Sunifesto and your 'minifesto'

It is not often a source that we will use, given its use of topless models, and generally questionable values on issues of race, gender and sexuality, but today we shall look at a very specific feature in The S*n, the UK's biggest-selling paper and one that once boasted after a general election, It Was the Sun Wot Won It.

Owned by billionaire Rupert Murdoch, who operates a global media empire, the paper took the unusual step of beating the political parties to the punch and issuing its own 'manifesto' (details of what it would do, the policies it would follow, if elected to government).

Your quickfire challenge will be to:

1. Scan through the 'Sunifesto' below
2. Pick one or more policies that you strongly dis/agree with
3. Come up with your own wording for a policy/policies
4. Prepare a short summary of WHY this should be supported (look for newspaper articles on this policy area, find quotes, points, statistics...)
5. If you can, think of one argument AGAINST (maybe using the same research) and state why this should not put people off
6. Pick two UK national daily newspapers, and come up with a headline for each of them if they were writing about your 'minifesto' ideas. Tabloid headlines can be short and informal, featuring a pun or play on words, broadsheet headlines might more formal and longer. There would be a difference between the left-wing papers (Mirror, Guardian) and the right-wing papers (all the rest, bar the Indie/i, which is 'centrist' or fairly neutral). The S*n is very right-wing, its Sunifesto is classic right-wing thinking.

You can find more information and background on this post, written for A-Level Media students, but the Sunifesto is copied in below (just click read more or on the title of this post).

Actions and Consequences

Pipe Up
Total time: 9:37
PartA 0-5:40
PartB 5:40-9:37

For the following videos you will be asked to describe the actions, then the likely consequences of these actions

The Incident

A breakdown of who votes in UK elections

Who are Britain's 1m-plus missing voters?
http://gu.com/p/44qvk

Young people are much less likely to vote than older people, and this means the major parties tend to ignore the needs of the youth, whilst privileging pensioners - pensions go up while tuition fees go up and the EMA is scrapped for example.

A new report (note: this is being pushed by one political party, so there may be bias in this) claims a million young voters have disappeared off the register, a serious issue with an election due.

Russell Brand v Jeremy Paxman

TASK: You have a choice of two tasks; either:
(a) Pick out one or more of Brand's arguments and provide a detailed reponse (whether you dis/agree and why, backed up with your own research: facts, figures, quotes), OR
(b) Come up with a proposal for an e-petition that might lead to MPs debating this idea or argument (explaining why you think this is important, why you think it is a good idea, and backed up with your own research: facts, figures, quotes). You could include examples of actual e-petitions in your presentation.
PRESENTATION FORMAT: Feed back to the class as a group, each person in a group have the same notes on their iPad. You can inlcude images within a KeyNote presentation if you wish.

This has been one of the most discussed/shared interviews of recent times, and a rare instance of a political interview going viral. Is Brand simply a gadabout, vacuous celebrity spouting nonsense ... or is Paxman pompously defending a broken democratic system in the UK?

THE NOTORIOUS PAXMAN INTERVIEW
It was Jeremy Paxman's apparent disgust at Brand's arguments that made the views of an actor/comedian into a major story. Paxman seemed to get particularly cross at the notion that voting was pointless (although he later said he had some sympathy with Brand's views).


Brand followed this up with a lengthy essay in political magazine The New Statesman, which he guest edited:


RESPONSES TO BRAND:

Low earners don't vote much either, so the young/poor vote least of all. The IPPR shows how, since 2010, average voters lost 12% in service cuts, but those who didn't vote lost 20%, or £2,135 a year. So, Russell Brand, young people are badly treated if they don't vote. [Polly Toynbee, Guardian, 21.3.14 - lots of facts and figures on how decisions by both major major parties in recent years have hit young people]

Opinion has been very much divided on this; Suzanne Moore defends him while describing his essay as 'teenage'; Nick Clegg attacked Paxman; Brand himself wrote for The Guardian following the infamous interview; letter writers argued its easy to criticise, but where is his alternative plan?; you can find many more here (The Guardian's Brand microsite; there have been articles about him in every paper), and here you can find articles written by him.

BRAND ON DRUGS AND (NOT) VOTING; E-PETITION [C4 NEWS, 8mins]
Brand is also questioned about climate change. This interview came about after Brand launched a petition to force MPs to debate drugs law.
You can see a simple graphic of how these 'e-petitions' work here.


BRAND: USA INTERVIEW ON UK + US MEDIA [MSNBC, 8mins]
Includes clips from Brand's 'Trews' YouTube operation.


BRAND ON NEWSNIGHT, 2014 [15mins]
A return interview, this time with Robert Peston.


BRAND ON PARTY FUNDING, 2015 
This one of Brand's daily 'Trews' features, the most recent at the time of creating this post. He is joined by Guardian newspaper columnist and environmental campaigner George Monbiot to discuss how political parties are funded. He had earlier taken up this point during a Question Time appearance.


BRAND ON QUESTION TIME: DON'T TRUST POLITICIANS TO DECLARE WAR [1min]
Brand makes a range of points about how public opinion is manipulated over warfare.


BRAND ON PROPERTY: THE NEW ERA ESTATE CAMPAIGN [C4 NEWS, 2mins]
Brand interviewed on C4 News about the successful campaign over New Era housing; an American investment fund was set to boot out working class renters until a grassroots campaign eventually saw them sign the properties over to another company that pledged to keep these families on. The issue here is over the right of companies to stockpile property as an investment, often keeping it empty, while many struggle to find an affordable home. His own channel reported on this too.


Of course, he's not the only comedian seeking to take up the political fight...

...

1 million young voters losing right to vote?

Ed Miliband targets Nick Clegg with claim 1m voters lost from electoral roll
http://gu.com/p/45v9g

Al Murray joins long line of comic parties

Al Murray the Pub Landlord joins hustings humorists by taking on Nigel Farage

http://gu.com/p/44q8t

Did you know that ANYONE can launch their own political party?

The Electoral Commission, who set laws on voting and registering to vote and registering to stand for election, are considering scrapping the requirement to deposit £500, and encourage more, especially younger, candidates to stand for election.

There are many 'single issue' parties across the UK, campaigning for things such as saving a hospital threatened with closure, to legalise cannabis, or to stop road-building, to take three examples.

As well as the long-established Monster Raving Loony Party, there are several 'joke' parties and candidates.

In Italy it looks like a comedian has a very good chance of forming a new government, having done well in elections there. Can you perhaps see Russell Brand - or Al Murray - as our new Prime Minister ... or yourself launching your own political campaign to win a parliamentary seat?

2014 Party Political Broadcasts

There are many more examples, and details (+ an explanation of PPBs) in this post: http://citpol.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/party-policies-2013-party-political.html.

LABOUR

and another.

TORY/CONSERVATIVE

There are more, including spoofs, below the line