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?

Assuming you grew up in the U.K. No it's not the same as the Rwandan genocide. It wasn't happening to someone else in another country it was happening to us in this country f.g.s

Just read on FB allegations that Labour helped the Tories get the SNP out of certain seats. I'm not sure how - did Labour not stand in some areas or not campaign seriously to let the Tories win?

Because Scottish Labour were even more unpopular than Corbyn before the election. They hate the SNP more than anything and were allegedly encouraging people to vote Tory to oust SNP. The e been joining up with Tories in the councils too to block the SNP taking over there too. Those I know who voted Labour at this election did it because they were impressed with Corbyn.

"But why would people, in say Scotland, have done this before voting in this election?

Did you google details of Plaid Cymru?"

Because they had 8 MPs in the last parliament and the one before... during the 2015 election when there was mass hysteria about a possible SNP alliance with labour, DUP had 2 more MPs than them...

And yes, of course I know who plaid cumru are and have a rough idea what they stand on.

Because Scottish Labour were even more unpopular than Corbyn before the election. They hate the SNP more than anything and were allegedly encouraging people to vote Tory to oust SNP

Getting rid of the SNP cuts across party boundaries.

Assuming you grew up in the U.K. No it's not the same as the Rwandan genocide. It wasn't happening to someone else in another country it was happening to us in this country f.g.s

I know this now. I am an adult. People are bringing up childhood memories, and what I'm saying is that my emotional memories of the Troubles (from when I was under ten!) are of horrible things going on that did not affect my life whatsoever and came at me through a TV screen. "Elsewhere", just like Scotland or London or Cornwall.

By the way. The DUP wanted to be included in the national leader debates.

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2017/dup-considering-legal-challenge-over-exclusion-from-itv-debate-35678178.html

"It wasn't happening to someone else in another country it was happening to us in this country f.g.s"

Depends how you define country. My country is Wales and there were no bombings linked to the Northern Ireland troubles that I know of. I also grew up far from a big city so never felt personally affected, though I did of course hear news about what was happening - I remember a good Newsround report when I was a child.

Sunny - yes I know DUP wanted to be in the debates. Most parties did and May/Corbyn's attitudes were insulting. What I was trying to explain is that I think there is a legitimate reason to not have the Northern Irish parties present which wouldn't be there for excluding Plaid Cymru - the fact that all the parties are different (as far as I know) so a separate Northern Irish debate would be watched by people there in the way that Wales debates don't get watched.

Sorry Addley I read your post as how you saw it now, my childhood memories are obviously different the other way. Just had a discussion with d.p who had no idea about the dup either. This stuff was taught to us in school and therefore I thought that everyone in England would at least know a little bit. But as said before I grew up in Warrington (not a big city,average random Northen town other than the IRA bombing it twice) as the whole town was very twitchy for a while and there where a few fake bomb threats afterwards meaning schools were evacuated, so this stuff was covered. Warrington also set up a peace centre so that young people could meat and learn about both sides, wear quite a few school trips there.

I can see why you were annoyed then, splodge

"I grew up in Warrington (not a big city,average random Northen town"

I've just looked it up and the population in 2015 was over 200 thousand people - that's a very large population for a town.

No cause some people just aren't interested in politics like me for example. I though Boris Johnson was a footballer and Nick Clegg was a singer (Johnny Clegg 😂). But give me programming and web design etc to do and I will flatten it. It's all about interests and what people take in. Obviously 10 years on I know exactly who Boris and Nick are and who the prime minister is 🤣🤣

YANBU

"some people just aren't interested in politics"

That's a bit unfair Timmy. I'm VERY interested in Welsh politics, but not as much in Northern Ireland.

This is quite funny considering DUP's attitude to the Irish language: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12179367

Because they had 8 MPs in the last parliament and the one before... during the 2015 election when there was mass hysteria about a possible SNP alliance with labour, DUP had 2 more MPs than them...

And Plaid Cymru have 4, but i don't see people saying we have to look up the history of Wales becuase of it.

Gwen I don't know about NI politics because Warrington is a bigger than average town but because the IRA blew it up twice! Despite it being a fairly average kind of place

Wales hasn't been riven by sectarian warfare for a while. Hth.

Wales hasn't been riven by sectarian warfare for a while. Hth.

And why is this information needed if you are voting for a clacton MP?

It's easy to see why DUP are unknown.

Splodg - yes, I know that it's been bombed, but your argument seemed to be that it's not a very big place and has still been affected, which I disagree with as it si a very big town.

Can anyone outside of Northern Ireland vote for the DUP? If not you can't really expect them to either know or even care about them.

Most people under 30 do not know, or only have a vauge idea of 'The Troubles' outside of NI. Most people under 30 have also not had any need to look up the History of NI when voting In a general election, becuase the DUP are not a party they can vote for.

It's easy to see why people don't know.

Could people please read the thread before bobbing up to say, with an air of great profundity, that (a) people outside of NI can't vote for the DUP, therefore are dispensed from all necessity to know anything that isn't immediately relevant to their own lives , and (b) that the under 30s don't remember the Troubles, and therefore cannot be expected to have the remotest understanding of events that took place before their conscious memories began?

But why do they need to know about parties that they can't vote for and don't affect them?