SHUlife: What are the Greens policies?

Putting the public at the heart of the NHS

Free education

Bringing railways back into the public’s hand

Action on climate change

Rebuilding the economy

SHUlife: Free education for all, how will that work?

“We mean it when we say free education.”

The Lib Dems went in and promised to cut tution fees, instead raised them. Labour in this election

promise to cut them from £9k to £6k. But the Greens plan on cutting them all together – according

to Jillian the government pay grants and loans anyway so why not give that money to universities to

invest in education.

It’s also about EMA – younger people’s maintenance loan – so they can get to college etc. The

Greens want to work on this. They believe education is good and important for society.

SHUlife: What about the NHS?

The Greens simply want to put more into it. It’s a big employer and they want to stabilise it and

make it even better. They also want to put more money into social care – a pressure on the NHS is

elderly people not coping at home and being put into hospitals – this is something they want to

improve. They want to help elders live a happy and comfortable life from their own home.

SHUlife: What will you do with public transport?

They want to put trains in particular into the public’s hand. But particularly in Sheffield, reducing the

price of fairs, increasing the frequency and quality of buses is key for The Greens. Jillian perhaps

would like to introduce a similar system to the Oyster Card in London where you have a card you top

up and can use it for all buses within the city. “One fair that you pay to travel around the city.”

SHUlife: What are your ideas for climate change?

“This is the one most people associate with the Greens.” The policies that are good for the

environment are also good for people e.g. improving public transport to make a better environment

but to also create more jobs. They go hand in hand for the Greens.

SHUlife: How are you going to boost the economy?

Other parties are saying the only way to solve the economic crisis to cut public services. Greens say

Britain is a very wealthy country and 1% of the country own 50% of the country’s wealth. So they

plan on taxing the wealthy and using that to boost the economy. They’ve got a completely different

view on how to run the country, Jillian said. “There is money in the economy, we just need to use it

cleverly.”

SHUlife: How will you help Sheffield in particular?

The Greens believe any money that does come in, part of it should go into helping small businesses.

Sheffield is well known for its independent stores and they want to help them as well as the big

chains.

A personal thing for Jillian is looking at how much more food could be grown in Sheffield itself. With

the country importing around half the food we eat, it’s not sustainable and Jillian would like to

improve this.

SHUlife: How do you plan on getting students to vote for you?

We want them to see as a new party which they can get behind. It’s about getting the information

out to them – campaigning, leaflets, posters – and they’ve been doing all of this. Particularly going

onto campuses and being known there but also going around student blocks and being known there.

They already have a group of Green Party students. But going up to students and talking to them is

important for Jillian.

Having been a Sheffield Central Ward city councillor for 11 years Jillian knows the ins and outs of the

city and believes she could do a great job for the city. Being a small party, they don’t expect to form

the next government but do want to have some kind of influence.

So who are you going to vote for?

Words by: Karishma Ravalia

With just three days left until election day and with Russel Brand recently urging voters to support Labour in order to keep the conservative party out, here’s what Ed Milliband had to say when he visited Sheffield Hallam a few months ago.

What’s your opinion on David Cameron being too scared to speak on live TV?’ First question of the day was met with laughs and Ed’s response: ‘let’s have more like that please!’

There was a lot spoken or broken promises, something that most students can relate to after the last election. Milliband was very careful and cautious not to make any false promises saying ‘Unlike Nick Clegg we will keep the promises we make and we won’t make promised before the election and then break them afterwards’.

When asked on one thing that he does promise to change however he said ‘Careers for all young people’, his emphasis on young people and them being the future was paramount throughout the talk. He also stated that Labour ‘will rescue and renew our national health service’, again stating that Labour ‘are going to keep our promises’

It was clear that a better future for young people was at the top of his list he plans to improve this by; giving people age 16 and 17 the chance to vote and that Labour will now lead a national issue to allow young people a voice in this election. Again speaking about broken promises he said ‘this government has betrayed young people, I am determined to do it differently’. While admitting that he sometimes finds it hard not to get caught up in the fiery debates in parliament he also said that ‘youth parliament is much better behaved than the house of commons’. Careers and advice service for students has been the biggest disaster of this government, this is of course in relation to EMA stopping and many of the careers and advice jobs being cut meaning that there isn’t much guidance anymore for students on their future. Milliband also stated that if 16 and 17 years olds were allowed to vote that EMA might still be around. He also stated that ‘Labour will have incentives from organisations in order to help young people get into work’.

