barry says
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In June of this year, to mark the 799th anniversary of the Magna Carta,[1] the British Prime Minister, The Rt Hon David Cameron MP, wrote an article on British values.[2] As well as discussing football and fish and chips he cited “respecting and upholding the rule of law” as being that which sets Britain apart. “Our freedom doesn’t come from thin air,” he stressed. “It is rooted in our parliamentary democracy and free press. Our sense of responsibility and the rule of law is attached to our courts and independent judiciary.”
“Our values and our respect for the history that helped deliver them--and the institutions that uphold them--forms the bedrock of Britishness.” |
 | It rather seems, however, that the government line on ‘values’ is not making it all the way to British staff in Beijing. The British Business Awards 2014,[3] jointly organised by the China Britain Business Council and the British Chamber of Commerce in China and supported by UK Trade & Investment and the British Council amongst others, will be hosting a Gala Event on 20th November 2014 to announce the award winners. This comes after a written submission, interview and online voting process to find out who are the ‘Best of British’. According to the declared terms of the Awards, the voting section opened at midnight on Sunday 28th September and closed at midnight on 16th October 2014. It was beset by website registration problems, causing delay and complaint from voters, but was finally concluded. |
 | Extraordinary it was, then, when the organisers informed participants a full nine days later that, “We know that a number of you experienced problems when casting your votes, consequently we have restarted the system and voting will now run from 00:00 on 28 October to 24:00 on 3 November 2014.” Did you read that correctly? Yes, the British had a vote, didn’t like the results and so had a new one nine days later! Can Mr Cameron really maintain that the long-standing reputation of British principles, justice and fairness that has put the country on a world pedestal remains solid? |
Once a vote is closed, it quite obviously must remain so, in order to avoid any taint of manipulation or corruption. |
 Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA; theguardian.com | But don’t worry. Waving the flag for British ‘fairness’ is the great British institution PwC, the Independent Voting Observer that made a recommendation to reopen the voting. Rob Derrett, assurance partner for PwC, commented, “While the re-opening of the voting period was unusual, in my opinion it was appropriate in order to ensure that all people who wish to vote have an opportunity to do so.” PwC obviously wasn’t the Independent Voting Observer for the UK General Election of 2010, which left disenfranchised voters at the polling stations of Sheffield Hallam, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle.[4] Surely according to Mr Derrett the polling stations should have reopened the following week so that all people who wished to vote had an opportunity to do so. Was it perhaps Mr Derrett who called the police to deal with disturbances in London Islington South after voters began demanding the right to vote—or in Lewisham, where 300 people were still unable to vote by the deadline of 10 pm? |
 Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA; theguardian.com | We take this opportunity to sincerely thank all of you who either voted or attempted to vote for Barry Wilson Project Initiatives (BWPI) at the British Business Awards 2014, and also to those who continue to enquire about its outcome. We must inform you, however, that we chose to withdraw from the Awards, finding it unacceptable in terms of ethics and integrity for our company to retain its candidacy upon the reopening of voting. “I never make exceptions. An exception disproves the rule.” |
Reference:
[1] http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/british-values-article-by-david-cameron
[3] http://www.britishbusinessawards.cn/
[4]http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/may/07/polling-queues-hundreds-unable-vote
[5] The Sign of the Four (1890), written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and featuring Sherlock Holmes
[1] http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/british-values-article-by-david-cameron
[3] http://www.britishbusinessawards.cn/
[4]http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/may/07/polling-queues-hundreds-unable-vote
[5] The Sign of the Four (1890), written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and featuring Sherlock Holmes
