Do YOU count the UK as one country or separate entities?

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TheTackleZone@reddit

So, as others have said - both, depending on context. But here's a thing that weirded me out. My partner is an immigrant who attained citizenship. And that means that they are British, but *not* English, Scottish, Welsh, or Irish. There's something about that I can't quite wrap my head around, haha.

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NotOnlyMyEyeIsLazy@reddit

Technically British is the nationality - English/Scottish/Welsh/Irish are regional identities not nationalities (as per British Nationality Act 1981)

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Quick-Obligation-504@reddit

I consider myself English despite being an immigrant, just not by blood. I will be a British citizen, but I adjusted to England specifically as opposed to Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.

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DefinitelyARealHorse@reddit

I agree. If an immigrant spends 99% of their time in The UK in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales, they can count themselves as English, Scottish, Irish or Welsh as far as I’m concerned. We’re all Brits (except the Irish) at the end of the day.

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Quick-Obligation-504@reddit

And even then in NI, if they choose to be.

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jetjebrooks@reddit

If you're Northern Irish then you're British, it's not really a choice.

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TheTackleZone@reddit

I think in the Good Friday agreement everyone was given the choice to be one, the other, or both?

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jetjebrooks@reddit

the good friday agreement is overriden by the british nationality act of 1981. if you were born in northern irelandthen you are officially a british citizen, and, importantly, not an irish citizen. so no, your nationality is not determined by personal choice, but rather by birthright.

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MikeT84T@reddit

You're mixing up nationality with citizenship. One is an identity, the other is legal status. Lots of people live in Britain who wouldn't consider themselves British by nationality, because they were born and raised somewhere else. Similarly, most Brits wouldn't consider them British, either. Also, the vast majority of Scots do not consider ourselves British. We're Scottish. That's our one and only national identity. The UK government, as inept as it is, understands this little, which is why we're asked what our national identity is on the census. It's a multiple choice option. We could have chosen British. We could have chosen British and Scottish. And/or other. But we chose Scottish-only. Just 12% chose British in any variation.

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jetjebrooks@reddit

theres not much to say about personal national identity because its a subjective thing that anyone can say whatever they want about. you can identify as ugandan if you want to but at the end of the day you are british whether you personally identify as so or not. fyi that number is about 22%, not 12%

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MikeT84T@reddit

You're still not getting it. "You're British" No. I am a citizen of the UK. I'm Scottish. Though why someone who considers themselves British would want to include those of us who have no respect for it, care about it, or see themselves as British, would want someone to nevertheless, identify as one, is beyond me. It's ironic because if I was a Jihadist or something, I'd be told very quickly, how very much not British I am. If someone living in Scotland, were adamant that they weren't Scottish and didn't feel Scottish, or care about Scotland, I wouldn't be so insistent that they identify as Scottish. But then maybe I'm just not that desperate to try to force an identity on people who don't identify with it. "22% not 12% A chunk of that figure is including people born in rUK. The Scots who consider themselves British and Scottish is 8%. The other figure largely lines up with the number of people from England and Wales living in Scotland, who themselves are more likely to identify as British than Scots. It'll also include those with parents from a mix between England/Scotland/Wales/Ireland

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jetjebrooks@reddit

as i said i am not talking about identity because you can choose to identify as an ancient egyptian. i can't argue with personal subjectiveness but you are british whether you like it or not, or whether i like it or not. it's not an opinion. have a look at your passport, for one.

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MikeT84T@reddit

Then in what other sense does it make to say I'm British, when you're not talking about my identity? Think about it. You are referring to my identity. My passport says I am a CITIZEN of the UNITED KINGDOM. You're telling me I am British based on geography, but you're using a legal document that covers a political union, not Great Britain. Great Britain is the island, the United Kingdom is a political union, which includes an area not in Great Britain. And it's on that basis that passports are issued. You're saying I am British, but you haven't justified it. You haven't explained why I'm British. Is it based on where I live? So if someone moved to the Uk tomorrow, at the age of 75. The first time they've been in the UK, they're now British? They can get a passport if they become a citizen. Or maybe it's based on where you're born. So a couple on holiday, in the UK, the woman's pregnant, goes into labour here and has her baby. They fly away a couple of days later and never return. Is that baby British? Or is it based on who your parents are? So again, you might never have stepped foot in the UK, but because at least one of your parents had, then you're British, despite possibly knowing nothing about it? No, all these are subjective and make little sense when you examine them. That's why identity is subjective. Citizenship is a fact of law. I'm not arguing I am not a UK citizen. I'm arguing I'm not British.

