Ever heard of Louie Zamperini?
December 14th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Like most non-Americans I guess, I’d never heard of Louis “Louie” Zamperini before Angelina Jolie made a film about him.
It is a truly remarkable story: someone who represented the United States in the 5,000 metres at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and then, during his war service as a bombardier with the USAAF, somehow survived drifting in the Pacific for an amazing 47 days, only to find himself a prisoner of war who was brutalised by his Japanese captors.
You can read my review of “Unbroken” here.
Posted in Cultural issues, History | Comments (0)
The rise and rise of Alicia Vikander
December 13th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Nine months ago, I did a blog posting which began: “You may not have heard of her but, believe me, you will.” This was a reference to the Swedish actress Alicia Vikander.
Well, to confirm that 2015 has been her break-out year, today the “Observer” newspaper devotes three pages to an interview with her.
I have now seen her in four of her films and I believe that she is a special talent.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
The best news for a l-o-n-g time: we have a global deal on climate change
December 13th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
After 23 years of failure to agree a new global climate deal and negotiations in Paris that concluded with three all-night sessions, 196 nations have signed a deal on climate change set out in 31 pages of text and due to come into force in 2020.
What are the key elements?
- To keep global temperatures “well below” 2.0C (3.6F) and “endeavour to limit” them even more, to 1.5C
- To limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity to the same levels that trees, soil and oceans can absorb naturally, beginning at some point between 2050 and 2100
- To review each country’s contribution to cutting emissions every five years so they scale up to the challenge
- For rich countries to help poorer nations by providing “climate finance” to adapt to climate change and switch to renewable energy – around $100 billion a year from 2020.
Many, many people have brought about this historic deal, but special appreciation should go to Christiana Figueres, the Costa Rican who has been executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change since 2010. Thanks Christiana, thanks everyone. Now let’s make the deal stick.
Posted in Environment | Comments (0)
‘World’s longest married couple’ celebrate 90th anniversary
December 12th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Many congratulations to Karam and Kartari Chand – see here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
A short guide to the Spanish political system
December 12th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
In just over a week’s time, Spanish voters will elect a new parliament and the two establishment parties are being challenged by two new parties, so the result could represent a new political settlement.
In preparation for the election, I have written the 14th contribution to my collection of essays providing a short guide to a country’s political system. Check out my description of the Spanish political system here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
What does the new forum Open Labour stand for?
December 11th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“Open Labour is a Labour forum aimed at creating a kinder, more active and more equal society. We seek a politics where power and wealth are more widely distributed, and in which we work more cooperatively to make sure that power, wealth and opportunity are for all of us – not just those who already have them.
We are part of the democratic left that believes that Labour governments are vital for achieving a country in which all citizens flourish. A Labour Party true to its values and fit for the 21st Century must be both radical and electable, built on a foundation of community, and around a culture which is modern, open and tolerant. Serious about fundamental change, it must also be honest with itself about the challenges it faces.”
These are the opening words of a short launch statement on the web site of Open Labour, which launched this week and has been formed by 50 activists who are claiming to be operating in the traditions of the Tribune Group, the former foreign secretary Robin Cook, and the ideas generated by Ed Miliband’s 2010 leadership campaign. As this comment points out, Open Labour enters a crowded field with many groups trying to revive the Labour Party.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
How to be good
December 11th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Another Friday, another visit to my set of web site essays on life skills. Today’s essay is arguably my most ambitious, since it is an attempt to suggest how to be good. Check it out here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Unhappiness will not shorten your life
December 10th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“Illness makes you unhappy, but unhappiness itself doesn’t make you ill … We found no direct effect of unhappiness or stress on mortality, even in a 10-year study of a million women.”
So states Dr Bette Liu, now at the University of New South Wales in Australia, about a study which has just been published in the “Lancet” medical journal. You’ll find more information on the study here.
And, if you want some suggestions on how to be happy, you’ll find some advice here.
Posted in My life & thoughts, Science & technology | Comments (0)
U.S. presidential election (15): Donald J Trump should revisit Ellis Island
December 9th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The latest outrageous statement by Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump is disgusting and despicable. It is wrong on so many levels, but commentators are surely right when they brand it a “unAmerican”.
The United States was founded and peopled by newcomers of countless ethnicities and many religions. Nowhere in the USA is this brought home more dramatically than at Ellis Island which Trump – like me – must have visited several times.
