Archive for the ‘British current affairs’ Category
Is Gordon Brown losing his sight?
October 13th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
It is rare to see such an open discussion of the Prime Minister’s vision problems as we find in this piece. More openness on this issue may enable the electorate and the media to take a fairer view of Brown’s demeanor and manner as well as encourage understanding of the large number of people in […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
My friend, the Minister
October 6th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
When the Communication Workers Union was created through a merger in 1995, I was asked by the Joint General Secretaries to become the Head of the Research Department for the new union and fulfilled that role for the next seven years before I took early retirement. My two bosses were Alan Johnson and Tony Young, […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Brown’s new Cabinet
October 3rd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
I just love politics – never a dull moment. The reshuffle of the Cabinet today makes really interesting news. The headline appointment is clearly the return of Peter Mandelson. This is as inspired as it is unexpected. It shows that Brown is big enough to put past hurt behind him. I met Mandelson a couple […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Visit to Number 10
September 17th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
I had occasion to visit 10 Downing Street today. Now, over the past 35 years, I must have been there around 20 times – but only when the office has been occupied by a Labour Prime Minister: Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan, Tony Blair and (for the first time today) Gordon Brown. However, I could not […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Too little too late on fuel poverty
September 11th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
At last the Government has published its package of measures to address the rapidly rising issue of fuel poverty. BCC online has this summary. Is it enough? The consumer watchdog Energywatch issued a statement insisting that: “The lack of political will to tackle fuel poverty is not just disappointing, it approaches negligence. While Government has […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (1)
Energy suppliers ripping us off
September 5th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
The Local Government Association, a cross-party organisation representing more than 400 councils in England and Wales, commissioned independent experts SQW energy to investigate the published financial statements of the six major energy suppliers. You can see the results here. in summary, the analysis found that dividend payments have risen from £1.378 billion in 2006 to […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (1)
Is crime mapping a good idea?
September 3rd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
London residents can see how much crime is being committed in their neighbourhood on a new website launched today. The £210,000 projects shows robbery, burglary and car-crime statistics for the capital. Crime maps were a key manifesto pledge of the London mayor, Boris Johnson, who said today that the site would be “hugely beneficial” and […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
From Beijing to London
August 24th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
The Olympic flag has now passed from Beijing which hosted this year’s Games to London which will be the host in 2012 and today there have been a number of events to mark the occasion. One was 4.45 pm fly past over Buckingham Palace by the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows display team – always […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Putting our stamp on the Olympic Games
August 22nd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
This is a fun idea.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Do you faff around?
August 22nd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
New research reveals that the vast majority of Brits (80 per cent) admit to wasting time everyday. Just under half estimate they ‘faff around’ for as much as 2-3 hours a day. Waiting around for the kids, colleagues and queuing top the list of how Brits waste their time New research into how the average […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (2)