Downright mendacious, but should Holocaust denial be criminalised?

The President of Iran has renewed his Holocaust denial claims at an address to the UN, sparking walk-outs from several delegations. Should these gratuitously provocative and utterly mendacious claims be criminalised?

I believe that we are entitled to the right to free speech until it infringes other people's rights. Many people say that it the denials have a significant harm to society. The denial is anti-Semitic, which encourages hatred of Jews. These people often advocate the idea that there is somehow some sort of "Jewish conspiracy".

Further, Israel was founded in 1958 because there was a need for a Jewish homeland after all the persecution they had faced. Therefore, denial of this persecution, debases the reasons for the establishment of Israel. This is encouraging hatred and opposition.

However, although I agree Holocaust denial is morally wrong and unfair, it cannot be criminalised. The right to free speech is at the heart of British values. Not all cases of Holocaust denial incite racial hatred. If it does, there are separate laws to deal with racial hatred.

Besides, criminalisation may well stifle academic discussion and investigation for fear of drawing the wrong conclusion. David Irving, a historian, was put behind bars in Austria, because of his interpretations from the evidence he examined. If this was the case in Britain, historians will be frightened of interpreting history in the wrong way. That is not the situation where Britain needs to be.

Now is our chance to support Iranians

Iranians are becoming increasingly fed up with the theocracy. Elections have been rigged; protests are brutally suppressed; and human rights are being unforgivably violated.

Since the re-election of President Ahmadinejad, thousands of protestors have surfaced, to stand up against the intolerable injustices of this dictatorial regime. The revolution of 1979, forcing the Shah to flee, was fought in the name of bringing Muslim morality and purity to their country - this can hardly be claimed now. The toll of fatalities has reached 200, many tortured to their death.

Even in the face of death, courageous Iranians have defied the Government and Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, the Supreme Leader by coming out onto the streets to seek justice - and now we have our chance to show our support. Ahmadinejad is set to address the UN in New York, the perfect opportunity for Westerners to protest against his behaviour.

Ahmadinejad has closed his doors to the West to influence politics in Iran. But when Ahmadinejad comes to New York along with the world's eyes, anyone who cares about democracy has their chance to vent their anger.

Our debt is utterly unsustainable

The day has come - Gordon Brown has made the admission we have been waiting for - withdrawing his mantra of "Labour investment" for a more modest plan of cuts in public spending when the economy gets back on its feet.

Forecasts for this financial year show public borrowing levels at untenable levels, levelling at 12 per cent of our GDP reaching £175 billion. Understandably, public spending has increased sharply, in line with Keynes' thinking, to stimulate demand. However, our deficits are becoming worrying.

Rest assured, we will be paying for the cost of the recession for years to come. Increases in taxation will be the way to compensate for those huge deficits.

Recessions will always come and go. But, what we can do is learn from our mistakes - to afford public borrowing, we need to build up surpluses in times of economic growth for times of depressing economic meltdowns.

We hate the recession - Primark don't.

I like buying good-quality clothes from the likes of Debenhams and TopShop - but now, in a recession, we have to be a bit more prudent with our spending. However, I still need new clothes from time to time either because they get worn out, trends change or I grow! But when I go to the high street, instead of popping into the high-end, expensive shops, I choose Primark. Cheap and value for money. My situation is not unique. This recession has not just decreased spending, but changed where we spend money. People are opting for cheaper substitutes - sacrificing a bit of quality to save money.

Thus, it is no surprise that Primark's sales have gone up. In the last year, sales have gone up by 7%. The recession has been a headache for most of us, but it is a blessing for Primark

"I like Germany so much I would prefer to have two of them" - Mitterand

20 years ago, Mitterand's apprehensions were echoed by the British and the Poles - would the unification of Germany be as suicidal as letting a lion out of its cage?

Files of Thatcher's discussions with Gorbachev were leaked, revealing Thatcher's obdurate private stance - and perhaps rightly so. It was a country that had started two world wars in the space of 21 years; it was the unification with East Germany who had had no experience of any other political system since 1933 but that of Nazism and Stalinism. Who could blame her?

But, now, with the luxury of hindsight, we know much better. The fears have been rendered unfounded. As Germany gears up for their general elections this month, they have proved to be a strong, free democracy and a key ally for the EU and NATO.

Germany out of the recession before Britain.

Germany are the world's biggest exporter. Surely then, in a recession, where aggregate demand falls drastically, Germany would be hardest hit?

This is true. In the first three months of the year, Germany's economy contracted 6.7% whereas Britain only contracted by 4.9% because Germany's growth is largely fuelled by exports.

However, they came out of the recession first because they were able to stimulate domestic demand better than Britain. Britain's consumers are in bigger debt than the average German. Thus, we could not just spend our way out of the recession, like Germany did. Germany saw increased domestic demand, which created better profits for companies. Then, companies were able to expand and employ more people. Unemployment decreased, the economy picked up - and yes, Germany had come out of the storm - just. A lesson to learn: individuals and the government alike need to build up a cushion of savings in times of boom, so we can spend in a recession.

Secondly, and perhaps, more importantly is the fact that Britain are heavily reliant on the financial sector whereas Germany is not. This was a financial crisis - hence, when approximately 7% of Britain's GDP is created by the financial sector, we were always going to be worse off.

Young People's Board

Newham strives to create a borough where its services are of the highest calibre in every aspect. With a very young population in Newham, it is even more critical that services for young people are of the highest quality.

In this context, a consultation board, consisting of young people has been set up. Our aim is to discuss and evaluate the services provided in Newham for young people. Essentially, we will give feedback on our experiences and views. From this, improvements can be made to ensure that the needs of young people in Newham are adequately catered for.

At the latest meeting at Beckton Globe, we continued our discussions and started to finalise our presentation. It goes without saying that our input will be invaluable, as part of the ongoing transformational change to services for young people in Newham.