May 2015 UK General Election Campaign.

[The Larch]

Miliband to resign, according to BBC sources.

Milliband, farange, clegg...odd all these "leaders" just quit without trying even to form a coalition.

They have nothing in common except not being tories.

[derspiess]

Milliband, farange, clegg...odd all these "leaders" just quit without trying even to form a coalition.

I thought the Tories got an outright majority

[Admiral Yi]

They have nothing in common except not being tories.

They all have names that sound made up.

[Warspite]

The Scots are not a distinct ethnic group

[Valmy]

Yeah no coalitions this time. David Cameron rules supreme.

What do the Northern Irish parties do? Just hang out? Are they affiliated with one of the British parties?

[Valmy]

The Scots are not a distinct ethnic group

Like most UK people they are not so much an ethnicity as a accent.

[Barrister]

Yeah no coalitions this time. David Cameron rules supreme.

What do the Northern Irish parties do? Just hang out? Are they affiliated with one of the British parties?

Yeah, I don't get why there are still separate NI parties.  I mean peace now reigns, devolution has occurred - other than Sinn Fein why not start supporting the "regular" UK parties?

As for Sinn Fein - since they have signed on to the Good Friday accords and support the current governmental structure (albeit with the long-term goal of having NI join Ireland) why do they continue to boycott their seats?  Surely they would have more influence if they actually sat as MPs?

[Crazy_Ivan80]

The Scots are not a distinct ethnic group

Like most UK people they are not so much an ethnicity as a accent.

such a mindset is not going to keep the Union together.

[derspiess]

As for Sinn Fein - since they have signed on to the Good Friday accords and support the current governmental structure (albeit with the long-term goal of having NI join Ireland) why do they continue to boycott their seats?  Surely they would have more influence if they actually sat as MPs?

Yep.  Their famine is over.  Why don't they go home??

[Habbaku]

The Scots are not a distinct ethnic group

Post level: Tyr.

[Syt]

Results 2010 vs. 2015:

[Admiral Yi]

Lib Dems should cede control to the AI and exit the game.

[Josquius]

The Scots are not a distinct ethnic group

what?
There's far more of a difference culturally between someone from northern and southern England than between Scotland and northern England.
Not to mention the central belt vs. The northern isles.

Scotland being so different is greatly exaggerated by the habit of they and the world taking England to mean the south.

[alfred russel]

Milliband, farange, clegg...odd all these "leaders" just quit without trying even to form a coalition.

I thought the Tories got an outright majority

I was trying to be funny. Probably should stop trying (before the election results came in, and people were predicting Cameron to be PM because the Tories would have the most seats, I was suggesting there could be a coalition against him).

[dps]

Lots of places in many nations have divergent political opinions. That means nothing. In fact it is expected. A country should have divergent polities and local interests.

'Diverged from the UK' does not mean the usual differences between competing parties, it means that the kind of state the Scottish are voting for is markedly different from the kind of state the English are voting for. And "English" and "Scottish" is extremely important here; this is not a US-style culture war where there is a bitter contest between parties who want to control the same political centre. This is becoming a bitter contest where a large number of people in one distinct ethnic group want to leave the country entirely.

That it not like a lot of places - not in the Western world, at least.

I hesitate to say this, because I admit that I don't know enough about Scotland to be sure, but it seems to me that the differences between Scotland and England are far less significant than the differences between the slave and free states in the US in 1860.  And we certainly took exception to the idea that the south could just break away and form an new nation if they wanted.