The UK has borrowed too much money, has a massive debt - £105 billion goes on paying our debt interest

I don’t agree with this. @Ggfksshas a point.

There are a lot less people in Sweden, so even though no lockdown they were still not crowding each other. They also don't appear to be quite so entitled, and more likely to follow suggestions to mitigate risk to others. Therefore they could take the risk of not locking down and losing too many people.

Of course lockdowns harmed the economy, as they did everywhere but really there was no alternative for places like the UK, rammed with people.

Those who were vulnerable could have chosen to stay at home whilst the rest of us got on with our lives.

There are a lot less people in Sweden, so even though no lockdown they were still not crowding each other. They also don't appear to be quite so entitled, and more likely to follow suggestions to mitigate risk to others. Therefore they could take the risk of not locking down and losing too many people.

Of course lockdowns harmed the economy, as they did everywhere but really there was no alternative for places like the UK, rammed with people.

What do you mean?

This.

This is the biggest problem we have. Thatcher sold our assets. She one of our most popular PMs. We've loved the Tories. Voted them in mostly. Fools who've no hope of benefitting from a Tory government have lapped it up. People voted for Brexit, again mostly by those who have most to lose. Here we are. We voted for this. This is the consequence of poor voting.

OR we could hire within our borders first THEN source from outside we have unemployed doctors and nurses in the UK and we are hiring from overseas? Why are we not prioritising our home trained staff

Maybe look at the population of Sweden compared to the UK? Also the general nature of the Swedes themselves - do you really think it would have worked?

"Mass immigration" - this loaded phrase does not help look at the realities. I have been in hospital several times over the last year and without these immigrants I would be dead now.

Lockdown cost a load and was totally essential. In fact it was too little too late.

I am all for government borrowing more and spending more - how else will we have the services and infrastructure we need?

This is a large part of why disability payments at the current level are unaffordable and borrowing to give people benefits is the wrong answer. This is what all of those people who think Labour are evil for tackling the soaring benefits bill fail to comprehend. The country is totally economically f’d.

Yes of course. Sorry to be blunt but it’s true that many pensioners are living in houses too big for their needs in this country. We need to tax behaviour that is bad for society. It is bad for society not to make most efficient use of housing stock.

Lockdown definitely made the economy worse and was way overblown. Just seen how Sweden avoided it

This is why privatisation is such an abject failure. Any profits that are made with state owned infrastructure go straight back to the Exchequer, when they're privatised they go straight into shareholder profits whilst investment in said infrastructure is virtually nil.

We've been selling stuff for years to balance the books. It's a short term fix in the year it's sold because it makes the books look better. But after that, it gets a little bit shitter year on year.

Britain is unique among Western democracies in that regard.

Yes because everyone knows spending on orphans is where most of the budget goes...

Some people have jobs that tie them to an area or family they need to be around for. I could not move up north as I need to be near my elderly parents. We can’t all just pick up and move.

Some of us tried to point out that months and months of lockdowns (way beyond what was needed) would have very bad economic consequences. We were told to shut up and stop murdering grannies.

Many countries locked down. We had economic problems before covid.

We need immigration due to the falling birth rate. A lot of this is due to the extortionate cost of childcare (which is why we need capital investment into building state nursery schools that could be ran like the private sector (I.e. core hours completely free but a charge for wraparound and holidays. Any profits to be reinvested into education).

It’s grimly fascinating to see how few people have mentioned the real elephant in the room - mass immigration. They’d rather shaft/ blame pensioners and the disabled than even mention the population explosion, which is the ACTUAL reason that housing is so limited and expensive. The real reason their kids are finding it impossible to move out.

In addition illegal immigration is costing us billions per year. The hotels these immigrants are being put up in cost around 14 million a day. That’s not a ‘right wing talking point’. It’s a fact.

Yet people on mumsnet will do anything to avoid talking about this. It’s astonishing that it’s more socially acceptable to target the disabled and elderly who have spent their whole lives here.

'Modernisation required throughout'????

What is wrong with the world? That house is perfectly liveable in, and when I was young people lived in houses that required far more 'modernisation' than that house, and did any work as and when they could afford it. I can't help but start to lose sympathy with the young people whining about not being able to afford to buy a house - often what they mean is they can't afford to buy the perfect house.

I'm renting myself, and my flat is a 70s flat with no 'modernisation' other than a new bathroom - which only happened this year due to a leak which required the bath to be removed. The flat behind me still has the original bathroom.