This thread exists to discuss British politics.
Political issues related to Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies (the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) are also considered on-topic here if there's no more appropriate OTC thread for them.
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As with other OTC threads, off-topic posts may be thumped or edited by the moderators.
- There is a dedicated thread to discuss LGBTQ+ rights in the United Kingdom. That doesn't mean it's always off-topic here, but unless something's directly linked to political events, that's probably a better thread for it.
- There's also a separate thread to talk about your favourite British Prime Ministers.
Recent political stuff:
- The vote to see if Britain should adopt Alternative Voting has failed.
- Lib Dems lose lots of councils and councillors, whilst Labour make the majority of the gains in England.
- The Scottish National Party do really well in the elections.
A link to the BBC politics page containing relevant information.
Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 3rd 2023 at 11:15:30 AM
(Avatar by Coffee)
... The Leavers think the world loves the Brits?
The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Aaah, the delusions held by people electing leaders who tell them not to think.
(Avatar by Coffee)
I mean, I don't know about the rest of the world, but here people hate the Brits.
The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground
Considering the Brits colonized most of the world, tended to heavily damage the natives of the lands they colonized, like to pick fights with the rest of Europe especially France, joined in the Iraq War with the US and are the country second-most responsible for the instability in the Middle East today, most of the world hates them. Hell, the US fought a war with them to be independent from them. If the UK didn't have nukes, there'd be a lot of people lining up to kick their ass right now, and they very well could due to UK's heavy cuts to military spending in recent years.
edited 29th Mar '17 8:15:42 PM by Bat178
Visiting from the Hoag Galaxy
Even most of the Commonwealth is mostly just like "eh, they're fine, if really snooty". Like I said before, pretty much all the love is for the Queen. And Will and Kate now I guess.
edited 29th Mar '17 6:23:40 PM by Zendervai
Not Three Laws compliant.
I wouldn't be surprised if the UK goes the same way as the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, breaking up into a bunch of smaller countries.
The law in the night
I think the United Kingdom is small enough as it is.
Inter arma enim silent leges
Oh, bother.
@Bat 178 Let's not forget that most if not all of the UK's nukes are located in Scotland. So if Scotland leaves...
OTOH, Scotland actually doesn't want those nukes. I think one of the reasons they had the independence referendum in the first place was because they wanted the nukes gone and even called them "an affront to basic decency".
Re: Delusional Leavers:
"Because everyone loves us."
No, no, everyone loves the prospect of making blatantly one-sided trade deals with you and using you as a tax haven.
edited 29th Mar '17 8:05:10 PM by M84
Disgusted, but not surprised
And really, turning the UK into an arms dealer? The only weapons of worth they make that anyone else wants are the L96 Arctic Warfare and Sterling, and Canada and India produce and export the Sterling for cheaper.
The ironic thing is that the Brits were actually pretty well liked overall in Germany before they joined the EU and immediately proceeded to make a mess out of everything. Still, they were kind of respected based on reputation alone...but Brexit was the last straw.
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
I still like them, I just think their Government is stupid.
"You can reply to this Message!"
Oh, bother.
I can't help but wonder if part of this is due to the British chafing at the notion that Germany of all nations is becoming a dominant voice in Europe and the world in general thanks to its influence in the EU. A lot of people who were for Leave did so because they didn't want to be under the supposed yoke of German rule. OTOH, some wanted to Remain because they didn't want Germany to be in charge and hoped that the UK could keep Germany from "winning the peace".
The irony of course is that, as Swanpride mentioned, Germany for the most part doesn't actually want to be in charge of the EU. They know it means accepting tons of responsibility and blame when things go to pot with few actual perks since the EU, contrary to what some think, is not an empire. It's not even the Soviet Union. Plus, there's what happened the last time Germany had that kind of power...it probably helped snap most Germans out of those ambitions.
Disgusted, but not surprised
We have discovered that being second is actually a great place to be...less responsibility, all the perks and nobody targets you in order to get to the top of the pecking order. Whenever Germany became too powerful in the eyes of its neighbours in the past, bad things happened. But with the UK not even trying to engage in the EU and France being plagued by domestic problems, Germany was kind of pushed automatically into the leading position.
Oh, bother.
The funny thing is that the UK could have taken charge of the EU if they hadn't insisted on maintaining distance from it even as they joined it.
Then maybe people would be complaining about the "New British Empire" instead of the "Fourth Reich".
Disgusted, but not surprised
It's a good thing they didn't, though. The UK ideas of doing business go against the very principles and ideas the EU was built on.
Oh, bother.
Which probably goes a long way to explaining their insistence on special conditions when joining and why so many voted to leave without fully understanding what they would be losing.
Well, that and good old fashioned xenophobia and nostalgia for past glory.
edited 29th Mar '17 11:54:32 PM by M84
Disgusted, but not surprised
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
There are some folks here in Malaysia insisting that Brexit will be a boon for our economy due to our being a Commonwealth country.
Exactly what on earth British manufacturing can actually do with all that rubber and palm oil is beyond me.
Lloyd's will be opening an EU subsidiary in Brussels.
edited 30th Mar '17 2:23:37 AM by Krieger22
I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
Ah, damn, I was hoping for Frankfurt....the run to become the new finance centre of the EU has started.
Oh, bother.
Imagine if it had been Frankfurt — all of the EU-haters would be screaming "See?! EBIL Germany is one step closer to building the Fourth Reich!"
BTW, the "EBIL" is deliberate, it's not a typo.
edited 30th Mar '17 3:59:14 AM by M84
Disgusted, but not surprised
Is it a good thing to be a financial centre? My impression is that it tends to crowd out all other economic activity.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Only if the Government puts the focus on it and forgets to keep the other pieces of the economy going. Plus, Germany is decentralized, unlike the UK, which is all about London. Frankfurt's finance hub is the main contributor to one of the federal states in Germany, the others will always have to find other sources of income.
Judging by Farage and Morgan apparently the new UK export is 'Flaming Arseholes.'
I thought that was just America. Apparently not.
Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
It runs in the family?
"You can reply to this Message!"
Canadians seem fine?
Plus several of them have said immigration curbs means no deal.
"Yup. That tasted purple."