Archive for the ‘British current affairs’ Category
Islam in English law
February 7th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
If you want to read what the Archbishop of Canterbury actually said on this subject – although his thinking is odd and his language opaque – you can check it out here. My personal position is very clear: there should be a complete separation of religion and the state and there should be a single […]
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How much child poverty is there in Britain?
December 12th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
In the week in which the Government has issued a 10-year Children’s Plan running to 170 pages, it is salutary to appreciate that, although new research shows nearly 41% of the British public believing that there is “very little” child poverty in this country, official statistics reveal that around 3 million child are still in […]
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Does the UK need a new flag?
November 28th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
To be honest, the thought had not occurred to me until I read this article today. I had not appreciated that apparently the Welsh are unhappy with the current flag because it does not include the the cross of St David or the Welsh dragon. Our flag was introduced in 1606 following the accession of […]
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What is so different about Britain?
October 19th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
In the week that Britain yet again insists on taking a different position on a key European Union proposal – this time a new Treaty to replace the failed proposal for a constitution – in this column, “Guardian” reporter Michael White puts his finger on why this country has not just an insular geographical position […]
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Keeping you posted (2)
October 13th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Wow – hours after I go on radio and television urging Royal Mail and the CWU to settle the postal dispute (see previous posting), they reach a settlement. I’m now thinking of going on the media and calling on the Israelis and the Palestinians to agree a solution to the Middle East conflict …
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Keeping you posted (1)
October 12th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
In the year and a half that I’ve been at Postwatch, the consumer watchdog for postal services, I’ve done almost 50 radio and television interviews for the organisation, but I’ve managed to stay clear of industrial relations issues. After all, I worked for the Communication Workers Union and its predecessor unions for a total of […]
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Should we have a General Election?
September 29th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Over two years ago, I blogged that the next General Election would be on 7 May 2009. That was when I thought that Tony Blair would stay on for three years and that Gordon Brown would want a year to establish himself as the new Prime Minister. In the event, Blair was forced to go […]
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The British-Irish Council
July 19th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Earlier this week, there was a little-reported meeting of the virtually unknown British-Irish Council. This was the first meeting of the Council since the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive and the first time it has ever been held in the Stormont Parliament. But what is the British-Irish Council and what does it do? The […]
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The Alistair Campbell diaries
July 8th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
I’m just finishing a 500-page book on the Second World War, so – in spite of being something of a political junkie – I’m not sure that I will immediately take up the 800-page Alistair Campbell diaries which are published tomorrow. However, I have read today’s “Observer” profile of Campbell, I am checking out the […]
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The Brown Government
July 2nd, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Gordon Brown has now finished his massive restructuring of the Labour Government and you can see the full list of Ministers here.
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