Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To despair at this government??

428 replies

IllTakeACheapSeatPlease · 11/06/2026 20:43

This shambolic government - its utter chaos, the Tories were bad but Christ this lot are on another level.
Im really worried about where we’re heading, riots breaking out everywhere, the armed forces imploding, the police untrustworthy, we’re a laughing stock on the international stage.
Id say to call an early GE but I’m not a fan or reform either. At this point - I’d take the Tories back.
WTF is going on? I’m approaching 50 and I’ve never known the country in such a state.

AIBU to think we’re literally on the edge now? And what can actually be done to save it??

I am prone to anxiety so feel free to tell me on catastrophising

OP posts:
EasternStandard · 11/06/2026 22:48

Crispsandcola · 11/06/2026 22:39

Seriously Nigel, go find something else to rage coldly at. Not gonna lie, low-key, this is giving desperate.

Is everyone around you Nigel? You sound a bit upset at how it’s going for Labour. I can understand why.

Not gonna lie, low key, giving desperate and all that.

KateSixer · 11/06/2026 22:45

JacJac77 · 11/06/2026 20:55

Cound not disagree more. Interested to hear precisely why this government is so much more of a disaster than the last one? There are some very short memories.

The simplest explanation to give to you is that they (like you) saw with their own eyes how shit the last government were, yet they learned nothing from this and having been given the opportunity to have a fresh start with new ideas they have made things even shitter!

This is true across defence, justice, police, benefits, health, immigration, culture wars, women's rights, and I am sure other areas too.

furimosa · 11/06/2026 22:44

Regular IRA terrorist attacks
on mainland Britain, over 700 people were murdered in the 80’s alone!

@SoftAsSteel I would have thought murders were much higher? In the 90s it was about 6k

BIossomtoes · 11/06/2026 22:44

Yellowshirt · 11/06/2026 22:21

You're part of the generation that basically got handed houses on a plate which are now worth 10 times more and you still claim your skint and can’t afford a little cut in your pensions despite having generous savings.

I was 37 before I could afford a house. It wasn’t handed to anyone on a plate in fact when I bought in 1991 people were handing their keys to the lender because they couldn’t afford their mortgage, lots of people were in negative equity and some were repossessed so they lost everything. I think the triple lock should go if that helps you any.

nutella8 · 11/06/2026 22:42

Just in case anyone was looking the other way while the Conservatives were running the country for 14 years, let’s not rewrite history.

This was the period that brought us austerity, Brexit, Partygate, Covid scandals, revolving-door Prime Ministers, and the disastrous Truss mini-budget.

Meanwhile, public services were stretched to breaking point. NHS waiting lists soared, schools struggled for resources, police numbers fell before later recoveries, local councils went bankrupt, infrastructure projects stalled, and economic growth lagged behind many developed countries.

No government is perfect, and Labour will rightly be judged on its own record. But anyone claiming our problems began in 2024 conveniently forgets who was in charge from 2010 to 2024.

Crispsandcola · 11/06/2026 22:39

EasternStandard · 11/06/2026 22:37

Really? All is good with Labour?

No notice of resignations

Seriously Nigel, go find something else to rage coldly at. Not gonna lie, low-key, this is giving desperate.

Honeyhonay · 11/06/2026 22:37

Bushmillsbabe · 11/06/2026 22:30

Sorry, typo, I meant 20%. Interest rates peaked at 18%, and mortgage rates are usually a few percent above the bank of England Base rate.

20% is still pretty brutal though

Hmm of course you changed it, but no it still wasn’t 20% it was 17% which sounds high but compared to the average house price at the time and benching that against contemporary highs of 6.8% in 2023 and those average house prices it was still more affordable to pay 17% on a 19k home in 1980.

TicklishReader · 11/06/2026 22:37

PropertyD · 11/06/2026 22:36

Look for a Reform/Conservative coalition. Labour are a disgrace

Oh, deary me.

EasternStandard · 11/06/2026 22:37

Crispsandcola · 11/06/2026 22:36

I'm so sick of these propaganda posts. FFS give it a rest Nigel.

Really? All is good with Labour?

No notice of resignations

Yellowshirt · 11/06/2026 22:37

Squirrelsnut · 11/06/2026 22:29

Grow up.

So you think its right a 2 bedroom house costs £222000? Meanwhile uk debt is getting bigger and bigger.
And people wonder why the young generation have zero motivation.
Not all pensioners are skint.

TheKittenswithMittens · 11/06/2026 22:37

I remember the power cuts in the 70s. Playing cards by candlelight. DB cheating because the light was so bad. Happy days.

PropertyD · 11/06/2026 22:36

BIossomtoes · 11/06/2026 22:34

But her party isn’t. The candidate in Makerfield is a good one and he’s expected to lose his deposit.

Look for a Reform/Conservative coalition. Labour are a disgrace

Crispsandcola · 11/06/2026 22:36

I'm so sick of these propaganda posts. FFS give it a rest Nigel.

