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Outdoor Cafe's and open all hours Pubs do not make a country European, maybe the country has changed some but i still don't think most Brits have embraced Europe as much as maybe people living in London for example, i have seen no evidence in my trips back to the country areas.
They don't have to embrace anything, it is what it is. I look at it from the outside in and I see more similarities than differences (I've mentioned these previously so I won't repeat myself). It boils down to how truly different would life be in Britain versus the Netherlands. Apart from the language, I don't think it would be that different at all, whereas the differences between Britain and the new world countries are greater despite common language.
Really, what would be that different?
As for EU membership, I believe it's a 50/50 split, but I don't think that Britain will leave the EU. Most British businesses back continued membership, so it would be very bad for the economy. I tend to think it's the island siege mentality and not wanting to be told what to do by Brussels, even though in terms of what would happen to employment laws and protection against harmful food additives, being governed solely from London may turn out to be worse for the average Joe.
I've noticed a huge decline in pub culture too. So many of them have closed down over the last few years, mostly the crappy ones.
I heard that Ireland is generally more pro-EU than the UK. For example, Ireland voted for the Euro, and uses the Euro as currency. My country Sweden voted strongly against the Euro on both conservative and sceptic issues, I guess that would make Sweden more Eurosceptic than Ireland. And Norway even more so, considering that they even voted against EU membership, twice, and are thus not a part of it. As well as Switzerland. And no one would deny that Norway and Switzerland is European.
As a Swede I enjoy the EU and in particular the Schengen which means free travel without being forced to show passport, and free movement. In the old days, we only had that system within the Scandinavian/Nordic region, but now its more than half of the European continent. The old system within the Scandinavian/Nordic region still applies though, we have free movement and free border crossing without passport to Norway and Iceland even if they are not part of the EU, because we have the Nordic Council, a kind of mini-EU between Nordic states and territories.
I still think that even if someone is against the EU, the obvious cultural links between the UK and the other European countries can't be denied, just like the obvious cultural links between Norway and Switzerland and other European countries can't be denied, even though Norway and Switzerland are very big Eurosceptic nations as in sceptic towards the EU, much more Eurosceptic than the UK is.
Yeah well there is a "special" relationship to the extent that Australia behaves like a 45 year old virgin and won't leave the house! (i.e. still clinging to the relics of the monarchy and the Union Jack even though the UK has moved on to its second marriage and doesn't want the first marriage Commonwealth kiddies hanging around anymore).
There are quite a few people in Australia that would like a new flag and would like Australia to be a republic. It will happen eventually, it has just been put on the back burner for now as it is not the most important issue in Australian politics.
A few years ago there was a vote on Australia becoming a republic but most people voted against it not because they didn't want a republic but because they didn't like the way the President in the new scenario would not be elected by the people but by Parliament. This was rejected by only 55%. This happened in 1999.
I'm fairly confident if this vote would be held in another few years with a more democratically elected President Australians would vote Yes in the majority.
I heard that Ireland is generally more pro-EU than the UK. For example, Ireland voted for the Euro, and uses the Euro as currency. My country Sweden voted strongly against the Euro on both conservative and sceptic issues, I guess that would make Sweden more Eurosceptic than Ireland. And Norway even more so, considering that they even voted against EU membership, twice, and are thus not a part of it. As well as Switzerland. And no one would deny that Norway and Switzerland is European.
As a Swede I enjoy the EU and in particular the Schengen which means free travel without being forced to show passport, and free movement. In the old days, we only had that system within the Scandinavian/Nordic region, but now its more than half of the European continent. The old system within the Scandinavian/Nordic region still applies though, we have free movement and free border crossing without passport to Norway and Iceland even if they are not part of the EU, because we have the Nordic Council, a kind of mini-EU between Nordic states and territories.
I still think that even if someone is against the EU, the obvious cultural links between the UK and the other European countries can't be denied, just like the obvious cultural links between Norway and Switzerland and other European countries can't be denied, even though Norway and Switzerland are very big Eurosceptic nations as in sceptic towards the EU, much more Eurosceptic than the UK is.
Yes Ireland has always been a lot more pro EU than Britain and quite happy to have ties with Europe. I don't think Ireland would leave the EU but if Britain did that would make it very difficult for Ireland. Ireland very much needs Britain to stay in the EU as well.
