[Part 1/5] Debate: Will Self argues that 'Great' Britain never existed

Will Self argues for the motion, 'There's Not Much Great About Britain,' in this Intelligence Squared debate. Will Self, Peter Hitchens, Sayeeda Warsi and Kate Hoey, battle it out over whether we should be proud or ashamed of the country we live in.
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Will Self argues for the motion in for the debate "There's Not Much Great About Britain"
• [Part 1/5] Debate: Wil...
#IntelligenceSquared
#greatbritain

[@Intelligence-Squared]

To what extent is British culture still 'Great'?

[@conorboyle5954]

Great country!

[@uilium]

To the extent that one wants to have a healthy attitude towards one's surroundings.

[@deplorabled1695]

The same way that Greece, France and Italy will always be great. Those few nations that beget civilisations are fucking amazing. Put it this way, if you had a jury put together and they had to select the greatest nations on earth since the inception of mankind - where do you think Britain would sit? I'm not saying they would beat Rome, Greece, China or maybe the Persians. But top ten surely?

[@uilium]

The Beatles came from there and they are hands down the greatest band ever. Also if we ever have a nuclear war it will be the Rolling Stones that will surely survive and carry on the human race. Very great stuff.

[@aquilatempestate9527]

@@deplorabled1695 Due to the industrial revolution alone, England has to be number one. This is something all the third world colonists like to forget; that absent European medicine and tech, most of them wouldn't even exist. The resentment isn't really about colonialism or slavery, afterall the Muslims did this far more harshly and they just love Islam. No, the resentment is based on the obvious superiority of European ethno-culture. Their instinctual reaction to this is to destroy whatever they can of it out of spite, it's the perfectly understandable logic of the jackal or hyena. The question though is why they're being encouraged in this? Why they're being herded into our homelands to do this? Then we are beyond the logic of jackals and we must talk very frankly of treason, of traitors and of gallows.

[@iJoxy]

Clicked onto this thinking “oh this looks interesting”, and then remembered that I actually attended this in person 😂

[@13strange67]

R U trying 2 tell us something ?

[@seanmoran6510]

Hitchens was the only one worth listening too

[@paulrickards4921]

Great Britain is a term used geographically and historically to distinguish it from little Britain i.e Brittany in france

[@shanzaez1675]

Trust me that is barely the reason

[@13strange67]

That's a lie !

[@seanmoran6510]

That you got liked for that shows how poor our education system is

[@ChrisHutchison]

Not Brittany but Ireland, actually. A couple of thousand years ago (~147AD, to be more exact), the Alexandrian geographer Claudius Ptolemy, in his work Almagest, referred to the larger of the British Isles as "great" Britain (μεγάλη Βρεττανία / 'megale Brettania') and to Ireland as "little Britain" (μικρὰ Βρεττανία / 'mikra Brettania').

[@cantankerouspatriarch4981]

Will Self is not that great.

[@stephenholmes1036]

A man who loathes and despises the working class and rural people a very rude and arrogant man.

[@ParcelOfRogue]

Great Britain was only an abbreviation of Greater Britain, coined after Scotland joined.

[@johndeehan8078]

Brilliant! What a team Will and Peter.

[@michealrcnicholson9342]

Coming from an anti British Irishman I presume.

[@stephenholmes1036]

Peter Hitchens speaking sense as always.

[@guyfromthe80s92]

Why are these debates divided up in parts?

[@caeserromero3013]

Will Self works really hard to bore his opponents into submission...

[@beetlegin]

Whenever I listen to Will Self speak, regardless of the ideas or thoughts he talks about, all I hear is one long sneer. Shame, he might be saying something worth listening to, though I doubt it.

[@ryanboshell6124]

You've hit the nail on the head. That is exactly how it sounds.

[@ThePeanutButterCup13]

@@liverbird8292 maybe it just goes over your head

[@emilewilmar4919]

translation: I actually don't listen to arguments, only tone and rhetoric, because I can't separate ideas and arguments from their delivery

[@bigmacattack7747]

@Western Unity imagine thinking you're defending any kind of authentic western tradition by shilling for "Great Britain". I notice you didn't actually argue with anything Will Self said, who is it must be admitted an insufferable liberal but even broken clocks are right now and again.

