to ask how different you think the UK will look in 15-20 years?

[evilcherub]

It's changed so much since the turn of the century. How different do you think the UK will look in 15-20 years? Any radical changes? Do you think it will be better or worse for those currently living here?

[Efferlunt]

Interesting. I think the gap between rich and poor will be wider . Jobs will be less secure and richer people will have 'staff' again. Crime will be lower Less crime. Crime has been falling steadily and no one really knows why. Hard to says what will happen with housing market.

[ouryve]

At the current rate of accumulation, I reckon it will be encrusted in a layer of dog shit about 37cm deep.

[Werksallhourz]

The country will be full of traffic, and nobody will be able to get anywhere in any reasonable amount of time.

Congestion is already a serious issue where I am in the north, and it's only going to get worse. It seems both central and local government forget about the transport (and power and sewage) infrastructure.

At some point, there's going to need to be compulsory repurchasing of land that was sold off after Beeching's Axe because we will need to reopen old branch railway lines again.

[LalaLyra]

I think the rich will be richer and the poor poorer. For that reason, and police cuts, I think crime will be higher.

[Rebecca2014]

I think more of the green land will be built on to accomdate the ever rising population.
The rich/poor gap will be wider, child benefit will be cut completely. NHS will be privatized and we all have get health insurance which will cost us a bomb.

[ItMustBeBedtimeSurely]

Driverless cars will be the norm.
Working from home and having several different jobs will be commonplace.
People will only retire when they can no longer work because of old age.
The health service will be paid for by state run insurance like France. If we're lucky. If we're not, private insurance like the US.
Agree crime will continue to fall.

I'm optimistic about the future.

[Efferlunt]

Re the crime issue. This is interesting. www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27067615

[YaySirNaySir]

Rich will definitely be richer.
I think people will be better off over all
Everyone will have solar panels
The houses they are building near us are all mansions and not just one or two, so 5/6+ beds will be the norm.
Cars will be electric
Industry will come back to Britain creating lots of jobs and things will last longer than two minutes before breaking.

[wasonthelist]

At the current rate of accumulation, I reckon it will be encrusted in a layer of cat shit about 37cm deep.

[wasonthelist]

I don't think crime is actually falling.

[goddessofsmallthings]

As tbere are lies, damn lies, and statistics, I'm another who is unconvinced that crime is falling.

[bellaSorela]

There will be no middle class
Just rich and poor

[toffeeboffin]

Wider wealth gap, and Islamification of lots of places. NHS gone I reckon. No state pension, or greatly reduced. Child benefits cut drastically. Electric cars.

Hopefully industry will return. And decent Cadburys!

I live abroad, going home this summer, will be 18 months since I visited, think I will see a big change.

[scarlets]

More traffic congestion, fewer large families due to benefits cuts, no call centres (will all be online), leaner NHS topped up by insurance, no NHS dentistry for over 18s, less influence from religious bodies, no EU membership, more relaxed attitudes to lgbt folks, Sunday will be a normal working day.

[megletthesecond]

Traffic will be horrific.
More multi generational households. (Grandparents down to toddlers).
Employers and the wealthy will have even more power.

[ZebraLovesKnitting]

The middle class will cease to exist as the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen.

Statistics will show that crime continues to fall, even though in reality and in the way that matters it actually rises.

Not as many people will go to university - and the rich/poor gap for education will continue to widen.

Housing outside of London/SE will drop in price slightly, as baby boomers die off. In SE property will continue to increase.

The average age that people live to will go down, as people aren't as healthy as previous generations.

The majority of people will never retire - public pensions either won't be around at all, will be too little to live on, or retirement age will increase massively. And value of people's pension funds will continue to decrease. I'm 30 and I don't expect to ever retire properly.

The NHS will become a second-best, like-it-or-lump-it health system, whereby if you want proper treatment you have to pay for it privately. Eventually it'll disappear altogether.

[ZebraLovesKnitting]

God that all sounds very depressing

[Lottapianos]

toffee, what do you mean by Islamification of lots of places? Not goading, just interested

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

I think the UK will have left the EU, and Scotland will have the left the UK. Wales will be making serious noises about leaving, and NI about rejoining Ireland.

Westminster will be even more distant than it is now and as others have said the gap between richer and poorer will be greater.

There will be no NHS or state pension. Education will primarily be privately run academies and free schools.

Most contracts will be zero hours or using workfare people. Life for the majority will be utterly shit.

[NameChanger22]

I think the UK has changed a lot in the last 10 years and I see those trends continuing. I don't think this is a good thing and we are headed off down the wrong path. I don't feel positive about our future. Splitting society in two isn't good for anyone in the long run.

[Werksallhourz]

I also suspect that the welfare state will move to an actuarial system at some point over the next twenty years, so we will be more in line with other European countries. It is the only logical outcome if we stay in the EU.

In fact, I think a lot of British postwar political and social structures and institutions will radically change and may even disappear. Nothing in politics and society lasts much over 100 years. You can already see the start of some of the trends that will cause that change.

I think home education is interesting in this regard. I can definitely see a situation where home ed grows significantly and politicians respond to this through creating a voucher system whereby parents group together and "buy in" teachers for their children -- ultimately leading to the rise of local cottage schools again.

I think Britain will become so populated and so chaotic (in a sense) that the State simply will not be able to administrate or run health, education, welfare, transport etc in any reasonable manner and people will react to this by creating their own health, education and welfare solutions.

I can also see the demands for an English parliament becoming louder, partially fueled by the sense of distance between Westminster and ordinary people.

[SpoiltMardyCow]

I think the Muslim population will grow to such an extent (higher birthrates, Mohammed being in the top 15 most popular names in 2015) that Sharia law will be common in some areas due to popular demand.

That is not a racist comment - simply a reflection of immigration and birth statistics.

London will continue to become a place where only the rich can live, unless by inherited property.

[suzannecaravaggio]

at any point in history if you ask people what life we be like in 20 years time most will give the 'we are going to hell in a handcart' response.

Look back to 1996, would anyone then have predicted the current situation?

I doubt it because the biggest changes often come from things that no one can forsee.
But when asked, even though we all have the benefit of hindsight people confidently say that current trends will continue, and assume that the issues of today will have the same prominence in 20 years time.

My prediction is than none of the predictions on this thread will be right

[suzannecaravaggio]

I predict that we will have made contact with aliens
life extension technology will be big
as will genetic engineering for human
3D printing will DECIMATE manufacturing all over the globe

we will all be worried about UNDER population because the birth rate will be dropping exponentially

[toffeeboffin]

I think it will become even more prevalent, Lotta, more places similar to Tower Hamlets.