International politics

[Blongb]

The problem is that 'democracy' don't always mean what you might imagine. The US knows that rather well, facing the prospect of a president who got fewer votes than the opposer. In the UK governments are frequently elected with far fewer than half the votes.

That's why parliamentary boundary's have to be redrawn so that each constituency is roughly equal to the next at present the typical size of constituencies differs between parts of the UK. The Office for National Statistics gives the median total parliamentary electorate across constituencies of about 72,400 in England, 69,000 in Scotland, 66,800 in Northern Ireland and 56,800 in Wales.

[PhilMick]

Just food for thought; I wonder if Scotland would have voted the same way if Nicola Sturgeon and her Nationalist Party with their independence agenda had not been gifted power by the ineffectual and failed policies of previous Labour administrations. England makes up 83.9% of the population of the UK where as Scotland makes up only 8.4%. The tail never wags the dog.

Blongb - just arrived back from a couple of days in Llandudno. Bit disappointed with the xmas fair - wasn't much of the Christmas atmosphere evident.

extending your fine point - England is the most under represented of the four UK home countries. That is, Scotland, Wales and NI all have their regional assemblies. Using the figure you've provided above for Scotland, England should have approximately 10 regional assemblies. If they all got the same TV exposure as Scotland on TV in England there would be no time left for any other programmes.

I wonder what the ratio is for Wales and NI?

I often wish that we could have a referendum in England about independence from the UK - the response might surprise a few of the regional extremities!

[Hugo]

Just food for thought; I wonder if Scotland would have voted the same way if Nicola Sturgeon and her Nationalist Party with their independence agenda had not been gifted power by the ineffectual and failed policies of previous Labour administrations. England makes up 83.9% of the population of the UK where as Scotland makes up only 8.4%. The tail never wags the dog.

I often wish that we could have a referendum in England about independence from the UK - the response might surprise a few of the regional extremities!

If you give that vote to all the EU,  Asian and African migrants living there then you might find that you  have regional extremities there anyway.

[PhilMick]

 

[mull]

Just remember how SCOTLANDS oil got everyone in the UK out of the S---e in the 1970/80s and turn down the volume.
We voted to remain in the UK, so accept that fact.

[PhilMick]

Just remember how SCOTLANDS oil got everyone in the UK out of the S---e in the 1970/80s and turn down the volume.
We voted to remain in the UK, so accept that fact.

Could you could pass that message onto the SNP timewasters at Westminster?

[Fester]

http://m.imgur.com/6ueVt3I?r

Well, If this is anything to go by, President Trump is going to need a much, much higher wall!

[Quiggs]

Brilliant, I love it. L0L L0L

[Fester]

Trump isn't even President yet, but he's already angered the Chinese!
This does not auger well at all.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38191711

[Fester]

President Trump continues to assemble a really dodgy set of officials to run vast and crucial government departments.
What he needs more urgently than anything, is a strong advisor to close his Twitter account, before it gets us all KILLED!

[Fester]

He's been Tweeting again.... and this time he wants to GREATLY EXPAND the US nuclear arsenal!
Just what this world needs, a further escalation in nuclear weapons.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38410027

[Ian]

We watch HIGNFY and I was struck the way Paul Merton, in one of his rare but discernible bouts of seriousness, observed that Trump won't last the full term. It's not the first time he's done that, either.

[Fester]

We watch HIGNFY and I was struck the way Paul Merton, in one of his rare but discernible bouts of seriousness, observed that Trump won't last the full term. It's not the first time he's done that, either.

Ian, I'm slightly more worried that NONE of us will survive his term of office, seriously!

[Hugo]

At least the Brickies will have work in the short term!

[Bosun]

Recently in Asia I met an American who was working in Vietnam. We didn't directly discuss USA politics, but he stated quite firmly that he was not, under any circumstances, going to go home to the USA for the next 4 years. I totally understood.

This sums up the current position, just when you thought that it couldn't get any worse, you start realising that it can. 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/11/trumps-trainwreck-press-conference-ushers-in-a-clueless-presidency