Below the surface sometimes flowing in a contrary direction to what is visible above

Big Business Society

Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Retail competition in water services will mainly benefit big customers. In December, a group of Westminster MPs reported that the Big Society was not working (1). For example, it seems that the best 'alternative providers' of public services are not, as intended, voluntary groups or star......read more

By: Barrie Clarke | Not tagged | 1 comment

Happy New Year

Tuesday, January 17, 2012
It is the most human instinct. When the going gets tough, the tough (and the rest of us) tend not to go shopping but hunker down and wait for the storm to pass. Horse-riders are taught another lesson. If a mount bolts, instinct leans forward and tries to manage the crisis at close quarters;......read more

By: Barrie Clarke | Not tagged | Leave comment

Responsible capitalism

Tuesday, December 13, 2011
New thinking about the economic crash is putting a spotlight on corporate responsibility. For more and more people in the dark days of 2011, every new statistic and survey, every bank bonus and riot seemed to confirm that capitalism itself, not just the economy, was in crisis. We must ho......read more

By: Barrie Clarke | Tagged: | Leave comment

Investing in growth and resilience

Tuesday, November 15, 2011
The minister could not have been clearer. Not even if he had adapted President George H.W. Bush's mantra: Read my lips, no new taxes. There would be absolutely nothing in the upcoming Water White Paper to spook investors or undermine the industry. Water companies are "a huge asset". Rich......read more

By: Barrie Clarke | Not tagged | Leave comment

Sustainable development RIP

Monday, October 31, 2011
Civil wars are the worst. They divide families and cause serious collateral damage. The National Trust and the government began one when ministers published a new planning policy for England in July (1). With middle-class cousins - conservatives and conservationists - on opposite sides, bit......read more

By: Barrie Clarke | Tagged: | Leave comment