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This may be a stupid question, but there's England, Britain, Great Britain, The City, United Kingdom, and The Commonwealth, and whathavewe... All is somewhat re

This may be a stupid question, but there's England, Britain, Great Britain, The City, United Kingdom, and The Commonwealth, and whathavewe... All is somewhat related, some is (sometimes) part of something else, but nothing is quite the same it seems. It's not easy for a non-native to navigate what is what among this set of boxes-in-boxes ... > Brexit has failed for UK Did UK exit, or did Britain? is this the same thing, or did the article headline mess something up? --- That said, congrats to Britain/UK for leaving, and thanks for showing all of us remaining in the so-called "Union" that there is still hope, and a leave is indeed possible (at least as a last resort if things turn too distasteful). I for one is absolutely certain that it is too soon to analyze consequences at this early stage where there's still too much post-Brexit turbulence - also I feel confident that in ten year's time or so it will prove to have been beneficial for you (as a country) to leave. If you don't re-enter that is. At the very least you will still be a country (boxes-in-boxes, imperial measurements, left-side driving, pints, pubs, pounds, and all.)

dfawcus 3y ago
Great Britain is an Island. England is one country and geographical region within that island. Wales and Scotland are the other countries within that island. Some of the surrounding islands are respectively part of the countries of England, Scotland and Wales. The UK is the state, the British state. It operates within Great Britain (and its surrounding islands), and part of the island of Ireland - i.e Northern Ireland. The meaning of Britain varies with context, sometimes it refers to the state (the UK), sometimes the island of Great Britain. The City is the square mile of London, a quasi city state which in some respects is not even part of the state (see the Norman Conquest of England), but that is usually ignored. The Commonwealth currently refers to parts of what were previously the British Empire. Officially, the UK exited, as the UK was the member. However, arrangements were made for Northern Ireland such that it sort of stayed within the Single Market (for Goods) and observes EU customs rules. Hence GB fully exited, NI exited, but has special arrangements such that many aspects of EU law still apply. The headline is trying to indicate that Brexit had detrimental effects, but only because the UK did succeed in leaving the EU. If it had not managed to leave, there would have been none of the complained of detrimental effects - i.e. the 'failure'.
somewhereoutth 3y ago
One of the 'boxes-in-boxes' was the arrangements for Northern Ireland. When both the UK and the Republic of Ireland were in the EU, there was no need for a customs border of any kind, and so one side of the NI community could pretend they lived in a united Ireland, while the other could pretend they lived in the UK, as no obvious border existed on either side. When the UK left, this became a problem, as a customs border would need to be erected somewhere. Thankfully the UK was forced into putting it in the only reasonable place, in the Irish Sea between NI and the rest of the UK, so limiting the damage to the Good Friday agreement. Effectively NI has been economically annexed by the Republic - formal unification is probably not too many years away. It would do you well to appreciate some political history before 'feeling confident' about things like Brexit.
kcartlidge 3y ago
Our geography narrows down reasonably easily when you read what follows alongside a map. It's a bit ridiculous having so many names though (and I'm British so this is not intended to disparage), but each genuinely does refer to a different political entity. From the larger to the smaller: - The "Commonwealth" is a grouping of nations initially based on countries that were part of the old Empire. This is not an exclusive club, though, and countries are free to leave or join as they wish. Over the years there have also been members who were never part of the Empire. Its mostly a loose trading arrangement with some political and sporting overlap. - The "British Isles" (a name disputed by many in Ireland as it includes the island of Ireland) is the group of islands containing the UK and the island of Ireland. Basically, the whole mass that sits off the top left of Europe (mainly sea borders with France and Norway). - The "UK" is the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", and so comprises the top strip of the island of Ireland plus Great Britain, so the British Isles but excluding the Republic of Ireland part in the lower bulk of the island of Ireland. This grouping is what the UK Parliament represents, with elected members from each one and with devolved powers to their local assemblies in many areas. - It follows from the above, therefore, that "Great Britain" is the UK minus Northern Ireland. So that's the countries of "England", "Scotland", and "Wales". There are theories about the name Great Britain, some claiming to be fact, but I like to think of it as either being "the greater part of the British Isles" or "greater Brittany" (an area of France that has many political/military contacts over the centuries). It isn't about being "great" in terms of wow look at us. - Then you've got the aforementioned three 'mainland' UK nations of "England", "Scotland", and "Wales". Whilst being in the UK and controlled by London, they have distinct identities and often legal differences (especially Scotland). They also are often represented individually in various sports such as football or rugby. - England's capitol city, London, contains a small (and ancient) area within it called the "City of London". It is legally distinct from the rest of London and has many of its own institutions and laws. --- To answer the main question, the word Brexit implies the exiting of Great Britain however it was actually the UK that left, so that's Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) and Northern Ireland. This incidentally also reveals one of the major issues of it all - by the UK leaving as a whole, it took Northern Ireland with it. That meant a land border between the UK and the EU for the first time (separating Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland). Given the many decades of rumbling conflict of various degrees of brutality between the factions in Northern Ireland, re-introducing a land border at that point would risk derailing Irish peace. So a large part of the discussions involved a border in the Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland, which gives Northern Ireland a special status within the EU (enhanced compared to the mainland UK).

