British voters wake up and ask - Who are the DUP?

[rooster59]

British voters wake up and ask - Who are the DUP?

By Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries

 

Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Arlene Foster addresses journalists in Belfast, Northern Ireland, June 9, 2017. REUTERS/Liam McBurney

 

DUBLIN (Reuters) - British voters spent Friday frantically Googling the name of a small Northern Irish party whose 290,000 votes and 10 seats in parliament hold the balance of power in the national parliament representing the United Kingdom's 65 million people.

 

As Britons awoke to news that Prime Minister Theresa May would have to turn to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for support after unexpectedly losing her parliamentary majority in an election, the Northern Irish party's website crashed under the weight of curiosity.

 

A giant screen on Sky News asked "WHO ARE THE DUP?" and data from Google showed searches spiked significantly in the hours after the election results emerged.

 

Some remembered it as the party of Ian Paisley, the firebrand Protestant cleric who once heckled the Pope himself, calling him the antichrist.

 

The DUP forged its combative brand of British nationalism in the Protestant areas of 1970s Belfast as the bloody "Troubles" pitched hardline unionists fighting to remain part of Britain against mainly Catholic nationalists seeking a united Ireland.

 

Others noted that the party now was one of the most socially conservative in Europe, having sought to maintain some of the continent's strictest restrictions on abortion and consistently opposed gay marriage.

 

It recently backed the right of a Belfast bakery to refuse to make a cake with a gay rights slogan and proposed a law to allow religious business people to refuse to serve people where that would conflict with their religious beliefs.

 

At least one senior party member has defended creationism, the theory that the world was created by God 10,000 years ago.

 

And Paisley once declared the country and western style of dancing as "sinful".

 

SAME SEX

 

In a pointed Twitter post linking to a speech describing the legalisation of same-sex marriage as life-changing, the openly gay Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson reminded the potential new partners of the government that she was a "Protestant Unionist about to marry an Irish Catholic."

Davidson's Scottish Conservatives went from one seat to 13 in the election, giving the national party one of its few success stories on the night.

 

On Facebook, a post by a group calling for a protest against the Conserative-DUP tie-up attracted the interest of over 3,000 people.

 

May's former cabinet colleague George Osborne also could not resist a dig with a cartoon in the Evening Standard newspaper he edits which made an unflattering reference to the Orange Order, the group founded in 1795 who march the streets of Northern Ireland every year to protect Protestant interests.

 

The cartoon showed a member of the order in a trademark black bowler hat and orange sash with a tiny, angry-looking May in his front pocket.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-06-10

 

 

 

 

[canuckamuck]

In other words they are good people who haven't lost their minds like the rest of the cultural Marxists.

[lovelomsak]

I think I like this party. Hasta la victoria siempre

[taichiplanet]

no doubt a lot of UK voters feel like they have been DUPped

[Laughing Gravy]

If people are really unsure who the DUP are and start reading the papers, watching the news and read the history books because if you do not know who they are then you are a dimwit. Stop playing with your fidget spinners and start paying attention to politics which affects your life.

 

I am amazed with people in the UK as I was there a few weeks ago just how few people take an interest in politics and what is happening to their country. Then they have the audacity to start questioning what happened to their country. Take an interest or shut up.

 

[Grouse]

2 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

In other words they are good people who haven't lost their minds like the rest of the cultural Marxists.

You've heard of Ian Paisley?

 

The orangemen?

 

paramilitaries?

 

I'd read up a bit.....

 

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/7-things-dup-done-show-13162780

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2017 by Grouse

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, Laughing Gravy said:

Take an interest or shut up.

 

I shut up from an early age before l could vote.  

[RickBradford]

The DUP wants to scrap the mandatory licence fee which British people are forced to pay in order to watch television, and which funds the relentlessly anti-British propaganda organisation Broadcasting Beyond Contempt (BBC) to the tune of £4 billion per year.

 

Quote

"The Democratic Unionist Party believes the licence fee is regressive and archaic. A household levy on a device now superseded by networked technology is not just obsolete, it's cruel." - Nigel Dodds, DUP MP, North Belfast.

Excellent sentiments.

[nausea]

Oh, they'll know soon enough Laughing Gravy, the opposition will see to that; I think the Daily Mirror already has  a headline something like "Crackpot Coalition". Judging by her actions I think May (to be fair and non-partisan, Diane Abbot also springs to mind) is a prime example of the Peter Principle in operation.

 

.

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Others noted that the party now was one of the most socially conservative in Europe, having sought to maintain some of the continent's strictest restrictions on abortion and consistently opposed gay marriage.

...or as my sister commented, "The Tories getting into bed with those old misogynist homophobes? Whatever next?"

 

 

Edited June 10, 2017 by NanLaew

[NanLaew]

4 minutes ago, RickBradford said:

"The Democratic Unionist Party believes the licence fee is regressive and archaic. ..."

Pot... kettle...

[Laughing Gravy]

10 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

I shut up from an early age before l could vote.  

As you are not a child now then maybe you can start taking an interest in politics, especially as it effects us all, adults and children.

Personally, I prefer people to have opinions, even if they are different from mine. What I find difficult, is when they say " I don't care about politics" and then rant about public services.  benefits, pay and a multitude of other things.

[baboon]

2 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

In other words they are good people who haven't lost their minds like the rest of the cultural Marxists.

 

[Emster23]

 I almost find it funny that this regressive social dinosaur nut bag party (summary of description, not my opinion) holds beliefs such as: " It recently backed the right of a Belfast bakery to refuse to make a cake with a gay rights slogan and proposed a law to allow religious business people to refuse to serve people where that would conflict with their religious beliefs."

