Friday, 20th October: How can the United Kingdom be turned into the United Republic?

The subject
How can the United Kingdom be turned into the United Republic?  In principle that is a simple question to answer, but in practice it is a big task – although somewhat easier now than it has appeared to be for most of our lives.  Bearing in mind that republicanism has become a near-universal form of government, this talk will consider the political mechanisms of the change as well as the possible pitfalls, placing the making of a British republic in its historical context and in comparison with other countries – especially in Europe.
The speaker
Tom Lines is a resident of Brighton and a member of Republic as well as the Green Party.  He joined the party long before Republic but has been a republican since long before that.  He was involved in establishing Republic’s local group earlier this year and in May he took part in the national protest against the coronation.  If arrangements had gone exactly as planned, he should probably have been arrested there at the same time as several members of Republic’s staff.
Photo of Tom Lines

FRIDAY, 22nd SEPTEMBER: STEPHEN EVANS: TIME TO SEPARATE CHURCH AND STATE?

About the talk:

The latest census revealed that England is no longer a majority-Christian country. Meanwhile, our head of state retains the title of Defender of the Faith; laws requiring Christian worship in schools remain in place; and Church of England bishops retain seats as of right in the legislature. Stephen Evans explores the relationship between religion and state and asks whether time has come to disestablish the Church of England.

 

About the speaker:

Stephen Evans is the chief executive of the National Secular Society – a campaigning organisation that advocates for a secular democracy where everyone is treated equally, regardless of religion or belief. Stephen is a regular media commentator on religion’s role in public life.

Photo of speaker Stephen Evans

HEADSTRONG CLUB, WEDNESDAY, 14 JUNE: MARK HUTTON: MUST WE KEEP THE HOUSE OF LORDS?

About the talk:
Debate on the House of Lords has rarely been more divided. On the one hand Gordon Brown’s Commission on the UK’s Future called it ‘indefensible’ and recommended its wholesale reform. On the other many well-informed commentators have been fulsome in their praise for its work. One recently described it as ‘one of the only aspects of our constitutional arrangements that actually works.’ At a time when the reputation of the House of Commons has seldom been lower, is the House of Lords a bulwark against chaos or a blot on the political landscape?
About the speaker:
Mark Hutton worked in the House of Commons for more than 30 years, retiring in 2020 as Clerk of the Journals. He is the co-editor of the current (25th) edition of Erskine May’s Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament.
The meeting will take place at the Elephant and Castle, White Hill, Lewes from 20:00 hrs on Wednesday, 14 June.  Tickets are £3 in advance from the venue, or on the door on the evening (subject to availability as numbers are strictly limited).

FRIDAY, 14 APRIL 2023: IS THE ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN CONFLICT RESOLVABLE?

About the talk:

The Israel/Palestinian conflict is complex with much emotion and spilling of blood over the years. In this talk Harvey Gordon will outline the issues of the conflict based on 4000 years of history through the lens of forensic psychiatry, covering the role of the three major monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam through six historical phases: 1) Old Testament 2) New Testament 3) post-Biblical 4) Enlightenment 5) Mandate Palestine 6) State of Israel.

About the speaker:

Harvey Gordon is a retired Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist who worked at Broadmoor, the Maudsley and Bethlem hospitals, and in Oxford. He has managed the care of patients who have committed serious criminal offences. He is a frequent visitor to Israel and has also visited several Arab countries, He has been a visiting lecturer in forensic psychiatry in Israel and is an honorary member of the Israel Forensic Psychiatric Association. He has also lectured to Arab hospitals on the West Bank and Gaza. He has co-authored a number of published articles with both Israeli and Palestinian colleagues.

The venue:
The Elephant And Castle
White Hill
Lewes
BN7 2DJ

Tickets:
They are £3 and you can purchase them on the door or about a week before at the venue. Please note that the capacity of the venue is limited, we recommend buying the ticket in advance to avoid disappointment.

Why does the Church of England matter? – Friday 10th of March 2023

About the talk: 

Many people think the Church is out of touch and out of date. Why might an established Church matter?  What does it bring to people and to the national debate?  Reverend Ben Brown will give some personal answers to some of these questions.

About the speaker:
The Reverend Ben Brown
Ben is Rector of St Anne’s, St Michael’s and St Thomas, Lewes. He has only been in Lewes for just over a year but already he loves the place with all its creativity and history. Ben is married to Rachael and has two daughters, Rowan and Martha. Ben’s interests are Christian mysticism, reading, music, film and politics. He was an actor and has worked in publishing.
Picture of Naomi Cunningham

Friday, 17 February: Naomi Cunningham: “Telling it how it is: language and power in the row about gender”

Naomi Cunningham will consider why language has become such a bitterly contested front in the raging gender wars, and propose a plan of action. Naomi is a barrister specialising in discrimination law, chair of the human rights organisation Sex Matters, and a member of the Legal Feminist collective. She has become interested in the interaction between the Equality Act and the Gender Recognition Act, and particularly in the defence of women-only spaces, and has given evidence to both the Westminster and Holyrood parliaments on these questions. She has been or is instructed in a number of significant cases in the ongoing “gender wars”, including locally a claim against Brighton Survivors’ Network for its refusal to provide the option of a women-only peer support group.

The venue:
The Elephant And Castle
White Hill
Lewes
BN7 2DJ

Tickets:
They are £3 and you can purchase them on the door or about a week before at the venue. Please note that the capacity of the venue is limited, we recommend buying the ticket in advance to avoid disappointment.

