Questions tagged [united-kingdom]

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
44 votes
1 answer
8k views

Is austerity in the UK responsible for "120,000" extra deaths?

The UK government has been implementing tight constraints on public spending to attempt to recover from the 2008 financial crash and bailout. But this austerity is controversial. A recent report in ...
matt_black's user avatar
  • 56.1k
21 votes
1 answer
7k views

Do green grapes cause more accidents on the London Underground than banana peels?

In Teary Deary's Horrible Histories: London, he claims that green grapes cause more accidents on the London Underground (I presume subway) than banana peels. This claim is also repeated in several ...
Fluidized Pigeon Reactor's user avatar
14 votes
1 answer
2k views

Has immigration from Eastern Europe impacted UK youth unemployment?

MigrationWatch UK is a think-tank that argues for lower immigration levels into the UK. In a 2012 Briefing Paper they claimed: Youth unemployment in the UK increased by almost 450,000 in the ...
AnthonyBlake's user avatar
98 votes
2 answers
18k views

Are refugees in the UK holidaying in the countries they fled from?

According to UK Conservative MP Adam Holloway, quoted in the Daily Express: “Likewise, we have people in this country who have come here, claimed asylum and then go back on holiday in the places ...
gerrit's user avatar
  • 17.7k
38 votes
2 answers
2k views

Are exams getting easier, or are students getting smarter?

There is an interesting trend in test scores in exams (GCSE and A-level) in the UK: they are increasing, or so the trend in the grades would tend to show. This is known as grade inflation and affects ...
Thomas O's user avatar
  • 11.9k
31 votes
3 answers
28k views

Does Queen Elizabeth II own 6,600 million acres of land?

According to WhoOwnsTheWorld.com, Queen Elizabeth II owns 6,600 million acres. They claim, Largest five personal landowners on Earth Queen Elizabeth II 6,600 million acres King Abdullah ...
Evan Carroll's user avatar
  • 29.5k
29 votes
2 answers
41k views

Were over 3000 persons arrested in Britain for social media posts in 2018?

In 2019, John Anderson interviewed Konstantin Kisin. The discussion is transcribed by me. I is the interviewer and K is for Konstantin. K: In Russia last year 400 people were arrested for things that ...
pinegulf's user avatar
  • 6,552
24 votes
1 answer
3k views

Are crop circles man-made?

Every summer in England crop circles make the news for a few days. But journalists never really attempt to "solve" the question of who is responsible. source Are crop circles man-made? How?
Richard Stelling's user avatar
18 votes
2 answers
19k views

Did there use to be a law that made attempted suicide a capital offence punishable by hanging in Britain?

This one seem to be all over trivia lists, but I'm having trouble finding a reference to anything credible. The claim goes something like this: According to a British law passed in 1845, [attempted]...
Kit Sunde's user avatar
  • 18.6k
17 votes
1 answer
63k views

Was David Cameron linked to "Hang Nelson Mandela" posters in the 1980s?

A post circulating Facebook and elsewhere reads: Nelson Mandela will die soon. Today, tomorrow, this week, next week. It won't be long. Remember this, he out-lived Thatcher. When he does die, and ...
slim's user avatar
  • 1,249
16 votes
1 answer
6k views

Was 17 the average life expectancy in Liverpool in the 1850s?

DK History of Britain and Ireland: The Definitive Visual Guide (2011) claims: 17 The average life expectancy in years in Liverpool during the 1850s. High infant mortality depressed the figure, as did ...
user avatar
16 votes
1 answer
2k views

Does the UK send the EU £350 million a week?

I got this propaganda leaflet through my door today, this has been widely claimed by parties in favor of the British EU referendum: We send the EU £350 million a week - let's fund our NHS instead ...
Sklivvz's user avatar
  • 78.6k
9 votes
1 answer
781 views

Has freedom of movement of people lead to a reduction in wages and worsening of working conditions in the UK?

Has freedom of movement of people lead to a reduction of wages, and a worsening of working conditions, in the UK? From 'If you've got money, you vote in ... if you haven't got money, you vote out' ...
Andrew Grimm's user avatar
  • 38.9k
7 votes
1 answer
882 views

Has the Council of Europe called for the banning of British newspapers mentioning when a terrorist is Muslim?

From the Daily Mail: European human rights chiefs order the British press NOT to reveal when terrorists are Muslims in crackdown on freedom of speech European human rights chiefs have told the ...
Andrew Grimm's user avatar
  • 38.9k
7 votes
0 answers
503 views

Did Master Stone Masons have to Bow to the King?

I have heard this multiple times, including in a documentary once. The claim is that the Master Stonemason, in historic times, did not have to bow to the King (generally implied to be from the British ...
Jonathon's user avatar
  • 1,344
6 votes
1 answer
348 views

Are the 2016 UK guidelines on alcohol consumption evidence based?

The UK government issues public health advice about how much booze people ought to consume. It has recently revised those guidelines. The previous guidelines were the subject of this SK.SE question: ...
matt_black's user avatar
  • 56.1k
5 votes
1 answer
1k views

Are the UK and Sweden in violation of international law with respect to detaining Julian Assange?

According to https://freeassangenow.org/faq and https://justice4assange.com/: Why do the UK and Sweden disobey international law? There is a conflict between the United Kingdom’s obligations to the ...
ike's user avatar
  • 4,960
4 votes
3 answers
2k views

Is it probable that the UK COVID-19 death count will eclipse China's? [closed]

The BBC News on March 25 cited a "best case" projected death-count for COVID-19 as 20,000: it is hoped the steps which have been taken, which are essentially about suppressing the virus, ...
Antonius Gavin's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
480 views

Did Massachusetts assume "a right to treat the Indians on the footing of Canaanites or Amelekites"?

According to the 1855 The Jesuit Missions of Paraguay page 13: the first planters of the state of Massachusetts expressly assumed for themselves a right to treat the Indians on the footing of ...
DavePhD's user avatar
  • 105k
2 votes
2 answers
815 views

Is 2016 cursed for celebrities? [closed]

Here in the UK, it seems like every single day this year there has been another celebrity death. Before we have chance to mourn them or celebrate their achievements, another one pops off. People are ...
Simon's user avatar
  • 139