Conference tallis::celt

    Hey, you might not like it that much, but John Major is Prime Minister
    of the United Kingdom, not just England.
    
    Who watches Panorama, anyway ?
    

    
    re .1
    
    I refering to the only part of of the "United" Kingdom he cares about.
    
    The "English" Broadcasting Corporation would not have been allowed to
    broadcast this programme in "Britain" two days before an election in
    England.
    

    Do we dare ask what replaced Mr. Major on Panorama?  ;v)

    
    Unfortunately all that replaced Mr Major was a repeat showing of a
    previous Panorama which explained why girls grow up to be smarter than
    boys because they pay more attention at primary school when they are
    five years old.
    
    Now the EBC (English Broadcasting Corporation) could have used the time
    better by explaining to the Scottish public about the �50M PER DAY that
    the Government rakes in from North Sea oil revenue.

hmm... something about chips and shoulders springs to mind...

Chris.

    Well, I'd rather watch a programme about girls than about politics !
    
    Can anybody answer these questions for me ? (I'm just after the
    information, not trying to make any points)
    
    What is the population of Scotland ? (numbers - don't say Scots!)
    
    ditto of England
    
    How many Westminster MPs are Scottish (born in Scotland, not
    necessarily representing a Scottish constituency)
    
    ditto for English-birth MPs (assuming that anyone knows the answers to
    these)
    
    The reason I ask is that whenever I hear an MP on TV (before I can get
    to the channel-changer!) an enormous percentage seem to be Scottish
    (all the 3 main parties). Is the percentage of Scots among MPs higher
    than the percentage of Scots among the inhabitants of Britain ?

Re .5

Chris,
	I agree with you. The EBC does seem to have a chip on its shoulder
	since they seemed determined to get this programme on the air
	before the Scottish elections. They tried to get permission to 
	appeal to the House of Lords and this was turned down too. 
	According to the news last night, the BBC Scotland chief executive
	had sent a memo to John Birt (BBC director general) objecting to the
	Panorama interview timing and his request to have it postponed was
	denied. The Broadcasting Standards Council (the BBC watchdog) also
	raised concerns with Sir Marmaduke Hussey prior to any legal action
	being started in the courts. The court action which took place 
	seemed to be the last resort for the Scottish people.
    

    Re .6
    
    
>    Can anybody answer these questions for me ? (I'm just after the
>   information, not trying to make any points)
    
>    What is the population of Scotland ? (numbers - don't say Scots!)
    
>    ditto of England

	The population of Scotland is approximately 5.5 million people
	and the population of England is approximately 50 million people.
    
>    How many Westminster MPs are Scottish (born in Scotland, not
>    necessarily representing a Scottish constituency)
    
>    ditto for English-birth MPs (assuming that anyone knows the answers to
>    these)

	I don't know the answer to these questions but the number of 
	Scottish parliamentary seats is 76.
    
>    The reason I ask is that whenever I hear an MP on TV (before I can get
>    to the channel-changer!) an enormous percentage seem to be Scottish
>    (all the 3 main parties). Is the percentage of Scots among MPs higher
>    than the percentage of Scots among the inhabitants of Britain ?

	You may have a valid point there. The same is true for professors
	in English Universities, teaching hospitals, senior civil service
	posts, senior policemen etc...

	What you are noticing here is the great leadership abilities of
	the Scots. If you have a look at the names of some of the great
	Canadian, Australian and American politicians throughout the ages
	you will see the Scottish influence there too. It's a pity that,
	according to the Tories, we are incapable of running our own affairs
	from our own Scottish Parliament.
    

re .7,

I was just being facetious (whatever the spelling!)  I think MPs have a
tendency to look after their own constituencies, often at the expense
of other parts of the UK.  Don`t look at England as a whole as a beneficiary,
there`s plenty of bits that have suffered plenty under the present
regime, such as my hometown of Newcastle.

Chris.

    Does that mean you don't mind the Scots running England but you do mind
    the English running Scotland ?            :-)  :-)

I couldn`t care who runs it, as long as they do a better job than
this lot!  :)  (er, I think)

Chris.

>If you have a look at the names of some of the great
>	Canadian, Australian and American politicians throughout the ages
>	you will see the Scottish influence there too.
    
    
    If you have a look at most of the Australian union leaders nowadays
    you'll see a Scot. If they're not Scottish they're Irish. It must be
    something to do with the firey Celtic temperement or the complete lack
    of respect for authority.
    
    Tony.

    
    re. last
    
    maybe it's got something to do with celts having NO respect for
    dictators and authoritarian regimes, unlike the anglo-saxons! History
    proves that celts will not lie down and die for anybody and that
    includes employers. On the other hand we can and often do make the best
    allies.
    
    Bill

    
    And I forgot,
    read the second verse of God Save the F(*(*n Queen if you don't believe
    it.
    
    Irelands battle with colonialism is only a mirror image of what
    happened in Scotland 200 years ago and is now being fought out in the
    ballot box, which is eventually where Ireland's will end up! (IMHO)
    
    Bill