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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

462 replies

MrsDustyBusty · 09/06/2017 20:44

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?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
Sunnymorningwithbacon · 09/06/2017 23:42

Sorry posted too soon. It's almost literally the old west of the bann divide.

Italiangreyhound · 09/06/2017 23:46

Yes, YABU, you are being ridiculous.

TunaBap · 09/06/2017 23:57

waves to sunny

Like I said, I'm hardly expecting everyone to have an in depth knowledge of our politics

But fucking hell. This attitude I've been seeing, it's like "shrug, who are the DUP, why should we know anything about NI, now we're going to bitch and moan because NI politics are on our doorstep. Ugh, they're awful, take them away"

Sunnymorningwithbacon · 10/06/2017 00:00

Waves back to tuna

Gwenhwyfar · 10/06/2017 00:06

"It's not like Iain Paisley was exactly a shy retiring kind of character."

No, but people might not remember which party he was from or mix them up with the Ulster Unionists. I think it's understandable given how seldom you hear about them in the media. They've been in the news recently with the problems in Stormont, but again, you might not remember the exact name of the party.

M0stlyBowlingHedgehog · 10/06/2017 00:06

Tuna, Sunny Flowers I knew the 3600 figure (but only because I googled it a few years back having got in an argument with an American friend who was trying to minimise events). I grew up during the tail end of the troubles, and remember what an evil fucker Paisley was. I'm a (lapsed) Scottish prot who went out with an Irish Catholic for many years (and his grandparents had had a mixed marriage and ended up living in England because it wasn't safe for them to stay in Northern Ireland as a result), so got to hear quite a lot of detail then.

However, in an odd sort of way it's to the credit of the peace process that so many people in England/Wales don't know who the DUP are (to a much lesser degree Scotland, because there are sectarian problems there still). They don't need to, because they don't have to listen to Paisley spewing bile in interviews, because of the peace process. (Sorry if that sounds Pollyanna-ish).

Which is why I am really worried about what the DUP cosying up to the Conservatives will do to the Good Friday agreement. It horrifies me to think we could go backwards to those days.

PickAChew · 10/06/2017 00:09

The age thing is why I mention Millennials, which starts with people who came of voting age around the turn of the millennium.

PickAChew · 10/06/2017 00:11

M0stly - tory aims tend to stem around stopping the fuckers from whinging!

tabulahrasa · 10/06/2017 00:15

"This attitude I've been seeing, it's like "shrug, who are the DUP, why should we know anything about NI,"

The thing is, I don't have an in depth knowledge of Northern Ireland, it's pretty basic tbh, but I know who the DUP are because their MPs sit in parliament, because at the last two elections they were discussed fairly heavily as far as supporting conservative governments in lots of mainstream media.

So that doesn't even make sense (not you, that attitude).

Even if it's the first election someone's voted in, did they never wonder who all those MPs listed as other were?...

CheeseQueen · 10/06/2017 00:18

You have to actually seek out the information. Lots of people don't do that.

This.

Gwenhwyfar · 10/06/2017 00:18

"How many people outside Wales know whether Plaid Cymru is right or left wing or centrist?"

I would hope quite a few as the leader has been part of TV debates since 2015. In any case, there's only one extra party to learn about for Wales whereas the situation in Northern Ireland is more complicated.

I did have an Englishman once mix it up with Meibion Glyndwr. Plaid Cymru and Meibion Glyndwr are NOT connected, just in case anyone gets confused.

CheeseQueen · 10/06/2017 00:22

*I know who the DUP are because their MPs sit in parliament, because at the last two elections they were discussed fairly heavily as far as supporting conservative governments in lots of mainstream media.8
Even if it's the first election someone's voted in, did they never wonder who all those MPs listed as other were?..

Only if you're avidly interested in politics and take a keen interest in following/learning/reading up on all the parties.
I read up on the main parties and the lesser known ones, but NI ones such as DUP never crossed my radar as it's just not a political party that would ever get voted in here.

CheeseQueen · 10/06/2017 00:23

How many people can tell me what the Yorkshire Party stands for? WITHOUT googling.

