The JSPrice Perception

Gerald Kaufman with Dennis Skinner (Image: BBC News) It is natural that many of us go through several career changes. This may be due to the fact that the sector we worked at wasn't right for us, or we simply want to tick off certain industries we succeed in off our list. As the saying goes, 'Life is too short so make the most of it.' In the past, this phrase never really applied to politicians. 'Career politicians', as many were known then, notoriously dedicated decades of their employment journey to serving the public. Our modern examples of such include the likes of Ken Clarke, Conservative MP for Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire who has been a politician for 47 years, and Labour's Dennis Skinner, MP for Bolsover in Derbyshire since 1970. Recently, the Westminster bubble lost Labour's Gerald Kaufman (MP for Manchester Gorton, formerly Alnwick for nearly 47 years), another so-called 'career politician'. It's easy to brand them as such, ...

Nicola Sturgeon in Downing Street (Image: The Sun) I was close to dedicating this article to my support for the House of Lords. I will explain why I back a little later, however, I realise I haven't really covered the Scottish National Party (SNP) in a while. Significantly, both Scotland's largest Party and the Peers should be seen as allies as Britain edges closer towards the formal proceedings of leaving the European Union. Over the past couple of years, throughout the EU membership negotiations, referendum campaign and its result aftermath, most of the Conservatives have been on message - minus a few internal critics like Ken Clarke. Meanwhile, the internal communications in Labour is disastrously damaging and aren't seen as a serious opposition, and the Liberal Democrat Party is too small to make a genuine difference in today's political scene. Only the SNP has shown absolute unity. None of their members have publicly rebelled on key issues like Europe...

John Bercow and Piers Morgan Everyone is entitled to an opinion. You may not have thought it if the world was ruled by a few Conservative MPs and Piers Morgan. I have been reading into their recent whinging which has attracted headlines under needless dramatic circumstances. Of course, they're also entitled to their opinion, however, I question their wish to shut other people down as this prevents them to practice what they preach. I'll analyse the small group of Tory MPs first. There is a little campaign at the moment to oust the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow. Bercow has been a Speaker since 2009 and is today seen as a well-recognised and popular, modern political figure. On most Wednesdays at midday, many on the Twittersphere are glued to Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) and watch closely how he referees the weekly clash between the government and opposing parties. His collectiveness is infectious. However, Bercow has attracted controversy in rece...

Theresa May delivering her 'no deal is better than a bad deal' speech (Image: Time.com) I recently visited Iceland and while I was in awe of the wonders this country had to offer, more significantly (only for the purpose of what I'm writing here), this was my first trip abroad since the UK's EU referendum. So during my sightseeing and fine dining, I also had my eyes on more serious matters. Call me over-analytical and someone who is unable to relax, but my visit to its capital Reykjavik haunted me back to what UK's Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier that week about her government's EU exit strategy plan. I'll start from the beginning. I arrived in Iceland using a currency I've never used before (Icelandic Kroner, ISK), so admittedly, I underestimated how expensive everything was. I was at a reasonably priced diner, for example, where I had burger, fries and a drink for ISK 2,145. If I had a steak from the same place, without the beverage,...

Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, at an LGBT march (Image: On Top Magazine) Largely, the Western world is a welcoming society that champions inclusivity. In this, I'd like to include the Far East and Australasia whose majority of people celebrate diversity and actively encourage different communities to join forces of good that'd ultimately benefit our being. The rest of the world may have some notable catching up to do, but when it comes to other people's life choices, I'd like to think most of us are on the same page. Despite this, there are some aspects of society often misunderstood - none other than the transgender community. For decades, the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community has been at the heart of many sociological discussions - both politically and privately. The lesbians, gays and bisexuals have been at the forefront of this and have emerged victorious in many campaigns that deemed almost impossible to get pre-popular culture...

From clockwise: Tim Peake, Jenny Beavan, Ed Balls, Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, Claudio Ranieri Having read reviews of 2016, I can't help but feel glum. The extraordinary number of recognised 'legends' and 'icons' in the entertainment industry, the never-ending tensions in Syria and Yemen, the turbulent political dramas in Europe and United States - summarising the year with these events would be enough to justify why many of us feel a little depressed, even if the elections we faced ended in our favour. But I'm a glass half-full kind of person. Away from the doom and gloom, 2016 also had moments of true brilliance and inspiration. Keep these individuals and events in mind and we won't be seeing 2017 as 'the year of uncertainty ', as some claim. I would like to see the next 52 weeks as 'the year of transparency', 'the year of boundary pushing' and 'the year of defying odds'. I don't doubt the opening month of the...

Nicky Morgan (Image: Daily Telegraph) The Labour Party are on the verge of losing their status as the official opposition in Westminster. Well, that's if you believe in the press in recent weeks. It is true to say the party have endured another extremely tough year. From the attempted career assassination of their current leader, Jeremy Corbyn to being part of the losing campaign in that tiresome EU referendum. It's just been a year of failure. I don't think any of their MPs would look back at 2016 with great fondness. However, all isn't doom and gloom. The polls may not be on their side at the minute, and their recent by-election performances leaves a lot to be desired. But they still have time until the next general election - whenever that is - to turn things right. At the moment though, they are prone to defeat. Most of their MPs wanted Corbyn to resign, he didn't. They wanted to oust him through a pointless election, they failed. Most of them campaigne...