The JSPrice Perception

Gun crime statistics, provided by LBC I'm sick of hearing about widespread violence on the news day in, day out. It's happening far too often now and it's being highlighted with greater emphasis. These past two months alone has seen mass-murders in Orlando where dozens were killed in a nightclub; in Nice, a man took a lorry and ran over hundreds during Bastille Day, a short week after; a deadly failed coup in Turkey claimed more lives. And as I write this, Munich are in the mourning process after multiple shoppers were needlessly killed on a casual Friday afternoon. These four particular atrocities have something significant in common - the culprits used a rifle of some sort to shorten the lives of hundreds and cause emotional pain for thousands more. I'm not a believer in coincidence, and I'm not the sort who goes out of my way in actively agreeing with Piers Morgan. However, when I absorb the news and hear these tragedies, I cannot help but think that...

Pro-Jeremy Corbyn rally, June 2016 (Image: Independent) I have been a relatively faithful member of the Labour Party since 2013. Being a consistent voter of theirs since my 19th birthday in 2010, I was inspired by Gordon Brown's politics towards the end of his tenure as Prime Minister and believed Ed Miliband would have made a great leader of Great Britain. But today, I feel as if I should rip up my membership, like many of the 'Moderates' these past few months. This is for the time being at least as I refuse to give my time, support and energy to a Party completely mishandling their recent lunatic antics. My reasons for this dissociation is different to the likes of, say, Lord Sugar who left because he disagreed with the way Labour was heading towards in terms of ideology. However, by doing this, the entrepreneur is part of the problem. For me, his actions were ironic - running away from the issues the Party was facing back then (in May 2015) rather tha...

Floods of sympathy for the victims of recent attacks in Orlando, Florida (Image: Fox43.com) Grief is a natural emotion that comes in different forms. Whether there is a death, life-changing injury, a job loss, we all have our own ways to express how we truly feel. Grief is something we will all encounter in our lifetime and this used to be dealt with privately. We choose to express our supposed negative emotion to a local or wider network of people. Before social media was introduced globally, we used to grief without the whole world knowing in an instant. Even when we mourned complete strangers, like those who lost their lives on 9/11 for example, many of us were shocked and saddened about the tragedy that occurred, but we didn't have platforms to go overboard with our sympathy. This is where I'd like to reflect on two recent circumstances that has led people to go extra lengths to show their respect and offer condolences to people who most of us will never me...

As the EU referendum reaches its climax, is Britain prepared for either outcome? (Image: Telegraph) Last week marked exactly four years since I left Bangor University. And when I departed after nearly three years living and studying there, the city in North Wales was in the process of change. They had one particular, ambitious development at its heart that would benefit their local community. This development was Pontio. Pontio is an arts and innovation centre that comprises of a theatre, cinema, University facilities, a bar and restaurant. This building replaced the ageing Students Union that, as a first year academic in 2009/10, I sensed was falling apart and needed to change; and Theatr Gwynedd that had been closed for a number of years previous. But now, the city of 20,000 has a theatre to showcase local talent rather than relying on lecture theatres. And the locals can no longer rely so much on rail fares to watch the latest blockbuster in Llandudno Junction or Holyhead,...

Recent Junior Doctors' strike (Image: New Statesman) We should all share responsibility for the way our Health and Education systems are run at the moment. Now, before you troll me, please allow me to explain. It is so easy to blame politicians for the non-ideal condition our National Health Service is being run and the way education is run. These have stressed our current, and will stress the next, generation no end. It is also easy to say how, we, the British public, can suggest many amazing ways both Health and Education can boost the lives of the entire population to the policy makers. But there is so much both systems can do to function in modern Britain. There is a constant outcry that how both should be protected in the government's budget and politicians promise more money would be injected in the public run schools and hospitals. Yet, where the money is going to is damaging sectors we feel most passionate about. We need to stop and look exactly where the i...

Donald Trump (L) and Boris Johnson (R) in support of Brexit. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders (C) back Remain. With some crucial and world changing elections these coming months, it is hard to predict Britain's position in Europe and who will govern the US (and the UK for that matter) by the end of 2016. While the US Presidential Election is heating up and the unescapable EU Referendum in the UK on 23rd June dominating the headlines on both sides of the Atlantic, we hear too many 'what ifs' and countless number of rumours that have been arguably off-putting. As particularly the EU referendum is just around the corner, there is a considerable number of people who are undecided, while America has been split over the Democrat and Republican candidates, although the past week or so we saw Donald Trump confirmed as the Republican's nominee. Both elections mentioned here are linked in many ways and key figures have intervened. In the States for example, Trump has...

London Mayoral Hustings earlier in the election campaign (Image: LSE) We are now less than a month away from the London Mayoral elections. Those outside the capital may not have noticed but for the eight million who live across its 32 boroughs, it is hard to escape the buzz. The coverage and political campaigning these past few months has reached fever pitch. This election, we can argue, is too close to call. We have lost faith in polls that, in recent times, hasn't given an accurate outlook of the public's voting intentions. There are certain things we do know, however. There is a two horse race with Labour's Tooting MP, Sadiq Khan, and Conservative's Zac Goldsmith, currently Richmond Park's MP likely to occupy the top two spots. And there is a general feel in the city's polluted air that the voters' main issues surround housing, immigration, transport and, to an extent, the environment. For me, however, the most alarming issue here is how t...