[@bigmacattack7747]

@Western Unity lol nice cope bro, I didn't even reference her comment or were all the other comments before hers white knighting too? Lol find two braincells to rub together before you slabber to your betters.

[@plumjam]

He was much better sitting and making the occasional face on Shooting Stars.

[@dulls8475]

One of my favorite shows and self added nothing to it. Always sat below a cloud of misery even on that show.

[@gavinoabsinthe6797]

@@dulls8475 He did a pretty good Bernard Bresslaw in that Carry On Camping Skit.

[@mohsinrao4334]

Putting Self up against the feeble intellects of Warsi and Hoey is just cruel. He demolished the Barbour-jackety, Spitfirey, land of hope and glory-esque arguments of the opposition in the first half of his speech (which did not rely on any prepared notes). It was bound to be a bloodbath. On a related note, I feel Will Self must be commended on raising the level of debate at IQ squared by arguing that the motions themselves are often intellectually bereft and not at all conducive to any kind of meaningful debate. He did this masterfully in my opinion when he argued against the "We have never had it so good" debate some years back by pointing out how it was not a very good question to begin with in the first place. Here too he seems to get to the very heart of the matter. Instead of indulging in nationalism, statistics, nostalgia or naive liberal delusions about multicultural Britain, he forces us to consider why the question was posed in the first place. People on here dislike his demeanor. It is their loss frankly for failing to appreciate the erudition and efficacy of his approach.

[@rhetoric5173]

I’m of his opinion but could argue that it the definition is from the opposite, that is to say, the surroundings. Frances, Spain, Nordic countriesand germany? Hogwash.

[@edwardcatt2399]

Can anyone explain to me why Self is famous, to whatever extent he is? He says nothing profound or interesting, and I also suspect if he _were_ to convey an anecdote so incredible and compelling, so sage and meaningful, he'd _still_ bore his audience into early graves, and they'd all be rushing to be the first interred.

[@edwardcatt2399]

@suburben yobbo - thanks for the reply. Actually, since posting that comment I've heard that Self is rumoured to be a master troll and this is _not_ who he is or what he espouses... i.e., when he's interviewed by Karl Pilkington and he's abysmally rude to Karl, it was all an act on Self's part. Any possibility that's true?

[@rednaxelA11]

Self plays a character that is basically obnoxious. However, he does also let out his true form, and it's more apologetic, if still quite cutting. Self in this debate is not acting, he is attempting to make a reasonably point about the conflict of our agrandising of GB as a great nation, without defining our terms - and that in defining the terms, what we consider greatness to be by today's standards is not what GB was, or is, or likely will be any time soon. There is a moral disconnect. However, self doesn't really do this very well, because he's not so much of a public speaker - a good writer, a half decent actor (when playing a static character) but not a speaker. He could have done better, but when compared with to politicians and a seasoned speaker, he's up against it. Still, Hoey is usually on another planet, so at least there's that.

[@rhetoric5173]

Ah yes, calling someone a troll. The gullible halfwit’s modus operandi when faced by anything challenging

[@niallmartin9063]

Britain is England and Wales, Great Britain is England, Wales and Scotland, the UK is Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Am I wrong? Confused in Dublin.

[@D97mgtow]

Niall Martin I think your close, the union between England and Scotland at least is a marriage of convenience. For England it’s strategy and resources but for Scotland it’s economy and security. Wales and NI were outright annexed by England whereas a Scotland never was. As such I think Wales and NI have assimilated to Britishness more than Scotland. They obviously have their own nationalist and independence movements - Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein but the same threat of them breaking from the Union doesn’t exist as it does in Scotland..... well perhaps Sinn Fein presents the possibility but it certainly hasn’t come as close yet as Scotland has.

[@jonesalex565]

Great Britain Greater London Etc

[@merlepatterson]

Contextually, it's even difficult to utilize the term "United" in the "States" of current "America".