Yeah well there is a "special" relationship to the extent that Australia behaves like a 45 year old virgin and won't leave the house! (i.e. still clinging to the relics of the monarchy and the Union Jack even though the UK has moved on to its second marriage and doesn't want the first marriage Commonwealth kiddies hanging around anymore).
I think you don't realise just how little the monarchy means to the majority of Australians, and how irrelevant they are to the political life and function of the nation - the only role for the monarch is to accept the Prime Minster's recommendation for appointment of Governor General, and accept the Prime Minster's recommendation that they should be dismissed. To do anything more would be unconstitutional. There certainly is not much "clinging", and often large doses of embarrassment when one of the royals turns up (often at an event totally unconnected to them), and those involved are expected to take it as a serious event.
The proportion of Australian who are staunch monarchists is actually very small, most of whom are elderly or migrants from the UK. The question most Aussies are looking for answers to is: what next, what form should an Australian republic take, and how does that transition take place? Unlike the UK, Australia has a detailed, codified constitution detailing how the federation functions, and how changes to the constitution are to be made. It's not simply a matter of saying: "hey, we're now a republic".
I think you don't realise just how little the monarchy means to the majority of Australians, and how irrelevant they are to the political life and function of the nation - the only role for the monarch is to accept the Prime Minster's recommendation for appointment of Governor General, and accept the Prime Minster's recommendation that they should be dismissed. To do anything more would be unconstitutional. There certainly is not much "clinging", and often large doses of embarrassment when one of the royals turns up (often at an event totally unconnected to them), and those involved are expected to take it as a serious event.
The proportion of Australian who are staunch monarchists is actually very small, most of whom are elderly or migrants from the UK. The question most Aussies are looking for answers to is: what next, what form should an Australian republic take, and how does that transition take place? Unlike the UK, Australia has a detailed, codified constitution detailing how the federation functions, and how changes to the constitution are to made. It's not simply a matter of saying: "hey, we're now a republic".
Good post Richard I have to get a new mouse before I can rate your post.
I think you don't realise just how little the monarchy means to the majority of Australians, and how irrelevant they are to the political life and function of the nation - the only role for the monarch is to accept the Prime Minster's recommendation for appointment of Governor General, and accept the Prime Minster's recommendation that they should be dismissed. To do anything more would be unconstitutional. There certainly is not much "clinging", and often large doses of embarrassment when one of the royals turns up (often at an event totally unconnected to them), and those involved are expected to take it as a serious event.
The proportion of Australian who are staunch monarchists is actually very small, most of whom are elderly or migrants from the UK. The question most Aussies are looking for answers to is: what next, what form should an Australian republic take, and how does that transition take place? Unlike the UK, Australia has a detailed, codified constitution detailing how the federation functions, and how changes to the constitution are to be made. It's not simply a matter of saying: "hey, we're now a republic".
You have the power to make that choice. Take to the steers and protest if you have to. If you want a republic badly enough then force your politicians to listen. Revolutions were not started by apathy or just waiting for change to happen.
Your post is useful as I would hope that it would help convince fellow British people that our true allies are within the European Union, not the new world countries whom we have far less in common with except for a common language. It would perhaps be better for Britain's interest long term if the Commonwealth was brought to an end as it ran its course of usefulness a long time ago and still allows some to cling to the notion that we are still a global power and an empire, rather than a European country that should be focussing on itself and forging good relations with its continental neighbors rather than still trying to police the world.
Now I don't particularly care for the monarchy either and would probably consider myself a republican, although the flip side of that is that I do accept that our system generally works pretty well, as is the case in other European countries with constitutional monarchies. Believe it or not, we are not obsessed with them either. I just don't think that changing the system is important enough to people either. Australia has a different motive and need to abolish the current system: severing the cord. You would think that after over 300 years of doing so, certain Americans would tire of repeating "we kicked you Brits out" over and over again as if 1) anyone in Britain 2013 cares and 2) as if it happened yesterday and we are still sobbing over the loss.
Australia, Canada and New Zealand should definitely go it alone. Several hundred years later and our cultures have grown very far apart. A common mistake made by British expats is that they emigrate to such countries and are not prepared for the culture shock. I have lived here in the US since I was a child and for various reasons it just never felt like home.
