Archive for the ‘British current affairs’ Category
Is Lucy Letby a case of the banality of evil?
August 19th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Understandably, the British media is awash with coverage of the recently-concluded, ten-month court case in which Lucy Letby has been found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six more. The newspaper which I read – the “Guardian” – today devotes its first 12 pages to the case. I love children. I love […]
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Would a universal basic income work? Let’s try it.
June 6th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
“A universal basic income of £1,600 a month is to be trialled in England for the first time in a pilot programme. Thirty people will be paid a lump sum without conditions each month for two years and will be observed to understand the effects on their lives. Two places in England have been selected […]
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A review of the book “A Duty Of Care” by Peter Hennessy
May 6th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
I used to know Peter Hennessy in the 1970s when I worked for the Wilson/Callaghan Labour Government and he was the Whitehall Correspondent of the “Times” newspaper. He is now a Professor of Contemporary British History and a crossbench member of the House of Lords. Like many of us, he has thought about the impact […]
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A sign of these economically troubled times
December 23rd, 2022 by Roger Darlington
A message today from the hotel in Milton Keynes where I’ll be sleeping this Christmas: “We’re so excited to be welcoming you to stay with us once again. But, much like many businesses across the UK, we’ve been experiencing supply chain issues across a number of different areas, including team shortages, which unfortunately puts some […]
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Are British strikers being unreasonable?
December 16th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
“The notion of “union baron”, boogeymen/women rallying workers to the picket line at a click of their finger, is wide of the mark by a country mile. When a strike happens, it is because any semblance of good industrial relations between workers and employers has failed. Legal strikes require a vote, a high turnout, and […]
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Names of new babies in England and Wales
November 4th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Names change in popularity. According to the data compiled annually by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and published each September, the most popular names for children born in England & Wales during 2021 were as follows: Position Boys Girls 1 Noah Olivia 2 Oliver Amelia 3 George Isla 4 Arthur Ava 5 Muhammad Ivy […]
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Why do so many migrants wish to reach Britain?
October 9th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
As I regularly do, I spent the day in Milton Keynes entertaining my two granddaughters. Now the local taxi company that I use in the city is staffed by drivers who normally hail from Pakistan. But not today. This time my driver was from Afghanistan. There are many ethnic groups in Afghanistan and I was […]
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We don’t just need a new Prime Minister or even a new Government. We need a new constitutional settlement.
July 13th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
The Conservative Party is in the process of electing a new leader who will become Britain’s new Prime Minister. The outcome will result in a new personality and perhaps a new style of governance but fundamentally it will be the same set of policies. This is why people like me – a life-long member of […]
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When will Britain have a new Prime Minister? It might be sooner than you think.
July 11th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
The new Prime Minister will, of course, be the person who wins the election for the new leader of the Conservative Party. We probably know the list of candidates and we now know the rules of the election. There are no less than 11 declared candidates, all you might expect (and more) except Ben Wallace […]
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So when will Boris Johnson actually leave 10 Downing Street?
February 10th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
For months now, almost every day has seen a new scandal associated with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Government. Surely his time is up? Last weekend, I had a friendly bet with a good friend. My friend said that Johnson would be gone by Wednesday, but I thought that he wouldn’t. So it’s […]
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