Speaking about education, work, university and vocational routes he said ‘I want to look at what we can do for post graduate funding, I don’t want to make any false promises’ and that we have got to find a way to get better help for young careers’. His focus was not only on a better education system but that we also have ‘Got to have proper information for vocational roots’. He also mentioned that with a system that we have that you have to ‘work with people to them back into work’. Hopefully he gained more insight into what undergraduates and post graduates need by the questions he asked the room. He also talked about improving education in a wide range of areas including ‘citizenship education’. He also discussed mental health issues and the impact they have on so many young people today stating ‘Mental health issues are not something to be embarrassed about’. While briefly touching on rent and taking notes on what students said about their current rent ‘People need to have predictable rent not worry if it will go up or down from month to month’.

Speaking about equality Miliband was very clear on his views concerning gender equality announcing that he ‘won’t stop until all Labour Party roles are 50% women’. He also spoke about finding a proper gender ‘when it comes to the house of commons’. ‘I want to pay tribute to the feminist movement and the issue on everyday sexism; it is about educating people by starting early and in schools’. On prejudice and immigration he simply said ‘we’ve got to stand up against prejudice and hate wherever we find it’, these statements were well received by the crowd. He also spoke about how we must be ‘treating people in the system as human beings’ and that more help and education has to be available in these areas.

Making sure he finished with a question from a student, as opposed to many of the press that was there was also well received as was his # Round of applause’ for Hallam!’.

For more information on any of the parties manifestos if you’re still unsure on who to vote then make sure to check them out online before May 7th.

Make sure that you know exactly where your polling station is and happy voting everyone, remember that young people are the future and your vote can make a different on Thursday!

Words by: Roseanne May Cross

We tried to get all your questions answered. What has he got to say about how he let students down? What does he think to internships being a “who you know” not “what you know” thing? Does he think Labour’s £6000 tuition fee proposal is wise? What about students who struggle to make ends meet due to lack of student finance when they are not from a nuclear family?

Instead of detailing the entire interview out for you, we worked with SHUradio to provide you with a podcast on the lowdown of what to expect next from Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats.

Look through our other election articles featuring the Labour party and Green party in our election coverage. We hope this will help fellow SHU students to vote wisely.

Tweet us your thoughts at @SHUradio with #SheffieldElections

The homeless charity Shelter has launched an urgent campaign within Sheffield and the surrounding area of Yorkshire and the Humber region in light of recent statistics.

Following an investigation by the Government, shocking statistics have been uncovered that claim, “554 children in Yorkshire and the Humber will wake up homeless this Christmas.” This figure has sadly, nearly doubled since 2012. 

90,000 children in Britain will be homeless this Christmas. We’ll stop when it’s 0. pic.twitter.com/7rBGqBYSj9

— Shelter (@Shelter) November 10, 2014

Although, many families are homeless, they are often not seen directly by the public, as the council has a legal obligation to find them somewhere to stay such as a hostel or a B&B. Both of which are often overcrowded.

Consequently, this problem is relatively unknown to the general public in Sheffield. Sheffield Hallam students were asked if they had heard of family homelessness and, if so, did they know how large the issue was?

One Hallam student questioned said that, “I was aware of the amount of homeless people living in Sheffield, I’d never considered the fact that families and children are being put in the same position. The thought that families either alone or with nothing at Christmas is heart-breaking.” She went on to ask for the support of her fellow students, asking, “We as Hallam students can surely help in some way?”

Recently, Shelter conducted an in depth investigation based on families who had been made homeless and had been provided with temporary accommodation. However, in most cases this accommodation was unsafe and the families were subjected to, “drug and alcohol abuse,” in some cases. Often, the temporary accommodation that had been provided was far from the families’ established support network of family, friends and even the children’s schools.

Consequently, 20% of the families surveyed were faced with a three hour round trip to take their children to school and 10% said that, “their children had to miss school altogether.”

