Sixth Form Mercury Wilson’s School’s newest student-run publication Volume 2, Issue 12, Dec 2012 ‘We can be heroes’: The Lib Dem conference Sat in the front row of a packed auditori- list politicians, as well as senior figures um at the Brighton Centre, I eagerly from the media. Topics ranged from anticipated what the Liberal Democrats whether Britain is resigned to having had in store for the launch of their 2012 governments of more than one party Federal Conference. from now on, to how it would be possi- ble to keep the media in control. A full 15 minutes behind schedule, the lights finally dimmed and David Bowie’s A huge media presence was also a key classic ‘Heroes’ began to belt out of the feature of the conference - although speakers, to introduce the charismatic common knowledge dictates that jour- president of the party, Tim Farron. “We nalists aren’t as straightforward as they can be heroes, just for one day,” quoted appear. Farron, referring to the day Nick Clegg agreed to enter government in coalition I fell victim to this on the first day. As with the Conservative Party. His reason- chairman of Liberal Youth in Croydon ing was simple - the only other alterna- In case you haven’t already guessed, he’s sorry and Sutton, I was invited to take part in tive at the time was a minority Conserva- an interview on a politics radio pro- tive government, something that would age at times of economic prosperity let gramme on Radio 5 Live, hosted by political have led to the Tories solely making the key alone recession; he refused to apologise for analyst Jon Piennar. economic decisions. the record number of apprenticeships being given out in this country; he refused to apol- Before the show had started he told me On top of this, Farron claims that David ogise for closing no post office while being that he would ask me a question regarding Cameron probably would have held a follow in government; and he refused to apologise how I thought the Lib Dems were doing in up election later on in the year, which for providing an extra £900 for every child government, regarding young people. would have led to a straightforward Con- from a disadvantaged background for their Quickly preparing an answer in my head, I servative majority, as six months or so of school. Indeed, he states that an independ- awaited the exact wording of his question. donations to the Liberal Democrats would ent group of researchers concluded that the be no match for the funding the Tories re- Lib Dems have implemented 75% of their After giving a quick introduction of me, he ceive from city businessmen, or the heavily manifesto - far more than the Conserva- delivered the question quick as a flash; “Do trade union-backed Labour Party. tives, and certainly not bad for a party that you forgive Nick Clegg?” A combination of only has 8% of the MPs in the House of not knowing quite how to answer the ques- Conveniently forgetting any drawbacks or Commons. tion and getting back at him for putting me the disasters the party have encountered on the spot in a such a way, I did what any while being in coalition, Farron encouraged From here the conference was plunged into true politician would do and neatly swerved party members to continue engaging with five days of discussion, argument, heated the emphasis of the question, replying that I the party and showing support: “why be a debate, and, for those immature enough, felt Nick Clegg was doing as well as one hero just for one day?” MP and Celebrity bingo. could reasonable expect as the leader of the minority party in government, and his one It was at this point he introduced a man With every Liberal Democrat MP, as well as big mistake regarding young people was the who, amongst other things, was in the top the likes of Hugh Grant, Steve Coogan and fact that he broke a promise he had made 20 of the iTunes singles chart at the time. Nick Robinson, in attendance, this was a to them. Indeed, the parody song, ‘Nick Clegg says chance for anyone fortunate enough to be I’m sorry’ was a fitting microcosm of what attending, to address their personal con- Overall, the Lib Dem conference was a high- was expected to be the main point of dis- cerns and issues directly to those at the very ly interesting experience. While the party is cussion at the conference - Nick Clegg’s top, as well as to have a conversation with currently going over a bit of a bump, the apology over tuition fees just a week earlier. and obtain forthright opinions on niche conference showed that there is still a issues from Hollywood