To think our towns and cities are just so run down lately, and our standard of living has decreased significantly?

Well the privatisation of our water companies hasn’t made us wealthier has it. It’s given us record breaking bills and disgustingly polluted waterways.

That's never going to happen, so what is the answer? Bigger fines? More police? More council officers? Something needs to be done. We're long past the stage of morality and expecting/hoping people will behave better.

It’s the scummy people who cause this though, and people need to take responsibility to clean up after themselves

Just back from Poland - everywhere spotlessly clean, buildings renovated and well maintained, no litter on the streets, people well dressed and slim overall. Flew back into Luton - no toilet paper in the ladies toilets and rubbish dropped all over the sanitary bins. Disgusting. Welcome to the UK.

Does it really cost a fortune for, at the very least, every householder to keep the immediate area of their property clean and tidy....A broom, dustpan and brush and garden hand fork at most is all the equipment needed.

A few parks, high streets and some main roads in the county I live in come under the care of the local town councils and along with groups of volunteers helping they see to planting, weeding and building structures, making the area look really nice.

Since this has begun they have won many awards by entering the areas in Britain in Bloom competitions and some people in the community will help out by watering areas such as those planted under the street signs near their houses, contributing to their surroundings.

Does community service still exist?
If so litter picking should be something passed down by the courts as part of a community service sentence.

I think this is my town. New ivy (covered in bird poo I noticed this week), only shop that thrives is Primark. Attempt to put in middle class shops like Oliver bonas falls flat because there just isn't anything else in the town to draw you in. The new paved area could have been a space for festivals and special markets but somehow makes it more difficult to walk through. Shops that might be useful (m&s) don't have stock in any reasonable size (no size 10r or size 12r to be seen, try online apparently). Nasons and Debenhams end of town is simply dire. Very much mourning the loss of the independent shoe shop. No idea how I'm going to get my dc shoes fitted this year.

AND! had to wear the school uniform correctly, including felt hat, caps for the boys,
until we were home, including on the public bus
We were fearful of the cane, or hours of mindless lines. I hated skool

@ViciousCurrentBun

lm the same age and we had a school rule that no one could eat in public wearing the school uniform.

Can you imagine that rule today 🤣How times have changed

A perceptive post VCB.

I agree completely. The closure of industry in the 70s and 80s has been disastrous for the British public. The people who would be working in these roles transitioned onto benefits and since then we have bred an enormous underclass who are enormously expensive to maintain and cause decent working people no end of problems. Yet we have a duty to ‘keep’ them. They absolutely have not had jobs taken from them by immigrants, because they would never do any job to start with.

I think we have a lot to learn from immigrants in terms of work ethic, family values and community spirit. The ‘native British’ mindset is now selfish, entitled, individualist and ignorant. Of course many Brits aren’t like this. But many are. They feel entitled to taxpayers money, act like they’re doing us all a favour just by existing, and see every aspect of their life as the government’s responsibility.

I have nothing but gratitude for immigrants who work NMW jobs here.

I agree that tarmacking over front gardens, demolishing the front wall, for parking looks shit. I’m not sure it can be said to be an “immigrant thing”. I live in an overwhelmingly white British area and people have done it here. Most of the area has only been saved from it because the houses tend to have generous driveways and some of it is a conservation area.

Turkish barbers refers to a type of barber. It doesn't mean they are all from Turkey. Just as a French manicure doesn't mean it's done by a French person.

I agree completely. The closure of industry in the 70s and 80s has been disastrous for the British public. The people who would be working in these roles transitioned onto benefits and since then we have bred an enormous underclass who are enormously expensive to maintain and cause decent working people no end of problems. Yet we have a duty to ‘keep’ them. They absolutely have not had jobs taken from them by immigrants, because they would never do any job to start with.

I think we have a lot to learn from immigrants in terms of work ethic, family values and community spirit. The ‘native British’ mindset is now selfish, entitled, individualist and ignorant. Of course many Brits aren’t like this. But many are. They feel entitled to taxpayers money, act like they’re doing us all a favour just by existing, and see every aspect of their life as the government’s responsibility.

I have nothing but gratitude for immigrants who work NMW jobs here.