Archive for the ‘British current affairs’ Category
British political institutions (6): devolution & Brexit
May 19th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This week, I attended the sixth and final session of the course at the City Literary Institute on “British Political Institutions“. This session was on devolution and Brexit and delivered by two lecturers: American Dale Mineshima-Lowe and British Mark Malcolmson. The UK has a devolved system of government with a Scottish Parliament, a Welsh Assembly […]
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British political institutions (5): the civil service
May 10th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This week, I attended session 5 of the six-week course at the City Literary Institute on “British Political Institutions“. This session was on the civil service and delivered by two lecturers: Phil Chamberlain, who was a former civil servant in what is now the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sports, and Philip Geering, who […]
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British political institutions (4): the judiciary
May 7th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I like to attend short courses at the City Literary Institute in central London and I’m now doing a six-week course on “British Political Institutions”. The fourth session of the course was delivered by Mark Geering and covered the judiciary, including an outline of the legal system and the role of the Supreme Court. I have […]
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British political institutions (3): the government
April 29th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I like to attend short courses at the City Literary Institute in central London and I’m now doing a six-week course on “British Political Institutions”. The third session of the course was delivered by the City Lit’s Director Mark Malcolmson and covered the executive, that is the government of the Cabinet and junior ministers. I have […]
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Who was Millicent Fawcett?
April 24th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
It’s great that today we saw the unveiling of the first statute of a woman in London’s Parliament Square where there has previously only been statues of men (11 of them). The new statute is of Millicent Fawcett – but who exactly was she? She was a campaigner for the right of women to vote, […]
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British political institutions (2): the legislature (and how Berwick might be at war with Russia)
April 18th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I like to attend short courses at the City Literary Institute in central London and I’m now doing a six-week course on “British Political Institutions”. The second session of the course was delivered by the City Lit’s Director Mark Malcolmson and covered the legislature, that is the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the […]
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British political institutions (1): the constitution
April 11th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I like to attend short courses at the City Literary Institute in central London and I’ve just started a six-week course on “British Political Institutions”. I already know quite a lot about this subject and have written a website essay on the topic, but there is always more to learn. The first session of the […]
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So, after the leaking of the Paradise Papers, how is the UK doing on tackling tax evasion and avoidance?
February 5th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Figures from HM Revenue & Customs suggest that a series of measures to tackle offshore tax evasion will only bring in £349m a year – £650m a year less than had been hoped for. Meanwhile a total of 28 anti-avoidance measures introduced under the Coalition and Conservative governments are bringing in less than expected, and the […]
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Think tank analysis highlights nursing staffing crisis facing UK
January 25th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Analysis from the International Longevity Centre – UK (ILC-UK) published today shows: Between September 2009 and September 2017, the number of nurses rose by 0.8%, while the numbers of people aged over-65 rose by 17.6% during roughly the same period. The number of nurses per 1,000 of the population has fallen considerably from its peak […]
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What do the British think of America’s president Donald Trump?
January 14th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
An opinion poll conducted for the “Observer” newspaper by Opinium has found that: 71% believe that he is untrustworthy 44% believe that he is less intelligent than the average person 18% believe he is a friend of Britain 72% believe that he is a risk to international stability The newspaper has major leader column assessing […]
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