Britain Versus the UK: Difference between revisions

Even using the terms "British" or "Scottish" isn't always enough, even though they're both correct. You've got to use the right term ''in context''. Many Scots, Nats or otherwise, can get really infuriated with English sports commentators, who will refer to an athlete as "bringing the gold home for Britain!" yet conversely to the same athlete as "the plucky Scot, coming in fifth...". Received wisdom says that the predominantly London-based media will often hail any Scot's - or Welsh or Northern Irish person's - sporting success as "British", but (possibly unconsciously) shunt the same person off into the ghetto marked 'Scottish', 'Welsh' etc. should they trail in last. This subtrope is personified by tennis player [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Murray:Andy Murray|Andy Murray]]: the joke goes that he is invariably referred to as British when he wins and Scottish when he loses. (The converse happens as well: English when they win, British when they lose.)

With devolution (the transferring of certain legislative powers to local governing bodies, primarily a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly) and increasing Scottish and Welsh nationalism, the English too are getting more and more picky about these things. Many English people get annoyed when people from the UK are either "Scottish" (and occasionally, if they're lucky, "Welsh" or "Northern Irish") or "British" , but rarely "English" – at least, not in any positive context. The frustration is that the English are often only separated out when it comes to criticism - for example, Americans may talk about getting independence from "the English" as if the Scots and Welsh had nothing to do with it. There are also more and more English who dislike the use of the Union Flag or "God Save the Queen" in relation to purely English matters, for example English sports teams.<br />Let's not even get started on the [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Lothian_Question:West Lothian Question|"West Lothian question"]]: the idea that a Scottish or Welsh member (MP) of the UK Parliament in London can still vote on policies that, since devolution, purely concern England and not their home region when responsibility for the policy area (e.g. health, education) is devolved there to a regional legislative body. That is, the MP's decisions can affect the electorate in English MPs' constituencies - though the reverse is not possible - yet ''not their own'' constituents, if such policy is separately governed locally by the Scottish Parliament or Welsh Assembly.

[[Category:Britain Versus Thethe UK]]