stars. strong support base out there. In his opening speech, however, he was anything but apologetic. A confident and The conference was spread across the en- self-assured Deputy Prime Minister refused tire Brighton Centre as well the Grand and to apologise for cutting taxes for the poor- Hilton hotels on the Brighton sea front, with est - halving the income tax those on mini- as many as a dozen different fringe and or By Syed Imam mum wage have to pay, something that a discussions events happening at the same majority Labour government couldn’t man- time - each being attended by numerous A- 2 Sixth Form Mercury, December 2012 Dear All, Christmas is just around the corner (as well as replies from Ox- Article Page bridge…), and to enhance the festive spirit, this edition of the Mercu- The Lib Dem Conference 1 ry brings joyous tidings of the Lib Dem conference, theatre reviews , musings on the role of football in history, and analysis of the war in Message from the editors 2 Iraq. ‘The Spiders of Allah’ review 2 It’s as though Santa himself has written this issue, just to make you Chek-off the stage 3 all happy. Art corner 4 Enjoy! By Nikhil Vyas and Kane Walpole Logic of Lorenzo 4 Book review: ‘The Spiders of Allah’ By Louis Woodhead Book reviews at the Mercury work He seems to do well in his arduous slightly differently to at the Tele- and depressing job as a war corre- graph or Guardian. We don’t get hot spondent but occasionally his pro- off the press hardbacks driven to fessionalism slips. our desk via courier. We get tatty two-year-old paperbacks from our Whilst passing through security local library. So apologies if you check points to enter the religious have already crossed paths with city of Karbala, to report on the Day ‘The Spiders of Allah’. of Ashura (a day of mourning for all Shi’a Muslims), Hider realised that Funny title isn’t it? But it isn’t as there was a bottle of wine in his girl- crude as it sounds. friend’s bag. Hider, a Middle East correspondent Surrounded by thousands of Mus- at the Times, based the title on an lims preparing for a ceremony of self urban myth that circulated during flagellation, already understandably the early years of the Iraq war. Dur- uncomfortable about the westerner ing the siege of Fallujah, it was ru- in their presence, the situation was moured that Iraqi jihadis had been treacherous. It took bribery, a ploy sent the ultimate secret weapon by he had previously railed against, to Allah: giant spiders, ‘the size of avoid a beating or worse. saucepans’ apparently. As well as being informative, Hider But the book covers far more than possesses a good writing style (with Iraqi war trivia. We join Hider in Isra- Once past the title, it’s an insightful study only the odd exception: I’ve never el, for instance. Within the first chap- of a traumatic conflict heard a phrase scream ‘patronizing ter, the complexity of the Middle primary school teacher’ louder than East’s predicament is revealed ball, and is interviewing a dangerous ‘taking the biscuit’) and describes through a series of interviews with demagogue, conscious that any one scenes of horror vividly. Zionist settlers, who won’t budge as of the drones flying overhead could they see themselves as fulfilling an be aimed for his house. He seems to understand the cultural ancient prophecy, and Palestinians, nuances more than many other re- who quite rightly feel unfairly treat- The tone has been set but, as the Iraq porters and conveys them well, mak- ed. war breaks, Hider soon moves to ing this a far more interesting and Baghdad. He covers tragic stories informative read than yet another A few pages later and we are in Gaza. with due cultural sensitivity, taking dryly written newspaper article. Hider has walked down a street, pass- care to learn about Iraqi and Islamic ing radicalised pre-teens playing foot- culture and traditions. 3 Sixth Form Mercury, December 2012 Chek-off the stage! By Henry Stanley and Karim Abu-Seer A recent theatrical expedition to watch The Whilst this sometimes was done with a lack Three Sisters at the Young Vic revealed to us of subtlety that was detrimental to the the (supposed) enigmatic virtuosity of the play’s fluidity, it nevertheless highlighted poignant topics. Russian theatre practitioner Anton Chekhov. One of these was whether or not we could A master of the dramatic style of realism, ever experience true happiness within our his naturalistic dialogues and thematic stud- lives, or whether we should focus purely on ies of Russian society are highly acclaimed in our work.