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jetjebrooks@reddit

>My passport says I am a CITIZEN of the UNITED KINGDOM. This may surprise you - but it doesn't. Try and find where it says that. There is no such thing as a "united Kingdom citizen", It's British citizen. British citizen is the term. On the main page of your passport it says "Nationality: British Citizen". Have a look. By the British Nationality Act of 1981 it sets out the term for British Citizen. There is no usage of "united kingdom citizen". It's British Citizen. >Then in what other sense does it make to say I'm British, when you're not talking about my identity? Think about it. In the sense of nationality. >I'm arguing I'm not British. As long as you are a citizen of the United Kingdom then you are also British. They go hand in hand. You are legally British mate - Sorry to break it to you. If you don't want to be British then you need to renounce your citizenship.

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MikeT84T@reddit

>This may surprise you - but it doesn't. Try and find where it says that. Interesting. You must have a different type of passport then. The one below says the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain/British is only a part of it, it also includes Northern Ireland, which is not part of Great Britain, not the island or Ireland. Nor do half of them identify as British, but Irish. Are they wrong too? Or just Scots "British citizen" Thank you. You've repeated what I have been telling you for several comments. I am not disputing what my citizenship is. Though, technically, I am a citizen of the United Kingdom, not Great Britain. Great Britain is not a nation or a legal entity, but a geographical one. I am a citizen of the UK. And so is anyone who moves here, even if they're 78 years old. Their British passport says "British citizen". But few people would argue that their national identity is British. So this whole passport argument is invalid. > In the sense of nationality. Google the definition of nationality. I can't keep explaining this to you. You can't take identity out of nationality. You are arguing about identity. And while you're googling that, google "national identity". You'll find that it's a completely separate thing from citizenship, which is what you've been arguing about all along, despite it being explained to you, that I am not discussing my citizenship. You people also need to make your mind up about what exactly you're calling "British" isn't the political union, or simply a geographical term. They're different things.

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jetjebrooks@reddit

>British citizen" is being used a shorthand for citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. There is no country called "Britain". Just like there's no country called "America", but people will call their passports "American". It's not a shorthand! It's literally the actual term! The term is British citizen. Not "United Kingdom citizen". BRITISH PASSPORT is right there in bold letters at the very top of the passport on the cover. First words you see. BRITISH CITIZEN is right there on your profile page inside the passport, under NATIONALITY. "UNITED STATE OF AMERICA" is right there on the cover of their passports and on the inside under NATIONALITY too because that is their official term. There is no "American passport" or "American citizen" on or in their passports because that WOULD be a shorthand and not an official term. Both passports use the official terms. They don't use shorthand terms. >But few people would argue that their national identity is British. No one should be arguing that their nationality is British though. It says so right there on their passport. Forget bout identity, I've already told you that's a subjective personal opinion with no backing. >You can't take identity out of nationality. You don't need to take it out because it was never there to begin with. If you are a British citizen then you are British, regardless of how you identify. >I'd happily give up my citizenship and my UK passport tomorrow, and look forward to the day I throw it out, and replace it with a Scottish one. And until that day comes you will continue to be a BRITISH PERSON holding a BRITISH PASSPORT.

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MikeT84T@reddit

> The term is British citizen. Not "United Kingdom citizen". To describe the citizens of the united Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Just as there is no "UKish" which would be a more accurate term than British. Some words are used instead of others, even when technically they're incorrect. There's no country or legal entity called "Britain". All this shows is that even that governments use words and terms incorrectly. There is no country called Britain, and no country called America. There are citizens of the United Kingdom, and the United States. And I'm not refuting that. > You don't need to take it out because it was never there to begin with. If you are a British citizen then you are British, regardless of how you identify. No, I'm a citizen of the UK. I'm not British by national identity, which even the useless UK government gets, hence the question being a multiple choice on the census. The citizenship is a legal fact. You're either a citizen or you're not. National identity is an entirely separate question. Not that it makes any difference. Ask Russia if Ukraine is truly part of their union. Ask Israel if Palestine is Israeli territory. Ask the Chinese about Taiwan. Ask the Muslims if we're all born Muslims according to their religion. Ask the Christians if their messiah died for your sins. Hey, must be true, because it's written in their scriptures and billions believe it. It makes no difference in actuality, though, because I, like the vast majority of Scots, shun "British" identity. It means nothing to us, regardless of what a government elected by a foreign electorate claims. >No one should be arguing that their nationality is British though. It says so right there on their passport. And most Brits would disagree with you. 37% vs 49% https://preview.redd.it/bmzg6whjt19f1.png?width=1290&format=png&auto=webp&s=c76a44355a032ddaa3f2ea21f541d16ae95e78e6 Same is true by country too. fewer than a third of Scots, and a quarter of English people believe that simply living in their country is enough to make you English or Scottish.

