Are things in the UK as bad as it sounds in the news?

[Lolobella]

I left the UK in 2017 and now live in Europe. I obviously still follow the UK news closely and visit, although I have no family left there.

In the last few months the UK news have become increasingly grim and concerning. I can't tell if it is just the news painting the country in a worse light than necessary, or if things are genuinely as bad as the news make it sound.

Obviously this is a tough historical moment for many countries, but the doom and gloom in UK news is just on another level and makes if sound like the country is in free fall. Poverty, strikes, crazy energy prices, failing NHS and public services.. Is it really so bad?!

Yep! 100%. It's the publics fault and the government are doing everything they can by pledging more nurses, pledging to help with energy bills whilst the food prices keep hiking up dramatically, pledging to do something about immigration, pledging to increase help for those on benefits. So pretty much still pledging since you left in 2017. Wish I had done that!

In hotels because our asylum system is a shit slow mess run into the ground by the current government. Asylum seekers are unable to work (the government could easily change this law but don’t) and get £44.50 a week not exactly a life of luxury. Again your ignorance is showing as they are not entitled to public funds or handouts! We also take the least asylum seekers in Europe.

Also they are housed in hotels through companies run buy Tory donors another example of government corruption and kick backs.
Silly uneducated fool stop reading the daily mail and maybe you’d realise the problem isn’t the Albanians 😂

nannykatherine No one on these threads are interested. I've frequently answered with what the reality is for people living in Spain on these type of threads and no one has ever responded to me. The British are very...British-centric . They're not interested to know what's going on in other countries or that they're much more fortunate than the majority of the world 🤷🏻‍♀️

Well said, I agree. (almost completely!)

You are right about Headteacher salaries- but not many earn over £100,000. Most earn somewhere between £55,000- £90,000 with many (in primary schools) towards the lower end of that. The bigger earners are academy chain Heads. I'd never say Heads are badly paid but main scale teachers often are.

Tony Blair was not PM in 1992- we had a Tory government. When Blair was PM, education and health were well-funded and standards did improve. Blair never had an issue with people earning millions- he wanted social justice for everyone, not to limit those at the top. I don't think you understand New Labour as it was then.

Schools do not exist to train children to do what every employer wants them to do.People continue to develop skills throughout life. If you are saying people who have graduated since 1992 have poor written English skills, then they, and the people who have employed them in the last 30 years, have had a responsibility to develop the employment skills required in their job. You can't blame schools they left in 1988/89 to go to university.

@RosesAndHellebores
Many of those nasty old capitalists have paid tax in spades, been quite philanthropic and have not used public services despite making full contributions to them.
they may not have used them directly but they surely (as do we all) still benefit from the fact they exist? Without schools for the plebs no business could be staffed, without hospitals their employees would be less available...they need the plebs to be educated and patched up so that people will work for them and make them wealthy
@Fordian
England needs proportional representation. A massive uplift in educational standards. A huge public housing program. Proper tax of second home owners. High inheritance tax. No off-shoring of profits (earn the money/pay the tax).
Yes but the people who make the rules rely on all that to keep them rich and inpower....they make the rules to favour themselves, thats why they get richer & richer and we get poorer. Once people are in power they dig in, they use their wealth & power to protect & extend their wealth & power

That works if you are paying yourself but generally if you are insured you have to have a GP referral, although it depends, some services like physio are self-referral.

But eg when my DH needed a knee replacement, he had to get a referral from his NHS GP to see a consultant. We used e-consult which was great and he got a telephone appointment and a referral (and I have also helped my mum use it and she actually got a face to face appointment) but guess what, my surgery have discontinued using it! So who knows what would happen next time.

@MadMadaMim Exactly. The amount of gaslighting on this thread is sickening

Tiggy321 · Today 18:33
I left UK in 2006 and have lots of family still there. I know things are bad but isn’t the media hyping it all up too?? I am in Belgium and prices are crazy here- energy is barely affordable even for professionals. Food prices have always been higher than UK and are rising fast. We have strikes too regularly. Life is no picnic here either and I don’t think it is worse or better than the UK tbh..

exactly this

German energy prices are 25-30% higher that UK, electricity having doubled and gas increased fourfold in the last year. Have just spent approximately €6000 on a tank of oil and wood for the winter’s heating.
Food prices have increased. Dairy items about 3 times the price they were at the beginning of the year.

Not denying the problems in the UK but other countries are in the same situation.

I live in Portugal. We use gas bottles for water heating, a bottle costs about €30 and lasts around 6 weeks. We don't stint on electric (washing machine, dishwasher, lots of electronics and - at the moment - 3 dehumidifiers going 24/7) and our bill is c€80 a month. Heating is mainly from a pellet burner and that is now expensive, a bag costs €9 and lasts about 3/4 days so will average €90 a month over the winter. Water/rubbish collection is €20 a month. So total utilities €210ish.

A doctors visit is free, as is a specialist referral. If you need an operation and it can't be done on the health service within 6 months of you being seen by a consultant you will be sent to a private hospital and the cost covered by the state.

I've been to hospital twice in the last six months. First time was to a private hospital for a sudden sciatica attack. Seen, X-rayed, treated and referral letter within a hour at a cost of €125.

Second time to my local hospital for back pain. Waited 8 minutes. Seen, examined, pain killer prescription, CT scan and full bloods ordered and referral to neurologist - all free.

I follow the UK news (Ch4, Guardian/Times & LBC) and I am very glad to live in Portugal.

