The English aren't English – what is the government doing?!

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 15-02-03 AT 00:46 AM (GMT)]I don’t know if it is just me, but the beurocrats seem to be having a field day with nationality issues.

1. The well known case of the grandmother who was born in the US, but moved to the UK when she was 2. Her mother was British, and her husband was too. She has several kids, who are all British. But when she applied for a passport, the government told her to leave the country in 10 days.

2. The Mayor of Shrewsebury – he was born in Mauritius but has lived in the UK for over 70 years. He was refused a passport. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2764235.stm

3. People in Northern Ireland were not allowed to join the Labour Party because they are apparently not “British”. Now, I know that NI is technically in the UK and not Great Britain; however their passports do say “British citizen”.

4. The comments about a referendum being “eccentric” and even “illegal” in Gibraltar, just because the result was not what the Government wanted.

What is going on with the government??!!?!?!