Archive for the ‘British current affairs’ Category
How many members should there be in Parliament?
January 15th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
The British House of Commons currently has 646 seats which will increase to 650 seats at the next General Election (the number varies slightly from time to time to reflect population change). This is a large legislature by international standards. For instance, the House of Representatives in the USA has 435 seats but, of course, […]
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The weakening of community life
December 1st, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Any doubts that our local communities are fracturing under the multiple pressures of modern life are dispelled by new research commissioned by the BBC. This shows that community life in Britain has weakened substantially over the past 30 years. Analysis of census data reveals how neighbourhoods in every part of the UK have become more […]
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Which countries will be hit hardest?
November 26th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
“The downturn is expected to be severe in economies most vulnerable to the financial crisis or to sharp house price falls. These include Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey and the UK.” In its half-yearly health check of global growth, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has stated that the UK economy will […]
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Brown bounces back
November 19th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
If a week is a long time in politics (as former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson once famously declared), then – especially in current turbulent financial times – two months is almost an eternity. So, according to the pollster Ipsos/MORI, in September the Conservatives had a lead over Labour of 28% and today that lead […]
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Contrasting American and British politics
November 15th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Two and a half months ago, I did a blog posting on the contrast between American and British politics. It attracted more comments that I usually obtain on this blog, so you might like to revisit it. Now that the presidential election is over, this is a good time to make some further comments about […]
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This week’s other victory
November 8th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
In all the euphoria over the election of Barack Obama in the United States (and I share that excitement big time), we political observers in Britain should not overlook the significance of the Labour Party victory in Thursday’s Glenrothes by-election. Not only was the victory unexpected even by Labour itself, it is the first by-election […]
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Is political blogging too negative?
November 7th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
“Perhaps because of the nature of the technology, there is a tendency for political blogs to have a ‘Samizdat’ style. The most popular blogs are rightwing, ranging from the considered Tory views of Iain Dale, to the vicious nihilism of Guido Fawkes. Perhaps this is simply anti-establishment. Blogs have only existed under a Labour government. […]
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Matrix working in Whitehall
October 31st, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Matrix management is very fashionable in the business world – although far from easy to achieve effectively. But the concept seems to be growing in popularity in the political world. Take, for instance, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (snappy title that) which I deal with most because of my involvement in consumer […]
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Would you vote for an atheist?
October 29th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
I would – but apparently one in five voters in Britain and one in two voters in the United States would not. “In the US survey, the most electoral objectionable group was atheists, with 53% of Americans saying they would not vote for an otherwise well-qualified Presidential candidate who was an atheist. One would expect […]
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Behind every great Minister ..
October 15th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Let’s forget for the moment that Prime Minister Gordon Brown, during his decade as Chancellor of the Exchequer, presided over the deregulation of the financial markets that has now cost us all so dear. In the last couple of weeks, he and the current Chancellor Alistair Darling have put together an impressive rescue package that […]
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