General British politics discussion thread

If anyone remembers : a pre-fame Charlie Brooker had a satirical webpage called TV Go Home which was a Radio Times (with correct typeface) type listing of imagined television programs.

One such reality program was "Daily Mail Island", where the inhabitants of a desert island have access only to the Daily Mail and their behaviour degenerates into throwing unmarried mothers off a cliff and conversing only in sarcastic questions.

We all thought it was a joke but in fact it was a chilling portent of the future.

Dire polling for the Tories - looks like Sunak is doing nothing to boost them with the public.

It appears that Sunak got no bounce at all. And no bounce from historically low numbers,after the most catastrophic PM in history.

No surprising, Sunak seems to have no actual ideas or his own agenda and the theme from the very start is that he is beholden to others and prepared to accept anything to avoid confrontation - hardly a surprise as that is the very quality that got him the CX job in the first place.

So where to now for the Tories? Sunak is not going to save them, but can anyone?

I was reading that one Conservative MP has said in private that Sunak would make a good project manager or civil servant but is not cut out for being PM. It's probably a fair assessment - he's incredibly inexperienced in frontline politics....only became an MP in 2015, only entered the Cabinet in 2019 and had never even stood for any elected position before becoming an MP.

Plenty of Tories in recent days have said they're not standing at the next election, writing is on the wall so they're jumping before they're pushed (by the electorate). Including supposed great young hopes in the red wall like Dehenna Davison. Probably lined up for GBeebies or Talk TV or a column in the Sun.

Big focus being put on the decline in christianity (still the largest group) and further increase in muslims (still a way off distant 3rd). Little mention of an even bigger increase in no religion in 2nd and fast catching christianity.

But I suppose the truth that people who for generations were " a la carte" christians are not atheist is far less headline grabbing than christians being replaced by muslims.

Without looking for the figures, because I can't be arsed, I'd imagine Birmingham has significantly over 50% White British + White Irish + White Other. If not already solidly over 50% British + Irish actually.

Your instinct is sound - the usual rabble-rousers on the right are already conflating "White" and "White British" in their frothings-at-the-mouth on the census returns.

But actually in this instance you'd be wrong; per the 2021 census Birmingham is 48.7% White (42.9% White British; 5.8% other White ethnicities).

"White" people can be very foreign indeed.

White Latins from southern Brazil and Argentina, clans from the Caucasus, Albanians fleeing blood feuds etc. Hardly your typical Brit of yore?

I think that England itself could break up into 2 or 3 countries if/when the UK collapses later this century.

As with the break up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, many of the nations within Britain may want their own separate countries or self-governing provinces as they increase in population size, political and cultural power.

Doubt the Welsh and Scottish will be the only nations seeking independence and self-determination.

Of course I don't know what the future will be.

Once the NIP is implemented, perhaps in a generation or two, NI and the ROI unite in some way. That's my guess as to the only part of the UK that leaves. The rest will swirly away, the Scots will hem and haw and have referenda and so on, but nothing will change for them, North Sea oil is becoming less and less viable so they'd need money from somewhere.

Plus, with so much of the City leaving to Europe, the income from that service part of the country will dwindle. Just not good expectations for the UK going forward, the economy is shrinking where the rest of the world is coming back. Even gas prices in the US are dropping again.

In my experience Scottish and Welsh people are Scottish/Welsh and also British.

English people think Britain = England

Well ya that's what I meant about the Scottish and Welsh as well.

I have never heard anyone from the "colonies" call themselves British. If they are English born they say English and if not say the country they are from.