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jetjebrooks@reddit

>No, I'm a citizen of the UK. I'm not British by national identity, British citizen - yes British nationality - yes British national identity - your choice These are the facts >The citizenship is a legal fact. You're either a citizen or you're not. Nationality is also a legal fact. You either have British nationality or you don't. Google the British Nationality Act of 1981. Or better yet - go officially renounce your British nationality. If it's all just this vague personal choice and subjective thing that you keep saying it is then it shouldn't be a big deal nor have any serious ramifications. Renounce your British nationality and give it up like you want to. ---- There's only so many times I can repeat the facts of reality to you. You can have the last word.

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MikeT84T@reddit

British (**UK)** citizen - yes ~~British nationality - yes~~ ~~British~~ national identity, Scottish These are the facts I refer you to my previous comment on what the British government claim vs what the Scottish people say. When it comes to our identities, what Scots claim their identity is, is all that matters when it comes to defining our identity. An identity that a government tries to force on a group of people, doesn't count, and rarely works, and hasn't worked after three centuries of trying. And, as I previously pointed out. Under your model, it's subject to the whim of a government. Your "Britishness" can be cancelled. Under mine, it can't. I'm not sure if it comes across as desperate, or imperialistic, when an outside, aggressive force tries to impose its own made up identity on a population who point-blank refuse it. Probably a bit of both.

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Psyk60@reddit

People from Northern Ireland do have the option of taking up Irish citizenship and renouncing their British citizenship. So they do have a choice, although I don't suppose many people bother doing that.

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jetjebrooks@reddit

That is true

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Quick-Obligation-504@reddit

Pretty much, with the caveat being if you were born in NI. Brits can live in the Republic visa-free but they still need to go through the process to become citizens.

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jetjebrooks@reddit

this is not correct. see my post above

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Occamsfacecloth@reddit

Wrong again

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jetjebrooks@reddit

how so?

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MikeT84T@reddit

A lot of people in Northern Ireland absolutely do consider themselves Irish, and calling them British would be fighting words.

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watryatalkinabout@reddit

English is an ethnicity as well as a nationality. So no, you're not english. British, sure, but not english.

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Basteir@reddit

Aye, they would be English, nationality wise. What you wrote is contradictory.

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RRC_driver@reddit

I have a friend who is from the Channel Islands (specifically Jersey) and is a citizen but not British.

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Quick-Obligation-504@reddit

Yeah I know mate, not an issue to me.

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R2-Scotia@reddit

Scottish is a mindset not a birth certificate

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MikeT84T@reddit

I literally have a Scottish birth certificate. https://preview.redd.it/4fasyzpp9t8f1.jpeg?width=634&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f495b0fadddb67c2318c6bbff063d378f522215d

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NoisyGog@reddit

Oh, that’s interesting!

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After-Anybody9576@reddit

It's really one country. The sports team thing is a weird anomaly that would never be allowed if you were trying to justify it from scratch today. Nothing else really makes the "nations" any special compared to regions or states in other countries. Only reason we continue to pretend is because doing otherwise stirs up nationalistic sentiment in Scotland.

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MikeT84T@reddit

You mean we in Scotland are still proud of our actual country, and not the faux one we're held hostage in? The UK is not my country and never has been. I couldn't care less about it. Scotland's my one and only country. And we will secure our independence.

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After-Anybody9576@reddit

So the UK, an actual country = faux country Yet Scotland, not a country, with a culture consisting totally of Victoriana cooked up by Londonites, based around solely Highlanders who were backwards feudalists despised by the bulk of the Scottish population even at the time = your "actual country". lol ok.

