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?

But gwen, why do you just accept what the British media offer you? It is up to you to educate yourself, not to just accept whatever the media hands out.

It's not even written in a different language.

misskelly By 'mainland Britain' do you mean England?

I doubt there are many Scottish or Welsh people who don't know what devolution means.

And I think every Scottish person is aware that many English people are clueless about the Scottish parliament, having had to patiently explain the situation 10,000 times.

"I live in Korea - the Korean media doesn't write about UK politics really so I go to the British media for that."

I presume you're British, or are you saying all Korean people should do this? It's normal to follow the media for your own country (and yes, for us that means no detailed coverage of Northern Ireland politics).

"It's not a different country. It is PART of your country."

I think some people (e.g. people from Northern Ireland who identify as Irish rather than British) would disagree with that. In any case, the whole way politics works is different in Northern Ireland, whereas Scottish and Welsh politics are similar to English politics with the addition of SNP and Plaid Cymru (OK, that's a huge simplification, but you get the point).

"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."

That's a whole other level of ignorance and not comparable to not knowing the difference between the Northern Ireland parties.

the Korean media doesn't write about UK politics really so I go to the British media for that.

That's my point though. You actively have a healthy interest in politics to go seeking out stuff like that in the first place.
Not everyone does. Some take an interest, sure, but they're not aware of every party going. Some don't at all.
Just like I actively read for fun about all things space related, I don't expect everyone else to.
It's what interests you.
NI, unless you're there, you have to have a special interest in politics to be reading up on all the parties as it's just not shown.
Sinn Fein, I've definitely heard of as that's been all over the news. DUP though, no. Regardless of whether they have had people sitting in parliament or not over the years,

I'm saying that if you're going to talk about the politics of a country, you need to have a working knowledge of it. If you're going to talk about British politics, you should probably know about thenpolitics of the whole country.

And yes gwen, you can argue the NI is NOT part of the UK, obviously. But they have politicians who are in our government so you should probably know who they are if you're going to discuss the situation. Not saying everyone has to know everything about politics but don't be surprised when non-English UK citizens don't take y

-sorry

don't take you seriously when you know nothing about the situation in their country.

"I doubt there are many Scottish or Welsh people who don't know what devolution means."

I live in Wales and unfortunately there are loads of people in Wales who don't understand devolution properly. Again, this is because of the media. There is a lack of Welsh media outlets and most people follow media from England.
Plenty of people in Wales don't even know who Carwyn Jones is (he's the First Minister).

And gwen, I think that level of ignorance is pretty comparable. Everyone knows the greens, why not the DUP? Why are Scotland Wales and NI treated like the poor cousins? Why are English people surprised when the people of those countries get annoyed by the ignorance?

But there are always people on hand to defend their ignorance because they're not spoonfed.

Well gwen, I find that really sad and I hope the Welsh start to find some kind of voice for themselves.

"but don't be surprised when non-English UK citizens don't take you seriously when you know nothing about the situation in their countr"

Pretty silly thing to say to a non-English citizen of the UK!

Why? I wasn't speaking directly to you. I meant in general. You never said where you were from until now, did you?

Did I miss somethin?Wots DUP?

"I think that level of ignorance is pretty comparable."

It really, really isn't. The basics about Northern Ireland is quite different to knowing the ins and outs of the parties.

"Everyone knows the greens, why not the DUP? "

The Greens are practically a non-entity in Wales so the UK-wide debates being screened in Wales gives the wrong impression. They weren't included in the Welsh leaders debates this year, but I imagine more Welsh people watch the UK ones.
However, their share of the vote in England (and so in the rest of the UK) is much higher than would be expected for a party with only one MP so they're quite a force.

"You never said where you were from until now, did you?"

I thought you might have guessed from my nick name, but I suppose some people haven't bothered to educate themselves about the origins of all names in the UK and Ireland (only joking!). I've been giving examples from Wales so I thought it was clear. I can assure you that most people in Wales know very little about Welsh politics, quite a bit about English politics and very, very little about Northern Irish politics.

Well I did notice you had a Welsh nickname, but that doesn't mean you're Welsh.

Personally, I think knowing the DUP isn't the ins and outs. It was Ian Paisley's party and he was all over the TV growing up. I'd say it's a basic bit of knowledge.

And gwen, I think that level of ignorance is pretty comparable. Everyone knows the greens, why not the DUP? Why are Scotland Wales and NI treated like the poor cousins? there not England the only one without its own parliament but when england make up 84 percent of the population its natural people focus on England

And I think every Scottish person is aware that many English people are clueless about the Scottish parliament, having had to patiently explain the situation 10,000 times

I live in Scotland. I have no idea if many English people are clueless about the Scottish parliament. I can't think of many occasions I've felt the need to explain it - beyond occasionally that certain aspects of law are different- but most people know that.

I know the Welsh assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly exist. I don't know the minutiae of how these operate. I'm not au fait with exactly how the mayoral offices of London , Manchester and Liverpool work. Why should I be?

Why are Scotland Wales and NI treated like the poor cousins? Why are English people surprised when the people of those countries get annoyed by the ignorance?

I see the Scottish tradition of being evenly balanced by having a chip on each shoulder is alive and well. Get over yourself.

Do please return to whatever bridge you came out from under.

Hehe

I thought you might have guessed from my nick name

Indeed Gwen.

Lass

Perhaps you've never lived in England? No idea. I am just tired of explaining stuff to people when they ask me if I need a passport to get into England.

If that means I have a chip on my shoulder, so be it.

Number of votes for the Green party (applicable only to England and Wales I think): 524,604
Number of votes for the DUP: 292,316

So the Greens had almost twice as many votes as the DUP.

Everyone knows the greens, why not the DUP?

Because the Greens are a national party.
Because they grew out of a protest/ lobbying movement.
Because they are really, really good at PR and connecting with the media.
Because even if you don't want to vote for them they are still keen to promote awareness of environmental causes.

There is much less reason for people of mainland Britain to take notice of the DUP that the greens, UKIP, or the monster raving loony party.

The DUP do not stand in, are not an option for, and do not provide a manifesto for residents of Wales, Scotland or England.

Perhaps it's time for you to understand what a union is and how British politics works before you criticize people for not reading the manifesto of a party that stands in almost no seats and is completely impossible for the to vote for.

*for them to vote for.