[@Pangora2]

Do you want to call it Federalized States of America? Perhaps a Confederacy?

[@merlepatterson]

@Accelerationist Hard to argue with you there.

[@GR33TINGSEARTHL1NGS]

@Accelerationist Well it really isn't hard to argue with you there. You can be unified solely by diversity under the right circumstances. They aren't opposites or even mutually exclusive. Disunity, division, discord are all opposites of unity. Not diversity.

[@hellodavey1902]

I know you've probably got to be in the right mood... and probably have a deep secreted liking for him from Shooting Stars days .. or just the fact that he knows he's winding people up with the superficiality of his demenour [whilst probably knowing/feeling that most of the words & actions of those around him are far uglier].... but I kinda like Will Self.. especially after seeing a couple of his talks/debates on IQ squared... 5:27 for the climax of his 'pre-amble' if your patience is failing you :)

[@Rg-es9kv]

hhahahahah not heard that one before, who is this maverick

[@DaveKarl]

Amazing speaker. His expressions are fantastic. And what he articulates really hits home. And by the hateful reactions in these comments, the truth is hurting!

[@bigmacattack7747]

@Western Unity how about Hitchens?

[@bigmacattack7747]

@Western Unity me or Hitchens lol? Hitchens is a High Tory and my own politics are to the right of Mussolini so you're way off base.

[@bigmacattack7747]

@Western Unity lol Chris Hitchens was indeed a ziocon-liberal shill. I have an appreciation for Evola ofc but always leaned more towards Rossini more. Manuel Hedilla is another leading light alongside Mosley.

[@annefagit3305]

Is this the "Conrad Knight socks" bloke?

[@LughSummerson]

The spirit of punk as an intellectual.

[@livinghere1972]

If the band was Green Day.

[@seanmoran6510]

That’s why we’re are fucked Some ideas are so stupid that only an intellectual would believe them

[@innesdundas6487]

as regards to his comments on Britains power he has completely disregarded that Britain is the number one in soft power which can be just if not more important than the hard power that he is referring to.

[@madoldbag6874]

Am I the only person that understands that Great, in this instance, is a geographical term ffs!

[@GDKLockout]

There seems to be two of us....

[@dulls8475]

@@GDKLockout now 3 and also to distinguish ourselves from a part of France.

[@bigmacattack7747]

@@dulls8475 you do seem to be the people that don't grasp that also exists "Greatness" as a concept beyond a mere geographical term, involving geopolitical and cultural "greatness" however one would define it. But sure, there are none so blind as those who will not see.

[@dulls8475]

@@bigmacattack7747 Do your research. Do you see my post above you? Why would you think i can't understand other concepts about Greatness? Stop judging people by your limited education.

[@bigmacattack7747]

@@dulls8475 I would think that because you haven't included it in your assessment of the position being advocated by Hitchens and Self and have characterised it as idiocy. Therefore either you are choosing not to in which case you are wilfully ignorant or if not you're simply practising the childish tactic of critiquing the man rather than the argument.

[@anthonylondon3366]

In the past Britain has been at one time the worlds greatest naval, military or manufacturing power so title Great could be applicable....today however very questionable.

[@stephenkerensky710]

The great in Great Britain is only a geographical term, not a moral judgement. For its quality, take the time to have look at the British war against the slave trade.

[@NagoyaHouseHead]

I am a New Zealander, and I did my degree in English Literature specializing in Shakespeare, the Romantic poets, and the 19th Century novel. For me what makes Great Britain great is it's literature ! And, as a member of a relatively young colonial country I still refer to England as "The Old Country". Great Britain may not be as great as it once was, but we in the west could not do without it !

[@thedoctor.a.s1401]

When people talk about greater Serbia or greater russia, we consider that nostalgic imperialist fantasy and arrogant bluster, but when we talk about Great Britain, we don't do the same. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland = Greater England = England + the quasi-colony of Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc. It's what is referred to as "Ukania" in the Nairn-Anderson thesis. The British monarchy is simply the dusty lingering Skeleton of the British empire.

