How I have voted in the Labour Party elections
August 17th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Today I received my ballot paper as a fully paid up member of the Labour Party for 46 years. Since I know some of you will be interested, this is how I voted (online) in the three most important elections (I’m assuming you’re not so interested in the elections for the Conference Arrangements Committee and Regional Representatives on the National Policy Forum):
Leader of the Labour Party
- Andy Burnham
- Yvette Cooper
- Liz Kendall
- Jeremy Corbyn
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
- Stella Creasy
- Tom Watson
- Caroline Flint
- Ben Bradshaw
- Angela Eagle
Labour candidate for London Mayor
- Tessa Jowell
- Sadiq Khan
- David Lammy
- Gareth Thomas
- Christian Wolmar
- Diane Abbott
Obviously policy matters, but all the candidates have a lot more work to do to flesh out a comprehensive range of policies that will be relevant at the time of the General Election and anyway I believe that policy should emanate from the National Policy Forum and not simply from an individual.
For me, at least as important as policy is experience of running a government department, demonstration of political leadership, and credibility with the wider electorate. You see, to reshape our society into one that is fairer and more prosperous, Labour has to win power first and I am backing those who I think are most likely to do that.
As it happens, I think that Andy Burnham and Stella Creasy would make a great team with complementary skills and appeal: man and woman, middle-aged and younger, Northern MP and London MP, experienced Minister and new campaigner. Both are exceptionally bright and thoughtful, both are open to new ideas, both speak ‘normal’ and connect with voters.
I’m not at all sure that Andy Burnham and Stella Creasy will actually win the internal elections (I think Tessa Jowell will), but they have my votes.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (1)
Word of the day: littoral
August 17th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Littoral can be a noun or an adjective and refers to the shore of a lake, sea or ocean.
It’s a new word for me and I came across it in a chapter title of the book I’m reading at the moment: “The Storm Of War”, an account of the Second World War by Andrew Roberts. The relevant chapter is about the efforts by the British, Italians and Germans in 1939-1942 to occupy the North African coastline in Libya and Egypt.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
The largest loss of life in a British maritime disaster – and you’ve never heard of it
August 17th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Which British ship was sunk with the largest loss of life? The “Lusitania” in 1915 with 1,198 deaths? The “Titantic” in 1912 with 1,517 deaths? Suppose I told you that there was a sinking in which the death toll was greater than that of the “Titantic” and the “Lusitania” combined? And suppose i told you that you’ve never heard of the incident?
It’s August, I have few meetings, and so I am currently reading the 600-page book “The Storm Of War”, a masterful account of the Second World War by Andrew Roberts. I have already learned so much.
Roberts writes about “the largest single maritime disaster in British history” and points out that “Churchill ensured that the story was not made public until after the war”. Yet, even now, it is hardly known.
The incident occurred on 17 June 1940 when the Battle of France was already lost and the Battle of Britain was about to begin. It involved the sinking od the Cunard White Star liner “Lancastria” by five German aircraft. The death toll was at least 4,000 and maybe a great deal more. It was the highest death toll for UK forces in a single engagement in the whole of World War II.
You can learn more here.
Posted in History | Comments (0)
U.S. presidential election (10): has Hillary Clinton’s campaign seriously faltered already?
August 16th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Not really. Not yet.
The row over her private e-mail account as Secretary of State is unhelpful, but unlikely to impact on Democratic voters in the primaries; Bernie Sanders may do well in the primaries in the liberal states of New Hampshire and Iowa, but will struggle thereafter; Vice-President Joe Biden does not have the backing or the money to mount a serious challenge.
As Michael Cohen explains in this article:
“The reasons for her dominance are not difficult to figure out. She has raised the most money, she’s secured the most endorsements and quite simply there’s no one else in the party who comes close to rivalling her backing within the party. Her favourability rating among Democrats is well above 80% and she continues to lead Sanders in national polls of party members by 30-plus points.
The key to that support is, perhaps, the most important single constituency within the Democratic party – minority voters. In 2008, African Americans were the key to President Obama’s success in his hard-fought primary win against Clinton. Eight years later, those same voters are solidly in her camp – and neither Sanders, nor Biden, nor any of the other potential challengers for the nomination comes close. Clinton also enjoys a marked advantage among Hispanic voters and among Democratic women.”
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
At last, the United States has an embassy in Cuba once more
August 15th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
When Vee and I visited Cuba seven years ago for a wonderful holiday, I hoped – and expected – that the thaw in relations between the USA and Cuba and the introduction of political reforms in Cuba itself would move more quickly. But there has been real progress under Barack Obama’s leadership and with support from Raul Castro.
