Archive for the ‘British current affairs’ Category
Time for Osborne to adopt Plan B
October 30th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
“It is now clear that plan A isn’t working. Wave after wave of economic figures from HM Treasury, national and international economic institutions such as the OECD, the IFS and the IMF have all concluded that the British economy is faltering. The UK jobless total is now at its highest for more than 17 years, […]
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3% and 49% – what do these figures have in common?
October 29th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Answer: both represent the annual increase in pay for a group of workers in Britain in 2010. For the workforce as a whole, the increase was 3.2% compared to a current inflation figure of 5.2%. For directors of the FTSE 100 companies, the increase was 49% which put the average director on £2,697,664. More information […]
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How fair is life in Britain?
October 28th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
As explained in this article, according to the German think tank the Bertelsmann Foundation, Britain only ranks 15th in a study of 31 wealthy nations. The main reasons are low expenditure on child poverty, high levels of youth unemployed, and substantial income inequality. This is why I was so attracted to the arguments in the seminal […]
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The differences between rich and poor in the UK
October 13th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
This week, the Equality Trust released its third quarterly Research Digest. Unlike previous releases this is comprised of original research done by freelance researcher Anna Barford. The digest deals with how living standards, education, health and social mobility vary across quintiles (fifths). In brief: Social gradients: Incremental increases in income correspond to incremental improvements in […]
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Please may I draw your attention to this report on civility
October 10th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
The Young Foundation has today published a report entitled “Charm Offensive: Cultivating Civility In 21st Century Britain” [full text here]. The report states: “The available statistics confirm that Britain ranks either positively or average in international surveys of inter-personal trust, tolerance and politeness.” The report concludes: “First, civility is an issue that matters hugely to […]
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What’s it like to be on benefits?
October 6th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I wrote in this posting about a friend of mine who is seeking the Employment & Support Allowance (ESA) and has been refused it (he has appealed). He has drawn my attention to this posting by a specialist benefits adviser working for the Citizens Advice Bureaux which gives a different perspective from the line in […]
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It’s hot! hot!! hot!!!
October 1st, 2011 by Roger Darlington
The British weather is so variable that it provides an endless source of (usually fatuous) conversation. We had the coolest summer since 1993 BUT: Thursday was the hottest 29 September since 1895 Friday was the hottest 30 September since 1908 Today was the hottest 1 October ever recorded – it reached 29.9C or 85.8F [more […]
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British: rich and poor
September 19th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Speaking today at the Liberal Democrat Annual Conference, Business Secretary Vince Cable did not mention the row over retention of a top rate of tax of 50% but did say: “What Liberal Democrats should focus on are the vast disparities in wealth – much of it in inflated property and land prices artificially generated by […]
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Could you survive on a pension of £224,000 year?
September 7th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
In the UK, the maximum state pension for a single person – after paying for 30 qualifying years – is £97-65 a week or £5,078 a year. Obviously many of us have an occupational pension as well. The average private sector pension is £9,568 a year but the average public sector pension is only £6,497 […]
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Could you survive on pay of £4.5 million a year?
September 5th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
The economic recession has resulted in falling real incomes for most UK households. We are told that we are all in this together – but is that true? How are our most senior executives fairing in these troubled times? According to a study commissioned by the High Pay Commission, leaders of Britain’s top 100 companies […]
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