New page about me

4 Comments

1. Cllr John Ward says:

   Friday 11th January 2008 at 14:22

   Interestingly, Medway Council had six Core Values, as they were called, and you have six Aims (as at the right of your home page) — though the detailed Core Beliefs are detailed within eight groups.

   Not a bad idea, actually — though the council ones were perhaps a bit pretentious and are now largely outmoded (which is why we have reduced them to just two nowadays).

   Putting oneself and one’s stance into the public arena, to be scrutinised and monitored, is not a casual move. It takes courage, and commitment, as some bright spark is bound to be “out there” watching every move one makes — just like Sting and the rest of The Police — and readying to pounce on any real or perceived/twistable infringement of those stated aims/beliefs/principles/whatever.

   Just so long as we know where we are coming from and why, we can weather any such storm up ahead. It’s been tried on me (in the Council Chamber) and I’ve survived: indeed, my personal reputation was enhanced through a couple such experiences!
2. Lynne says:

   Sunday 18th May 2008 at 21:03

   Hiya Alan

   As a resident of Twydall, it is nice to know that the youngsters of the area are taking a keen interest in politics, however, as a very liberal minded lady, i believe that there is no value in calling England a Christian country, as religion has been the main cause of warfare recent years and it would alienate many people.

   I would like to know why you support Israel?
   And why you think that sex education should not be taught ( which is overly tame and has not disturbed anyone i know), but then you think that it is not right to have an abortion after 1 week of pregnancy ( at which most women would not even know they were pregnant).

   Also, everybody has a different way of learning, and I assume that the only reason that you dont want qualifications to be modular, is becasue you learn better the other way – or maybe you think people not as clever as you are getting the same grades.

   Likewise with EMA, my daughter receives it and it pays for her to be able to travel to and from the specific college that she wanted to go to, and she has a part time job. Without it, she would not be able to go.

   Finally, i believe that euthenasia should be legalised, as it is in Norway i believe, as as some people believe it would end being a fine line between justified and unjustified killing, this obviously would not be true, as there would be very strict sanctions

   Thank you
3. Alan Collins says:

   Tuesday 20th May 2008 at 10:29

   Thank you for your comment, Lynne. It is always good to know that people in Twydall are reading this website. As you commented on a number of important issues, I shall try to deal with them all in turn.

   Firstly I would like to make clear that many of my core beliefs have been influenced by Christian faith, such as my views on abortion, euthanasia, etc. However I do not allow my faith to blind me from what is logical in today’s society. It is my firm belief that, whilst religion has indeed played a role in recent warfare, the underlying reasons for conflicts is somewhat different and that religion is often the simplest reason to cite for conflicts.

   For example, the Falklands War was about ensuring the Falkland Islands remained British, by liberating the islanders after the Argentinian invasion. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were about the war on terror (and, no doubt, oil played a part in the decision to invade Iraq, although it is important to remember that, no matter how much I disagreed with the war, Saddam Hussein was an evil tyrant and, in the long run, Iraq will be all the better for him having been deposed).

   I believe that Britain is still a Christian nation, as it has been for centuries. That does not stop us from welcoming people from other religions and faiths and I see no reason why it ever should.

   My support for Israel goes back to my Christian faith. I do believe a two state solution would be the best option for the Israeli and Palestinian people, supporting Israel is merely a personal belief and unlikely to prevent me from looking at the situation objectively.

   It is not that I do not believe that sex education should not be taught in schools, just that I do not see the value of teaching it from such an early age. It is my view that this only encourages the behaviour which has led to an increase in teenage pregnancies. However, I do believe that people do need to be taught sensitively about contraception, so as to prevent the spread of STIs and the growth of teenage pregnancies as much as possible.

   I am in agreement with Nadine Dorries MP on the abortion issue. I do not believe that abortions should be allowed for healthy babies and social reasons after a reasonable amount of time (which, in my opinion, 24 weeks certainly is not). However, I still believe that abortions should be allowed on babies with disabilities and where there is a serious risk of life to either the baby, the mother or both.

   My opposition to modular examinations is not about the thinking that people not as clever as me are getting the same grades. In fact, if it wasn’t for modular exams, it would be a 50/50 split as to whether or not I passed my exams. However, it is my opinion that the exam culture in this country at the moment is excessive (see this BBC report with interviews with RMGS students). There are many clashes on exam timetables because students will be taking many modules of the same subject, some resits from previous exam sessions and some fresh exams.

   A constant emphasis on exams also encourages teachers to focus solely on exam content in lessons, rather than teaching outside the box and really inspiring students. This was one complaint one of my subject teachers had spoken about in class, saying that he welcomed the new Pre-U. Of my four subjects (Computing, Physics, Politics and Spanish), only Government and Politics allows for a truly inspiring class discussion and truly independent study, as the course is designed so that anything going on in the Country, or even the World when it comes to the synoptic module, can be included where relevant.

   I sort of have a part-time job (I work at Priestfield, but the season has finished, so I am busy hunting for a new job at the moment) and also receive £10 per week EMA. I am not going to deny that it is useful. My gripe with EMA is that it is awarded unfairly, based on a family’s income, rather than their necessary relevant expenditure. I would like to see EMA abolished and replaced with a system whereby students who need to take the bus can be provided with sufficient bus money, students who need to buy textbooks from their college can be provided with sufficient money to cover this, and so on. It is not that I don’t believe that people such as your daughter need or deserve the financial help, I just believe that the current system in place is not the correct system to address the issue.

   Finally, you spoke about my opposition to euthanasia. It is my belief that we have no right to play God – and my opposition to euthanasia is simply that I believe that it constitutes playing God.

   Once again, thank you for your comment. I hope that I have covered all the issues that you raised, and, if you have any further questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reply back.

   And do keep reading this website – it will get back up and running properly after my exams … I promise!
4. Mike Young says:

   Saturday 28th February 2009 at 23:30

   I really respect you for making this statement and publishing it. It is good to find people who have thought about things, and who state clearly in black and white what they believe in, without using weasel words. I really found it fascinating to go through the list and see how much I agreed with you, and was pleased that you were so clear about things..
   Now the next thing to think about is? What if you want to change any of these? If you change or refine your ideas you will have to change the website. Please do this, but keep the old web page, and say why you have changed your mind.

   Mike Young

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