[@miscellaneousvideos8879]

The trouble is, the word 'great' was only ever to refer to the size of the isle of Great Britain in comparison to Brittany, and not how good it is. Therefore it's careless to encourage people to believe referring to the island as Great Britain to be condoning colonial actions. Will Self is trying to be clever but it's misinformative, creating anger and division unnecessarily. However, when people say 'Great British', e.g. 'Great British values', that could be seen as self-congratulating, because the nationality has always been 'British' and 'Great British' is often used to emphasise supposedly good things about the island. Brittany in French is called Bretagne. Great Britain in French is Grande-Bretagne, i.e. Big, or 'Great', Brittany. Let's stop making everything about the UK a symbol of colonialism and dominance and focus on where change does have to be made to make the society more equitable on account of past and present colonial actions of the power-holders. I think we can do that whilst still be able to say the island is called Great Britain.

[@ThatsMrFrank]

It's odd to see together such intelligent sophistry and such senile nonsense. I generally at least expect coherent, subversive deception from Will Self, not slurs about "what is an aristocratic title about maaannnnn" like he's just had a spliff.

[@rvic11]

Jesus...Will Self vs Peter Hitchens. This should be a barrel of laughs.

[@bigmacattack7747]

They were arguing for the same position 😂

[@anothersucker-Youcantfixstupid]

Will self. Great guy. You wouldn't want to stand next to him at the bus stop.

[@herrglotzenschnitzengruber1510]

Spain will have the last word on who can enter Gibraltar under the terms of the preliminary post-Brexit deal announced this week, Spain’s foreign minister has said, in an assertion that wasn't challenged by Gibraltar’s chief minister. The agreement in principle - struck just hours before Gibraltar was poised to become the only frontier marked by a hard Brexit - will allow the British overseas territory to join the Schengen free movement area with Spain acting as a guarantor and authoriser. Gibraltar’s port and airport would become the external borders of the Schengen area, with checks undertaken by the EU’s Frontex border agency for an initial period of six months. “Schengen is a set of rules, procedures and tools, including its database, to which only Spain has access. Gibraltar and the United Kingdom do not,” Arancha González Laya told Spanish newspaper El País in an interview published on Saturday. “That is why the final decision on who enters the Schengen area belongs to Spain.” Brexit is nothing to celebrate, says Gibraltar's foreign minister When pressed on whether this would entail the presence of Spanish customs or police in Gibraltar - a point that had proved to be a significant sticking point in the negotiations - González Laya said further details would be made public after she informed Spain’s parliament on the deal in the coming days. “Evidently, there must be a Spanish presence to carry out the minimum tasks of Schengen control,” she said. "police and border guards' salaries and pension contributions will be paid for by Gibraltar" The government of Gibraltar did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But on Saturday, responding to an article published by a right-wing Spanish newspaper, Fabian Picardo, the territory’s chief minister tweeted: “Under the New Year’s Eve agreement only Spain will decide who enters Gibraltar and Spanish officers will exercise full control in Gibraltar at the airport and port now and in the future. This is our land. Couldn’t be clearer.” The negotiations had sought to capitalise on the shared interests between Spain and Gibraltar but also understood that a “larger dose of trust is needed”, said González Laya, citing the use of Frontex agents as an element aimed at building this trust while the UK is still under the control of Johnsons corrupt Conservative party. Before the pandemic, an average of 28,500 people crossed the border a day, including about 15,000 cross-border workers. The deal has been sent to Brussels, where the European commission will inform London of the new requirements and turn it into a treaty. González Laya estimated the process would take about six months. In the meantime, she said Spain would work to ensure that mobility at the shared land border - which as of Friday had been technically transformed into an external border of the EU - would be “as fluid as possible”. 'A day for hope': UK and Spain agree draft deal on post-Brexit status of Gibraltar Under the deal Gibraltar would establish closer ties with the EU just as the UK formally severed ties with the bloc. “That’s the great paradox,” she said, pointing to the nearly 96% voters in Gibraltar who supported remaining in the EU in the 2016 referendum. “What we have seen is a change of paradigm that is not made of concessions but by a convergence of interests between Gibraltarians and Spaniards, both of whom are pro-European,” she added. “This is one of the first fruits of Brexit for the EU, with many more to come.” She stressed that, under the deal, “nobody ceded an inch” when it came to sovereignty claims over the territory. Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713 but has long sought to reclaim it. This ambition still stands, and this is the first step. Earlier in the week, the UK’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, famous for his utter stupidity and deceitful manner, said the deal only impinged on the sovereignty of the British overseas territory by a small but manageable amount. “We remain steadfast in our support for the people of Gibraltar, sovereignty there is safeguarded however much it may appear differently,” he said in a statement. All members of the press laughed heartily.

