Team Yellow: Hufflepuff and Liberal Democrats

Well friends, it is official - in both the political and wizarding world, I am Team Yellow; I have done the Pottermore quiz so it must be true. Seeing as one of my school nicknames was 'Bec the Red' for my famously left of centre views, this may come as a surprise to some. This result would have surprised the Adventurous Wilkinson of just 5 years ago though, who would have said Gryffindor and its associated hues were the colour of choice in both domains - I even have the jogging bottoms to prove it!

Dear Rebecca Citizen

My first forays into the world of politics (beyond my own front-door) occurred when ODEON built a cinema on top of a park in our town centre. My 8-year old self was very concerned as to where all the retail workers would now be able to spend their lunch breaks so I wrote to the council about it and signed the letter - Rebecca, Citizen - because I was a precocious little whatsit! The council worker who replied pointed out that there was another park town workers could relax in, but did genuinely believe my surname was citizen.  Since then I have sent other letters to governmental people and offices regarding; building a bypass over the grave of a Saxon king, provision for rough sleepers in Central Manchester and most recently the way asylum seekers are treated at interview. I believe in writing letters, and offering innovative solutions if you have any.

Loyal. Patient. Fair

You might have seen the facebook wraps on people's profile pictures recently declaring their Harry Potter House. When I took the test on Pottermore a few months ago I was sure I would come out as 'Gryffindor: Courage. Bravery. Determination'. I was so shocked to come out 'Hufflepuff: Loyal. Patient. Fair'; not least as I model myself in part on Dick King-Smith's Sophie (who is 'small and very determined') but also because Hufflepuffs seemed a bit dim, and peripheral in the Harry Potter Universe -  I am certainly centre stage of my own narrative!                                                                                     That said now Newt Scamander's day has come, perhaps the Hufflepuff star is in ascendance. If Hufflepuffs are 'loyal. patient.fair' I suppose there are worse things to be; I am not all that patient but I am a loyal friend, and fierce about justice which on a Sunday afternoon with a cup of tea I concede could be defined as 'fair'.

Liberal Democrat

I am not one for facebook debates about politics, I rarely even share petitions - its just not my thing. I find confrontation uncomfortable and would much rather have a reasoned discussion one-to-one with you; preferably with some cake present. But as I mentioned, I have joined the Lib Dems. As someone from a Labour background, and a student during the infamous 'tuition fees' election choosing Team Yellow might come as a surprise but for what its worth, here is why I made the leap and joined.

1. Crying in the wilderness has its place, but so does working inside political systems.

2. The positive influence the Lib Dems had whilst sharing power has become increasingly apparent to me since 2015.

3. Lib Dems have a genuinely democratic approach to creating policy. Any member can table a motion, it gets debated and then voted on. If the motion passes that member's policy becomes Lib Dem policy.

4. Sometimes small can be beautiful (and efficient) ;)

5. For parliament to thrive you need credible opposition, not infighting factions. 

6. My values are most in-line with an inclusive, liberal party.

Have you considered taking political action of some kind recently? If yes what was the catalyst that moved you to take action? Do you prefer to work outside the system, through lobbying and protest, or within the party system, why? And finally, were you sorted into a wizarding house that surprised you? How have you dealt with that? Can I still wear my Gryffindor jogging bottoms? Thanks.

Shakespeare and Plan B - liminal artists and easy bedfellows?

Over the last couple of weeks I have been considering the role of artists (verbal, musical, theatrical, sculptural etc.) in society and specifically their ability to criticise politics.

Traditionally artists were kept on the edge of society, as travelling minstrels at Medieval courts or Elizabethan theatre players, or secluded artists, like Picasso, they formed micro-communities with their own social rules. They are citizens of their own countries but they are also uniquely placed to comment on society, as quasi-strangers in their own lands.

Throughout time the Arts have had this function, in Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare comments on Elizabethan social reform resound throughout Romeo and Juliet, where the Prince proclaims new rules and the protagonists fall foul of a system that cannot understand,  ‘What, ho! you men, you beasts/That quench the fire of your pernicious rage/ With purple fountains issuing from your veins’. In Hamlet Shakespeare similarly puts up a mirror to the Jacobean approach to monarchy (The King and the Playwright).The ability to critique contemporary government and society did not end with Shakespeare, at the Queen’s Jubilee arts evening Hockney said, ‘I don’t think we can quite rely on governments to see the bigger picture so we need the Arts’. Interesting that the Arts can say things that politicians or people in other contexts can’t.

The social commentary in Romeo and Juliet (when the men are brawling on the street) came to mind recently when I was listening to Plan B’s ‘ill Manors’. Music has long been the refuge for protest music; the Sex Pistols released the controversial  ‘God Save the Queen’ in the year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. Plan B uses his song to critique the current government’s policies impact on the poor to widespread acclaim. Showing the foolishness of Cameron’s hug a hoody, ‘He’s got a hoodie on give him a hug...on second thoughts you don’t want to get mugged’, the Olympics, how the poor can take advantage of the benefits system and accuses Boris of ‘rob(bing) them (Londoners) blind’. He can be quite clever with his wordplay, ‘We’ve got an eco-friendly government; they like to preserve our natural habitat’. His song can be summed up in his satirical play on the Conservative statement, ‘There’s no such thing as broken Britain, we’re all bloody broke in Britain’. These statements would be very weighty coming from the mouths of the protester but somehow from the mouth of a pop singer it encounters no such censorship. It has been played on all the major music channels and has been bought as a pop song by thousands, entering the UK charts at number 6. What is so special about the medium of song that makes that kind of commentary acceptable? (you can watch the video here)

Like Shakespeare, Plan B walks an interesting line here. Plan B samples Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, which just sounds like ‘classical music’, getting into bed with Conservative values, but the classical piece was created as a reaction to Nazi militarism, what does that suggest? Shakespeare counted the royals amongst his patrons but what does his generous portrayal of Henry VIII say to a Stuart court? And is Shakespeare’s Henry VI, part I an attempt to boost patriotism or a stern critique of it, just as England is fighting off the Spanish Armada?

What do you think the role of the ‘artist’ is in society? Do they even have a place? I’d be interested to know your thoughts.