To think that UK voters should be ashamed of their apathetic ignorance?

[MrsDustyBusty]

Never heard of the DUP before today? Really, it's embarrassing.

Yet so many posters don't seem to find it that way. I'm a filthy foreigner and I literally know more about UK politics than many posters here.

AIBU to think that's really shameful?

I preferred to pretend that DUP, a regressive and thoroughly repugnant political party didn't exist. That ok?

Just found this story, which I vaguely remember from the past. I would have remembered that it was an Ulster unionist (small 'u' so not the name of the party), but not which party exactly:
metro.co.uk/2017/06/09/look-out-theresa-may-a-dup-politician-once-caught-rihanna-running-through-his-wheat-field-6698908/

The Scottish Green party is a hard left, very vocal party who have msps in the Scottish parliament and a very high media profile- as does the English Greens. No comparison with the DUP.

gwen Yes, but there are far far few people in NI, so of course they have a smaller proportion of the vote.

You can't get away from the fact that they are the biggest party in NI and yet people all over the UK have no idea who they are.

This is in spite of everyone seeming to know Sinn Fein. Why is that? I'd hazard a guess at it being because the British media continually linked Sinn Fein with the IRA during the Troubles, while failing to link the DUP with the UDA (and others). To me, that just seems like so much propaganda, and I find it really sad that people just accept it. It means that we now have a party in power with strong links with terrorism, and yet the British media went all out trying to say Corbyn was the one with terrorist links! Whatever you think of Corbyn, the DUP's links with terrorist organisations are undisputed, and I think if people were aware of how deep those links were, there would be a lot more uproar this morning. It is a really dangerous lack of knowledge.

"The Scottish Green party is a hard left, very vocal party who have msps in the Scottish parliament and a very high media profile- as does the English Greens. "

To be honest, we only hear about them in Wales in the context of independence. As far as I know they are pro-independence.

"Yes, but there are far far few people in NI, so of course they have a smaller proportion of the vote."

Well, of course, that is my entire point.

"This is in spite of everyone seeming to know Sinn Fein. Why is that? I'd hazard a guess at it being because the British media continually linked Sinn Fein with the IRA during the Troubles, while failing to link the DUP with the UDA (and others). "

Yes, you're probably right. I would blame the media for that, not the British people themselves. I don't think it's reasonable to expect people to be going on the internet to spontaneously research parties in Northern Ireland. People are doing it now though.

I've been watching one of the debates/ask the leader programmes almost every night these past couple of weeks. It's taken my time (I watch Wales specific and UK ones - still got a few to catch up on) and after that I go to bed rather than go on google to find Northern Ireland leaders' debates. I don't think that makes me apathetic or ignorant.

I don't think having a smaller proportion of the vote means you can just discount them.

I also blame the media, chiefly, but I also wonder why it is that people just accept what they're told. Like, don't they ever wonder what's going on in NI?

I do get your point. But it would take two seconds for people to google 'who are the main parties in NI?'

I think it's less the people that are genuinely curious and more all the people on my facebook and stuff who this morning are like 'who the fuck are the DUP?' as if they are some new force and haven't been around forever.

Hopefully the one good thing that might come out of the DUP being together with the Tories is that people might pay a bit more attention to NI.

The UDA didn't do bus bombs, car bombs on British soil, cache weapons around the UK, abduct British service personnel to shot them and attempt to assassinate our elected pm and cabinet (along with a good number of mps and police officers who were bombed along with them). Peple remember Adams could not have his voice broadcast on British TV without an actor du bring over him, it was at a time when every now and then we had to scrape up civilian remains scattered around British streets, and to some extent the public got to hear about it.

This is probably why people know who sinn fein are better than others.

mets I think you need to look up what the UDA did.

OF COURSE they didn't attack England. Why on earth would they have done that? They did plenty of other shit in NI.

The Adams things was fucking ridiculous. What did they think was going to happen if we heard his voice?

"But it would take two seconds for people to google 'who are the main parties in NI?' "

Yes, and that's what people are doing now. If someone had done that 5 years ago, they would have forgotten by now anyway. It takes a bit more to understand a political context that is actually quite different to the one on the mainland.

I just don't see why people are excusing their ignorance. If we didn't know who Trump was people would be amazed. And yet we don't know who the parties in our own government are.

I'm sorry but for me 'it's not in the papers' isn't really an excuse.

You have a different opinion. That's fine.

Seoul - people just don't have time to be proactively doing research on stuff that's not in the media. A quick google wouldn't do it, as I've mentioned earlier.

I don't think a lack of time is the issue. I think a lack of interest is the issue, in most cases.

Yeah, who cares if we have actual terrorist sympathisers collaborating with the government, right? No big deal.

Yeah, you're right, nothing you can do, may as well stay ignorant.

You realise there are literally 100's of 'parties' don't you, and they all vary depending on constituency?

From real ones right down to Mr fishfinger and Lord Buckethead.

just Are you really comparing Mr Fishfinger's influence to the DUP?

Tbf to many there's not much difference as there's no DUP options and they're generally irrelevant.

So if something doesn't have a direct impact on us, we should just ignore it?

No wonder this country is a total mess.

"Tbf to many there's not much difference as there's no DUP options and they're generally irrelevant."

They've been the fourth biggest party sitting in Westminster in the last four parliaments - how is that irrelevant?

And now they're in Government. Happy days.

just Are you really comparing Mr Fishfinger's influence to the DUP?
No....

I was using the written word to convey, to the self titled filthy foreigner, that knowing parties isn't equal to "Knowing more about UK politics." as there are hundreds of parties ranging from real ones to joke ones.

A Tory DUP coalition:

Terrible!

Let's face it, although unlikely, it is possible for somewhere not to have a candidate for any of the main parties isn't it.