More than ever British values matter

Social media experts are concerned that Admiral Nelson’s flag signal before The Battle of Trafalgar, “England Expects that Every Man will do his Duty”, was not only unclear but did not comply with inclusivity guidelines either. Left wing woke commentators believe that ratings needed more clarity on what exactly their duty was and claim that Scottish crew members were particularly concerned suggesting that they should stay home instead. Women’s groups and LGBT campaigners were also said to be deeply shocked by the underlying message in the signal although flag operators have advised that a rainbow pennant is planned but it won’t be available for 200 years. There are also concerns that the “Get Trafalgar Done” message was being pursued at all costs and that the death of the Admiral highlighted a clear lack of PPE for front line staff. Responding emotionally to the criticism after the victory over Admiral Brexite’s joint European fleet Nelson’s second in command Thomas Hardy revealed brav...

Working from home has brought with it a new reality for organisations feeling their way into the new normal, that of workers “going feral”. This doesn’t simply refer to the fact that they haven’t shaved or brushed their hair for a week; no this is a deeper disconnection from organisational values and mindset that any amount of Skype, Zoom, email, Surveymonkeying or wellbeing messaging won’t be able to address. Which when you think about it is fascinating because it suggests that close contact with not only our colleagues but also our buildings, our office environments and our desks is important, does influence us and serves to ensure we remain aligned to cultural values and identity. This shouldn’t come as a total surprise; we have been aware that if we second workers into an alien organisation then there is the risk of them “going native”. But did we ever imagine that allowing people to simply work from home, disconnected from the collective, could have a similar and potentially more ...

Recent acts of vandalism in Bristol and around the country have sent councils scurrying back to their bunkers and initiating what bureaucrats generally do best and undertake a review of their statues and monuments to ensure they confirm to their 2020 vision of wokeness and correctness. Luckily Save Our Statues has been established to do exactly that and they are engaging with social media to ensure any such reviews are appropriately challenged and the majority view of the usually silent majority is heard. Save Our Statues I've written before to say how unhappy I was with the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston and the various acts of vandalism carried out against symbols of our British Nation. Probably the graffiti and attempted burning of the Union Jack at the Cenotaph together with the defacing of the statue of Winston Churchill got to me more than Colston; but in all cases the imposition of violent mob rule and the lack of an official response was appalling to see. My paren...

In 2014 The Sunday Times reported that the China General Nuclear Power Group and China National Nuclear Corporation were preparing preliminary designs for a 3 GW nuclear power station at Bradwell to submit to the Office for Nuclear Regulation. On 21 September 2015, Energy Secretary Amber Rudd announced that "China was expected to lead the construction of a Beijing-designed nuclear station at the (Bradwell) Essex site". EDF's chief executive Jean-Bernard Lévy stated that the reactor design under consideration is the Hualong One. On 21 October 2015, it was reported that Britain and China have reached Strategic Investment Agreements for three nuclear power plants, including one at Bradwell. On 19 January 2017, the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation started their Generic Design Assessment process for the Hualong One design, expected to be completed in 2021, in advance of possible deployment at Bradwell. The target commercial operation date is about 2030. The latest stage of the...