Archive for June, 2010


The future of banking

June 13th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

The financial crisis which has ripped through the world has deeply affected the UK, since we have a large financial services sector, but we have not yet taken the measures that will ensure that such a crisis will not reoccur. Perhaps a crucial step in that direction was taken today with the publication of the […]

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Iran one year on

June 12th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

It’s exactly one year since the Iranian presidential elections when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner after a blatantly fraudulent exercise.  The ‘Green revolution’ has stalled because of the intimidation and violence of the regime, but the grievances remain unresolved and the regime is not as stable as many imagine. I have read two good […]

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On the frontline with striking BA members

June 11th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

My brother Ralph – a Professor of Industrial Relations – recently spoke to striking British Airways cabin crew members in support of their bitter and long-running dispute with the airline’s management. You can see his speech here:

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A taste of Johannesburg

June 11th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Later today, the greatest sporting event on the globe opens when the World Cup 2010 commences with a ceremony in South Africa’s Johannesburg. It is the first time that the event has been held in Africa and there are some real security fears. At the start of a tour of Southern Africa, I once spent […]

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Forgotten World (210): Tuvalu

June 11th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Tuvalu is a group of nine tiny islands in the South Pacific which won independence from the United Kingdom in 1978. Five of the islands are coral atolls, the other four consist of land rising from the sea bed. All are low-lying, with no point on Tuvalu being higher than 4.5 metres above sea level. […]

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The Labour leadership election

June 10th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

The election of a new leader of the Labour Party to succeed Gordon Brown has now started in earnest with five candidates securing enough MP nominations to run and the first hustings hosted by the “New Statesman”. My son Richard, who used to be Special Adviser to Douglas Alexander and is now working on the […]

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Forgotten World (209): Slovenia

June 10th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Slovenia – not to be confused with Slovakia – was formerly part of Yugoslavia and has a mere 2 million citizens. Unlike Croatia or Bosnia-Hercegovina, Slovenia’s independence from Yugoslavia was relatively bloodless. The move was undoubtedly aided by Western European recognition of the Slovenes’ aspirations and the low proportion of other ethnic groups in the […]

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My new and improved homepage

June 9th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

I’ve had a web site for 11 years now and, over the years, it has evolved and grown substantially but the basic design has remained the same. The homepage has now been totally redesigned by my good friend and IT guru Eric Lee. Check it out here. I love it. What do you think?

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Forgotten World (208): Grenada

June 9th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Grenada and six smaller islands  – a Caribbean nation of only 100,000 – made world headlines in 1983 when a split in the governing Left-wing party led to the overthrow and execution of the charismatic leader Maurice Bishop and provided the pretext for a US invasion. The country was dealt a serious blow in 2004 […]

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Could you live without a bank account?

June 9th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

For most people, running their lives without a bank account would be unthinkable, yet nearly a million adults in Britain have to cope without one, living almost entirely in the cash economy. “On the Margins”, a new report by Consumer Focus on whose Board I sit, explores the experience of some of the most vulnerable […]

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