 This is exactly same position as religious whacks and Republican party in USA.

[RickBradford]

Just now, Emster23 said:

 I almost find it funny that this regressive social dinosaur nut bag party (summary of description, not my opinion) holds beliefs such as: " It recently backed the right of a Belfast bakery to refuse to make a cake with a gay rights slogan and proposed a law to allow religious business people to refuse to serve people where that would conflict with their religious beliefs."

 This is exactly same position as religious whacks and Republican party in USA.

Do you think it is correct to legally force private businesses and individuals to do things which go against their conscience?

[NanLaew]

13 minutes ago, RickBradford said:

Do you think it is correct to legally force private businesses and individuals to do things which go against their conscience?

Who does that then?

[oxo1947]

 

[oxo1947]

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The cartoon showed a member of the order in a trademark black bowler hat

OK I will keep an eye open for them...................

.

Edited June 10, 2017 by oxo1947

[RickBradford]

14 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Who does that then?

The Northern Ireland authorities, for one. See the Ashers Bakery case.

 

The US state of Oregon, the US state of Colorado. No doubt others.

 

The cases are similar. Private individuals being forced to act against their conscience by the law. In the Oregon case, the couple running the bakery were accused of "mental rape."

[Bannoi]

I was brought up and lived in Northern Ireland, I forecast this is a coalition that will not work, the Tory's will pay dear for any votes they get from them even getting all ten to vote together on the same issue at the same time could be a struggle.

 

Theresa May is history Tory knives are being honed razor sharp, the pubic doesn't really want another election it's now time for party politics to be put aside and all MP's to work together in the country's interest.

 

It wont happen and it could very well inflame the situation in Northern Ireland if not handled very carefully the republicans will be watching and scrutinizing any deal done between the Tory's and DUP.

 

Sinn Fein has seven seats but wont sit in Westminster because in order to do so they would have to swear allegiance to the Queen.

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, RickBradford said:

The Northern Ireland authorities, for one. See the Ashers Bakery case.

So you agree with this fanciful claim by the Independent that people could be legally forced to do things they disagree with? Such fantasies as, "Ashers can be legally forced to aid the promotion of same-sex marriage against their wishes, it also implies that gay bakers could be forced by law to decorate cakes with homophobic slogans." and "a Muslim printer could be obliged to publish cartoons of Mohammed and a Jewish printer could be required to publish a book that propagates Holocaust denial."

 

Yeah, I guess the DUP could be up for (most of) that.

 

[allane]

People's consciences are irrelevant where conscience conflicts with law.  Otherwise, you get people saying "My conscience requires me to rob the bank from time to time."

[Bannoi]

What most people fail to understand is that whilst northern Ireland is part of the UK it is in fact in another time warp its living in the past the way distant past with its beliefs and traditions.

 

Some of which most people nowadays would consider archaic and outdated but to the people of Northern Ireland their beliefs and traditions define who they are and they are quite prepared to die defending them if necessary.

 

Theresa May is going to have a hard time trying to fathom them get one thing wrong and they will turn their back on her.

[dunroaming]

Clearly the DUP will appeal to some of the posters on here and some of them are already praising them. No surprises there.  May doesn't  care what the DUP stand for as they are just about the only party who would get into bed with her and she is desperate.  It will be interesting though to see just what concessions May has to make to them to get them to sign on the bottom line.

[mrdome]

4 hours ago, RickBradford said:

Do you think it is correct to legally force private businesses and individuals to do things which go against their conscience?

[Obviously, we are not talking about drunk, misbehaving/breaking the law customers, so let's get that out of the way from the start.]

 

Not sure if you have thought this all the way through because at the end of your thinking stands discrimination as prohibited by law, for example, "we don't serve/rent to, etc. ... <insert skin color/minority of your choice>".

 

So, to answer your question, the right to not be discriminated against legally stands above that of the single business owner to select their customers.

[Pdaz]

British voters wake up and ask, "Who the <deleted> was dumb enough to believe Jeremy Corbyn's pipe dream manifesto"

 

 

[Basil B]

8 hours ago, rooster59 said:

"WHO ARE THE DUP?"

Ultra right wing none Catholic Christians... 

Founded by Ian Paisley, and Hell hath no fury like Ian Paisley...

[dunroaming]

22 minutes ago, Pdaz said:

British voters wake up and ask, "Who the <deleted> was dumb enough to believe Jeremy Corbyn's pipe dream manifesto"

 

 

Kensington and Chelsea (the last to declare) have fallen to Labour.  Never thought I would see that happen, I lived there for many years before moving to Thailand.

 

British voters did wake up and voted against Theresa May and there was nothing dumb about that!

[oxo1947]

Oh, Theresa, caught between the devil and the D.U.P..............

[mrfill]

5 hours ago, RickBradford said:

The DUP wants to scrap the mandatory licence fee which British people are forced to pay in order to watch television, and which funds the relentlessly anti-British propaganda organisation Broadcasting Beyond Contempt (BBC) to the tune of £4 billion per year.

 

Excellent sentiments.

 

The British still prefer to pay  £145 a year for 4 acclaimed advert free TV stations and a full network of radio stations, rather than pay an American naturalised Australian, who pays no UK tax, for a few more imported channels of garbage, littered with adverts and vile news propaganda, for £720 a year.

It takes immense stupidity to not recognise a great deal.