User:Ajehals

From Pirate Party UK Wiki

Contact Information
	Name:	Andy Halsall
	Position:	Campaigns Officer
	PPUK IRC:	ajehals
	Region:	Yorkshire and Humberside
	Area:	Sheffield
	Email:	a.halsall@pirateparty.org.uk
	Website:	www.politico.org.uk
	Phone:	07505111705
	SIP:	sip:1175165@sipgate.co.uk
	Skype:	ajehals
	Twitter:	@ajehals
	Identi.ca:	ajehals
	Reddit:	ajehals
	Slashdot:	ajehals

Campaigns

I am the Pirate Party UK's campaigns officer (as from the 5th of June 2011), if you need anything or want to know anything about our campaigning efforts please get in touch using your preferred method!

A Background

A brief background, I have spent most of the last 20 odd years enthusing about technology and wondering at both the pace of change and the possibilities that have arisen due to it. At the same time I have become more and more aware that in terms of legislative effort and even understanding, the various governments we have seen since the dawn of the 'information age' have been somewhat lacking. That needs to change, largely because technology is a major element of everyone's life, whether directly and indirectly and because our future economy will depend on it.

As a result I see the Pirate Party as an ideal vehicle for positive change in those areas where others have failed and where even now there is too little emphasis. This includes other political parties and indeed some of the more technical movements. I feel that in areas such as patents and copyright law urgent change is needed, in areas such as net-neutrality there are serious risks to the freedoms we currently enjoy and have made such good use of.

More broadly I should probably add that I see myself very much as a socialist (although not one that can agree with Labour as it stands..) and am a former soldier and now father of 4. Obviously the former informs my views in many areas, it tends to be tempered by the latter in a positive. I also grew up largely outside of the UK (Germany and Hong Kong mainly) and am probably somewhat odd in that I didn't go to university (largely because I didn't think I could afford it...), again something that I find probably shapes my world view.

Aims within PPUK

Give that I have now twice stood at the end of a count of votes and watched the pirate party pick up less than 5% my main aim is to get involved as much as I can, do whatever is possible to help boost membership numbers and then hopefully help in using that to boost votes, whether in a local, national or EU level contest.