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MikeT84T@reddit

No child. The UK is a UNION between four members. Scotland, on the other hand, is the oldest country in that union.

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After-Anybody9576@reddit

Except, constitutionally it isn't. There's the single Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Scotland isn't a separate member sorry to say, hence why the full name of our country is "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", not "The United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland". Scotland ceased to exist in 1707, which was a little while ago now to still be going on about it...

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MikeT84T@reddit

There's more than one definition of a country. Scotland's people are still sovereign. Again, you're talking about nation states and now kingdoms, not countries. Scotland was an independent country for most of its history, and will soon be, again. As support for the union continues to drop. It was above 60% 20 years ago. It was 55% 11 years ago, and in the latest polls, it's between 41 and 46%. Even more damning for the unionist cause is that most of that support is among those over 55. Those under 50 are strongly for independence. "Scotland ceased to exist.." as a sovereign state. Not a country. You know, Google is a click away. There really is no excuse for such ignorance. Even the useless UK government admits there are four countries in the union, no matter how much they'd love to deny it. And btw, keep it up though. Tell every Scot you meet that Scotland's not a country, you're doing us a favour, and pushing more and more Scots towards independence.

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After-Anybody9576@reddit

I love how you've exactly proved my point. We all just say it's a country because doing otherwise riles up the Scots... Well demonstrated.

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MikeT84T@reddit

Aw bless, that's all you have? You should have saved the effort. That was pathetic. And not just pathetic for that, but for trying desperately to cling on to Scotland, like the divorced dad who refuses to let his wife go, even though she doesn't love him.

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MikeT84T@reddit

From the shitty UK government's own webpage. https://preview.redd.it/1a6g28ojkt8f1.png?width=896&format=png&auto=webp&s=8e4a0ae9ee2699ac3c4bcf301df1632dea8b2e5d

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Acrobatic-Pudding-87@reddit

Correct. Note that in the sports we didn’t invent we compete as GB. It’s only in football, rugby* and cricket** that we’re separate and that’s because we decided what counted as a country and we don’t want to merge now because currently the UK has 4 votes at FIFA and IFAB instead of one. *NI is with Ireland here—no separate team **England and Wales compete together here; NI with Ireland

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Guerrenow@reddit

Of course they're separate countries

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lets_chill_food@reddit

uhhh, plenty of us non-english would say “we’re all just the same country”

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Guerrenow@reddit

You're English.

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lets_chill_food@reddit

I’m northern irish

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MikeT84T@reddit

Yeah that makes sense. Northern Irish unionists, are definitely the most cucked,

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lets_chill_food@reddit

cucked because we know that the UK is a country? 😂

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MikeT84T@reddit

Cucked because they like someone else to parent them.

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lets_chill_food@reddit

oh, i see you’re just bitter you lost in 2014 😂 you’re projecting onto my that you feel like a cuck I’ve lived in NI Scotland and England, and they’re all the same country☺️

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MikeT84T@reddit

Bitter I lost? Nah, bitter we were lied to, and we haven't been delivered to promises made to us. Still, we fight on. Democracy didn't end in 2014. And now, support for the union, in Scotland is consistently below 50%. This is down from 55% in 2014. And down from over 60% in the 00s. It's the unionists who should be bitter. The union's about to disappear, or at least lose a big chunk of it.

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Guerrenow@reddit

Well, that makes more sense now

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Indigo-Waterfall@reddit

Both. Depending on the context.

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TrashbatLondon@reddit

Indeed. Negotiating a trade deal? 1 country. Playing in a football tournament! 4 countries.

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wasdice@reddit

School‽ 3 countries

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neitorp@reddit

Tennis? 1 country

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Appropriate-Cycle-31@reddit

One country, 4 states. I don’t think there is that much that separates us despite the ravings of some independence advocates in Scotland and Wales. Those are my feelings and based upon nothing but my experiences travelling throughout the UK, working with people from every area of the country, and a lifetime of living here.

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MikeT84T@reddit

Let me guess, you're English, right? Not many Scots or Welsh people would say such a thing. Scotland feels very much my home. The UK, England and Wales? Not at all. Different countries. Sure, we share some similarities, but so we do with other NW European countries. But that doesn't make me French. But the English do tend to see everything as theirs - not everyone, but it's a common thought down there. But if I visit England, I'm visiting another country. And if an English person visits Scotland, the same is true.

