There was a record breaking attendance at our Current Affairs Group on Monday 11 November 2024 with some 43 members present. As well as hearing the many views of the members on the topics of the moment, the session came to a standstill at 11:00 am to mark Remembrance Day with a minute’s silence.
The big news story of the previous week was the outcome of the United States election and its likely effects on democracy across the world. The election had taken place on the previous Tuesday, 5 November 2024. The outcome was not what was being forecast in many of the polls, but there were many events close to the election day that may have had some effect. Comparisons with Europe in the 1930s were also considered. Lighter thoughts were also discussed including ‘the missing votes’ based on a comparison of the number of votes cast in 2020 and 2024, and the trending searches on Google in the days following the result being announced. The new President will be inaugurated on 20 January 2025, but the work needed to prepare for that date has already begun.
The United States Constitution enshrines a right to Free Speech, but there are limits to what is considered free speech there. There are constraints on what is free speech in the United Kingdom too. Questions were asked on how these limits are set and whether they need revision.
There was discussion of the final volume of the late Hilary Mantel’s “Wolf Hall” trilogy set in the court of King Henry VIII – “The Mirror and the Light” – which had had its first episode broadcast on Sunday 10 November 2024. The consensus was that every aspect of the production in the first episode was excellent, but the characters portrayed in the whole series and their motivations came in for detailed discussion.
The session closed with discussion of the border between primary and secondary education, and the reported shortage of female engineers. Special consideration was given to the different methods by which children and young adults can acquire the knowledge and the skills necessary to become engineers.
The group will meet again next Monday at 10:00 am in the Wembley Room.