[@action1976]

Yes the UK is a terrible place to live so if you are a immigrant hoping to get free houses and benefits, don't head to the UK please find a better country that will suit your needs.

[@revol148]

Does anyone here admit to not only reading but actually liking any of the books Will Self has written - come on be honest now?

[@tophat5365]

Tough Tough Toys For Tough Tough Boys is brilliant. Lick a rock!

[@revol148]

@@tophat5365 how was Cock and bull my friend? I ain't licking anything sunshine as you must be a fraud or taking far too many drugs ! (can I buy some off you if you have any left) ?

[@paolosantiago3163]

"Nowadays he's somehow right Britain is no longer great in the 21st century .?!"

[@seanmoran6510]

The Great War was a fatal blow and we have be pretending to be something we weren’t anymore We are in the final phase of Empire The Collapse of The Core State.

[@michealrcnicholson9342]

I find Will Self's deliberate sneering detestable to the point that I'd love to offer him out for a scrap! Not very clever, but would most certainly be satisfying.

[@estebancomulet]

Love Will and Peter. Share Will's politics, but always find Peter fun and sincere (even if I'm not a conservative at all)

[@bob1784free]

The term Great Britain was a put down by the French making out the the U.K. was only a larger Brittany

[@marcotee709]

One thing's for sure, he certainly adds nothing to British culture in an endeavor to make it great. Has anyone attempted to read one of his books?

[@joetaylor5803]

I have to admit that stunned me when he said the top commanders of the British army feel like they are a division of the United States marine corps.

[@SHORTSCASTZ]

This guy needs a middle name Him.

[@SagaciousFrank]

I don't like Will Self. I think he's broadly smug and I tend to disagree with him on many things. I'd agree with him that Britain is no longer a great nation today, but probably mostly for different reasons. Whilst there never was, has been, or will be a Golden Age in history, I do believe that Britain was once a great nation. We may not be a global power now, which essentially was finalised in 1956 with the Suez debacle, but we are for better or worse still living in the legacy of the British Empire, such was the extent of its reach and influence around the globe. I believe we were great because we achieved a lot where others had failed. The British Empire existed in an epoch where every nation would have wanted to have its own global empire, and we simply achieved the largest and most economically successful fragmented global empire and by comparison to every other empire, the most benign as well. We invented and created much that the rest of the world still uses today, with the bitter pill that some other nations have since done better with the things we invented. But Will Self can be mildly amusing, and he is right about our poor exports and things like that. But mostly I don't particularly care for his leftist views.

[@desydukuk291]

Which great nation is in your mind a great nation lol? Cuba, China, USA Honduras, c'mon start thinking, it doesn't matter!

[@SagaciousFrank]

@@desydukuk291, come on start reading, I never stated or implied of any great nation I might have had in mind.

[@Adam10Burt]

He was against British things, he a test from Shooting Stars

[@markrowe5992]

I like Will Self. He has integrity. And a strong intellect.

[@DuaneJasper]

100%

[@eightiesmusic1984]

Absolutely.

[@sledge1960]

The vomit of a wretched dog.