dfawcus 3y ago

Great Britain is an Island. England is one country and geographical region within that island. Wales and Scotland are the other countries within that island. Some of the surrounding islands are respectively part of the countries of England, Scotland and Wales. The UK is the state, the British state. It operates within Great Britain (and its surrounding islands), and part of the island of Ireland - i.e Northern Ireland. The meaning of Britain varies with context, sometimes it refers to the state (the UK), sometimes the island of Great Britain. The City is the square mile of London, a quasi city state which in some respects is not even part of the state (see the Norman Conquest of England), but that is usually ignored. The Commonwealth currently refers to parts of what were previously the British Empire. Officially, the UK exited, as the UK was the member. However, arrangements were made for Northern Ireland such that it sort of stayed within the Single Market (for Goods) and observes EU customs rules. Hence GB fully exited, NI exited, but has special arrangements such that many aspects of EU law still apply. The headline is trying to indicate that Brexit had detrimental effects, but only because the UK did succeed in leaving the EU. If it had not managed to leave, there would have been none of the complained of detrimental effects - i.e. the 'failure'.

somewhereoutth 3y ago

One of the 'boxes-in-boxes' was the arrangements for Northern Ireland. When both the UK and the Republic of Ireland were in the EU, there was no need for a customs border of any kind, and so one side of the NI community could pretend they lived in a united Ireland, while the other could pretend they lived in the UK, as no obvious border existed on either side. When the UK left, this became a problem, as a customs border would need to be erected somewhere. Thankfully the UK was forced into putting it in the only reasonable place, in the Irish Sea between NI and the rest of the UK, so limiting the damage to the Good Friday agreement. Effectively NI has been economically annexed by the Republic - formal unification is probably not too many years away. It would do you well to appreciate some political history before 'feeling confident' about things like Brexit.

kcartlidge 3y ago

Our geography narrows down reasonably easily when you read what follows alongside a map. It's a bit ridiculous having so many names though (and I'm British so this is not intended to disparage), but each genuinely does refer to a different political entity. From the larger to the smaller: - The "Commonwealth" is a grouping of nations initially based on countries that were part of the old Empire. This is not an exclusive club, though, and countries are free to leave or join as they wish. Over the years there have also been members who were never part of the Empire. Its mostly a loose trading arrangement with some political and sporting overlap. - The "British Isles" (a name disputed by many in Ireland as it includes the island of Ireland) is the group of islands containing the UK and the island of Ireland. Basically, the whole mass that sits off the top left of Europe (mainly sea borders with France and Norway). - The "UK" is the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", and so comprises the top strip of the island of Ireland plus Great Britain, so the British Isles but excluding the Republic of Ireland part in the lower bulk of the island of Ireland. This grouping is what the UK Parliament represents, with elected members from each one and with devolved powers to their local assemblies in many areas. - It follows from the above, therefore, that "Great Britain" is the UK minus Northern Ireland. So that's the countries of "England", "Scotland", and "Wales". There are theories about the name Great Britain, some claiming to be fact, but I like to think of it as either being "the greater part of the British Isles" or "greater Brittany" (an area of France that has many political/military contacts over the centuries). It isn't about being "great" in terms of wow look at us. - Then you've got the aforementioned three 'mainland' UK nations of "England", "Scotland", and "Wales". Whilst being in the UK and controlled by London, they have distinct identities and often legal differences (especially Scotland). They also are often represented individually in various sports such as football or rugby. - England's capitol city, London, contains a small (and ancient) area within it called the "City of London". It is legally distinct from the rest of London and has many of its own institutions and laws. --- To answer the main question, the word Brexit implies the exiting of Great Britain however it was actually the UK that left, so that's Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) and Northern Ireland. This incidentally also reveals one of the major issues of it all - by the UK leaving as a whole, it took Northern Ireland with it. That meant a land border between the UK and the EU for the first time (separating Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland). Given the many decades of rumbling conflict of various degrees of brutality between the factions in Northern Ireland, re-introducing a land border at that point would risk derailing Irish peace. So a large part of the discussions involved a border in the Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland, which gives Northern Ireland a special status within the EU (enhanced compared to the mainland UK).