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All I can say is, I really, really dislike this country and the political system that operates it. My personal and political beliefs seem to be completely at o

by ionised 11y ago

All I can say is, I really, really dislike this country and the political system that operates it. My personal and political beliefs seem to be completely at odds with most of the British public and I feel like I would be crazy to stay. I mean, we have a monarch and an unelected upper house of parliament. What the hell am I doing here? My identity as a British person means very little to me. I was born on this patch of dirt, someone stamped 'British person' on my arse and here I am.

mike_hearn 11y ago
If you mean you're significantly more left wing than many people, well you'll see that split everywhere in the democratic world, even in Scotland. Yes, there's a monarch. Who does diddly squat other than putting on a dog and pony show for visiting dignitaries - which happens to be useful for trade purposes (see recent visit of the Chinese president) - giving people entertainment and attracting tourists. So the monarchy is tolerated. That tolerance would vaporise if say Charles came to the throne and started trying to fuck with government policies. You'd pretty quickly see the monarchy put in a purely ceremonial role and the country transition to a kind of pseudo-republic which would be a republic in all but name, in which people still pretend to be loyal to the King even though he has no power at all. So I wouldn't worry about that. The house of lords has such limited power I wouldn't worry about that either: it can slow legislation down but can't stop it due to the Parliament Act. Like the monarchy, it's a tolerated holdover from earlier times that doesn't really impact much of anything. If these are the worst things about Britain you can think of, I'd suggest you have a case of grass-is-always-greener syndrome (btw, I'm British and I live in Switzerland ... but not because I thought the UK sucked so bad I had to get out).
- ionised 11y ago
  They are not even close to the worst things I can think of about Britain, they are just the most visible to people. The two I mentioned I mostly symbolic, true but that's even more reason to get rid of them. Screw the financial benefit. They are representative of obscene wealth, privilige and elitism and have no place in a democratic society, symbolic or not.

by ionised 11y ago

mike_hearn 11y ago

If you mean you're significantly more left wing than many people, well you'll see that split everywhere in the democratic world, even in Scotland. Yes, there's a monarch. Who does diddly squat other than putting on a dog and pony show for visiting dignitaries - which happens to be useful for trade purposes (see recent visit of the Chinese president) - giving people entertainment and attracting tourists. So the monarchy is tolerated. That tolerance would vaporise if say Charles came to the throne and started trying to fuck with government policies. You'd pretty quickly see the monarchy put in a purely ceremonial role and the country transition to a kind of pseudo-republic which would be a republic in all but name, in which people still pretend to be loyal to the King even though he has no power at all. So I wouldn't worry about that. The house of lords has such limited power I wouldn't worry about that either: it can slow legislation down but can't stop it due to the Parliament Act. Like the monarchy, it's a tolerated holdover from earlier times that doesn't really impact much of anything. If these are the worst things about Britain you can think of, I'd suggest you have a case of grass-is-always-greener syndrome (btw, I'm British and I live in Switzerland ... but not because I thought the UK sucked so bad I had to get out).

ionised 11y ago
They are not even close to the worst things I can think of about Britain, they are just the most visible to people. The two I mentioned I mostly symbolic, true but that's even more reason to get rid of them. Screw the financial benefit. They are representative of obscene wealth, privilige and elitism and have no place in a democratic society, symbolic or not.