Ealing North
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Steve Pound MP Ealing North |
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A change of the times October 2002 Anyone who has an eighteenth birthday this year should look away now. For the rest of you, I am about to share a small secret. Like most MPs I send everyone a birthday card on his or her 18th. The idea is to try to get people to realise that they now have a vote and that they should think about casting it. As so very few young people bother to vote it has to be worth the effort. The cards make no mention of my political persuasion as, frankly, I would rather that votes were cast for the other parties rather than not at all. My cards are not the "official" issue ones. These tend to be toe-curlingly embarrassing with a pathetic attempt to be relevant to the world of the eighteen-year-old. The worst ones, not sent out by the Labour Party, say, "You never forget your first time………first vote, that is!" Instant nausea would be the reaction by my guess. One bonus of having to write out by hand the name of every person coming of age in Ealing North is a long list of first names. I find this fascinating. Each year I do a tally of given names and see what is the most popular. This year the top ten sees Sean falling from 8 to 10. Melissa comes in at 9 and Dean at 8. Liam falls down to number 7 and I have a problem with number 6. If you count Deena and Dina as one name then this holds down the spot. Similarly the many spellings of Mohammed, Mohamum, Mahmud could combine to make number 5. Nadine is a newcomer at 4 but the top three names are Anthony, Charlotte and - by a mile - James. Matthew, Robert, Christopher and Michael were last year's winners and Nitesh and Pritesh are coming up fast. They look like a good tip for next year. Gemma was a high scorer last year but has tumbled down in 2002,as have Wayne and Wesley. There are some truly beautiful names that I've never heard of before. Remy, Romanna, Samira, Quincey, Cleveland and Corrina to mention a few. Eagle eyed readers will have noticed that there is no mention of Stephen. Why has this great name fallen from favour? And, incredibly, no Mary, Christine or Susan. When I was 18 it seemed that every woman in West London was called by one of these names - how times change! I wonder if all the Mareks and Anrdrzejs have changed to Marks and Andrews? What had happened to all the Kylies? One day a PhD student may pore over the changing demographics of Ealing North as illustrated by the given names of those coming of age. I hope that I am around to hand over my long lists. In the meantime, if your son, daughter, sister or brother receives one of my birthday cards I hope that they will give serious thought to voting at elections. They may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in them and they deserve to have their say and their voice heard. Happy Birthday to them all. |
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| Disclaimer | Copyright | Designed by Bassam Mahfouz. Promoted by Julian Bell, The Labour Party, Ruskin Hall, 16 Church Road, W3 8PP on behalf of Steve Pound MP |
