SNP block UK attempt to strip drug users of their benefits

[Blagsta]

But it will require the recruitment of thousands of new "treatment" workers and associated staff who will swell the ranks of the millions of petty bureaucrats and time-servers who are more likely to vote NewLabour if they feel their jobs are at risk.

I doubt it somehow.

 

[lewislewis]

But when many people say they can "speak Welsh" on the census they really mean that they can say "bore da" and "diolch yn fawr." Do you really believe that 10% of Cardiff's population is fluent in Welsh? I certainly don't. How often do you hear Welsh spoken on the streets of Wales's capital city? Virtually never n'est-ce pas?

In any case, my wider point still stands. Plaid Cymru are not interested in promoting minority languages, they are only interested in promoting *Welsh.* That is cultural nationalism which, as I have said before, is the scourge of Europe.

If people define themselves as Welsh speakers then they are Welsh speakers. I'm not, by the way!

No, your point doesn't stand i'm afraid Phil. Although we are way off topic, nobody is imposing some kind of agenda on the majority. Ffs it's Wales, that's why some people speak Welsh as they always have. We have two national languages which are English and Welsh. Most people have no problem with this. It isn't anything to do with Plaid, Labour or any other political party it's because parents are making the choice to send their kids to Welsh-medium schools.

I'm sorry Phil but it wouldn't be practical to have that many languages on street signs, as much as it would be a good thing.

How come i've been a member of Plaid for years and 'they' haven't yet imposed the supremacy of speaking Welsh (lol) on me? It's a bi-lingual party, many members cannot speak Welsh- and political conservatives are very thin on the ground!

 

[phildwyer]

How come i've been a member of Plaid for years and 'they' haven't yet imposed the supremacy of speaking Welsh (lol) on me? It's a bi-lingual party, many members cannot speak Welsh- and political conservatives are very thin on the ground!

I must say that surprises me. I knew there were plenty of radicals in Plaid, but I didn't know there were many monoglot Anglophones. But promoting the Welsh language is their original raison d'etre, and still very high on their agenda, no?

 

[niclas]

I agree. Nationalism is the scourge of Europe. I'm from Wales, where the Nationalists have been trying to make everybody speak Welsh for the past 50 years. And they've succeeded to the extent that it's very difficult to get ahead in many professions unless one speaks Welsh. In my opinion that is pathetic. There is a decent argument for breaking away from the UK, but it is socialist, not based on cultural nationalism.

Strange argument. If the Nationalists had "succeeded" in making everybody learn Welsh, then why is it difficult to get ahead unless one speaks Welsh?
I can think of two professions where speaking Welsh is an obvious advantage - teaching Welsh and the Welsh-language media. But I can also point to plenty of monoglot teachers and TV presenters/producers who do very well.
Any other professions where not speaking Welsh holds you back? Don't think so.
Please stop generalising and putting up barriers. It's only a language after all - anyone can learn it. Most people in Wales can say at least a few words, others can live their lives through the medium - it's a continuum not a Welsh vs English thing. People move up and down the continuum for various reasons. Unlike English, which is a must have in our society, Welsh is an optional extra.
But glad to see you'll accept the socialist case for independence!

 

[trevhagl]

Telling drug users to attend treatment or stop their benefits is like telling Purnell to talk sense, it just won't happen

 

[phildwyer]

But glad to see you'll accept the socialist case for independence!

Actually I'd vote for Plaid if they'd just drop the language crap. Don't see much prospect of that happening though.