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.
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Correlation between BSE/CJD and Brexit vote
This image is currently doing the rounds on social media:
The implications and associated text with it is usually around how uncanny (and amusing) the correlation is. What's the source of this data ...
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Did some people in the UK get £100k in benefits?
According to Theresa May quoted in The Guardian, the government introduced Universal Credit because some people were getting up to £100k in benefits:
May says the government introduced UC because ...
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Do (non-British) EU citizens make up 95% of the veterinary workforce in UK food production?
In a complex story about the potential gridlock of a no-deal Brexit, the following claim is made:
[T]he UK could try to move past the immediate chaos of no-deal, pull itself together, and level-up ...
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Is the “climate change” responsible for the 2018 European heatwave? [closed]
The following article Why is Europe going through a heatwave? as well as other articles on the current heatwave in Europe and the British Isles tend to suggest that:
The heatwaves in the northern ...
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Does Great Britain have the lowest state pensions (relative to average wages) in the OECD?
I recently came across this political post on Facebook
It is arguing that Great Britain is the 'worst' in the developed world, and I'm sceptical of a few assertions made here.
UK pensions don't seem ...
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Is British MP and Brexit campaigner Jacob Rees-Mogg receiving support on social media from known Kremlin networks?
This article, which is being linked and shared on Facebook, claims that British MP and Brexit campaigner Jacob Rees-Mogg is receiving support on social media from known Kremlin networks.
Analysis of ...
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Was the UK's drive to acquire civilian metals to use in WW2 necessary for the war effort?
This question was asked here recently:
Were World War II scrap drives in the United States truly necessary for the procurement of raw materials?
And it has produced some very solid analysis and ...
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Is Boris Johnson the only politician in British history to set up a photoshoot of the signing of their own resignation letter?
Tom Watson, deputy leader of the British Labour party, said this about outgoing foreign secretary Boris Johnson in an interview on radio station LBC:
[Boris Johnson is] the only politician in UK ...
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Did 5% of British users delete their Facebook accounts after the Cambridge Analytica scandal?
Reported on the BBC:
But when the news came out that Facebook had passed on data of up to 87 million of its members to political consultancy Cambridge Analytica without their knowledge - and one in ...
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Is Muhammad one of the most popular names for boys in England and Wales?
A number of articles describe how Muhammad is the most popular name in the UK for baby boys, topping William and other names.
A few links for reference:
2016 Independent article
Muhammad has ...
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Did the husbands of Theresa May and Victoria Atkins (then British PM and drugs minister) profit from the sale of medicinal cannabis?
As read in this link:
RT
The cannabis for Epidiolex is being provided from a 45-acre cannabis farm in the UK operated by British Sugar, whose links to Tory ministers were exposed in February when ...
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Was Tommy Robinson transferred to a prison with a 71% Muslim population?
Paul Joseph Watson claims that Tommy Robinson has been moved to a prison with a predominantly Muslim population.
BREAKING: Tommy Robinson has reportedly been moved to a prison with a 71% Muslim ...
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Melanie Shaw secret trial and incarceration [closed]
I've seen this post a few times on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/608847352/posts/10155395745027353/
It claims Melanie Shaw made accusations about members of the Tory party and has been tried ...
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Did the UK pay for the prince's wedding?
From piggate on the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle:
The caption reads:
33 million on a fucking wedding
8 million on fucking security
50 grand for a fucking wedding cake
90 ...
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Is llama meat popular amongst Britain's gurkha communities?
In "Eating this exotic meat may seriously damage your health" (2013-06-16) The Independent claims:
Although still relatively rare, llama is increasingly popular, especially among Britain’s gurkha ...
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Was a flamethrower used to incinerate Skripal's cat after its death?
In March 2018, British spy Sergei Skripal is believed to have been poisoned in his home with a nerve agent. Wikipedia explains his three pets died:
On 5 April 2018, British authorities said that ...
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Have the Russian state media spread 21 theories about the Salisbury chemical attack?
The U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has recently said in his article (highlight mine):
Our allies have not been deterred by Russia’s usual tactics for avoiding pressure. Sure enough, the Kremlin ...
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Did Putin threaten to have traitors assassinated?
In the recent U.N. Security Council meeting, U.K. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Jonathan Allen quoted Putin by the following words (YouTube link, the relevant part starts at 1:07:30):
...
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Did the former prime minister of UK say this about the Koran?
There was a heated argument between news presenter Piers Morgan and Tommy Robinson. Here is the video for those interested.
He makes a claim:
Sir William Gladstone held this book above his head in ...
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Did the UK homicide rate go up after handgun ownership was banned?
During debates about gun control, I have seen gun advocates quote a statistic that the UK homicide rate increased in 1996 following a ban on handguns. Furthermore, the claim usually goes on to suggest ...
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Did King Henry VIII of England explode in his coffin?
Did King Henry VIII of England explode in his coffin?
There abound many stories about the life and times of Henry VIII of England. There is one in particular that I find rather disgusting.
It is ...
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Do airlines increase price on repeat visits?
Where I live in the UK it is a common statement that looking around on comparison websites such as GoCompare or holiday websites such as BritishAirways will result in them using various methods to ...
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Is this a photo of a rough sleeper who froze to death?
The caption reads:
This picture is a picture of a DEAD homeless man who has froze to death on our streets , in Leicester a few days ago ,not one mention in the media about it and you are probably ...
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Was the Obama administration responsible for the decision to move the US embassy in London and the sale of the old location?
President Donald Trump claims that moving the US embassy in the United Kingdom to a different location was a bad decision and a "bad deal". He puts the blame on the Obama administration.