Yes Ireland has always been a lot more pro EU than Britain and quite happy to have ties with Europe. I don't think Ireland would leave the EU but if Britain did that would make it very difficult for Ireland. Ireland very much needs Britain to stay in the EU as well.
Britain will not leave the EU either. Generally the younger people are more pro-EU. A lot of it is just moaning and if push came to shove, I don't believe that the majority of people would vote for Britain to pull out being as it would be very detrimental to a country that does most of its trade within the EU and where most British businesses are vehemently against leaving the EU. Garbage such as the Daily Mail and the likes of the EDL fuel the xenophobia. Like anywhere else, people tend to blame issues like unemployment on immigrants, yet I wonder how bad unemployment would get if a predominantly service industry based economy such as the UK were to pull out of its common market (it wouldn't be like Norway which has oil to depend on). All those Brits living in the Spanish sunshine would probably have to apply for visas or go home.
Britain does not have to join the Euro. There are other EU countries that also did not join the single currency.
Britain will not leave the EU either. Generally the younger people are more pro-EU. A lot of it is just moaning and if push came to shove, I don't believe that the majority of people would vote for Britain to pull out being as it would be very detrimental to a country that does most of its trade within the EU and where most British businesses are vehemently against leaving the EU. Garbage such as the Daily Mail and the likes of the EDL fuel the xenophobia. Like anywhere else, people tend to blame issues like unemployment on immigrants, yet I wonder how bad unemployment would get if a predominantly service industry based economy such as the UK were to pull out of its common market (it wouldn't be like Norway which has oil to depend on). All those Brits living in the Spanish sunshine would probably have to apply for visas or go home.
Britain does not have to join the Euro. There are other EU countries that also did not join the single currency.
Thanks for both your two previous posts. I agree and think that a lot of this talk about Britain leaving the EU is a bit of bluster. When push comes to shove I don't think it will happen.
Australia has a lot of cultural and historical connections with Britain and are aware of this but Australia knows that it has no particular favouritism over other nationalities as far a Britain goes. People in the EU are given much easier access to Britain over Australia. The biggest trading partners for Australia are also in the Asia-Pacific region especially with China.
I think Australia used to have much closer ties with Britain in the past but when Britain joined the EU Australia knew where Britain's future loyalty would be. I think that was the start of Australia realising it wasn't an outpost of Britain in the Asia-Pacific region.
Thanks for both your two previous posts. I agree and think that a lot of this talk about Britain leaving the EU is a bit of bluster. When push comes to shove I don't think it will happen.
Australia has a lot of cultural and historical connections with Britain and are aware of this but Australia knows that it has no particular favouritism over other nationalities as far a Britain goes. People in the EU are given much easier access to Britain over Australia. The biggest trading partners for Australia are also in the Asia-Pacific region especially with China.
I think Australia used to have much closer ties with Britain in the past but when Britain joined the EU Australia knew where Britain's future loyalty would be. I think that was the start of Australia realising it wasn't an outpost of Britain in the Asia-Pacific region.
Australia also has a huge Asian-Australian population and logically, your closest ties should be with your neighbors. I also feel that Australia would most likely have more in common with other English speaking new world countries, including the United States.
I don't think that Britain joining the EU would have made any difference to the relationship between Britain and Australia. The empire is long gone and the Commonwealth is largely ceremonial. I still believe that Australians would wish for the same path either way.
The EU makes a lot of sense for Britain being as it is no longer a world power and a huge exporter, nor can it utilize cheap labor from former colonies. A lot of British people overlook the benefits of being in a free market and just like to blame immigrants on any problems that arise, even though immigrants do not "steal jobs" and are usually hard working and add to the cultural diversity of their new country.
Our closest ties simply have to be with those countries that are currently most culturally similar and geographically closest. Britain cannot afford to lose access to the free market, the City of London will no longer be the gateway to Europe for many large multinational corporations who base their European HQ's there. It frustrates the hell out of me when I hear Brits who want to continue to alienate us from the rest of Europe because they don't see the bigger picture and that Britain has more of a voice inside the EU than outside looking in.
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I have to get a new mouse before I can rate your post.
