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?!

For balance- I don't find the UK so bad! I needed the NHS twice in the last month and both times it was brilliant, and was seen within 1 hour. I've got a great NHS dentist, my kids go to outstanding state schools, and our food costs are far cheaper than when we lived in the USA.

And inflation/strikes/energy bills are hitting all countries, but we love to beat ourselves up in the UK! I've lived all over the World with work, and I'd rather live here than many of the countries I've visited over the years.

So without Fucking Brexit, without having having callously hollowed out the NHS for 12 years, leaving it on it's knees; without Trussonomics, without a decade of lowering the basic standard of living for millions of people; without spending any of the last 12 years dodging making wise, long-term decisions about energy dependance, and so on... things would be, what?

These 'external factors' would be biting a whole lot less without the perfect storm of economic and societal wreckage that this fucking government is now slithering over.

I never used to judge people's politics. Now, I judge the fuck out of a Tory voter.

Which of course, you're not.

Here too.

Most of my friends and family are doing ok but we live in a very middle class affluent area. Yes, everything is more expensive now but we can cope.

However I'm well aware that families on lower incomes are really struggling to hear their homes and put food on the table.

The NHS is on its knees. I spent an hour trying to get through to 111 at the weekend before I gave up. A teacher friend is letting parents keep their children home from school because there are several cases of Strep A but no antibiotics available at any pharmacies.

How can we live in a country which cannot provide antibiotics for its children?!

The Tories have been in power 12 years. Is there one single metric of governance you could say is better than it was in 2010?

Have they improved anything for the U.K. in that time?

I’m sure some rich people have got richer, but I can’t think of a single other benefit to anyone.

I do think the UK has changed drastically in the past 5 years. I was surprised to learn that my relatives in Israel are earning more than many people in the UK. Israel has historically struggled with mismanagement and low wages on account of the war which is the foremost issue. The pound has also devalued quite a bit. And they have a functioning healthcare system like most OECD countries i can't say the same in the UK.

OP I've been in your situation (living in continental Europe and watching UK news and thinking the country was becoming a total hellhole -- and that was 3 years ago!) Then we moved back and found things were bad but if you're lucky, you can still manage. I think that's still the case.

Most people I know personally are managing ok and not because they are wealthy (I only know a couple wealthy people and they are actually freaking out the most). In our case, we live in a tiny flat with low energy costs, no mortgage bc we rent, only one older child, no car, no debt. All of that helps a lot. We are very lucky to be healthy but even so our GP is some miracle practice that is still functioning really well. We are on very average income but so far it's ok.

I say all that not to disagree that things are terrible, because they really are for a lot of people, but just to say that a lot of us are still getting by for now. I work in central London and everything is still packed with people spending lots of money. So it's an extremely weird place to be right now.

You have to earn in excess of £300k to be in top 5% of London's earners. So plenty of people on very good incomes, leading good lives. But they are concentrated in certain sectors like the financial services sector, the IT sector and some professions like doctor/solicitor.

That's not strictly true. There are lots of high earners outside of those professions and many high earners living outside of London with very high levels of disposable income, enjoying very luxurious lifestyles.

When I tell friends abroad what an average wage is in the UK they always say it seems really low.
We are now a low wage economy being asset stripped by the rich.

yep it’s all doom and gloom. Haven’t energy prices rocketed in Europe too? We’re told it’s a global issue!

my DH told me this today when i was worrying whether his mum could afford fresh vegetables. He said that while she doesn't earn a lot, a potato tripling in price would still be relatively cheap. However a mercedes benz tripling in price is something quite different even if the rich person has more disposable income.

I think that the cost of living crisis actually hits the middle class a lot too and parts of that does include wealthy people. The three trips abroad, the expensive cars, the big houses all add up when there is high inflation.Poor people only spend on essentials anyway, and there are ways to get essentials for free whether from food banks. Also easy to get cheap clothes from vinted and charity shops. Non essentials on the other hand are a different story.

At least we can take comfort in the fact that revolutions are usually started by the middle class.

It is really bad here.

Energy increases, grocery prices increases, a government that doesn't care, lots of ill health, lots of food banks, strikes, lack of affordable housing and people's mental health is really suffering. We will soon have a housing crash. Our infrastructure is crumbling.

Everyone I know is just exhausted by it all.

My experience isn’t reflective of the news. I feel we have less money but also have 3 dc at secondary school and that’s an expensive age ime. We seem to be in credit for electric and gas and I’m due a pay rise next September. Could all change in April as dh’s job is up in the air due to a company merger, but it’s been ticking on for 18 months so we’re ignoring that until we know what to worry about.

speaking to my brother in a Canada it’s fairly similar there. In the pandemic the nurses went on strike and demanded more money so they government actually gave them less and they would lose more if they carried on.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4675813-to-say-this-is-emotional-cheating

I dont imagine it's changed that much since you lived in Bristol a few weeks ago

No-one should be “getting by” or “managing” in one of the wealthiest countries on earth.

The elites are hoping to sit this one out by once again invoking the Blitz spirit and pretending this is part of some kind of war effort for Ukraine.

children are being sent away from A&E and dying

Sorry but since when? Link? Or is it personal experience?

No, no it’s not - however

Inflation is an issue, as it is globally - energy prices and mortgage hikes are exacerbating the impact. Money seems tighter than the 2008 recession and people have been hit hard.

The inflation issue hits public spending, but even that can’t gloss over that institution’s have been run down by successive governments. At best they’ve stood still in terms of funding over the last decade, and now any free capacity or flex has gone.

I was just speaking in general terms, I am very well aware that Switzerland is not in the EU!

www.independent.co.uk/news/health/yusuf-nazir-pneumonia-hospital-bed-b2235079.html?amp

Hmm..

🤣🤣🤣

Busted, OP!

That you even need to have this conversation is quite frankly ridiculous.
I have an ex of a similar period. For a while we lived very close by. I'll occasionally chat to him if I see him out and about. We had a hug following the death of a mutual friend (important in the time we were together). My husband was there, didn't bat an eyelid.
Ultimately he knows I chose him and is comfortable in that. I have no interest in the ex like that but I can't pretend that period of my life never happened.
I used to get my hair cut by one of my husband's exes.

Your DH sounds like an insecure, jealous controlling nightmare.
If this will kill you marriage it's foundation is built on sand.

The Tories have been in power 12 years. Is there one single metric of governance you could say is better than it was in 2010?

I think it's worse than just Tory governance - I'm in Wales labour run NHS and Education for over 20 years and it's usually considered worse - I don't think the SNP governance is great either though they at least talked to the Nurses union and avoided the strike action. Though I'll concede that N.I with no local governance is in worst place with NHS.

None of the parties seem to want to do anything about social care or aging population issues - I think there are a lot of problems that have been kicked down the road that are suddenly coming home to roost at same time as economic stressors like Brexit, Covid and global downturns are also hitting.

But there are still many countries worse than the UK - USA very much among them.

That's a very misleading chart. For the US it's only including public universities, i.e. state universities and community colleges, yes those are cheaper but only for in-state residents and that's only one type of school. Average tuition for regular universities is much much higher. e.g. my US university cost $12,000/year .... in 1991! It's now $55,000. I have no idea how anyone affords it (I only could due to scholarship).

btw UK universities are now charging £30,000 a year for international MA students, it's crazy