It is time for him to return, see what I saw, and repent. Meanwhile he should withdraw from the primaries.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Why and how the customer needs to be heard in regulatory debates and decision-making
December 8th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
SPEAKING NOTES FOR “CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT IN REGULATION” WORKSHOP ORGANISED BY THE CENTRE FOR ANALYSIS OF RISK & REGULATION AT THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, 7 December 2015
Roger Darlington
Chair, Consumer Forum for Communications
WHY CUSTOMERS NEED AN INSTITUTIONAL VOICE IN REGULATED SECTORS
How do individual customers and companies engage with one another?
In all markets, there are at least six main methods:
- Marketing – the promotion of products and services
- Sales – one-off or subscription
- Complaints to companies – these start as negative but can be learnings for the company
- Public comments on social media or forums
- Qualitative research such as focus groups or citizen juries
- Quantitative research – but different questions, different sample sizes, and different timing can all influence result
All these are valuable forms of customer engagement which all companies and providers should be using.
In regulated markets, there are at least three further mechanisms:
- Often there is an ongoing relationship with regular billing that might be monthly, quarterly or yearly – but evidence suggests that customers only look very quickly at bills simply to confirm charges.
- Switching provider – but there are low levels of switching and, in some sectors, switching levels are actually falling.
- Engagement with regulatory debates and submissions to regulatory consultations– but this is very difficult for customers who have busy lives and lack knowledge of regulatory issues and even language.
Yet, in regulated markets, customers need strong engagement because:
- There is limited or no choice of provider.
- We are talking about an essential service that no home can do without.
- The sector has high costs because of heavy and long-term investment needs in infrastructure.
- There are complicated trade-offs to be made between different stakeholders.
So customers/consumers/citizens/users need a stronger voice than markets alone can provide and this needs to be an institutional voice in regulatory debates.
THE DIFFERENT MODELS FOR AN INSTITUTIONAL VOICE
There are three models for providing an institutional customer voice in sectors subject to economic regulation:
1) A body within the regulator – such as the Communications Consumer Panel in Ofcom, the Customer Panel in the Civil Aviation Authority, and the Customer Advisory Panel in Ofwat for Price Review 14
2) A body outside the regulator – such as the former Postwatch and former Energywatch which were merged to form Consumer Focus and then became a unit in Citizens Advice plus bodies like CCWater and Passenger Focus
3) A body within the regulated company – such as the Customer Challenge Groups in the 18 water and sewage companies in England & Wales and the External Advisory Board in mobile operator EE
I am very familiar with all three models:
- A body within the regulator – I was the Member for England on the Communications Consumer Panel for eight and a half years.
- A body outside the regulator – I was on the Council of Postwatch for its last three years and on the Board of Consumer Focus for its first three years.
- A body within the regulated company – I have chaired the Customer Challenge Group for South East Water for four years and I have been a member of the External Advisory Board of EE since it was set up two years ago.
In my view, each model has its strengths and weaknesses. So I believe that the best approach is a combination of all three with clear definitions of roles, close working of the parties, and proper resourcing for each body.
NEED FOR CROSS FERTILISATION OF THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Although each regulated sector has its own characteristics and complexities, there are some common features of all regulated markets. The regulators work together through the UK Regulators Network. Customer bodies similarly need to work together across sectors. Three relevant customer bodies are:
1) The Consumer Forum for Communications (which I chair) that covers telecommunications, broadcasting, spectrum, and posts
2) The New Public Interest Network that covers energy and water
3) The Essential Services Access Network that covers energy, water, communications and financial services
Some examples of the many cross-sector issues to be discussed are: access, take-up, price controls, affordability, vulnerability, switching levels, complaint handling, alternative dispute resolution procedures.
HOW DO CUSTOMER BODIES REACH THEIR VIEWS?
Like the regulators themselves, customer advocacy bodies need to be as evidence-based as possible. There are potentially many sources for evidence including the regulator’s research, the sector body’s research, the company’s research, complaints data, and research by customer bodies including all those already mentioned plus Citizens Advice, and Which?
BUT: all data has its limitations and many regulatory decisions do not lend themselves to customer research alone but require detailed knowledge and careful judgement.
Finally, we need to recognise the inevitability of trade-offs and make these as explicit and transparent as possible
- between different customer groups
- between present customers and future customers
- between customer and citizens
Posted in Consumer matters | Comments (0)