BIossomtoes · 11/06/2026 22:34

Bushmillsbabe · 11/06/2026 22:31

She is currently polling as the most popular party leader.

But her party isn’t. The candidate in Makerfield is a good one and he’s expected to lose his deposit.

SoftAsSteel · 11/06/2026 22:34

BIossomtoes · 11/06/2026 21:49

my mum is 87 and she doesn't remember it being this shit

I’m 72 and I remember it being far worse. The succession of governments we had throughout the 70s - the Tories and Labour took it in turns - were shockingly bad. The basic rate of tax was 33%, inflation was running in double digits - it hit 27% at one point. There were endless strikes, shortages, power cuts. This is a walk in the park in comparison.

I’m in my 60’s and I too remember it being bad. No electric most evenings because of miners strikes, bins overflowing with rubbish and rats everywhere.

In the 70’s, shivering in front of a coal fire with only candles for light, while listening to my mum and dad worrying about money. And we weren’t poor! Dad was an accountant, mum a nurse and we had a chalet my parents rented out. So god knows what it was like for those on the breadline.

Then the 80’s and worrying about the 3 minute warning and doubting, and I mean seriously doubting, you’d make adulthood. Watching public information films on what to do in the event of a nuclear attack. Regular IRA terrorist attacks
on mainland Britain, over 700 people were murdered in the 80’s alone!

So no. Seen it all before, I’m still here and this too will pass. Watch the fashions. You can always tell when an economic boom is on its way!

PropertyD · 11/06/2026 22:34

They will hang onto the bitter end hoping something will turn things around,

LuckyHazelFox · 11/06/2026 22:32

Bushmillsbabe · 11/06/2026 22:26

There is talk that if Burnham becomes pm he will call a GE to 'gain a bigger mandate'. He knows Kemi is gaining ground. Plus if he does it now he can promise XY and Z, but if he does 3 years in power and nothing changes then that much harder to get votes - it's much easier to promise than to deliver.

However, with Reforms gains, there is a risk Reform could win, which is unthinkable

I can't see him calling a GE. A GE within months would see Labour crucified.

Bushmillsbabe · 11/06/2026 22:31

BanditTheCat · 11/06/2026 22:30

Kemi / Conservatives are losing seats left right and centre. They are in no way ‘gaining ground’. In fact the Conservative Party are at risk of being obsolete.

She is currently polling as the most popular party leader.

Bushmillsbabe · 11/06/2026 22:30

Honeyhonay · 11/06/2026 22:26

The peak was closer to half that!

Sorry, typo, I meant 20%. Interest rates peaked at 18%, and mortgage rates are usually a few percent above the bank of England Base rate.

20% is still pretty brutal though

BanditTheCat · 11/06/2026 22:30

Bushmillsbabe · 11/06/2026 22:26

There is talk that if Burnham becomes pm he will call a GE to 'gain a bigger mandate'. He knows Kemi is gaining ground. Plus if he does it now he can promise XY and Z, but if he does 3 years in power and nothing changes then that much harder to get votes - it's much easier to promise than to deliver.

However, with Reforms gains, there is a risk Reform could win, which is unthinkable

Kemi / Conservatives are losing seats left right and centre. They are in no way ‘gaining ground’. In fact the Conservative Party are at risk of being obsolete.

Blah9876 · 11/06/2026 22:30

Fillies4DeclanRice · 11/06/2026 20:49

Just turned in the news and another minister has resigned since the defence secretary resigned this afternoon.

I cannot believe how incompetent Labour are.

Every celebrity who endorsed them in 2024 deserves to be shamed.

Not sure celebs need to be ashamed any more than anyone who voted for them if you think that way about it.

LuckyHazelFox · 11/06/2026 22:29

EvangelicalAboutButteredToast · 11/06/2026 22:23

Pmsl. We’re back to hating on Boomers again. Doesn’t take long until that old chestnut rolls around again.

My OH is a boomer - ex coal miner and he worked for every penny he got and risked his life in the process. I get sick of hearing that boomers had it easy.

TicklishReader · 11/06/2026 22:29

As someone born and raised in Belfast, huh?

These riots have nothing to do with the government. Can you explain why you think they do?

Squirrelsnut · 11/06/2026 22:29

Yellowshirt · 11/06/2026 22:21

You're part of the generation that basically got handed houses on a plate which are now worth 10 times more and you still claim your skint and can’t afford a little cut in your pensions despite having generous savings.

Grow up.

Nanda66 · 11/06/2026 22:28

Yellowshirt · 11/06/2026 22:21

You're part of the generation that basically got handed houses on a plate which are now worth 10 times more and you still claim your skint and can’t afford a little cut in your pensions despite having generous savings.

That’s just nasty.
Every generation has different challenges. I remember when interest rates were 15% and I was in negative equity and couldn’t sleep at night. I consider myself very lucky to own my home now but for years I was stressed about it. It’s very difficult for people starting out on the housing ladder now and I’ve tried to help my family. But it doesn’t mean that everyone always had it easy.
No-one ever handed me anything on a plate.