Recent events

GlynD

Cotta wrote: »

Our politicians cry a little too often about being powerless on the big matters such as revenue and tax. Would we be much worse off under direct rule?

Oh I think so. You lose so much locally without local input at parliamentary level and Westminster is just too busy to be overly concerned with our wee 1.5 million. And there's the fact that the majority of Westminster MP's just aren't interested in us - look at how empty the house is during Northern Ireland matters.

GlynD

lazer wrote: »

A large percentage of the popuation consider themselves British or Northern Irish - but definately not Irish, you are an exception.
And of course there are still British here - Northern Ireland operates under British Rule, Stormont is simply devolved power from Westminster, they can take the power away from Stormont anytime they choose (In law - in reality there would be an outcry if they simply decided for no reason to take power away from Stormont).
Our tax rates, welfare rates etc are all still set by Britain, so of course the British are still here (and the majority of the population still want them to be - but the Dissidents don'ts and want to remind us of this)

Can't disagree with you on any of the above, but I'd hope there are quite a few more like me - the silent majority. Nothing wrong with being British and Irish at the same time - best of both worlds if you ask me.

And you can have two passports! :T

lazer

GlynD wrote: »

Can't disagree with you on any of the above, but I'd hope there are quite a few more like me - the silent majority. Nothing wrong with being British and Irish at the same time - best of both worlds if you ask me.

And you can have two passports! :T

The 2 passports can be very useful sometimes (although I am down to one now) - my decision on renewal was generally based on which was cheaper - but I have to say in my experience you get treated better if using an Irish passport - officials in other countries just seem friendlier towards the Irish.

GlynD

lazer wrote: »

The 2 passports can be very useful sometimes (although I am down to one now) - my decision on renewal was generally based on which was cheaper - but I have to say in my experience you get treated better if using an Irish passport - officials in other countries just seem friendlier towards the Irish.

That would have been my main reason for getting an Irish passport - but I never did.

emmett123

tara747 wrote: »

Do you have statistics to back up this claim?

There's relative poverty and absolute poverty. I'd be very interested to see how many are in absolute poverty.




Well said.

But while poor earnings growth and increasing earnings inequality has been well-publicised in recent years, All in this Together? also shows that the UK’s total wage pool has been shrinking for more than three decades.

In 1978, the total UK wage bill represented 58 per cent of GDP. By 2011 this ‘wage-output’ ratio had dropped to 53.8 per cent. The 4.2 per cent fall in wages as a share of national output means that UK workers took home £60bn less in 2011 than if the wage-output ratio had stayed at 1978 levels. Cumulative wage losses over the last three decades are approximately £1.3 trillion.

The falling share of wages as a proportion of national output has contributed to the rising household debt, plastered over in good times by a housing boom and easy access to credit, that helped to cause the recent financial crash, says the TUC.

The falling wage share has been particularly acute for those on low and middle incomes. The wages of the poorest fifth of workers in 2011 are 43 per cent lower than they would have been if the wage share had not fallen since 1978 and the distribution of earnings had not been skewed towards higher earners. Workers on middle incomes have experienced a 36 per cent wage loss, while the richest fifth of earners have had a wage loss of just six per cent.

The only group of workers immune from the UK’s shrinking wage pool have been top execs who have weathered the recession and stock market falls to receive median pay increases of 10 per cent in 2010 and 17 per cent in 2011.

http://markwrightuk88.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/workers-today-earning-far-less-than-30.html

also here

http://www.tuc.org.uk/economic-issues/touchstone-pamphlets/touchstone-extras-all-together?themeaa=touchstone&theme=touchstone

emmett123

GlynD wrote: »

Exactly. What is the point? What are all these hoax alerts achieving except disruption for the very people these dissidents claim to represent?

We'll keep phoning in hoaxes until England withdraws its troops from the occupied six counties and agrees to a united Ireland!

But hi mister - there aren't any troops here anymore! :rotfl:

there still are troops here, although they are confined to barrack and not doing the patrols like they used to. The fact peace time troops are stationed here like they would be anywhere in England only goes to prove Thatcher's old saying that we are "as British as Finchely".

GlynD

emmett123 wrote: »

there still are troops here, although they are confined to barrack and not doing the patrols like they used to. The fact peace time troops are stationed here like they would be anywhere in England only goes to prove Thatcher's old saying that we are "as British as Finchely".

Yes there are garrison troops here although a lot fewer than there were before the troubles. I think that only Thiepval, Palace and Ballykinlar are still operating, other than the small TA units. As you say though: they're not on the streets.

The thing is however, we are British - well most of us are. So as long as that is the case there will be certain amount of Britishness about the place, with our unique Ulster flavour to it. Even if we were to become united there'd still be that uniqueness about the six counties.

adouglasmhor

emmett123 wrote: »

there still are troops here, although they are confined to barrack and not doing the patrols like they used to. The fact peace time troops are stationed here like they would be anywhere in England only goes to prove Thatcher's old saying that we are "as British as Finchely".

Even in the 70s 80s and early 90s you were not generaly "confined to barracks", I was out to the shops, the pub, into Belfast to go to raves and go to the pictures etc. I think you just mean not patrolling.

GlynD

adouglasmhor wrote: »

Even in the 70s 80s and early 90s you were not generaly "confined to barracks", I was out to the shops, the pub, into Belfast to go to raves and go to the pictures etc. I think you just mean not patrolling.

Yes I think he means "not patrolling". He wouldn't know the terminology. Let's get it right and call them "Garrison Troops".

You were allowed out ok if you were on a two year posting but not if you were roulement (generally). I think they did let the roulement guys out at one time but with only six months to learn their way about they were too vulnerable.

Loads of pubs went out of bounds in the 70's, even to the police and UDR. The problem being that a pubload of squaddies or polismen attracted too much attention from those who might have architecturally remodeled the premises.

I know you weren't teeth arms but did you ever experience units going into licenced premises and being applauded and plied with drink? An amazing feeling.

adouglasmhor

GlynD wrote: »

Yes I think he means "not patrolling". He wouldn't know the terminology. Let's get it right and call them "Garrison Troops".

You were allowed out ok if you were on a two year posting but not if you were roulement (generally). I think they did let the roulement guys out at one time but with only six months to learn their way about they were too vulnerable.

Loads of pubs went out of bounds in the 70's, even to the police and UDR. The problem being that a pubload of squaddies or polismen attracted too much attention from those who might have architecturally remodeled the premises.

I know you weren't teeth arms but did you ever experience units going into licenced premises and being applauded and plied with drink? An amazing feeling.

I wasn't Teeth arms but went out a on patrol for a short time with the 2n Battalion Royal Anglians who had lost men (and who I had done BATUS with so some of them knew me). I did do a stint as the wis's driver and was the delivery guy for bombstoppers for the last of my tour so I got to see a wee bit more than most REMFs.
I do remember going into a pub that a warning was out on to find it was full of guys with sideburns and maroon t-shirts despite the orderly sergeant at Palace having told my boss all his guys were in and accounted for.