Youth democracy at its best! A year as Deputy Young Mayor

Amidst a cacophony of screaming and shouting, the Returning Officer declared the newly elected Young Mayor and Deputy Young Mayor of Newham 2009/10. Handing over the baton on stage was a very poignant moment because after a year of hard work, we were no longer the directly elected representatives of young people in Newham.

Taking up a public role has given me a refreshing experience of local government and democracy. We were able to work closely with elected politicians and control our ₤25,000 budget.

We have interacted with the community at local events, identified crime hotspots and immensely raised the profile of youth democracy. After live appearances on BBC News 24 and on radio programmes, I think it is fair to say we have shown that young people are not apathetic about politics. The fact that there was a 43% election turnout attests that young people are enthused by the political process.

I am confident that the new Young Mayor, Deputy and Youth Council will do an equally good job to strengthen the voice of young people.

The individual vs society - a History Masterclass

Who has been more important in shaping the world - great leaders or society? Can we draw scientific laws to predict the future? Does history repeat itself? After reading E.H. Carr's What is History?, I thought it was appropriate for me to attend Debate Chamber's History Masterclass in London to probe these questions further.

The masterclass was primarily attended by those applying for History at Oxbridge next year; so to be in the company of these able, older students was challenging. I had the opportunity to contribute to discussions on a wide range of questions.

I was particularly interested by the notion that the historian is a product of his own era. Therefore, his facts and interpretation of them, are in fact, a reflection of society's views. This is aptly illustrated by the great German historian, Meinecke, who's views change as Germany went through a period of rapid change from the Bismarck to the Weimar Republic to Third Reich.

The day was thought-provoking, and a valuable opportunity to widen my horizon. Perhaps some topics for the "i-history Society" at school...

Immigration is not that bad.

Spongers, criminals, terrorists - these are the headlines of tabloid newspapers. This insidious, narrow-minded view has infiltrated into many people's heads. According to them, immigration can only have negative, undesired effects. There always seems to be the assumption that immigration is a bad thing.

The notion that immigrants "steal" our jobs could not be more wrong. When Poles started to come to Britain in 2003, there were over 700,000 unfilled vacancies in Britain. Further, foreigners stimulate the economy. The money they earn is spent purchasing goods and services in the UK. Thus, they increase domestic demand - and with that, create more jobs for everyone!

The BNP are attracting many supporters by creating a false fear that the country is heading for disaster. Yes, immigration needs to be capped, but that does not mean there needs to be some sort of national panic.

Is it really a criminal justice system?

Today I read a shocking article in The Times about our prison service. Sure, I knew our prisons were fiercely overcrowded but not to the extent that convicted criminals were immediately freed to ease crowding. No wonder there is very little faith in the justice system.

It is a shambles that the jail sentences of those who terrorise our streets are determined by the population of our prisons - it should be the other way round.

This news will further undermine public confidence in the justice system. More needs to be done so that people see justice to be done. As the Deputy Young Mayor of Newham, this notion was the main focus of Newham Youth Council's response to a recent green paper on engaging communities, that we sent to Jack Straw. We highlighted the fact that many people do not report crime because they feel nothing will be done about it. This perception needs to be changed if we are to tackle crime and the fear of crime effectively.

We have already started that process. Since September 2008, lawbreakers doing community payback have worn fluorescent orange jackets to increase their visibility to the public. Perhaps we could take this one step further and publish recent convictions and sentences for crimes in local leaflets and magazines.

Justice needs to be done, and seen to be done.

Bring on Nick Griffin

Nick Griffin may be a distasteful figure, to say the least, but it is the right decision to host the BNP leader on Question Time next week.

We can no longer ignore the party, who brags a seat on the European Parliament. Instead, we must stand up and challenge his views. His supporters need to be shown how wrong they are. But, the only way is to bring the BNP into the public arena, and land the blowing punch there.

By blockading his route to the BBC Television Centre, as planned by some, is the wrong strategy to adopt. His greatest asset is to make the BNP seem as if they are being oppressed and swept under the carpet because we cannot challenge them. Really? We will see next week!

Fight against the Taleban - together

Pakistani security forces have mounted a fierce battle against the Taleban, in their stronghold of Waziristan. This fight affects us all. If we can keep the Taleban under control, we will be in a safer world - in the USA, Pakistan, India and of course here in Britain.

Therefore, we must help Pakistan's military action. The least we can do, from the Western world, is to offer humanitarian aid. Civilians are being caught in the cross-fire, as they try to flee the troubled region - and their medical centres lack basic resources.

From sweet to sour

Recently I went to Thorpe Park, and went on the rollercoasters - this has pretty much been the story for the Olympic games this week - a rollercoaster ride going from high to low in a second. They reached the summit when the 2016 games were awarded to Rio de Janeiro, the city of passion, but plummeted straight down when golf was accepted as part of the Olympics from 2016 onwards.

The Olympics symbolizes the pinnacle of a sportsmen's career - what they dreamt about since the age of 7. This is is not the case with golf. The four majors will be far more important to the golfers, which has a string of golden history. The Olympic games will just be a little extra. It will not be the competition of all competitions for them, which renders everything every other tournament insignificant. This defeats the spirit of the Olympic games - the Greatest Show on Earth!

Last week, the taste in my mouth was invigorated with the carnival from Rio, but became sour with the IOC's decision to include golf in the Olympic games.