Scouse not English: Why is Liverpool different from the rest of England?
Why do Liverpool fans boo the national anthem? Where does the Scouse accent come from? Why are people from Liverpool called "Scousers"? And why do some people from Liverpool say they are Scouse, not English?
Liverpool has a distinct identity, and many Scousers who live there identify more with the city than the rest of the country. Liverpool football fans have even been known to boo the British national anthem at football games. We travelled to Liverpool to find out where the tension between Liverpool and the rest of England comes from.
Frank Carlyle, a historian and lecturer from Liverpool, explained his take on the phrase "Scouse not English", walking us through the Liverpool general transport strike of 1911, to the Thatcher years, to the Hillsborough disaster. He also reveals where the Scouse accent came from, and why people from Liverpool are called "Scouse".
In the 1900s, the Liverpool general transport strike saw tension between Liverpool and the rest of England reach a boiling point. In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher's conservative government wanted to pursue a strategy of managed decline in Liverpool, AKA strategic abandonment. In 1989, in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, much of the English press and the emergency services deflected the blame for the disaster onto Liverpool fans themselves. As a result, the Sun newspaper is banned in Liverpool. Did these key events push Liverpool away from the rest of England?
As a bustling port city, Liverpool was once considered "the second city of the empire". As the British Empire declined, so did Liverpool's importance as a port. Nowadays, Liverpool is often unfairly looked down upon by other parts of England. So how did Liverpool go from being the second city of the Empire, to one that is so often looked down upon today, where some of its residence prefer to identify as Scouse, not English?
00:00-01:13 - Scouse not English: Introduction
01:13-03:23 - What do Locals think Makes Liverpool Unique?
03:24-04:35 - Why are Scousers called Scousers?
04:36-05:29 - Where does the Scouse Accent come from?
05:30-06:51 - Liverpool's Bad Reputation
06:52-08:03 - Liverpool: The Capital of North Wales?
08:04-09:46 - Liverpool's 1911 General Strike
09:47-11:55 - Margaret Thatcher and Liverpool's Managed Decline
11:56-16:18 - The Hillsborough Disaster
16:19-18:33 - Liverpool Deserves Better
#Liverpool #scouse #liverpoolcity #scousenotenglish #scouseculture