[@Mister.Weatherbee]

"Chair of Contemporary Thought at Brunel University"

[@valiantv2897]

i lasted 7.13 seconds., im gone, lifes to short

[@ParcelOfRogue]

What does Britain export? Japanese and German designed cars and overseas Investments of tax avoiding and hot money. We have a huge balance of payments deficit. We have fallen from largest economy to 6th (soon 7th) and from richest GDP per capita to into the 20th's. In poorest national regions within our Western European region, we have 7/10 of the poorest ones. We also have a low and flat productivity per head and low investment levels compared to Germany and France. Brexit will make it far worse.

[@edwardcatt2399]

First "met" this guy in one of Karl Pilkington's shows where he was _abysmally_ rude to Karl. Had Karl clean his pipes and then proceeded to mock him. See You En Tea, 100%

[@fisher1907]

This guy was the worst remoaner throughout the brexit process.

[@remotefaith]

Far from it

[@fisher1907]

Otto Echo His appearance on BBC Politics Was disgraceful calling all Brexiteers racist bigots. He is just another woke Liberal.

[@arminie9400]

@@fisher1907 he never called all brexiteers racist bigots.

[@Graham6761]

There all these people against hunting and are for animal's rights but they eat meat. So they are too weak minded to kill an animal they make someone else do it then complain about it.

[@scottwhat3362]

I didn’t know low witted snark qualifies as an intelligent argument these days.

[@Gozzillacia]

Self is a void.

[@arminie9400]

in the buddhist tradition, sure

[@artyfingers4488]

So sad to see Peter Hitchens teamed with the disgusting Mr Self.!

[@CrunchyNorbert]

(great britain is the main island in the british isles chain)

[@Interwurlitzer]

...it's metaphysical, and redundant. Abortively pedantic.

[@neoepicurean3772]

This wasn't a very nuanced or intelligent argument. More of a ramble. I think if history is showing us anything it is that the West was even greater than we gave ourselves credit for. We have had a few problems - the collapse of the Enlightenment project into post-modernism and relativism and the hubris of trying to push our values as obvious universal values - but on the whole it feels like we've just realised our mistakes and our going to recover some of our 'exceptionalism' and stop the self-loathing that has permeated the West for the past 30 years. When judging a country you have to remember it can only be a comparative judgement - that should be a comparison between next-possible alternatives - not to utopian fantasies. Great Britain was great, is great and can be greater still.

[@GDKLockout]

And dont forget that Great in that context just means big. As in the largest Island in the Britiah Isles. Such a dumb topic to debate.

[@GDKLockout]

Oh and jf you want to add to the list. Ended and went to war to stop slavery. Pioneered human rights including women,children, gay and animal rights. And won the two most important ideological wars since gunpowder was invented. Costing the country so much it ended the empire. Aaaaaand. Won the race to colonize America, and for the foresight to chose crops over gold hunting. Ill admit that ones sunjective.

[@neoepicurean3772]

@@GDKLockout Haha - yes. That too :D

[@riccardoverde4683]

@@GDKLockout I hate to rain on your parade but you ahve to find out one day: people do no go to war 'to end slavery'. They will often however SAY this sort of thing. 'Human rights' is yet more fair words designed to decieve you. These are simply the ways in which the modern centralised state has strengthened itself and weakened the family. You are now a lone individual (with your pet identity) who owes everything to the state (a slave). Again those wars were not 'ideological'. You have yet again swallowed the propaganda. The British elite simply moved to US (they really became international)- so they did not impoverish themselves, or make any sacrifice at all. They impoverished/sacrificed their slaves- us.

[@neoepicurean3772]

@@riccardoverde4683 Not quite sure what you're talking about? But if you're on about 'human rights' and obligation to the state - well, I think we already have has this conversation. You think life would be better without the state? The very nature of the state that means we have to 'owe everything to the state' - it's an all or nothing sort of deal. As I'm sure you are well aware, Hobbes and Locke were instrumental in defining the relationship (and had the right idea when compared to Rousseau) - we all need the state, and benefit from the state - and it was through the establishment of rights, from 1215 through to 1688, that set-up the liberal system that is now the World standard. And it was our Enlightenment thinking and the formulation that the individual has natural rights that began the end of slavery - I didn't understand what you meant there. I agree 'human rights' don't mean much - and I think it's a blind alley. Rights are between people and states. If you're state fails you it doesn't help you so much to have to appeal to another state. You'll probably be dead by then.

