Archive for the ‘British current affairs’ Category
How the UK Treasury could be losing four times as much tax as it thinks it fails to collect – that would be £40 billion each year
May 22nd, 2014 by Roger Darlington
“The size of the total gap between what taxpayers owe and what they pay was last year estimated by HMRC to be £35m, or 7%, shortfall for 2011/12, but that includes legal and illegal tax dodging, fraud and errors. It said the shadow economy and evasion was costing it £10.5bn.” BUT: “The Treasury is losing […]
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How the rich get richer and richer – and richer
May 16th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
In this news story, it is explained that: Britain’s richest 1% have accumulated as much wealth as the poorest 55% of the population put together, according to the latest official analysis of who owns the nation’s £9.5tn of property, pensions and financial assets. In figures that also lay bare the extent of inequality across the […]
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Why is there no limit to the size of the House of Lords?
May 3rd, 2014 by Roger Darlington
I was recently asked this question by an Australian observer. I explained that there is no fixed number of members in the House of Lords, but currently there are almost 800 active members – many more than in the House of Commons, more than the combined houses of the American Congress or the Indian Parliament […]
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Do we really live in “this grumpy democracy where everyone has a voice”?
April 30th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Recently, I was a speaker at a breakfast seminar organised by the Westbourne Communications agency in central London. The title of the session was “Stakeholder Challenge And Influence: Lessons For The Utilities Industry”. I was invited in my capacity as the Chair of the Customer Challenge Group at South East Water to talk about different […]
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What do I think about Scottish independence?
April 29th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
This question was recently put to me by an online friend in Australia. I responded briefly as follows: I’m a democrat so, if Scotland wants independence, I accept that. But I hope that the Scots vote to remain in the United Kingdom with a fresh look at how much power can be devolved to the […]
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The nearest I came to becoming a Member of Parliament
April 19th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
I was interested in the news that Austin Mitchell is to step down as a Member of Parliament at the General Election next year. Mitchell first became am MP in 1977 when he fought and won a bye-election in Grimsby occasioned by the premature death of the sitting Labour MP and Foreign Minister Anthony Crosland. […]
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What’s the connection between London Mayor Boris Johnson, recently deceased union leader Bob Crow, and my brother?
April 7th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
All is revealed here.
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The strange language of Harrow School
March 15th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
For the past 30 years, I have lived at the foot of Harrow-on-the-Hill in north-west London . We drive over the hill constantly. When I go for a walk, it is usually up the hill. Our favourite cafe, “The Doll’s House”, and our favourite restaurant. “Incanto”, are on the hill. Inevitably, therefore, we are always […]
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Lord Biro of the Bus Pass Elvis Party beats Liberal Democrats
March 8th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
In a council by-election this week, a candidate standing for the Bus Pass Elvis Party managed to poll more votes than the Liberal Democrat candidate, such is the unpopularity locally of the Lib Dems. The by-election was in Clifton North, Nottingham and the Elvis candidate was David Laurence Bishop who goes by the name Lord Biro. Sportingly a national […]
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The view of an Englishman living in Scotland on the independence referendum
February 27th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
The Scottish Independence Referendum – Yes or No? I am a mongrel of the British Isles. Self-exiled in Lancashire throughout their married life, my parents were defiantly Yorkshire in origin and spirit. However, my father’s great-great grandfather had migrated with his sheep from south west Scotland to the West Riding early in the nineteenth century. […]
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