With the level of homelessness in Sheffield growing, the council has teamed up with 3 other local organisations and signed a “No Second Night Out protocol.” With a simple vision that, “no-one will live on the streets of South Yorkshire and no individual arriving on the streets for the first time will sleep out for more than one night.”

Shelter believes that everyone should have a home. Their campaign is targeted at the estimated 90,000 children in the United Kingdom who will otherwise be classed as being homeless this Christmas.

Shelter’s Chief Executive exclaimed, “No child should have to go through the trauma of losing their home… over 500 in Yorkshire and the Humber will wake up homeless this Christmas.”

For Shelter the short term aim of the campaign is to get experts to work with homeless families directly to find them a new, secure place to live. As well as to stop others becoming homeless in the first place.

Their long term plan is to get the Government to see the bigger picture and invest more heavily in affordable housing. They want it to be easier for those who need help to get it.

Shelter’s CEO added, “We urgently need more support from the public to help us make sure no one has to fight homelessness on their own this Christmas.”

You can support Shelter’s emergency Christmas appeal by visiting, www.shelter.org.uk or texting SHELTER to 70060 to donate £3.

Were you too shocked at the scale of homelessness in the region? If so tweet us @SHUlifenews

We all know that students loans are difficult to stretch out through an entire semester but what do you do when the money that looked so beautiful in our bank accounts in those first few weeks of September is gone? Extend your overdraft, get a part time job or go to your parents for help?

According to research conducted by Experian, many parents underestimate the cost of sending you to University and are left scratching their heads when they realise that their bank account is drying up just as fast as ours.

The BFI London Film Festival/ © 2014 BFI Film Festival

The statistics show that a staggering 79% of parents provide some form of financial support to their children whilst they’re at university. 68% have had to bail their children out in a financial emergency.

Depending on individual circumstances, some parents can spend nearly £6,000 during a student’s three-year-degree and 29% of those surveyed have even said that they have gone without in order to support their child during university.

Experian have provided a list of things that we can do that can help both ours and our parent’s bank balances which include; having a finance talk with our parents before we head back to university, work out a fixed budget so that we can live comfortably off the little money that we have.

It’s not just our parents that can help us out when things get tough, we can help ourselves too by doing things like getting a summer job! It may be the season for sun, sea and fun but building up a bit of money before coming back to university will mean that our loans last a bit longer. We won’t be left struggling after just a few weeks.

You could also work while you study. There are a lot of part-time jobs that easily fit around the student lifestyle and pay pretty decently. Other advantages of doing so include meeting new people who are from the local area and depending on where you work; you may have some awesome staff perks thrown in too!

As much as the bank of mum and dad may seem appealing whilst you’re away at university, when you finish your studies you may find that help is a lot harder to get.  Therefore the financial lessons that you learn in the years of your degree are some of the most valuable that you’re ever likely to learn.

If things get really tough and you feel like your stranded with issues such as this then there is a lot of help and support here at Sheffield Hallam such as the independent advice centre based in the HUBS where no problem is too big or small for the team there and they will help you resolve the situation you find yourself in.

What advice would you give to any students that are struggling with their finances? What would you do if you were in a financial emergency? Let us know by tweeting @SHUlifeNews!

Sheffield is still coming to terms with the news that Don Valley Stadium – the venue in which local girl Jessica Ennis trained prior to her Olympic glory – will close in September as part of a cost cutting scheme by Sheffield City Council.

The decision was taken yesterday after the council took a final vote announcing that they could no longer subsidise the £700,000 cost of keeping the stadium open, despite protests from athletic groups around the city and Jessica Ennis herself.

The Olympian champion said:  ‘The closure would be a huge shame for the city and demolishing it sends out the wrong message. I understand budgets and costs but I do think we need to find a way of keeping it.’

However it has been confirmed that the venue will be demolished in September in an effort to slash the council’s spending by £50million, something that Councillor Bryan Lodge defended.

‘It is with a very heavy heart that we have arrived at this decision, but we are having to take out £50m from our budget for the next year on top of what has already been saved and it isn’t getting any easier’

But Jessica Ennis’s coach Tony Minichiello has voiced his concerns over the closure and the lasting effects it will have on athletics for the city of Sheffield.