It's fairly realistic, there are lots of strikes, energy, fuel and food are rapidly increasing in price but wages aren't. Interest rates are going up too so good if you have money in the bank but not if you have a mortgage.

I’m from Malta but live in the UK, and I can say energy prices in Malta, a small european island with no natural resources and a much smaller economy than the British one, has not increased energy prices and neither fuel prices. University is still free for all and there are no strikes or issues with most sectors. Is it perfect? Definitely not. But when the UK government here keeps blaming Russia for a 100% increase in energy bills, lack of funds and food cost increases, its clearly not the only issue. Otherwise all countries would have the same issues, probably even worse.

in my opinion what we’re seeing is the UK government not blaming themselves for the hardships of Brexit and the gross misuse of public funds during covid, now the pax payers must pay it all back but hey lets blame the biggest crisis in the recent 100 years on a war in Russia…because its the only thing no one can blame the government now that covid is over..

Yes,can confirm its a shit show

The audacity of this immigrant moaning about immigration🙄🤔

Yes it is, I am a nurse and going out tomorrow to support my workmates.
It is pretty shit.

Every single bill has gone up significantly even food, and energy now costs quadruple what it did this time last year 😬 and it appears there’s no end in sight as rental cost and mortgages due to increase by a predicted £300 next year for a lot of people. Glad we went on a 3 year fixed rate back in July but I slightly wish we went for a 5 year as I’m scared this shit show will last for a very long time and we won’t be able to afford the mortgage. Fingers crossed that doesn’t happen.

No. Bear in mind that the only bad news is news. There is a tendency for our (ie UK mainstream media) to report bad news with a certain relish.

Its truly awful here everyone I work with has had enough I couldn't get a doctors appointment for my son or daughter when they were ill dd ended up in hospital as she couldn't get antibiotics as we couldn't get to see doctor. I've been stuck off by my dentist as I couldn't afford to pay for a check up. Food is crazy expensive we are cold and wondering what is the point we are only existing not living.

I’m in my early 50’s and it’s by far the worst period I’ve lived through. And I lived through 70’s Britain and the shortages/strikes - which is why I assume baby boomers keep voting Tory, but without remembering the good bits, ie a great NHS with no waiting times, free education, swimming, musical instruments, council funded drama school etc etc. I’ve been pretty active politically over the last 7 years and honestly people who continue to vote these lot in should hang their heads in shame. It’s been very depressing canvassing on the doorstep incidentally, people show so little interest beyond their own little world, seem to have no foresight and believe everything they read in the press which is why we are where we are quite frankly.,

@RosesAndHellebores well obviously life is great in your home counties surrey town. Of course it is but quite a lot of the UK isn't a bit like Surrey 😂. Services cut to the bone, litter everywhere as well as homeless on every corner.
It would open some eyes if folk like you saw how the rest of the UK has fared.

Ah yes Surrey. The wealthiest county in England.

The UK is now reaping the ‘reward’ of Govt policies over the last 40 years. The greed is good era, removal of regulations that protected us all , selling off all National assets et al is what’s behind this mess. Brexit only exacerbated the rot. Even Labours PFI policies were flawed however well intentioned.
When did it become acceptable for billionaire employers to be subsidised by taxpayers via universal credit top ups for their underpaid workers?
Who allows senior NHS , Rail and Water company managers to dispose of land and properties for buttons to their arms length mates who then cash in … I know of one transaction where receipts of £1.4 million yielded £75+ million profit .
There is a profound lack of oversight and effective accountability .
The corrupt response to Covid may have been avoided had pandemic contingencies not been sidelined as unnecessary and expensive.
The Civil Service was told not to make any plans to manage Brexit as senior figures expected a second referendum to change the outcome ; no planning was done until far too late.
Etc Etc
Government relies on the Official Secrets Act and 100 year rule to keep people in the dark. So much goes unreported.
This shitshow has been long coming .
Its a National disgrace and we are suffering badly.

And who initially encouraged people not to work and subsidised many many people to limit work through the introuduction of working tax credit and the 16 hour rule.. I believe it was a chap called Bliar

Tories introduced income support in 1972, it has been called many things since, the latest is UC.. by the Cons, so might be an idea to check your facts before writing complete rubbish or criticising graduates who can't string a sentence together - neither can you.

"a posh accent and a quick wit" 😂
I am with you. We are the very lucky 1% who don't feel much impact from inflation. Many people are. But they voted the Tory in. They are easily impressed by the likes of JRM and BoJo.
From the recent interview with red wall voters, it looks like they will keep voting the Tory / Nigel Garage in. Depressing 😥They are the exact people who are doing worse under the Tory.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/dec/11/this-lot-no-way-what-red-wall-voters-think-now-of-boris-johnson-the-tories-and-labour?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
Rebecca Layton, 37, a nursing assistant, also voted Labour until 2019. “Labour just didn’t have many things to do for Blyth,” she said. Plus, it had a “loony” leading the party. “I know they say don’t vote for the person, vote for their policies, but he was the face of Labour and he was going to rule the country? No, sorry. Boris Johnson was the better man to do it.”

Ann Rackham, a retired research psychologist who grew up in Penistone and lives in the town, considers herself European and voted to remain in the EU but is a big fan of Nigel Farage and would still like to see him as prime minister.

She said: “I think he has a lot of common sense. Farage is the man we need at the moment. I like politicians who shout, or at least who are assertive.”

It's bad for all the reasons stated. But ... people are still spending right now. Retail footfall has held up better than anticipated in December. I think the shit is still to hit the fan...