Reason I ...
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Did Britain borrow $120 billion in 1945?
This copy-paste has being doing the rounds of local newspaper letters pages and dodgy hard-core pro-Brexit Facebook pages, etc:
JEAN Claude Juncker should be forced to walk past every white ...
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Was the UK forced to use burgundy passports by the EU? [closed]
According to Theresa May's Twitter:
The UK passport is an expression of our independence and sovereignty – symbolising our citizenship of a proud, great nation. That's why we have announced that ...
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Is Britain's housing crisis caused by migrants?
In the Sunday Times on 26th November 2017, journalist Rod Liddle makes a case for our need to build new houses being exclusively due to immigration. He claims that the demand for new houses is not due ...
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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 ...
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Is 90% of world trade conducted on WTO terms?
The European Union is, among many other things, a large free trade block with few barriers to cross-country trade within it. The United Kingdom has voted to leave the EU and is currently trying to ...
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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 ...
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Did Whiskey taxation make up 30%-50% of England's revenue?
In this article it is claimed that (1st paragraph):
Especially in England and Ireland, it became the drink of choice, and through taxation, came to contribute 30%-50% of the nation’s revenue.
This ...
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Is this comparison of Carol Irving and David Laws MP accurate?
I saw this on Facebook today. It has been shared over 3,600 times.
It is a photo of the two individuals, Ms. Irving on the left and Mr. Laws MP on the right. Below Ms. Irving's photo it has the ...
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Did Corbyn promise to write off UK student debts? [closed]
The way that I remember things might not actually be as they happened. I accept that. However, I am sure that I recall the UK Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, promising to scrap all student ...
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Is life expectancy "stalling" in the UK?
On Prime Minister's Question Time, recently (19 July 2017), Jeremy Corbyn claimed:
"Life expectancy stalling for the first time in 100 years"
To which the Prime Minister's response:
"The right ...
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Did the police cover up their decision to allow mass-killer Thomas Hamilton to retain his gun licence?
Thomas Hamilton was responsible for the 1996 Dunblane School Massacre,
In 1991, Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes reportedly recommended that Hamilton's firearm licence be revoked - but the police took ...
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Are firefighters forbidden from talking about Grenfell Tower? [closed]
According to this Mirror article:
One firefighter, who did not want to be named, told the Sunday Mirror: “We’ve been told by our management don’t speak, ideally. The coroner has said it could ...
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Did Queen Elizabeth attempt to warn her nation that "2017 will be a year of slaughter the likes of which we haven’t seen since World War 2“?
According to stories spreading through social media, as well as some webpages (for example this article: Queen Elizabeth Placed Under ‘House Arrest’ After Christmas Message) that Queen Elizabeth ...
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Were the London Bridge attack victims Londoners?
From ABC News: London police chief: Attack victims show city's diversity (The tweet for the article had 2.4K replies, and some replies had thousands of likes)
The commissioner of London's ...
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Did Theresa May say that girls' having male role models starts to curb the promotion of lesbianism in schools?
Kevin Cummins, a London-based photographer, recently tweeted this image:
The concern with the image is the text
Curbing the promotion of lesbianism in Merton's schools starts with girls having ...
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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 ...
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Could someone who sent a letter in 19th century London expect a reply within 2 hours?
The official QI Twitter account (@qikipedia) today said the following:
If you sent a letter in 19th century London you could expect a reply within 2 hours
Is there any merit to this claim?
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Is this photo of Jeremy Corbyn and caption accurate?
At a Time when Margaret Thatcher was calling Nelson Mandela a terrorist, and a young David Cameron was living it up on all expenses paid tours around apartheid South Africa, Jeremy Corbyn was being ...
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During Great Britain's coal-free day, were coal plants shut off, or active and generating power GB didn't use?
On Friday 21st April, the UK National Grid announced the following on twitter:
National Grid can confirm that for the past 24 hours, it has supplied GB's electricity demand without the need for #coal ...
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Was UK national debt higher in 2016 than 2010?
I saw this image being shared on my Facebook feed, and I was wondering the truth (if any) to it.
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Did "the UK court system abduct and murder a baby" with mitochondrial depletion syndrome?
According to a blog post by the Mises Institute:
...the court system in the United Kingdom, at the behest of National Health Service bureaucrats, abducted and murdered an 8-month-old baby...
...the ...
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Could the EU "take Britain to the Hague" over the "£50 Billion EU divorce bill" [closed]
I've seen several papers (express, telegraph) claiming that Britain will have to pay a £50 Billion 'fee' for leaving the EU. A further paper (Independent) has written (emphasis by me):
“In that case ...
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Did non-voters outnumber the supporters of each political party in the UK in 2010?
I have noticed this image in social media recently:
Transcription:
Non-voters outnumbered the supporters of every single political party in 2010
Did not vote: 15.9m - these people could change ...
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Are black cabs responsible for nearly a fifth of central London's road transport Nitrogen Oxide emissions?
Evening Standard reporter Ross Lydall penned this article on 4th April:
Row erupts over black cab exemption to planned ultra low emission zone
“Londoners will, however, be astounded that the Mayor ...
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Have there been polls in the UK that show that most British people support the idea of a Muslim ban?
Tara McCarthy:
Polls in the UK show that most British people in the UK support the idea of a Muslim ban ...
But express.co.uk says that
A revealing survey exposed 34 per cent of Brits would ...
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How true are the claims about the dairy industry in this poster? [closed]
I came across the following image via social media. It depicts a poster placed in the window of a British cafe. The text of the poster reads:
This Is Why We're Ditching Dairy...
In celebration ...
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