The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7489 p166
16 February 2008

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Think unity!

A final farewell to a remarkable man

Think unity!

Anyone following developments in the US, and who is interested in political processes, can only be fascinated by the way events surrounding the presidential election are unfolding. Although not perfect, the system of caucuses and primaries, leading to the party conventions and the selection of presidential candidates in the summer, does seem to give individual voters a voice in selecting both the leader and the party.

In the UK, on the other hand, when it comes to general elections, the winning party is determined by a small percentage of voters. The two major parties slug it out, in a handful of marginal constituencies on which they lavish money and attention. The rest — the vast majority of voters — who live in areas where the MP is considered to be in a safe seat can do little to affect the outcome.

Neither the Labour party nor the Conservative party dare risk changing the electoral system because, if they did, there might never be a workable majority and, so the argument goes, a Government based on a mixed Parliament would be less effective than one based on a majority party.

What has any of this to do with pharmacy? Nothing directly, of course, but it is only a matter of weeks until the deadline for candidates to put their names forward for elections to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Council and national boards.

The Journal has commented before about the importance of making this Council election count — partly because there was no ballot last year because not enough individuals put their names forward, but also because, with the Society facing unprecedented change, it is important that as many voices are heard and that some consensus is reached.

Those thinking of voting this year should consider whether the names they select have the potential to unite the profession at this critical time so that there is a real chance for a broad spectrum of the profession, all over Britain, to be involved in the development of the new professional body.

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A final farewell to a remarkable man

It is with great sadness that The Journal has to announce the death of Peter Cooper in his 91st year (p200, and tribute, p190).

Most readers will not recognise the name but we can confirm that he was the man behind “Onlooker” until December 2007. No one on the current staff knows when he first started writing the column — we think nearly 40 years ago — but one of his early contributions to The Journal was a letter to the editor in 1953.

We reproduce this item and some others that reflect his talent. They reveal that, at the height of his powers, he was incomparable. To produce a weekly column of such quality week in, week out for so many years was truly remarkable.

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