The Student Room Group
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>

Shouldn't only people of UK heritage be able to vote in the eu referendum?

Scroll to see replies

Original post by nulli tertius
But would it rule out the great grandson of an Irishman and a Japanese woman such as Ian Duncan Smith?

What about a descendent of French Huguenot refugees and penniless German immigrants such as Nigel Farage?


Lol, Farage the descendant of religious refugees teamed up with Boris the Turk is the biggest irony of the whole situation.
I understand your point totally but I don't think this will ever happen.
why everyone being facetious about the indigenous population. u know wat i mean. celts and anglo saxon descendants are more than entitled to vote and i would class both as indigenous as they have been here for hundreds of years. that polish skank who came here 10 years ago is not british
Original post by magicelephant
why everyone being facetious about the indigenous population. u know wat i mean. celts and anglo saxon descendants are more than entitled to vote and i would class both as indigenous as they have been here for hundreds of years. that polish skank who came here 10 years ago is not british


Actually yes they are. Even if you've come here from the EU you don't just turn up and automatically get citizenship. You have to meet a certain set of criteria, apply and be approved, unlike you're 'indigenous' population that just happened to be born on this piece of land rather than any other.
Original post by magicelephant
the new immigrants from outside the eu shouldnt get a vote either they arent british or english

how about u **** off


Original post by magicelephant
its not racist that the people who built up this country and who are actually british get to decide on britains future
You keep on thinking that mate. Just remember that a lot of this country's culture, including your favourite 'British' fish n' chips, tea and Marks and Spencer, originated from countries outside the UK.
Original post by magicelephant
Surely all the new immigrants who have gained citizenship will just vote to remain in the EU. surely it should only be the indigenous population of britain who decide whether or not to stay in the EU?


why do you think they came here they can live in europe as you get paid far better over here
OP suggests EU immigrants circa 10 years ago predicted the EU referendum was going to happen sometime in 2016 so they migrated to the UK to be illegible to vote for the referendum to prevent the UK from leaving the European Union.

OP also suggests that most 'British' people would be voting for a Brexit, in which case the 18% of EU immigrants who have obtained a PR wouldn't really influence the votes.

Also something to reflect:
If immigrants came to the United Kingdom to be able to provide a better future for their families would they really want the worst for this country? This will depends on who you may ask. Some people say remain is the worst thing for the UK, whilst others say staying would be terrible for the UK.

The point is, there aren't many facts to support each side, and everyone has their own views about things. It would be nice if we could all just accept each other, rather than name-calling, blaming and insulting people based on their origins.

I don't plan to discuss advantages and disadvantages of whatever side you want to choose. Most people have already made their minds up, so keep it to yourself, don't be a racists (it's not a nice attribute to have in the 21st century) and wait for the results.
Original post by Gwilym101
You are aware the british isles entire history is of being conquered by or conquering other nations, any definition of UK heritage is going to be arbitrary at best.


Indigenous British are ethnically western Europeans, the Celts, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Picts, Normans and a few others established what we now know as Britain and British culture. I'm sick of people trying to belittle British culture by claiming it non-existent. It's a joke. Everyother culture is glorified in this failed multicultural experiment, while British culture is degraded and trampled on.
Original post by Fractite
Sorry did I say 82%?

I meant 18%.

But very few people are actually from Britain originally.
The vast majority of the population come from some other country, whether they arrived recently or hundreds (or even thousands) of years ago.


I'm guessing OP means non-white UK citizens, so that's 13%, not 18%.

Personally I don't see why Britons living abroad should not be allowed to vote, they are blocked from voting in the EU referendum.

Arguably we should also be giving places like Monaco the vote, as most of British wealth is held there.
Even if yes, it depends what you mean by 'UK heritage'...
Reply 50
Avatar for Olie
Olie
20
Original post by magicelephant
why everyone being facetious about the indigenous population. u know wat i mean. celts and anglo saxon descendants are more than entitled to vote and i would class both as indigenous as they have been here for hundreds of years. that polish skank who came here 10 years ago is not british


No, I don't think even you know what you mean, the idea that only people with Celtic or Anglo-Saxon ancestry should be eligible to vote is absolutely absurd, how exactly would your idea work, do you think we should trace back every UK citizen's ancestry 1000 years to work out whether they're eligible to vote in the referendum or not? Do you have any idea how difficult that would be? Don't you see how ridiculous and impractical your suggestion is?

You would have been better off being honest and straight about it and saying you don't want non-white people voting in the referendum because that's what's going on here, instead of all this vague, nonsensical 'indigenous population' crap. You may not like the fact that a black person can be in every sense of the word 'British', but they can, and many non-whites in this country have been here for decades and decades and lived in this country all their lives and contributed to this country just as much as your 'indigenous population'. They're just as entitled to vote in this referendum as you are.
Original post by dmcalinden
Indigenous British are ethnically western Europeans, the Celts, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Picts, Normans and a few others established what we now know as Britain and British culture. I'm sick of people trying to belittle British culture by claiming it non-existent. It's a joke. Everyother culture is glorified in this failed multicultural experiment, while British culture is degraded and trampled on.


