blake   10 #1153 Posted August 2, 2016 Ulsters Unionists do consider themselves British it's a given.  while this is true, and most Northern Irish do consider themselves and refer to themselves as British, they have it wrong and Northern Irish are not in actual fact British because Britain is the word that refers to the largest of the islands in the archipelago of which Northern Ireland is not a part. That's why UK passports, including ones issued in Northern Ireland, have the words THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN *AND* NORTHERN IRELAND written on the front. Northern Ireland is part of the UK. But it is not part of Britain. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
unbeliever   10 #1154 Posted August 2, 2016 while this is true, and most Northern Irish do consider themselves and refer to themselves as British, they have it wrong and Northern Irish are not in actual fact British because Britain is the word that refers to the largest of the islands in the archipelago of which Northern Ireland is not a part. That's why UK passports, including ones issued in Northern Ireland, have the words THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN *AND* NORTHERN IRELAND written on the front. Northern Ireland is part of the UK. But it is not part of Britain.  Whilst correct, this is a meaningless technicality for the purposes of the discussion. The reality is that the term "British" is used routinely to refer to all the citizens of the Union. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
blake   10 #1155 Posted August 2, 2016 the issuers of UK passports clearly don't consider Northern Ireland to be in Britain. Otherwise it would just say UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN. THey wouldn't append Northern Ireland on the end, would they. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
unbeliever   10 #1156 Posted August 2, 2016 the issuers of UK passports clearly don't consider Northern Ireland to be in Britain. Otherwise it would just say UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN. THey wouldn't append Northern Ireland on the end, would they.  Technicality. There is sometimes a small difference between the technical meaning of words and their practical usage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
blake   10 #1157 Posted August 2, 2016 there is of course the well-known British Isles naming dispute too. Geographically Ireland, the world's 20th largest island, is supposed to be one of the British Isles, the second largest one of the archipelago. Elements in the Republic don't like this and want to refer to the archipelago not as the British Isles which is what it was traditionally called by nearly everyone, but as the British and Irish Isles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Morphed   10 #1158 Posted August 2, 2016 (edited) the issuers of UK passports clearly don't consider Northern Ireland to be in Britain. Otherwise it would just say UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN. THey wouldn't append Northern Ireland on the end, would they.  You are wrong. The correct demonym for a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is British or Briton.  I wish to correct my earlier post about the majority of NI citizens declaring themselves British only on the 2011 census. At 40% it's not the majority, it's the plurality. (25% say Irish only, 21% say Northern Irish only). Edited August 2, 2016 by Morphed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Stoatwobbler   10 #1159 Posted August 2, 2016 The problem I see with Corbyn is not left wingery. It's the ability to lead a large, fractious organisation like the Labour party. It's something much more basic than a belief that the railways would be better if they were run by the state. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
unbeliever   10 #1160 Posted August 2, 2016 The problem I see with Corbyn is not left wingery. It's the ability to lead a large, fractious organisation like the Labour party. It's something much more basic than a belief that the railways would be better if they were run by the state.  Quite. You've identified that he's a muppet. Or as Hilary Benn put it when this whole think kicked off He's a good and honourable man, but he is not a leader. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Stoatwobbler   10 #1161 Posted August 2, 2016 Quite. You've identified that he's a muppet. Or as Hilary Benn put it when this whole think kicked off  I identified this during the referendum campaign, in which I was active for "Stonger In". It became clear from talking to Labour folk that there are major issues with the way the party is (or isn't) being run. Issues that go beyond left and right such as communication and teamwork. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
WestTinsley   11 #1162 Posted August 2, 2016 If you had been involved in serious politics you would understand that you get things done by talking to people that you don't agree with. You don't get things done by staying in an echo chamber. The trouble with JC is that he only wants to talk to the people that agree with him and he doesn't want to change his mind to anything that looks like he agrees with people that he sees as the enemy. Not only that but the more we find out about him the nastier he is starting to look except that he sits there in silence while he gets his henchmen (they are all men apart from his ex lover) to do his dirty work for him. He has been a mouthpiece for terrorists in the past and he is now a mouthpiece for Putin.  Voters aren't stupid so he's completely unelectable by the country and the Labour Party that can make a difference to ordinary people is being destroyed before our eyes and being turned into a student agitprop society.  Jukes xx You are stating an opinion. None of what you write is based on facts. Most of what you wrote is a tad bizarre tbh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
foxy lady   10 #1163 Posted August 2, 2016 I identified this during the referendum campaign, in which I was active for "Stonger In". It became clear from talking to Labour folk that there are major issues with the way the party is (or isn't) being run. Issues that go beyond left and right such as communication and teamwork.  But on the plus side folk are talking about Labour again.  http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/labour-would-lose-last-scottish-8542284#Te1BmJI43ffoFplb.97  Labour will lose their last MP in Scotland and 99 others if Jeremy Corbyn leads the party into a general election.  That’s the finding of analysis which puts the Tories on course for a majority of 201, with Labour losing 99 seats in every part of the country.  The study measured how people would vote if Theresa May calls a snap general election next spring.  It suggests a uniform swing would leave the Tories on 426 seats (+95), Labour on 133 (-99), the SNP on 57 (+1), the Liberal Democrats on 10 (+2) and UKIP on 2 (+1). The figures are based on end-of month opinion polls published by ICM since Corbyn was elected last September.  If current trends continue then by next May Labour could fall as low as 20 per cent, with the Tories 28 points ahead at 48 per cent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Jeffrey Shaw   90 #1164 Posted August 2, 2016 Vote JC for PM Only Labour members can vote for either Mr Corbyn or Mr Smith; and that's just as Labour leader. Prime Ministers are elected by (usually) the MPs of the political party which has the largest number of MPs. And that rules-out Labour for the time being- maybe for ever.  ---------- Post added 02-08-2016 at 18:13 ----------  It suggests a uniform swing would leave the Tories on 426 seats (+95), Labour on 133 (-99), the SNP on 57 (+1), the Liberal Democrats on 10 (+2) and UKIP on 2 (+1). The figures are based on end-of month opinion polls published by ICM since Corbyn was elected last September. If current trends continue then by next May Labour could fall as low as 20 per cent, with the Tories 28 points ahead at 48 per cent. But remember there are major boundary changes pending, inc. a reduction from 650 to 600 MPs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...