[@fourstarfuel9702]

He's obviously way too binary to understand.

[@buzjimbo2128]

WRONG ! "Great" in this context is a geographical term, referring to archipelagoes. Read Japan.

[@michaelgrey1351]

He says right in the beginning he wasn't going into the etymology but into the common usage of it in arguments of nationalism. Using ALL CAPS also means nothing other than you should clearn your keyboard more often.

[@kevinmcgrath127]

A sad ghost of a country ...fantasy... delusion...gonna collapse soon...

[@peterrfowler16]

How long are we supposed to apologise for the empire for? I could not listen to this chap for the whole duration.

[@jimmycakes7158]

Well it gave birth to the modern world so that's something I guess.

[@ThePeanutButterCup13]

Who cares

[@markofsaltburn]

Other countries are too busy giving birth to the future to care about Britain.

[@bigmacattack7747]

And the modern world is horrifying. Cheers for all the genocide and shit.

[@angusmcangus7914]

Classic narcissist.

[@MichaelCook84]

Will Self is a man whos mind is riddled with negativity.

[@errgo2713]

That negativity is everywhere in the world, he merely reflects upon it intelligently

[@Earth098]

It's interesting that Peter Hitchens and Will is in the same side of this debate, though they have totally different opinions. By the way I agree with him on the point that Britain was never great for his people, and in my opinion, when it comes to the well-being of its people, contemporary Britain is it's best period so far.

[@damonoid781]

Unless you count the mass rape of young girls, while its institutions look the other way for the sake of diversity.

[@herrglotzenschnitzengruber1510]

Spain will have the last word on who can enter Gibraltar under the terms of the preliminary post-Brexit deal announced this week, Spain’s foreign minister has said, in an assertion that wasn't challenged by Gibraltar’s chief minister. The agreement in principle - struck just hours before Gibraltar was poised to become the only frontier marked by a hard Brexit - will allow the British overseas territory to join the Schengen free movement area with Spain acting as a guarantor and authoriser. Gibraltar’s port and airport would become the external borders of the Schengen area, with checks undertaken by the EU’s Frontex border agency for an initial period of six months. “Schengen is a set of rules, procedures and tools, including its database, to which only Spain has access. Gibraltar and the United Kingdom do not,” Arancha González Laya told Spanish newspaper El País in an interview published on Saturday. “That is why the final decision on who enters the Schengen area belongs to Spain.” Brexit is nothing to celebrate, says Gibraltar's foreign minister When pressed on whether this would entail the presence of Spanish customs or police in Gibraltar - a point that had proved to be a significant sticking point in the negotiations - González Laya said further details would be made public after she informed Spain’s parliament on the deal in the coming days. “Evidently, there must be a Spanish presence to carry out the minimum tasks of Schengen control,” she said. "police and border guards' salaries and pension contributions will be paid for by Gibraltar" The government of Gibraltar did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But on Saturday, responding to an article published by a right-wing Spanish newspaper, Fabian Picardo, the territory’s chief minister tweeted: “Under the New Year’s Eve agreement only Spain will decide who enters Gibraltar and Spanish officers will exercise full control in Gibraltar at the airport and port now and in the future. This is our land. Couldn’t be clearer.” The negotiations had sought to capitalise on the shared interests between Spain and Gibraltar but also understood that a “larger dose of trust is needed”, said González Laya, citing the use of Frontex agents as an element aimed at building this trust while the UK is still under the control of Johnsons corrupt Conservative party. Before the pandemic, an average of 28,500 people crossed the border a day, including about 15,000 cross-border workers. The deal has been sent to Brussels, where the European commission will inform London of the new requirements and turn it into a treaty. González Laya estimated the process would take about six months. In the meantime, she said Spain would work to ensure that mobility at the shared land border - which as of Friday had been technically transformed into an external border of the EU - would be “as fluid as possible”. 'A day for hope': UK and Spain agree draft deal on post-Brexit status of Gibraltar Under the deal Gibraltar would establish closer ties with the EU just as the UK formally severed ties with the bloc. “That’s the great paradox,” she said, pointing to the nearly 96% voters in Gibraltar who supported remaining in the EU in the 2016 referendum. “What we have seen is a change of paradigm that is not made of concessions but by a convergence of interests between Gibraltarians and Spaniards, both of whom are pro-European,” she added. “This is one of the first fruits of Brexit for the EU, with many more to come.” She stressed that, under the deal, “nobody ceded an inch” when it came to sovereignty claims over the territory. Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713 but has long sought to reclaim it. This ambition still stands, and this is the first step. Earlier in the week, the UK’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, famous for his utter stupidity and deceitful manner, said the deal only impinged on the sovereignty of the British overseas territory by a small but manageable amount. “We remain steadfast in our support for the people of Gibraltar, sovereignty there is safeguarded however much it may appear differently,” he said in a statement. All members of the press laughed heartily.