Well you're certainly one for putting words in other peoples mouths aren't you.

No one is degrading british culture most people who've glanced at a history book once and awhile just realise out culture is an amalgation of cultures through out history, some cultures originated here, others from neighbouring countries, others from further afield. That's what hapens when you spend thousands of years being conquered and then become the single largest empire in history yourself.

In terms of the referendum this definition you've suggested would be hugely arbitrary and grossly unfair as millions of people wouldn't be able to vote even though their families have been in the country for hundreds of years.
Personally, I can see the merits of limiting only to those with a Masters degree. At least there would be considered debate instead of this sort of silly Daily-Mail-headline racist/xenophobic inflammatory nonsense.
Original post by magicelephant
why should i? english people didnt get a say in scottish referendum and we've been in a union for hundreds of years. why the **** should a large portion of people who feel no ****ing allegiance towards this country vote on its future?

English people did not get a say in the Scottish referendum in the same way Germany isn't voting in the UK's EU referendum. So in a way, you are a huge hypocrite. You wanted to vote in a referendum that had nothing to do with you but you don't want other people voting in your referendum because you think it has nothing to do with them.

Cognitive dissonance at its finest.
Original post by magicelephant
who cares about popularity

why should i? english people didnt get a say in scottish referendum and we've been in a union for hundreds of years. why the **** should a large portion of people who feel no ****ing allegiance towards this country vote on its future?

English people who are scottish citizens did you div.
Future leader of BNP, doesnt know what he's talking about but hey, all you need to be is racist right?
Original post by Gwilym101
Well you're certainly one for putting words in other peoples mouths aren't you.

No one is degrading british culture most people who've glanced at a history book once and awhile just realise out culture is an amalgation of cultures through out history, some cultures originated here, others from neighbouring countries, others from further afield. That's what hapens when you spend thousands of years being conquered and then become the single largest empire in history yourself.

In terms of the referendum this definition you've suggested would be hugely arbitrary and grossly unfair as millions of people wouldn't be able to vote even though their families have been in the country for hundreds of years.


Yes, but English culture is an amalgamation of those ethnic groups i mentioned, they established what is English culture. It was those groups, who settled and built communities in Britain before what became known as Britishness who are indigenous British.

Also, I proposed nothing in relation to the referendum. I don't mind non-indigenous people voting, i only know they won't vote in the interests of the indigenous culture.
Original post by dmcalinden
Also, I proposed nothing in relation to the referendum. I don't mind non-indigenous people voting, i only know they won't vote in the interests of the indigenous culture.


By the interest of the indigenous culture, I'm assuming that you mean Brexit?

If so, not true. I know a few non-EU immigrants who are voting Leave and I just found this:

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/eu-referendum-british-indians-could-swing-outcome-majority-set-vote-against-brexit-1561528

I disagree with your assumption of what the interest of the indigenous culture is anyway. I believe the White British population is close to being evenly split over the EU.
I'm quited pissed that I can't vote, I'm of german nationality but have lived in England for over 10 years, surely that would allow me the right to vote but apparently not...
1) what you are saying is stupid

2) you can't really be a 'new' immigrant and gain citizenship, you must have been in the country for at least 5 years (unless you're married to a citizen)

3) what do you think indigenous means? not all people of non-uk heritage are immigrants. where do you suppose those of us born in the uk of minority ethnicity should vote, as you believe we shouldn't vote in the uk on the basis of our ethnicity. do you feel we should be disenfranchised from democracy completely, apparently we shouldn't vote here so are we supposed to vote in the countries that our grandparents emigrated from 60 years ago that we've never lived in? that doesn't make sense.

If you have British citizenship that means you were either born here, or you've lived here more than long enough for you to consider it as your one home. That is enough to be able to engage in democracy.

Most of the British population, even if white, are unlikely to be 'indigenous' to Britain. The movement of people throughout history has been extensive, different groups occupying the UK, including Romans, Celts (originally from central Europe), Normans from France, Vikings from Scandinavia, all who have been in the UK for hundreds of years. Also, a white European who gains citizenship is 'White British' , the same legal ethnicity as the 'indigenous' british, so many people who are 'White British' are going to be relatively recent immigrants from Europe, so really all you are suggesting is cutting out voters with heritage from Africa/Asia. How will you determine who is 'indigenous'? And why is the opinion of someone more important just because their great great grandad was born in the UK. We are all citizens and most of us have lived here our whole or most of our lives.

4) one again, you are stupid. also racist and xenophobic.

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you