56% Of Britons Want To Stay In The Eu!!

[sp1814]

...with just 36% saying they want out.

Why do you think this is?

Could it be that the rise of UKIP has actually galvanised the waverers?

Could this be the real voice of the 'silent majority'?

With the rise and evident popularity of UKIP, these figures make absolutely no sense...!

Anyone got an idea?

Because I for one am flummoxed

(...and admittedly, quietly/childishly giggling to myself in anticipation of the forthcoming answers).

Reuters link:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/10/22/uk-britain-politics-europe-idUKKCN0IB1UZ20141022

[agchristie]

^ food for thought Naomi ;-)

[BlackadderV]

One may think that, but to my mind shortening the words British or Briton to Brit is just as bad as shortening the word Pakistani to the first four letters.

[jourdain2]

I don't particularly object to being called a 'Brit' - short for Britannique - in fact there is a 'Brit Hotel' chain. So I don't see why others should object to their racial descriptions being shortened. I come across casual racism against me every day - les biftecks is the mildest - and yet we say 'frogs'. No problem.
There is a deeper thread, however (very deep in fact) and I am very conscious that it exists. No matter how well I speak French, no matter if I pay my taxes, no matter that I have friends and neighbours with whom we socialise, help and get along - I am still an incomer/immigrant and most importantly NOT French.

I may have drifted off-post here, I started with trying to agree that shortening British to Brit is as bad as Pakistani to ***. Personally I accept Brit, so think that others should accept ***. It's an abbreviation, that's all. If some folk use it badly then that is another thing.

[jourdain2]

Further to my post, I did not type asterisks, I used the correct abbreviations. Is the editor getting a bit paranoid here? We are talking about language and abbreviations, that's all. I'm actually rather shocked. Why was 'Brit' not turned into asterisks and is this a black mark against me?

[ChillDoubt]

I don't object to it either, True Brit and all that, also whilst serving with the UN we were known as BRITCON(British Contingent) so I don't see it as derogatory or have a particular problem with it.

[jourdain2]

I've just spent ages typing to Ed that I object to an abbreviation being 'asterisked' when I am quite happy to be referred to by an equally short abbreviation (sp1814's post 21:41 22/10/14). My message appears to have disappeared. It could, of course be my lack of computor skills - burt somehow I doubt it. Has anyone else had this problem?

[jomifl]

I had assumed that it was normal to refer to a people by their name as in uzbeks, Khazaks, kurds etc. The term '***' is considered insulting because of the way it was used by racists. Perhaps sensitive Brits should be called 'Brittanics'.