[@markrowe5992]

I like Will Self here. An erudite and ntelligent fellow

[@phoenix5054]

Aren't empires, by the nature of being big and transcending dominance over a large territory, pluralistic and diverse by nature? As opposed to parochial communities? Diversity and imperialism may not be contradictory.

[@desydukuk291]

@@EvsEntps Wow you people can really mansplain.

[@ryanboshell6124]

Britain, so (not) Great that hundreds of thousands wish to reside here? Case closed.

[@ryanboshell6124]

@Rad Derry they can leave.

[@ryanboshell6124]

@Rad Derry of course I care. But leaving our home nation will just make the issue worse.

[@ryanboshell6124]

@Rad Derry what on earth are you talking about? Coronavirus?

[@ryanboshell6124]

@Rad Derry I dont know about all that. I feel pretty free to be honest. There are far worse places to live.

[@ryanboshell6124]

@Rad Derry I'm not happy with it, it definitely needs improving. But, your argument about it not being a good country and not being able to leave is the same thing. I'm sorry but what exactly are you wanting to do that's illegal?

[@uilium]

☝️😏WILL SELF IS A SILLYHEAD here. Show me any concept that actually exists? What "self" exists for that matter? Point out where the self is please.

[@LughSummerson]

Show who? You don't exist. Nobody needs to prove anything to nobody.

[@gazlink1]

He's on the stage.

[@desydukuk291]

@@gazlink1 Anybody.

[@uilium]

@@LughSummerson Anatta

[@uilium]

@King Kong What does your comment say about you? You terrific bastard you!

[@Robertodb2012]

Will Self is not great.

[@Xx_BoogieBomber_xX]

King

[@somesongs9605]

jobbies

[@philipcurnow7990]

Will Self is always very listenable. A mirror to uncomfortable questions needing answers for the country to become great again.

[@seanmoran6510]

Why do we need to be great again ! Be like Austria

[@maryfenton958]

Well said Will Self. A few honest to goodness remarks. There is no Great Britain!

[@guy-bernarddavisconductor8037]

In the first 2 minutes he refers to Great Britain being named so as it was an early historical geographic term to differentiate "grande Bretagne" from Bretagne (the peninsula in North western france). This is indeed the reason why Great Britain is called Great Britain in quite a few languages; English, French as well as Brittonic languages Welsh, Breton and Cornish. Why he then goes on to dismiss the term as irrelevant is really quite staggering. Regardless of his opinions, surely the fact that basing his arguments on a misunderstanding and very often misused appropriation of a purely geographical term renders his argument completely futile. Amazing that he's on IQ2 yet doesn't seem to exhibit an IQ sufficiently capable of distinguishing ideology from comprehension of objective terminology. I think he might need a little 'Self' awareness. 😂

[@anothersucker-Youcantfixstupid]

Why Britain great, because it produces great people. Including Will.

[@CrunchyNorbert]

(divorced his second wife shortly before she died from cancer.. someone please express their feelings physically to this cumbubble)

[@CrunchyNorbert]

@Scott Drinkwater thats what his wiki article makes me believe