So what in the UK DOES work really well? I can't think of much!

[QueenofTheBorg]

HMRC are turning their phones off in a minute
The roads are a state almost everywhere
The NHS is underfunded and broken
Schools are crumbling, there aren't enough teachers, unsurprisingly
Railways and a lot of public transport doesn't work well
Councils are able to go bankrupt, I'm not sure how or why
Shoplifting is rarely prosecuted
Rape is pretty much a non crime, the prosecution rate is so low
The police are misogynistic and don't respond to many crimes (shoplifting for eg)
Food prices are ridiculous, as are petrol prices
The cost of living crisis has affected millions
Interest rates mean lots of people can't afford their houses
There are strikes left right and centre
Prisons are nearly full
Courts are backlogged by cases anyway
There's not enough support for anyone with mental health issues

Nothing seems to work does it?

Or are there some things that work amazingly well in the UK? If so, what?

Is this years of Tory underinvestment in infrastructure? Some of this I think is due to the Ukraine war but not all of it. What do you think?

@QueenofTheBorg
"The NHS is underfunded and broken"
My DH has recently been diagnosed with cancer. Went to GP in December, and Hospital appt in Jan.
No long waits at all, and his treatment (on the NHS) and including a short hospital stay, seems to be very good. Maybe it depends on the specific area or trust, etc

Lawlessness. We have plenty of yobs to run riot all over the place, robbing people and smashing stuff up. It's free as well as they're rarely prosecuted 😀 👍🏻

The Weather. Only in Britain do you have to prepare daily for anything from snow and hail to overheating and sweaty humidity all in the space of 24 hours. Take everything from an industrial strength Aran sweater to a bikini and suncream just for an afternoon out. Not to mention all the grey skies and rain which have you reaching for the antidepressants and getting into debt just to afford 10 days away in whichever country will still have us 😭

Binge Drinking. Nobody does this as well as we do. Extra kudos for being able to go out practically naked, even in winter ❄️😎

Crufts always does well, encouraging UK dog breeders to breed animals which can't breathe, walk properly, have sex and even give birth. They must be so proud to have established breed standards which cause lifelong pain and distress to countless generations of man's best friend.

Stupidity. Few nations do stupidity quite like we do. Whether it's loud, drunken football fans fighting and falling off cliffs to Year 1's beating up their teachers, that rebellious British spirit is thriving thanks to social media and foreign holidays. Even the Spanish have finally had enough of us 🙈

Honorary mention to the Royal Family, bless their posh, dysfunctional hearts 😂

You must be living in a different NI to me in relation to NHS. we have the longest waiting lists for hospitals appointments in the UK. Our local A&E department is like a third world country. Friend spent three days on a chair in A&E
Would agree that the schools here are great and housing is cheaper.

I'm in the process of applying for citizenship of the country where I live. Computer said no because of a very minor error on my UK birth certificate which they insisted I had to get corrected.

It took me 24 hours to get the correction made and about 10 days for me to receive a new birth certificate in the post (to my overseas address).

Government administration is really very very good in the UK.

The concept of the supermarket meal deal

Baked beans

Libraries (where I am)

My local GP practice (realise this is not the case for many people)

Homicide rates have been falling for years in Scotland:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/617711/homicide-rate-scotland/

Sensible driving.
Supermarkets & food choices for those with dietary issues - free from ingredients & ranges.
NHS once you set passed the gatekeepers - my cancer care has been caring & efficient.
Maps.
Online banking & shopping.
Acceptance of others appearance - you can largely dress how you want in the UK with barely a raised eyebrow.
Talk radio.

The tube! It's great.

I agree that our animal welfare laws are better than most.

I also agree that the Passport Office is offering a good service these days, although at £82.50 per adult passport, it bloody well ought to be.

The “main park” in our town is beautifully maintained with fantastic flower beds.

I disagree that Royal Mail is offering a good service, though. I think it has really gone downhill due to staff shortages.

@Irishmama100 we are in a area with a tiny population, an hour from Belfast so not using the bigger hospitals which is perhaps why our doctors surgery has a minor injuries too but when I have had to attend a and e for my child and when I gave birth the service was incredible but I realise the smaller hospitals will have less demands on their resources so this is probably why

What a colossal waste of time and resources these are. They don’t even look nice, especially after the month of rain we’ve just had.

Oh I love "David Austin roses" - that's such a British contribution to the thread 🙂

I also want to add "most people don't have guns" - I think that's a brilliant thing about this country

Flower shows

Free museums (although appreciate this is mainly a London thing).

I’m trying to work out whether you think that the rest of the UK is a cultural wasteland devoid of museums, or that only London museums are free

Second hand bookshops.

Cats.

Fish and chip shops.

The wildfowl and wetlands trust

Our tap water is the best in the world, and service uninterrupted with hardly any water quality incidents. In many other parts of the world you can’t drink the tap water, or it cuts out or you get told to boil it. Never happens here. Wastewater industry not so good recently.

A couple recently. Darlington Hospital walk in x-ray. Doctor suspected pneumonia & told me to go straight to walk in x-ray. I was very apprehensive having endured some long waits for things previously but waited about 2 minutes, had my x-ray, results in a couple of days. Next replaced my son's heated blanket which had stopped working after a couple of months. Home delivery in two days.

I'd say stroke care too. I believe the UK led the world in national standards for stroke care from the early 2000s (I'm prepared to believe we weren't the leaders but we were among them) and despite everything in the NHS, I would still say acute stroke care can be excellent in this country. (I would, though, as I'm part of it :p)

Paddington 2 is an exquisite example of quintessential cosy British nonsense.

Haven't RTFT so sorry if it has already been said: voting. No dodgy corruptible voting machines like the US. No political opponents falling out of windows. No single party elections.

Applied for passport renewal online on Saturday, posted old passport back on Monday, new passport delivered on Friday.

Bloody marvelous

Radio 3
The RNLI
Ocado
Tell Us Once

That last one is the service you are offered when you register a death. The Registrar gets some basic information from you and it's all passed on electronically to various government agencies and big companies which is a huge saving in time, expense and distress at a difficult time. Mum and I used it last year when my Dad died and within a few days we had a letter confirming Mum would get the single person discount on her council tax, Dad's state pension had been cancelled and Mum's re-calculated to give her most of it, HMRC were in touch about overpayment of PAYE, and I think one of the financial services companies we had to deal with were also able to verify his death through this service. I was very impressed and grateful. All free.

It probably varies, but I found that all the companies and agencies I did have to phone up, email or write to were very well set up to deal with bereavement. The staff were sympathetic and knowledgeable. It helped a lot.

That’s probably about to change due to the looming higher education shitstorm and the likelihood that a number of universities are going to go bust and the majority are taking significant cost cutting measures.

We do still make some fantastic TV programmes.

The Detectorists
Everything David Attenborough is involved with
University Challenge
The Great British Sewing Bee
Line of Duty

Lots of brilliant crime fiction writers.