take a job
6) Make public transport free for students and U18s
7) Remove universtiy fees
8) More real-world relevant eduaction: more languages, politics, sport
??9) Public transport reform - how to do this???

[make.me.smile]

Well the oyster system was a step in the right direction, but it's vital that under 18s get free public transport and that it gets cheaper for all other age groups

[DomMather]

By free public transport do you mean trains and the like?

[Hamsterwaffle]

I don't mind paying for public transportation, the metrolink system we have in manchester is pretty good.

[make.me.smile]

Yeah, though I can see if trains etc would still cost something. They should definitely be less expensive though eg like the oyster system where a day in the tube costs £1, the same kind of reduction should apply to trains.

[DomMather]

We need to make it equal, you could do it like pensioners

Hampster the public transport is Bristol is rubbish, so I virtually never use it

[make.me.smile]

London's doing pretty good for under 16s, but 2 quid when you're over 16 or you forget your oyster card? Unacceptable. I read that politicians would find a reduction pointless if the buses don't get better as in punctuality and cleanliness. I have to say I don't really agree with this, most important is that they run, even if they're a bit late or scruffy. Not too extreme of course, but the first step is to make it free.

[Matt. P]

Thing about, £12 billion on the Olympics, £12 billion on the EU and £4 billion on new aircraft carriers (and I have no idea on how much is being spent on the new Trident system, I mean how accurate does a 5 megaton warhead have to be?). That's enough to remove university fees, public transport and waiting lists (and have enough left over to end World poverty).

[make.me.smile]

Well the money on the Olympics is already down the loo and I doubt we can get anyone's attention to stop our money being spent on all that other stuff which is essentially useless. But good point, the government is spending money on things we don't need and I don't know about you, but don't really want, now do we?

[DomMather]

The money that would be spent on making University free would be miniscule compared to other things the government spends money on - for example the government just gave India (a country with enough money to produce nuclear warheads) aroung £850m in aid

[make.me.smile]

Yes, but how can we also stop our money being spent on all these pointless things, as well as more money being spent on thins we actually want and need?

[DomMather]

Well we could 'means test' the countries we give aid to and we could stop all of the money spent on pointless new government computer systems that always break down

[coldkillers08]

Well I don't see how "junk food" adverts on during kids tv time is harmful. The responsibility lies with the parents.

we shouldn't ban them completely. Perhaps just limit the mount of times they can be shown because even though the responsibility does lie with the parents, the kids, when they get older, will go out and buy the junk food for themselves...possibly without their parents' knowledge.

[coldkillers08]

a point someone in my school came up with: we send around £2000+ to children/families in Africa. But, they still come back saying they are starving. What do they do with the money? I mean, they spend it on making a play area. They should be spending the money on water pumps and food and things that will keep them alive.

Not my point, someone else's...

[make.me.smile]

Means tests sound good, want to get more specific though? Also I doubt we can ever stop the government from getting their computer systems, however useless they may be. Also culture budget should be narrowed down and we really need to look at what we see as qualified culture.

[make.me.smile]

Coldkillers...get what you mean, but considering the problems over there and that half the money ends up with their government rather than their people... what can we do?

[coldkillers08]

our school sends the money directly to the people. and I can't argue the point, as it was not my own. Just thought it did raise an interesting issue....

[DomMather]

What is modern art? Does it deserve do receive goverment funding - could we get our uni fees from that?

[make.me.smile]

I myself think that if the choice is between modern art and our education - I feel disappointed in our society that modern art is getting so much funding compared to schools which clearly need it. If people want their freedom of expression through art - great, but I still think the futures of millions of young people are more important than a halved cow etc

[coldkillers08]

modern art? not a clue what that is. have no interest in art.....so I'm lost on that one

I asked a friend in school today (not the same one who made that point the other day) whether, should the voting age be 16, she would vote. She said 'yes' and then I asked her 'Well, would you know who to vote for? Or would you just vote for the sake of it? Or how would you decide who to vote for?' and she said 'I'd just go for the party with the best speech and adverts'. Shows how much the media affects us all really....

[DomMather]

So that's agreed then - an end to modern art funding!

[make.me.smile]

3 cheers for that lol. coldkiller - start a new thread on that - parties being based on advertising alone pretty much, so true, but not here lol. So again the only problem, how to let the government know that we don't care about art enough to sacrifice our educations.

[DomMather]

Yeah - Why can't we be as good as Scotland? ;)

[Matt. P]

a point someone in my school came up with: we send around £2000+ to children/families in Africa. But, they still come back saying they are starving.

Firstly, I doubt we spend that much on foreign aid.

Secondly, I also read that every $10 a country donates, up to $9 winds it way back to the donor through such things as national debt, tariffs, beauracracy, etc. And whats left is usually stolen by corrupt governments.

And the reason they are starving is that protectionist trade policies and subsidies mean African agriculture is practically crippled. The only way people can make money is by producing cash crops for us, we can't feed them. And most of the money that is produced ends up in trans-national corporations, which are then taxed by our government... I think you are beginning to see where this all ends up. No wonder the WTO is so corrupt.

If we want to reasonably solve world poverty there are some serious fundamental issues to sort out, which would unfortunately hurt us in the process (putting us on equal terms with other countries trade-wise). Looks like we're caught between scylla and charobydis.

[DomMather]

I'm sure sport and comic relief is fine

[coldkillers08]

lol. the year 7s alone raise that much in our school. they raised lyk 108£ in 30 minutes..and they do that a lot...and it was just one class..lol. and the rest of the school contributes a little, but the year 7s really go for it like crazy

The voting pont; simply placed here to show something (haven't quite worked out what yet) about the voting for 16+ idea....

[Lodi]

Yeah - Why can't we be as good as Scotland? ;)

We could, but unfourtunately Scotland and Wales recieve a disproportionate amount of funding to spend as they wish on National Services, in comparison to England. So basically if Scotland went independant England and Wales would stupidly be better off.

I would put Public Transport reforms at the top of any list. Especially free Transport for under 18's. Now if it were possible i would take the bus to college but where i live there are two bus's a day (10:30 and 2:30 + 2 return journies) and i have to be at college for 8:45. Also it is actually cheaper for me to drive so i do (but then again i do live in the middle of no where :) )

I would say though transport is getting better yet its got a long way to go and free transport for young people although would cost alot would probably drive the numbers of people using it up alot. Just like the freetransport for over 60's has.

[coldkillers08]

I reckon more buses would be on the agenda realy. I mean, we have buses that aren't reliable and when they do come, are filled up so that you can hardly move. lol

[Lodi]

Before i moved to where i live now i use to catch the bus to college which was every 30 mins, if the driver was in the mood to turn up.

Transport has the ability to be the catalist for many other changes in our society and i think it would be a good thing to take action on.

[coldkillers08]

yeah. And when they can be bothered to turn up (on a morning when you really need to get to school and they turn up 15 mins late...not happy) they're always in a mood...lol. But there's nothing we can do about that!

[DomMather]

So - coldkiller and Lodi - add it to the list!

[coldkillers08]

ok..lemme find the list....