‘Athletics is pretty close to being dead in Sheffield because of this decision. The children of Sheffield have got no future because when Jess started she had the Don Valley stadium where, yes, we could train outdoors but there was also a smaller indoor area which we could use that made us fairly weatherproof’

The coach who spoke at the final meeting also indicated that Ennis’s chance of successfully defending her title would be at risk – ‘We’re going to be all right for this coming season because it’s open, but any sort of move towards the next Olympic games and retaining Jess’s title has been dealt a hefty, hefty blow’

The council have spoken of plans to refurbish the city’s Woodburn Road Athletic Stadium however that is unlikely to please athletic fans of Sheffield.

What are you thoughts on the closing of Don Valley Stadium? Let us know at @SHUlifeNews

(All quotes taken from BBC5Live)

1 – 12/12/12 – Today marked this century’s last sequential date: 12/12/12 and despite a few suggestions that it would bring the world to an end, the most notable reaction was of the numerous of couples worldwide who tied the knot.  Sequential dates, especially in Asia are seen as a lucky omen which brings love and in the UK popular wedding destinations have seen a massive increase in couples wanting to say ‘I do’.  The next sequential date will be just over 88 years away, 01/01/2101.

2- Objections to demolition of former hospital wing – Over a one-hundred letters of objections have been sent in protest of plans to demolish the Edwardian wing of the form Jessop hospital in Sheffield.  The University of Sheffield wishes to replace the grade II listed building with an £80m engineering block but have come up against tough opposition to their plans with former Lord Mayor Sylvia Dunkley backing the campaign to keep the building.

3- Hillsborough inquest given date – A new date has been set to decide whether or not to quash the original ‘accidental death’ verdicts given in 1991 over the those who lost their lives at the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, 1989.  Attorney General Dominic Grieve submitted a request for a new inquest to be opened as new evidence has emerged which makes the original verdicts obsolete, the final decision will be made a week today [19^th December].

4- UK unemployment falls – The Government were given a boost today as figures showed that unemployment dropped by 82,000 in the months August to October.  Unemployment now stands at 2.51m representing the biggest fall since 2001; figures also showed that the number claiming Job Seekers allowance fell by 3,000 to 1.58million in November.

5- Royal Navy officer jailed – A Royal Navy submariner has been sentenced to eight years in jail for attempts to sell secrets to Russian spies, who turned out to be MI5 agents.  Edward Devenney was said to be angry that he had been overlooked for a promotion and had been ready to ‘betray his country and colleagues.’

Here’s what 2DayFM presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian probably thought was going to happen when they made that prank call to King Edward VII’s Hospital Sister Agnes.

Greig: “Oh, hello there. Could I please speak to Kate, please? My granddaughter?”
Nurse: “No! Who is this? You sound nothing like Her Maj! You sound like a blonde Australian radio DJ doing a playground impression of The Queen! Go away!”

But things didn’t go according to the script – they went very differently indeed. Instead of the joke being something for 2DayFM’s listeners to have a little giggle at and then forget about completely, it has become a proper international scandal, made lots of people very angry and resulted in Greig and Christian being suspended from their jobs. And now – directly or indirectly – someone has died because of it. Not, one would have thought, the punchline the presenters were anticipating.

Jacintha Saldanha – the nurse who answered that call and transferred the mickey-taking DJs through to the staff treating the Duchess – has been found dead after apparently taking her own life. Suicide is one of the most traumatic and difficult things for victim’s families to have to deal with, but that Saldanha’s death appears to have been triggered by the ridicule she received for her simple mistake is an enormous tragedy.

Who to blame, then? It’s somebody’s fault, right? No, actually. And therein lays the problem with this whole episode.

Whenever a controversy like this arises, there’s a tendency to immediately look for a scapegoat – a ‘grab your torch and pitchfork’ mentality which can make people abandon reasonable, measured thought. And that’s just not right.

Of course, we shouldn’t ignore how nightmarish the situation is for those affected by the presenter’s actions. It’s annoying for the young Royal couple – especially Kate, who is presumably spending every waking hour trying desperately not to vom all over William’s lovely blazer, and therefore could do without all this nonsense. It’s embarrassing for the hospital, particularly as it’s held the esteemed position of being the Royal Family’s go-to place for medical care for years – a position which is now looking a bit wobbly, to be honest. And it’s heartbreaking for Saldanha’s family – not least her two young boys, who must now go through life motherless.

