Revealing the Government Art Collection

May 15th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

I recenetly chaired a meeting in a Government building in central London that I previously never knew existed: the Government Art Collection (GAC). For over 100 years, the UK Government Art Collection has collected works of art to display in British Government buildings around the world, promoting British art and culture.

The majority, about two-thirds, of the works of art in the collection are on display in Government buildings, while the rest is held at the GAC premises awaiting reselection and display. You can visit these premises by booking one of the regular evening group tours.

You can find out more here.

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The rise and rise of UKIP – and why it won’t last (2)

May 14th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

It’s less than two weeks since the UK Independence Party did so well in the English local council elections [see my comments here] and the British political political scene has gone crazy.

The Conservative Party is falling apart over the idea of a referendum on British membership of the European Union in 2017 and yet the negotiations promised by Prime Minster David Cameron have not even started and all the polling evidence is that understandably this issue is far from top of voters’ minds when they are facing a deep and prolonged economic recession.

This week, the splits in the Tory ranks will become especially manifest when there is a vote on an amendment to the Queen’s Speech seeking legislation now mandating a future referendum. There is no realistic possibility of such legislation reaching the statute book this side of a General Election and, even if such legislation were passed, it would probably have minimal impact on the Conservativews’ position in the polls.

Meanwhile, just to underline how British politics has gone into a spin, the latest opinion poll suggests that support for UKIP has soared from 9% to 18%. Clearly the publicity for UKIP and the aura of success has attracted a swath of new supporters – but it won’t last. Political parties build sustainable support by new personalties, new policies, improved organisation, and grass roots campaigning.

A doubling of support almost overnight is not sustainable. It is a bubble – and it will burst. Maybe not immediately. Maybe after some more madness and next year’s European elections when the proportional representation system of election will strongly favour UKIP.

Finally, ponder this thought. IF somehow UKIP was able to maintain a level of support of 18% and that support was spread evenly throughout England (they have very little support in Scotland and Wales and none in Northern Ireland) and IF the major parties performed as suggested in the latest poll, the result – thanks to our first past the post voting system – would according to one estimate be that the next parliament would end up with 228 Tory seats (down 79), 359 Labour (up 101, and enough for an overall majority of 68), 35 for the Lib Dems (implying 22 losses), and not a single seat for UKIP.

But none of this is going to happen.

Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)

Ofcom. Ofwat. Off to both …

May 13th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

This morning, I have an appointment at the London headquarters of Ofcom, the communications regulator. We have a meeting of the 4G/TV Coexistence Oversight Board of at800, the body responsible for the mitigation measures for interference of 4G mobile services on digital terrestrial television, and I shall be there in my capacity as the Non-Executive Member with a special interest in consumer issues. We will be discussing how much interference the use of 800 MHz for 4G services will cause in practice and how best to resolve the problems.

This afternoon, I have a meeting with the Chief Executive and others from Ofwat, the water regulator. Ofwat is headquarted in Birmingham, but the workshop is in London, and it will convene representatives of the 20 regulated companies and the chairs of their Customer Challenge Groups. I shall be there as the independent Chair of the Customer Challenge Group at South East Water. We will be discussing the regulator’s price determination process for 2015-2020 and the role of companies and CCGs in producing business plans for the regulator’s examination.

Complex, but interesting, stuff this portfolio working.

Posted in Consumer matters, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)

20 ways to keep your Internet identity safe from hackers

May 12th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

An article in today’s “Observer” newspaper has some good advice which you can read here.

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A review of the New Zealand film “Whale Rider”

May 12th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

This weekend, I saw again this gem of a movie, following my visit to New Zealand a month ago.

You can read my review here.

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)

The rise and rise and rise of CO2 in our atmosphere (2)

May 10th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

Ten days ago, I did a posting warning that we were in danger of recording shortly a level of CO2 in the atmosphere of 400 parts per million. Today we have the news that this symbolic level has indeed been measured.

We are creating a terrible legacy for our children and our grandchildren and we must act now for the sake of all today’s and tomorrow’s humankind.

Posted in Environment | Comments (3)

What is money anyway?

May 10th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

They say that money makes the world go round, but increasingly this is not notes and coins but simply the binary digits nought and one, as I explain in this article.

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How many women are members of the UK Parliament?

May 9th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

This week, a new female Member of Parliament arrived at Westminster: Emma Lewell-Buck, Labour MP for South Shields.

That brings the number of women Labour MPs to 86. The Conservatives have just 48, while the Liberal Democrats have only seven.

Altogether, there are 146 women MPs out of a total of 650 – a proportion of 22.5%. It’s still nowhere near enough.

You can see the full details here.

Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)

Should the atomic bomb have been dropped on Japan in 1945?

May 8th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

I am currently in the process of watching on Sky Atlantic the series “Oliver Stone’s Untold History Of The United States”. It’s a fascinating, if controversial, project and I have just seen the third of the 10 episodes. This deals with the end of the Second World War in the Pacific and the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima (which i have visited) and Nagasaki.

The conventional wisdom is that, without the use of the bomb, the United States would have had to make a land invasion of Japan which would have resulted in hundreds of thousands of dead and injured American troops.

Oliver Stone argues that the intervention in the east of the Soviet Union would have quickly led to Japan’s surrender and that US President Harry Truman authorised the use of the bomb for geo-political reasons – essentially to demonstrate to Stalin the new power of the US in an effort to block the Soviets’ aggressive post-war intentions.

It’s a fascinating thesis – but highly debatable.

Posted in History | Comments (0)