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Chalkedcue@reddit

You can tell who is English here.

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MikeT84T@reddit

It's those who're calling it the same country. The rest of us clearly see there's four in a union. I'm not English. If I go to England, I won't be in my country any more. Just because we share a union with them, it doesn't make England my country. But some of them are so used to thinking imperially, they don't like the idea that Scotland and Wales aren't their country.

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MikeT84T@reddit

I count it as what it is, a union between four countries. The UK acts as a union state on foreign affairs, but Scotland has its own legal, education and health system. Scotland is my one and only country. And if I visit any other country outside of Scotland, I'm no longer in my own country. Similarly, when someone from Wales, England or Northern Ireland comes to Scotland, they're in another country.

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sjw_7@reddit

Context is key but I see the UK as a single country. All the major administrative functions are centralised and we have one overarching government. There are some legal differences and certainly cultural ones plus when it comes to team sports we are very much separate entities. There are nuances in that its a Union of nations but ones that gave up individual sovereignty several hundred years ago.

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ClevelandWomble@reddit

My attitude is one country, four nations.

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Dense_Appearance_298@reddit

My attitude is one country, three nations, one principality 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

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ClevelandWomble@reddit

I can live with pedantry.

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adreddit298@reddit

>All the major administrative functions are centralised That's not true. A lot of the administrative functions of Wales and Northern Ireland, and especially Scotland, are decentralised. The NHS and education are two massive areas where there are fundamental, material differences in the experience a person receives in Scotland compared to England.

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sjw_7@reddit

I probably should have said government administrative functions. The ones you mention are administered locally but are devolved rather than being completely separate.

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Basteir@reddit

England has a completely separate legal system and education system - it's not devolved, it's just always been completely separate from Scotland's.

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sjw_7@reddit

Yes you are right about the legal systems, they are different but there is a lot of overlap. Education is a devolved matter though and prior to devolution was administered by the UK government.

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Basteir@reddit

The education systems were always different though, despite where two systems may have been administered. For example Scotland had public schools much earlier in the 1600s, I think England only made attendance in public schools mandatory in the 1800s.

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sjw_7@reddit

Doesn't matter if the systems were different, both were administered for a very long time prior to devolution by Westminster. >For example Scotland had public schools much earlier in the 1600s, I think England only made attendance in public schools mandatory in the 1800s. First public school in Scotland was in in the 12th century and in England in the 14th. Neither had mandatory education for everyone until the late 19th century.

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Equal-Competition930@reddit

Both . We like be complicated . I know people in yorkshire who want us to independent purely basing that in last three olympics yorkshire has more medals that rest of uk.. we are truelly odd nation.

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Valuable-Wallaby-167@reddit

Both? I don't count going between them as going abroad though.

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watryatalkinabout@reddit

I'd count going to NI as going abroad. Basically anywhere that isn't on this island is foreign to me.

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Nonutmen1689@reddit

Northern Ireland isn’t abroad you spanner.

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watryatalkinabout@reddit

Is for me. It's another country with a different culture across the water. In what world is it not counted as abroad?

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Nonutmen1689@reddit

Aye yeah like 12 minutes across the water, wales has a different culture from England, is wales abroad?

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watryatalkinabout@reddit

Not really. I'm part welsh and lets be honest, wales has pretty much been an english county for the last few hundred years.

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Nonutmen1689@reddit

“Part Welsh” your only Welsh if your born in wales lol

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mr_iwi@reddit

Like Portsmouth?

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MissingLink101@reddit

I guess Hayling Island near Portsmouth might count too

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watryatalkinabout@reddit

Exactly. Weirdly enough there are quite a few people from people who say they're no english.

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aneirin-@reddit

It's been a couple of years since I've visited England at all and I don't really know it much apart from London and Cornwall. I've been to France, Spain, Italy, and Germany more times than I've been to Scotland, and I've never been to Ireland. Honestly, the rest of Britain feels more foreign to me that most of Europe in some ways.

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Plot-3A@reddit

Four countries with a shared centralised administration for larger issues. Culturally each country is their own entity, competiting separately on the world stage (particularly in sport).

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JackDrawsStuff@reddit

Scotland technically has a national football team, but to consider them *competitive*? C’mon. (Just teasing!).