Gwenhwyfar · 10/06/2017 00:25

"Yes, I'm in NI and I have still have heard of parties in England, Scotland and Wales even though they don't stand in my constituency and I can't vote for them and I know the parties in the Republic because they are my nearest neighbours. I've been really surprised at the lack of knowledge and even the name of the largest political party in NI."

I presume you get media coverage from both the UK and Ireland. Northern Ireland political programmes and debates aren't generally broadcast on the mainland so that makes a big difference.

123MothergotafleA · 10/06/2017 00:26

Boy, aren't we the lucky ones to have the lovely Arlene Foster at the helm with Theresa.
I'm sure it will be a marriage made in h.....

Gwenhwyfar · 10/06/2017 00:26

"It's quite interesting to see how many people don't know about the politics in NI but somehow have some ideas of what happens in France or in Germany, both of which ARE totally different countries....."

With much bigger populations and economies.

Gwenhwyfar · 10/06/2017 00:28

"How many people can tell me what the Yorkshire Party stands for? WITHOUT googling."

I can guess defending the interests of Yorkshire and its residents. Possibly devolution or independence. I don't think they've every won a seat or a large share of the vote so quite different to the DUP.

tabulahrasa · 10/06/2017 00:28

"I read up on the main parties and the lesser known ones, but NI ones such as DUP never crossed my radar as it's just not a political party that would ever get voted in here."

They had the same number of MPs as the lib dems in the last parliament, way more than plaid, green or UKIP, they were joint 4th largest.

So how big do they have to be to be relevant?

123MothergotafleA · 10/06/2017 00:30

For protection of Yorkshire Puddings.

seoulsurvivor · 10/06/2017 00:31

I don't like how the OP is worded but I do think it's amazing how little some people know about Northern Ireland.

Calling the DUP Irish always has me in stitches though.

If you didn't know about them, maybe take a minute to reflect on why you know about English politics but not Northern Irish. I'd say this kind of ignorance is one of the chief drivers of Scottish independence - at times, it becomes abundantly clear that English people think of the UK as England with some extra little neighbours. That attitude is deeply frustrating. I get English people asking why the Scottish don't like them - I'd say that's the main reason. The total ignorance about anything that's not related to England. (Usual notallEnglish disclaimer.)

I wouldn't say I know the ins and outs of everything that goes on in Northern Ireland but I do know the main players and some basic history. If someone grew up during the Troubles, I find it amazing that they wouldn't. If they grew up later, it would probably be a good idea to at least know something about all the nations of the UK before you presume to talk about politics.

CheeseQueen · 10/06/2017 00:34

For protection of Yorkshire Puddings.

Yeah, well done. Hmm Do I get to call you ignorant for not knowing about a legitimate party in the UK now...

CheeseQueen · 10/06/2017 00:38

I presume you get media coverage from both the UK and Ireland. Northern Ireland political programmes and debates aren't generally broadcast on the mainland so that makes a big difference.
This. It just really isn't here. It would have to be something you would have to actively go out and seek the answers to.

Gwenhwyfar · 10/06/2017 00:40

Cheese - I'm aware you can get things like this on i player or BBC Parliament now, but you wouldn't just find it on BBC1 at peak time.

seoulsurvivor · 10/06/2017 00:40

I don't think 'the media doesn't write about it' is a great excuse either. I live in Korea - the Korean media doesn't write about UK politics really so I go to the British media for that. Likewise, you can check the Northern Irish media and Irish media for news about what's happening in Northern Ireland.

Not saying you HAVE to take an interest but it's not like the knowledge isn't out there. It's not a different country. It is PART of your country. I'm sure you'd be surprised if Scottish people didn't know about the London bombing. And yet there are English people who don't even know that Northern Ireland is part of the UK. Or they think that the whole of Ireland IS part of the UK.

misskelly · 10/06/2017 00:40

To be fair lots and lots of people in mainland Britain don't have the first clue about the Scottish parliament or its powers. In fact lots of poeple don't know there is a completely different education and legal system that has been in place since before the Act of Union.

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