Britain is not the only country in political chaos – have a look at Spain
June 28th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
In Britain, we are about to see a new leader of the Conservative Party which means a new Prime Minister. Some months later, we might have a general election which could conceivably result in yet another Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, in sunny Spain, they had an election in December when the Prime Minister’s party won the largest number of seats but not an overall majority. For six months, he served as merely the caretaker head of government while he tried and failed to form a coalition with a majority of seats in the Cortes.
This weekend, Spain had another general election which was a near rerun of the previous one. The current Prime Minister’s party gained some seats but still fell short of an overall majority. Now another round of coalition negotiations will take place …
You can read my essay on the Spanish political system here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
What exactly is Article 50 and how is it activated?
June 27th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
On 23 June, there was a referendum on the issue of UK membership of the European Union and the shock waves are rippling through every corner of British politics and the British economy.
On a turnout of 71.8% (the highest turnout in a UK-wide vote since the 1992 general election), 51.9% voted for the UK to leave the EU and 48.1% to remain in it.
The British Government will now have to use Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon to give notice of the nation’s intended withdrawal from the EU and there is a period of up to two years for negotiations on the future relationship between the UK and the EU. The Article has only been in force since late 2009 and it has not been tested yet, so no-one really knows how the Brexit (British exit) process will work.
There’s the full text of Article 50, together with a discussion of how it might or might not be activated, here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (1)
A review of “The Meddler”
June 26th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This small, independent film was released at the same time as the “Independence Day” Resurgence” blockbuster, so the chances are that you haven’t heard to it. But this is a rare movie that is written and directed by a woman and has women in the two leading roles.
It’s funny and moving and I recommend it. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of “Independence Day: Resurgence”
June 26th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Twenty years ago, it looked as if the world had defeated an alien invasion. But you know how persistent immigrants are. We should have built a wall.
Now they’re back. Can we defeat then again? I won’t reveal the ending of the movie, but you can read my non-spoiler review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Trying to makes sense of the vote for Brexit
June 25th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
“A quick note on the first three tragedies.
Firstly, it was the working classes who voted for us to leave because they were economically disregarded, and it is they who will suffer the most in the short term. They have merely swapped one distant and unreachable elite for another.
Secondly, the younger generation has lost the right to live and work in 27 other countries. We will never know the full extent of the lost opportunities, friendships, marriages and experiences we will be denied. Freedom of movement was taken away by our parents, uncles, and grandparents in a parting blow to a generation that was already drowning in the debts of our predecessors.
Thirdly and perhaps most significantly, we now live in a post-factual democracy. When the facts met the myths they were as useless as bullets bouncing off the bodies of aliens in a HG Wells novel. When Michael Gove said, ‘The British people are sick of experts,’ he was right. But can anybody tell me the last time a prevailing culture of anti-intellectualism has led to anything other than bigotry?”
— Nicholas on the “Financial Times” web site
(This comment has gone viral on Twitter.)
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
The result of Britain’s EU referendum debate changes EVERYTHING
June 24th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Yesterday, I voted in a referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union. I voted to remain in the EU – as I did in the referendum of 1975. We now know the result.
On a turnout of 71.8% (the highest turnout in a UK-wide vote since the 1992 general election), 51.9% voted for us to leave the EU and 48.1% to remain in it. Some reactions – on stock exchanges and currency markets for instance – were immediate, but the full implications will take weeks, months. years, indeed decades to unfold and with affect not just Britain, but the rest of Europe and indeed the world economy.
Sadly the conduct of the referendum campaign and the results of the actual voting reveal deep divisions in British society.
We are divided in national terms – outside of London (where I live), much of England and Wales voted to leave, whereas Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to stay with serious implications for the Irish peace process and Scottish independence respectively.
We are divided in age terms – the younger the voter, the more likely he or she voted to remain, but the older the more likely he or she voted to leave in a very stark age profile.
We are divided in economic terms – most middle-class voters did not feel threatened by immigration and have coped with the challenges of free trade, but working class voters are really worried by immigration and globalisation and voted against the views of almost all establishment figures.
We are divided in political terms – the Conservative Party will soon have a new leader which will mean a new Prime Minister and a new Government with a significant shift to the Right, while many in the Labour Party will feel that the lukewarm support for EU membership from Jeremy Corbyn further calls into doubt his capacity to lead the party and the nation.
Later on, I will try to be my usual optimistic self. But today I feel shocked and saddened and I see this very unfortunate result as part of a wider crisis in our older democracies which I have written about here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (19)
So just how fast is the world’s fastest computer?
June 22nd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
The answer is a mind-numbing 93,000 trillion calculations per second.
The computer that can do this is the Sunway TaihuLight which is installed at the National Supercomputing Centre in Wuxi in China. You can learn more here.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
A review of “The Girl On The Train”
June 21st, 2016 by Roger Darlington
At last, I’ve read the best-selling novel “The Girl On The Train” by British author Paula Hawkins. It’s a very readable thriller with women as the main characters and more than a few twists. You can read my review here and you should look out for the film with Emily Blunt which will be released on 7 October.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
The weather – like our politics – has gone mad
June 20th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Technically, today is the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere as explained in this short note. But it seems that nobody told the weather. Here in London, we have grey skies and heavy rain and a temperature of 15C.
On Thursday, the UK holds a referendum to decide whether the country will remain a member of the European Union or leave. Although the overwhelming majority of senior politicians, business leaders, trade union leaders, and economists favour membership – as I do – the result currently looks too close to call.
It’s my birthday two days after the referendum. Boy, it’s going to be quite a week.
Posted in British current affairs, Environment, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
10 of the best films about fathers
June 18th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I’ve been a father for 40 years now and a movie fan for around 60 years, so I was attracted to a piece in today’s “Guardian” newspaper headlined “10 of the best films about fathers”. Which of the film characters would I like to think best represented me? No contest: Atticus Finch in “To Kill A Mockingbird” [my review here].
Posted in Cultural issues, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)