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Plot-3A@reddit

I consider them to be *competing*. As in participating. Not competitive...

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CrossCityLine@reddit

Only in sports we invented. In almost every other sport the UK competes as 1.

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RooMan93@reddit

I love how Britain will find any arbitrary rules to segregate. For example while watching an argument unfold at my local, somebody used a post code as an insult.

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it_is_good82@reddit

They are clearly more than just states or even regions. They are historically separate nations with their own cultures that are unified into a single legal entity. Though, they clearly aren't different countries in the way that Spain and Portugal are different countries.

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Emergency_Mistake_44@reddit (OP)

This is a good take.

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BG3restart@reddit

For the travel question, I counted them as one country. In the same way, I didn't count the Canary Islands or Balearic Islands as separate from Spain, but as one country.

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Emergency_Mistake_44@reddit (OP)

I see this logic but do Canary or Balearic have different languages, flags and/or rules similar to how Scotland and Wales do? Genuine question, I'm unsure. For me, if I'm correct in that, this makes the UK situation different in my perception at least, even though I know politically/officially otherwise.

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BG3restart@reddit

I think all parts of Spain, including all the mainland autonomous communities, have their own flag. They're always displayed on their houses at religious holidays. The islands don't have different languages, but by that criterion places like Barcelona, Valencia and the Basque region would count as separate countries (which is probably what the separatists want), but they're not.

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rainbow84uk@reddit

I always considered them separate countries, but it gets more complicated living outside the UK. My passport says I'm British, not English, and now I live in a country with regions that have as much autonomy and history as Scotland or Wales, but which aren't considered countries.

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CrossCityLine@reddit

1 country. Just because we call the 4 “countries” as such doesn’t mean they are, not really. They’re much more akin to states or regions. States in Germany have more differences between them than the constituent countries of the UK do but nobody would consider Brandenburg a separate country from Saxony.

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Psyk60@reddit

Interestingly though, the German word for their states is the same word they use for independent countries. So in a sense, German states are countries when speaking German. But they seem to acknowledge that the German word "Land" is not a one to one translation for the English word "country", so they don't call them countries when speaking English.

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Aconite_Eagle@reddit

One. One nation with different regions.

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orcocan79@reddit

for virtually everybody in the world country means sovereign state so the UK is one country because of british exceptionalism, people insist that the constituent parts of the UK must be also called countries as well (else many people get all upset about it), even though they are no more diverse than constituent parts of **dozens** of other countries, which they'd never refer to as countries

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oldt1mer@reddit

Separate countries acting as one. England, Wales and Scotland have some laws that vary slightly from one another.

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Hendersonhero@reddit

Scotland has an entirely different legal system and a Scottish trained lawyer couldn’t practice in England/Wales

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Basteir@reddit

And vice versa. Also only a Scottish trained accountant is counted as a Chartered Accountant with the title of CA in the UK.

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Gildor12@reddit

Even more so for Northern Ireland.

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Scooob-e-dooo8158@reddit

As with most others, but with the extension that I consider myself to be European. Looking forward to the inevitable rejoining with the EU.

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Guerrenow@reddit

I have the extension that I consider myself to be human

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ark19790@reddit

Same country unless there's a Football

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NaughtyDred@reddit

I believe that it's considered a nation of 4 countries. I don't agree, since we have 1 passport, but it is what it is.

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Grand-Ad2183@reddit

Isn’t it the opposite: a country of four nations?

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lets_chill_food@reddit

yes

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Plot-3A@reddit

How would you describe it then?

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NaughtyDred@reddit

Well now that's a harder question.

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CaptMelonfish@reddit

I see us as one nation, which is of course 4 countries.

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SilasMarner77@reddit

A man from Guildford is as different to a man from Glasgow as he is from a Hottentot bushman.

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adreddit298@reddit

I always think of it as one nation of four countries. And we really are that. You could never say that England is the same country as Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, but it's equally as incorrect to state that we're separate nations too. Despite the erstwhile tensions, we really are a United Kingdom.

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shredditorburnit@reddit

Internally we're many countries, externally we're one. Think of it like a family, it's full of individuals but if you pick a fight with one, the rest will absolutely pile in.

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55percent_Unicorn@reddit

Both, depending on context. It's similar to how I might talk about my sister's family or my brother's family, but might also be including them when talking about my family

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secretvictorian@reddit

I definitely have solidarity for the UK as a whole, but equally have a lot of respect for the four seperate countries with their own history and cultures within it.

