Suella Braverman a disgrace to humanity

That’s a non answer because it’s a hard one for you. What’s wrong with a female politician saying who she is?

You don’t need to use personal questions like this to put anyone under the spotlight. If you are then perhaps stop.

She could have this is a personal issue for everyone and I’m not here to discuss this. But obviously that was never going to be something she would do as she and her party are all about identity politics and stoking division between people

I know plenty of sikhs & hindus who celebrate crimbo. Always up for a party.
Nov 5 th is dying a death though. (celebrating saving parliament from extremists?)

If you don’t understand why this was stoking division and dog whistle then I’m afraid there is little point in me discussing this with you.

You mean like using the term little Englanders. I'm not sure that's a term of endearment.
Incidentally, where I grew up, english was a shorthand for white. I must check in with the kiddywinks as to whether they use it, might just be a generational thing.

I thought it was really interesting to watch the audience interaction. Suella and the Conservative rep when talking about immigration immediately went to "solving the problem of mass and illegal immigration". To the Tottenham audience, which included many 1st, 2nd, 3rd generation immigrants, who challenged quite rightly the assumption that "immigration is a problem".

They are so far into their echo chambers and trying to out-farage Farage that it seemed to be a surprise to them that other people aren't all clamouring to batten down the hatches and expel anyone who can't trace their family history back to the Domesday Book.

I could have written this, as a person with no English DNA, and wholeheartedly agree.
I feel very English, athough I’m technically not, and I’m fine with agreeing that I’m not ethnically English.
What absolute nonsense to say “ there’s no such thing as English ethnicity “!
Is there Irish ethnicity? Spanish? Chinese?
I think most people would agree there is! So why is English different?

Her answer was wrong how? She should have said something other than British Asian? What words should she have used instead?

She answered a very personal question directly.

She doesn’t have to couch it in what others may feel.

Kemi too can state how she feels and it may be different and that’s fine.

But this singling out one person and asking so who are you then is off to start with. It’s off when Margoyles does it to Andi Peters, when Fiona Bruce does it to Suella B, when anyone does it to Kemi and when Rishi Sunak feels hurt at being singled out.

It doesn’t have to happen anywhere, someone at work doesn’t need to be singled out to explain if they feel English, British or anything else, and not for politicians.

It’s the asking that is othering, and rightly people put under the spotlight might think fuck off but still manage an answer.

The ‘suck it up’ but is silly btw since I’m clearly saying everyone gets to decide for themselves and other people should rein in the questioning over it.

Because it seems clear that she knows that she’s stoking division. And if she’s doesn’t then she’s not very bright.

I’m perfectly happy for her identity how she likes but how she did it was clearly a dog whistle.

Nobody can 'ban' Christmas. It will still happen every year...

“Suella used it for herself. Everyone seems angry at what one female politician self identifies as. It’s her decision.”

Well @EasternStandard - unfortunately for her, there is the concept of inference and what her party stands for. And she should have made it very clear that everyone gets to decide based on their feelings and their own choice of self identification. Rather than being OTHERED and labelled.

And Kemi put her straight with regard to the personal anecdote of Kemi’s chidlren. Who are a great living example of the current youngest generation,

Look - the young are into self identification. Suck it up. If they wish to describe themselves as British Boris in the future, that will be their choice or English Londoners.

I actually agree with you completely on this. But problems arise when people start applying stereotypes to ethnic groups in ways that sow division instead of accepting people are individuals. Same with the class system.

Suella used it for herself. Everyone seems angry at what one female politician self identifies as. It’s her decision.

It is also just illogical. I mean last century we had a lot of people come from Europe whose children now live here permanently, went to school here, are born in England and are very much going to stay here long term and work here and have children here. And I did not hear types like Suella jumping up and down proclaiming they are “British European”.

Why is the answer Suella gave to FB the problem?

Agree I’m seriously struggling with the arguments put forward by some on here.

On the one hand people want immigrants to adopt the language, cultural practices (e.g, Christmas to be celebrated etc) but then it doesn’t matter how many generations you can trace your family in the England you’re still not English because you’re not white!!

The whole thing stirred up by Suella and people like her is divisive and horrible.

Also the concept of “British Asian”. I mean Asia, that is 60 per cent of the world’s population almost now, almost 4.9 billion people. So if you have British nationality and some ancestors from Asia, then what you are meant to be in some random bucket of “Asian”.
As far as I am concerned, British Asian is a time period thing as well. Usually two parents from somewhere in South Asia who came over in the last century. I mean maybe some young people whose parents arrived during the Boris wave to eg work for the NHS or in care, do like the term? One would have to ask them if they want to be lumped together with more than half the world, so that some little Englanders have a way of describing them.

More than 68 per cent of babies born in London, England currently have a parent born abroad. The vast majority have the legal right to British nationality and are British citizens from birth.

It is simplest to let them decide how they wish to describe themselves. Whether it’s from England, English or „British Indian“, or British Chinese, or British Polish or English Polish or whatever- it’s their decision. The 21st century is mixed, it’s a fact recorded in ONS statistics.
As far as I am concerned, you are born in England you are English. I don’t care on what soil your grandpa shagged your granny.

Oh dear.

We count ethnicity because it helps us plan resource allocation in services. Some ethnic groups are more vulnerable to certain types of illness. Knowing where they're concentrated means services can be planned accordingly. No big conspiracy, just pragmatism.

Who mooted that? Statements like this require substantiation. In any case, mooting something doesn't mean it's going to happen. I'm NHS and Christmas decs are all ready to be deployed.

That's really not going to work for much longer - the house of cards is falling. The only racists here are those denying the English their ethnicity.

This country is sleep walking into cultural oblivion!

Even now it’s mooted we call Christmas cards “Winter Cards”
FFS imagine the furore if we banned Eid, Ramadan or Diwali.

People need to wake the fuck up before our heritage and culture is deliberately disappeared.

Why exactly have immigrants forced us to count their ethnicity for decades then if it it's all so despicable and only done by far right nutters? Are immigrants far right nutters?

Harping? If we said non English ethnicities were "harping" you would lie down on the floor have a massive tantrum.