FRIDAY, 11 NOVEMBER: MIKE ELLICOCK: MAKING NUMBERS COUNT

ABOUT TALK
Modern society is based on numbers. From pocket money to the pension triple lock, and from the price of a pint of milk to the cost of running the NHS, numbers play a central role in our lives. Many key decisions – if and when to impose a COVID lockdown, for example – require a high level of numeracy, yet around a half of adults in the UK have the everyday maths skills that we expect of a primary school child. The Financial Conduct Authority has identified poor numeracy as the most common vulnerability among adults. This leads to poor decisions at all levels and excludes many from full participation in society. Mike Ellicock, founder of The Plain Numbers Project, will examine the causes and consequences of poor numeracy in the UK, and – crucially – what can be done to make things better.
ABOUT MIKE ELLCOCK
Mike is a social entrepreneur. Since 2008 he has run organisations that support people who struggle with numbers and data. After a military career, an MBA and a brief stint in banking, he joined Numicon Ltd, a maths education business as Chief Executive in 2008. In 2012 he launched National Numeracy as founding Chief Executive, building the organisation from little more than an idea to become a well-respected national charity. In 2020, with the support of the Bank of England, he established Plain Numbers to enable regulated firms to better support customers who struggle with numbers. See: https://plainnumbers.org.uk/

The venue:
The Elephant And Castle
White Hill
Lewes
BN7 2DJ

Tickets:
They are £3 and you can purchase them on the door or about a week before at the venue. Please note that the capacity of the venue is limited, we recommend buying the ticket in advance to avoid disappointment.

 

Friday, 9 September it is: Paul Myles on ‘The Rise of Thomas Paine’

About the speaker
Paul is the treasurer of the Thomas Paine Society UK, and has authored The Rise of Thomas Paine and co authored Thomas Paine in Lewes 1768 – 1774. He runs the society’s website www.thomaspaineuk.com
Paul has given many talks on the above subjects, notably for the American Philosophical Society, the Benjamin Franklin House in London, The Samuel Johnson Society and the Working Class Museum and Library in Manchester.
Paul was born and bred in Lewes and lived here for 67 years, recently becoming more nomadic, based in Plymouth.
Paul returns to Lewes regularly to support Human Nature in building a Thomas Paine bridge over the Ouse, help Bull House open as a visitor centre and assist Westgate Chapel as chair of Trustees.

The venue:
The Elephant And Castle
White Hill
Lewes
BN7 2DJ

Tickets:
They are £3 and you can purchase them on the door or about a week before at the venue. Please note that the capacity of the venue is limited, we recommend buying the ticket in advance to avoid disappointment.

An introduction to cryptocurrency

Update! Due to COVID, the speaker will no longer be available on the 17th June. A new date will be posted asap

About the talk
Dave will talk about crypto. What it is, a brief history, a look at today’s landscape and some of the key trends. He’ll offer opinion only, no financial advice, and will aim to provide you with a foundational understanding with which to proceed on your own journey of exploration into this exciting and challenging technology.

About the speaker
Dave Lockie’s interests lie in WordPress, open source and technology trends, especially web3. He founded Pragmatic in 2012 which merged in 2020 with Angry Creative where he worked as CMO until early 2022.

Dave is a deep thinker about how technology can help us to create a better world and loves to share his research and thoughts. He is an advisor to Adnode and WordProof and is just finishing up a role as WordPress ambassador for Grant for the Web.

Outside of work, Dave currently lives in Brighton, UK and loves mountain biking, cooking, reading (Goodreads profile, don’t judge me), photography and travel. I hang out on social media @divydovy (mainly Twitter but also a bit of Insta).

The venue:
The Elephant And Castle
White Hill
Lewes
BN7 2DJ

Tickets:
They are £3 and you can purchase them on the door or about a week before at the venue. Please note that the capacity of the venue is limited, we recommend buying the ticket in advance to avoid disappointment.

Does the Monarchy have a future?-13th May 2022

About the talk

Norman Baker will be discussing the future of the British monarchy.

About the speaker

Norman Baker was the Lib Dem MP for Lewes for 18 years from 1997-2015, and a government minister from 2010 to 2014. For three and a half years he served at the Department for Transport with a portfolio that covered public transport and active travel. He was then promoted to be a deputy to Theresa May in the Home Office as Crime Prevention Minister.

Prior to his parliamentary service, he was the first ever Lib Dem leader of Lewes District Council from 1991 until 1997 and also served as a county councillor for 8 years, and for 16 years as a Glynde and Beddingham parish councillor.

In 2014 he was inducted into the Privy Council.

After leaving Parliament, Norman became managing director of The Big Lemon, an environmentally friendly bus and coach company in Brighton where he won many new contracts for the company and updated the fleet. He is a qualified transport manager. He now acts as advisor to the Campaign for Better Transport, is a regular columnist and broadcaster, and undertakes a wide range of consultancy and lecturing work.

He is a published author of three books, the most recent being the well received And What Do You Do? – What The Royal Family Don’t Want You To Know.

He is also a singer-songwriter and has released three albums and an EP. He hosts three weekly music shows on the local FM radio station, Seahaven FM.

He has a degree in German from Royal Holloway College.

The venue:
The Elephant And Castle
White Hill
Lewes
BN7 2DJ

Tickets:
They are £3 and you can purchase them on the door or about a week before at the venue. Please note that the capacity of the venue is limited, we recommend buying the ticket in advance to avoid disappointment.