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Borgmeister@reddit

It's one country. Even if the super-counties think they're countries, they really aren't.

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S1nnah2@reddit

I'm English. Growing up in England (London) I thought of the UK as one country. At 26 I moved to Wales and quickly learnt it really isn't.

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Hendersonhero@reddit

According to the UN, NATO the EU etc. The UK is one country. On the ground however a good chunk of people think of themselves as Scottish, English, Irish or Welsh. For some strange historic reason we have our own sports team in some sports although not the Olympics.

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elom44@reddit

The way I explain it to Americans is that England, Scotland, wales and NI are like individual states and the UK is the USA. We just choose to call those states countries which is really confusing to everyone else. Nations would work better as that’s a bit more open to interpretation. Personally I only think of the UK as a country.

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SituationIcy5938@reddit

Seperate entities. Hard to describe just how much culture and language has been lost through the union.

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mrafinch@reddit

The UK is one country that happens to have four distinct areas, with their own history/culture/language, that were historically independent nations and have legally become a union.

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-You_Cant_Stop_Me-@reddit

One country, or sovereign state, with four nations/nation states.

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Glittering-Round7082@reddit

I really am "British". Born in Wales. English Parents. Scottish ancestors. Joined an Irish Regiment of the British Army. I honestly think the union is something special. I do acknowledge we used to be separate countries but we are definitely better off together.

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Wild-Individual6876@reddit

That depends where you live

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Duchessofpanon@reddit

I can’t be the only person who thinks of Ted Lasso.

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ODFoxtrotOscar@reddit

Yes You need a passport for Pimlico, not Richmond

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pab6407@reddit

Except for the one in God’s own country.

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Birdy8588@reddit

I see them as different countries. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are all very proud to be from *their* countries and of *their* heritage, as they should be. I'm not necessarily saying that we should let them go (that's nothing to do with me!) but I think we should at least have the decency of recognising them as a separate country.

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Empty-Elderberry-225@reddit

As an English person living in Scotland, I would be sent back to England if I told a Scot we're 'from the same country' 😂. Seriously though, there are lots of differences, including within the law, that make England and Scotland very clearly separate countries. I'm less familiar with Wales having only visited, but it felt quite different there as well. So I'd count the UK as 4 separate countries that are united by various aspects.

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Facelessroids@reddit

It’s all the same

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PeterJamesUK@reddit

A sovereign state of four countries

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Acrobatic-Pudding-87@reddit

One, or it isn’t then plenty of other countries that consist of equivalent sub-national entities should also be counted differently. We like to pretend we’re special but we’re not. When I went to Spain, did I go to two countries because I went to Catalonia as well as Madrid? In Germany, is the Free State of Bavaria a country because it has devolved government and a distinct cultural identity?

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Apidium@reddit

It's both.

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Eloquai@reddit

If the context is international politics or international travel (like "How many countries have visited?"), I largely use the 'Pointless' definition of a country, which is a sovereign state that is a member of the UN in its own right. So I wouldn't count trips within the UK as trips between different countries.

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AndreasDasos@reddit

‘Country’ has multiple meanings. If the context clearly implies ‘independent, sovereign nation-state’, then one. But Scotland and Wales are countries in another sense. In yet other senses, so are ‘the country’ and ‘wine country’, etc.

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ODFoxtrotOscar@reddit

Well, to use the Pointless definition, UK is a sovereign state which is a member of the UN So one country. And that it’s made up of different countries, with slightly different systems, policies, government and legal systems is somehow just backdrop.

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Real23Phil@reddit

4 countries, 1 Kingdom

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Upbeat_Map_348@reddit

Really depends on the context. I generally consider my self British (so, you’ve also got the difference between the U.K. and GB to consider) but, when it comes most sports, I consider myself English. I would assume most people generally feel a mixture of the 2 in the same way someone from Barcelona might feel Catalonian as well as Spanish.

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Grand_Chip_9572@reddit

Both, context

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ComprehensiveAd8815@reddit

It’s one entity made up of different countries all with their own distinct identity that all contribute to the overall whole and the diverse and interesting patchwork that brings.

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FootballIsRubbish@reddit

I view them as separate countries, but it's impossible to ignore the fact that they are part of the UK too.

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