One indication of that is the re-opening this week of the US Embassy in Havana after an interval of 54 years. It reminded me of our first morning in Cuba which I recorded as follows:
“We returned to our hotel, driving for a stretch along the seafront promenade known as the Malecón, which was started in 1902 and now runs along the bay for 7 km (4 miles).
There are many attractive buildings along the boulevard but a lot need substantial renovation. The ugliest and oddest building is the so-called United States Interests Office which acts as a kind of US Embassy since the Americans do not recognise Cuba for diplomatic purposes.
In January 2006, the Americans began displaying messages on a scrolling “electronic billboard” in the windows of the top floor of the Interests Office. This provoked the Cuban government to erect a large number of poles, carrying black flags with single white stars, obscuring the messages – and they are still there.”
You can read the full account of our trip here.
Posted in American current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)
My 23rd short story: “The Day Of Reckoning”
August 14th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
My latest dip into my library of short stories should interest you – and make you think. You can read it here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (4)
Google -> Alphabet -> The Circle?
August 12th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The news that Google is to restructure its operations fundamentally, with a new holding company called Alphabet, underlines just how diverse and ambitious are the company’s aspirations.
Where is all this taking us? One profoundly unsettling scenario is offered in a novel called “The Circle” by Dave Eggers. It is not a prediction but it is a warning. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues, Science & technology | Comments (0)
What exactly is an executive summary?
August 12th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I am a part-time portfolio worker who represents consumers in various regulated sectors, notably communications and water. I spend a lot of time reading long, complicated documents from Government Departments, regulators and companies, many of which invite me to submit comments on these documents and to answer a host of specific questions.
It is a struggle, so I look for a well-constructed executive summary to help me out – but I rarely find one. What do I want?
- Above all, a genuine summary of the main text and not a background or introduction to it. So, as an illustration, not: “This document looks at five options and examines the arguments for and against”. But: “This document examines five possible options. Option 1 is … The main arguments for are … The main arguments against are ….”
- Next, a summary that can be read independently of the main document and still make complete sense. So no use of acronyms without spelling them out and no use of complicated terminology without the term or phrase being explained.
- Also highly desirable is a summary that is very clearly laid out with good use of headings and bullet points.
- Finally, a summary that is long enough to capture all the key issues in the document but short enough that it is not almost a document in itself.
I know that this is a challenge, but we all had lessons in English at school to teach us how to identify the key points in a text and, if the Government Departments, regulators and companies cannot manage it, they should commission a consultant who can.
Posted in Consumer matters | Comments (0)
Academics condemn Government’s trade union bill
August 11th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Over 100 leading UK academics in the field of employment and industrial relations have today published a letter expressing concern over what they call “the draconian provisions of the Trade Union Bill which will amount to the most sustained attack on trade union and workers’ rights since the Combination Laws of the early 19th century”.
You can see the text of the letter and the full list of signatories here. You may recognise a family name in the media release and at the head of the list of signatures – it is, of course, my brother. As someone who was a full-time national trade union official for 24 years, I condemn the Government’s blatantly ideological attack on trade unions.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Exploring the Multiverse
August 11th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
For the third time in a week, I attended a one-day course at the City Lit in central London. The previous two courses were on Henry V [my blog posting here] and climate change [my blog posting here], but this latest course could not have been more different. Andrew McGettigan [his slides here] and Rich Cochrane [his slides here] spoke about the notion of the multiverse.
So, what exactly is the multiverse? The relevant Wikipedia page offers this definition:
The multiverse (or meta-universe) is the hypothetical set of infinite or finite possible universes (including the Universe we consistently experience) that together comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, and energy as well as the physical laws and constants that describe them. The various universes within the multiverse are sometimes called “parallel universes” or “alternate universes”.
Now I confess that I found the course a disappointment. I was looking for a scientific case for the notion of the multiverse, but we had very little actual science except the double-slit experiment (the relevance of which was not entirely clear). . Also I was hoping for an examination of how the notion has been used in culture – such as “His Dark Materials” trilogy – as a device to develop character and plot, but all we had was a suggestion that Sherlock Holmes actually exists in some universe out there.
I think the problem was that neither of the lecturers was a physicist or a writer; instead both have a background in philosophy and mathematics. I am highly sceptical about the whole notion of the multiverse: I don’t see how it helps us understand the mysteries of quantum mechanics; I don’t think there is any meaningful evidence to support it; I don’t think we have any tests to prove or disprove it; and playing with such concepts can be a slippery slope away from any meaningful sense of truth and reality.
But I could be wrong and, in another universe, another version of Roger Darlington could be laughing at me.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (7)