Guernsey Courtesy Flag

[Black Sheep]

United Kingdom?

No - that excludes the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man as well as the Channel Islands. It doesn't describe the group of islands at all, but a political unit.

 

[guernseyman]

No - that excludes the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man as well as the Channel Islands. It doesn't describe the group of islands at all, but a political unit.

Indeed. Though in the past our passports suggested that, as an alternative to British, we could specify our nationality as Citizen of the United Kingdom, Islands and Colonies. More recent passports exclude that possibility. We are now British, like it or not. Personally I say Guernsey, when ever possible.

 

[[165264]]

Ahem....

"Jersey is neither part of the United Kingdom nor a colony but is rather a Crown Dependency. Jersey's citizens are not represented in the United Kingdom Parliament (whose acts extend to Jersey only in circumstances where the States of Jersey are in agreement). The Island's allegiance is to the British Crown, the basis of such loyalty deriving through the claim of the sovereign as successor of the Dukes of Normandy.

The constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom is the product of over 900 years of custom and usage and is not affected by changes of government in the United Kingdom. This relationship has been confirmed by Royal Charters which, over the centuries, have secured the independence of the Island's judicial system from the English courts and granted important privileges including freedom from United Kingdom taxes.

Jersey is not part of the European Union being neither a separate Member State nor an Associate Member. The Island's special relationship with the European Union is defined by a Protocol attached to the Treaty of Accession of the United Kingdom to the European Community. Any change in these arrangements would require a Treaty amendment which would require the agreement of all the Member States including the United Kingdom."

The same applies for Guernsey

And the IOM.

 

[guernseyman]

Shame that after centuries of UK handling relations with the Bailiwicks through the Home Office (the secretariat of the Crown), Tony Blair saw fit to divert it through the Ministry of Justice. Maybe he had heard that two attempts by UK to tax the Bailiwicks had failed for constitutional/legal reasons and thought he could sort us out.