Sometimes Great Britain ain't that Great.

Service has been suspended due to riots, but I think I'm back now! It seemed a bit inappropriate to write about how I done fun stuffs when the country was experiencing a moral and practical breakdown. And I felt an enormous urge to write about my thoughts on the events but it has taken me a few days to put them into order, and also pipe down my anger enough to write sensibly about it. I'm amazed how some journalists put out such insightful and reflective commentaries within hours of stuff taking place. But I guess that's why they get paid to do writing about important topics, while I don't get paid to write about what I did at the weekend...

I've been angered by the perpetrators themselves and their blatant disregard for the communities around them, a disgusting show of greed, violence and disrespect. That goes without saying. But that wasn't where my anger ended. I was astonished, over the first few days, by a complete refusal amongst much of the public to seek and discuss possible reasons for what was going on. I know full well that the rioters were on the whole not acting with any agenda, let alone one that justified their behaviour. When journalists managed to talk to youths involved, the reasons they gave were often confused, vague and showed a clear lack of understanding of political and social issues. But that does not mean there's no wider social issue to address.

This refusal to look for an explanation seemed to stem from the fact that people felt that by rationalising the behaviour, they were somehow justifying it, saying it was right. But you can rationalise and condemn, surely, just as you can rationalise and condone. In many ways, I feel the disorder we've seen across England is no more than a vastly overblown reflection of the kind of activity seen in certain areas of towns and cities every single day.

Neglection,
Kids carry guns for protection
Weapons, buy that on the street for pence
Direction
Kids lost that a long time ago

Cos all you hear is BRAP BRAP BRAP BRAP

There is a massive underlying problem at play in our society here. The riots were just the inevitable blow up, as a window of opportunity was seized by kids normally pushed to the fringes of society. We can't pretend it happened in a bubble.

The proposed solutions have so far done little to calm my nerves. Water cannons, rubber bullets, live ammunition (apparently people genuinely thought this should be used? If I ever meet one of these people, shoot me...), these are confrontational, aggravating methods of controlling disorder that long term risk reactionary blow-ups. I have renewed respect for the police for not resorting to these methods, despite the violence they were facing.

Cameron's initial statements recognised a problem and I was briefly optimistic. However, his more recent comments have been vague and I'm not sure he is showing an understanding of the bigger picture, nor the ability to engage with the right people. I was concerned by his announcement of a 'war' on gangs. We've had the war. We don't want it again. We need the peace talks now. I'm not sure such a loaded word was the right choice. And the 'marriage solves all society's problems' line needs to be dropped. Seriously. I hate the generalising absent father argument. What's the implication? That women make ineffectual parents?

Role models
They say we need some black role models
That ain't footballers, rappers actors and no models?
Father figures
They say we need some more father figures
Like you can't grow if your mothers there but your father isn't?
F*** that, I say we need to put something back
Into communities where they think the way out is shottin crack

And I think I'm most worried of all about the justice system. Yes, everyone involved needs to be punished, but this needs to be proportional, fair, and each offence must be punished individually as it would be if it had occurred outside the riot period. Politicians need to keep their noses, and policy, out of the judiciary.

Discipline is very necessary. But what about the longer term? We can lock everyone up, but last I heard, prisons were full? We can evict them from their council homes, but where will they go? Take away their rights and there will be a bigger backlash. I don't pretend to have the answers, but I think we need a wider plan, more investment in these communities. We need to work towards inclusion, education, greater communication. I believe in the goodness inherent in everyone, and we need to find a way to bring it out. I don't think that's 'liberal', I don't think that's 'hippy'. I think that's just basic, civilised humanity. That may not be what the rioters showed, but if we all abandon it, what hope for us then?

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Title lyric from 'Great Britain' by danlesac vs Scroobius Pip; lyrics in the rest of this post from 'Don't Come Around Here' by Kano. Listen to the Kano track here. It's a favourite grime track of mine and one I think is pretty pertinent in its message, particularly at the moment.

Get your democratic hat on.

So the UK is voting now! Go vote, British people, use your power, cherish your democracy, weeeee!

I've been doing a lot of reading of manifestos over the past few days - Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats...

I've nervously giggled my way through the BNP's main policies (they don't really have any...or at least they don't seem very well thought out unless they involve hating on black people or women) - you know the way you laugh a bit but on the inside you are very, VERY frightened? Their stuff always sounds to me like it's been written by an irrational 8-year-old doing a "How would you run the country?" primary school project.

I'm also interested to see the newly launched TUSC (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition). I'm very pleased to see a left coalition which will work to decrease the split in the left vote, giving it more chance against the right where the vote is only essentially split between 3 parties. Their main policies seem slightly on the vague side though, although of course as a coalition and not a party each candidate is acting for their own individual party I suppose. They seem opposed to the EU, a viewpoint which I strongly disagree with, as well as pledging to immediately withdraw troops from Afghanistan, which I don't think is the most sensible solution - what's started must be finished (all the 'big three' aim to support the continuing presence of British troops in Afghanistan, the Lib Dems suggesting that they would try to bring them home as soon as reasonable).

What has struck me the most is the essential similarity between key Conservative and Labour policies. But I suppose that, although there may well still be a bunch of old, rich toffs in the Tories, and a bunch of old staunch socialists in the Labour Party, the people who now have the power are essentially in the centre - white, middle class, educated people with similar ideas.

The Liberal Democrats' policies most closely represent my views, particularly on a couple of points that are particularly important to me.

Firstly, whilst the Conservatives and Labour faff on trying to get more and more people into university, leading to a degree simply being a standard, expected qualification that no longer guarantees you anything in life, the Lib Dems are the only party that will scrap the '50% in uni' aim.

Secondly, both the Tories and Labour want an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This is a non-promise. No short-term promise allows them to ignore it. The Liberal Democrats also have the same 2050 target, but also pledge to reduce emissions by 40% by 2020. That's soon, people! That's immediate action! And that's what we need.

If you want 10 reasons why not to vote Labour, look here - it may be a bit of an attack, but it's all backed up by evidence.

If you want reasons not to vote Tory, I can give you a few :-P

Philippa Stroud and her 'gay cures'; bizarre tax breaks for couples who have a marriage certificate and have one member who doesn't want to work (do I really need to point out how discriminatory this is against families who don't fit some old-fashioned, stuffy stereotype of how they should live their lives?); the fact in itself that they seem to see marriage as some quick fix to society's problems (I could rant on about root causes of poverty and social disintegration for hours if anyone would like....); their plans to repeal the Human Rights Act, effectively removing easy access to the European Court of Human Rights and the Convention; David Cameron's face.... (he likes Radiohead!, AND he sometimes leaves his SOCKS on the FLOOR! He's so TRENDY!)

The impression I get from the Liberal Democrats' policies is one of fairness. Fairness and rationality. Obviously I realise that certain Tory and Labour policies appeal more to other sectors of society than the one i inhabit, but I don't believe I'm so mentally odd that my reaction is not that of the majority. I worry sometimes that so many votes come from ill-informed voters, making a decision based on age-old prejudices that the Tories are going to make us all go fox hunting and give all our money to rich people and that Labour are going to make us give all our money to poor people and join a waiting list for a telephone. That cannot be democracy.

I'm going to bed now. Go vote, dear compatriots, and in an informed and intelligent manner.

I'll leave you with a link. If you want a wonderful, eloquent, balanced article that is basically nice about all the main parties and doesn't try to tell you who to vote for, please visit Stephen Fry.