But none of these things are the fault of those Australian DJs. Their prank was childish – stupid, even – but it wasn’t malicious. And that’s the crucial thing.

Had Saldanha not transferred that call, none of this would have happened. That’s certainly not to say she’s to blame – she simply made an error of judgement. Like all humans do at some point in their lives. Like Greig and Christian did, in hindsight, when they decided to call King Edward VII’s.

Ultimately, the pair were just being silly. They weren’t specifically intending to upset anybody – they were just doing it for the LOLs. You only have to listen to Christian’s Prince Charles impression (an acting performance which has more in common with Spitting Image than Daniel Day-Lewis) to know that the duo weren’t trying to cause any trouble – they were just being daft. They’re fools, not criminals.

Send your thoughts to Jacintha Saldanha’s family, and remember her dedication to her job. Wish Kate and Wills good luck with their pregnancy. But don’t punish the silliness of two Australians. That would just be silly.

1. SAS Sniper released by Court of Appeal – Sergent Danny Nightingale has been released after his 18month sentence for illegally possessing a pistol was suspended by the Court of Appeal. Nightingale was arrested after he was found to posses a 9mm Glock pistol and 338 rounds of ammunition, his sentence today was reduced to 12 months and suspended.
2. The Leveson inquiry into the culture, practice and ethics of press publishes it’s report – Lord Leveson today recommended that a new self regulation body should be established and it should be independent of serving editors, government and business. The report also concluded that politicians and press had too close of a relationship but there was no widespread corruption of police by the press. PM David Cameron said however, that has ‘serious concerns’ over the recommendations made by Lord Leveson.
3. US airline Continental cleared of criminal blame for the Paris Concorde crash of 2000 – A French appeals court has ruled that the American airline was not responsible for the crash that killed all 109 people on board the jet which crashed soon after take off.
4. Sheffield rubbish tip workers to strike – Workers at household waste tips in Sheffield are planning an indefinite strike in the weeks leading up to Christmas, over a long-running dispute of guaranteed working hours and pay. The dispute had looked to have been settled in the autumn of 2012 but the GMB Union has said Sova Recycling has failed to keep its promises.
5. Man found in Sheffield street named – A man who died after being found in Arbourthorne Road on 27^th November has been named as 19 year-old Travis O’Neil. Police believed he was a passenger in a vehicle which fled the scene after being involved in a crash with with another car. 

Top 5 News Stories of the Day – Monday 26th November 2012

1. Storms and flooding have moved on to North-East England. Flooding has caused many disruptions to roads, causing closures and safety warnings. Rail travel has been affected, with cancellations and delays. Over 800 homes have been flooded, and there are now over 200 flood warnings. Tonight’s forecast could cause more homes to be evacuated and even more flood warnings across the UK.
2. Charities say that the NHS has to be quicker publishing reports into how Jimmy Savile was allowed access to hospitals. The health service are now setting up four investigations, including one in each hospital Savile accessed and another inquiry at the Department of Health. He had access to three hospitals which included Stoke Mandeville, Leeds General Infirmary and the high security psychiatric Broadmoor hospital. It is not yet clear what will be involved in these investigations, but previous patients and staff are expected to be involved. The reports from these investigations could take a year. Charities are concerned about who allowed Savile access, and believe the NHS should treat this as urgent.
3. 60 skilled sector jobs are expected to be created in Sheffield. The jobs have been generated after redevelopment plans for the construction of a hydraulic steel forging press at Firth Rixson, near Meadowhall. This is if the steelworks get permission from the council next week. This investment is expected to create many benefits in the steel city, including skilled engineering jobs. A piece of public art planned to be made, to create a new Sheffield landmark.
4. A study at Kings College has found that smoking rots the brain. This is after 8800 people were tested by naming as many animls as they could. They found the lower scores were consistent with those participants that smoked. This study aimed to show that smoking damages the brain and memory, not just the body.
5. Robbie Williams has announced details of a 2013 tour. He will be visiting London, Glasgow and Manchester in the summer. Olly Murs will support him.

Words: Kathryn Smiles