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?

Personally, as a person of colour, I've found London more tolerant and accepting. I don't find my race is noticed or an issue. I find diverse ethnicities are integrated.

I've had a very different experience in France, Germany, the US and other countries.

@aroalfks anecdotally it has apparently improved, some of my friends here work in healthcare and say it’s no longer an issue however there is no 12 week screening here which I feel is a stealth attempt to stop women TFMR

Gun control
air ambulances
regional accents
pleasant small talk in queues and bus stops
british comedy
radio 4
cbbc
curry houses
ordinance survey maps
the lionesses
local hedgehog rescues

Again many other banks in the US and also the UK are able to securely and successfully authenticate their customers without a card reader so yes it is archaic. As I said there are many online only banks both in the UK eg Monzo etc and US who face more cyber risk than traditional banks like Barclays and they don’t use a standalone card reader. So yes it is archaic.

If you really think a card reader is the only or best form of multi factor authentication then you’re mistaken, it is not.

And if the card reader is only for those who don’t have a smartphone then give people options don’t spend so much time and money shipping card readers to all customers.

I don’t even think any other bank in te UK uses pin entry aside Barclays so there is no way you can claim it is because of UK government regulation or that it is the best and most efficient form of MFA.

T.

Nationwide use a card reader. NatWest use a fob that generates numbers when you press a button. Source: account holder with both.

Monzo accounts cannot be opened nor used without a smartphone app. Source: Monzo's FAQ:

How do I get a Monzo account?
It's really easy! Just download the Monzo app on either iOS or Android, sign up in just a few minutes and you're done.

Monzo's what you can do, when, and how page confirms this.

I trust a card reader or fob far more than I trust a hackable smartphone. Ever heard of stalkerware? Some of it takes screenshots...

@VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia Nationwide has recently reduced its use of card reader, through the app, can't remember if it was biometric data or just being in the app but I got an email about it and managed a large new payment this week without using it. I'm sure they're on the path of phasing it out.

I hope not! Or that at the very least they will let me use TOTP instead. I have a TOTP application on my computer.

Seasons. I know we get a lot of rain, but we still have distinct seasons and I love the variety across the year, from bright and fresh spring mornings to cool and crisp winter days, with warmer summers (that don't roast you alive) and the beauty that autumn brings with the change in leaves and darker evenings.

Many other countries have much more limited variety across their seasons.

@VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia I had the option to do card reader instead, I can only assume this will be phased out though, it's quite dated technology in the world of MFA, but they might be planning on running them in parallel for a while yet.

It's so easy to focus on what's bad about the UK and ignore all the good, so thank you @QueenofTheBorg for starting this mainly positive thread. I've found it uplifting

In my very humble opinion, most of the UK works okay. Not saying it could not be improved, but things are worse/better/differnt elsewhere. The UK is decent on almost every score.

@Tiredandbored oh but shit seasons though! Would much rather the weather of the NE of the US which gets slightly more extremes of seasons, ours is turning into an endless sea of grey!

Getting a GP to sign you off work . Easily done. No need to worry.

Well, OP, I moved here 20 years ago from a Post Communist country.
Cannot wait to sort myself out and get the F away from here.

Remember how I used to feel chuffed to be accepted, work and live far from my relatives.
Now I just feel nearly broken by stuff.

Passport office now works well as does driving licence renewal.

Online grocery shopping pretty good.

Not so good, everything else including insane number and size of potholes

So the decline isn’t just me being negative? I also sometimes wonder if it’s global.

•The National Trust/English Heritage/Cadw etc
•Lovely spring days
•Cake and puddings
•Castles
•B&Bs
•Tea
•Quirky gift shops
•The NHS (DH has had faultless support during his cancer trearment)
•Comedy/satire/puns
•Innovation
•Volunteering and small charities
•Municipal parks
•Medical expertise

I've come across a few that even closed at 4 or 3.30. Bonkers!

The problems with the NHS are not just down to underfunding but pointless and inefficient bureaucracy. I was told to return to the antenatal assessment unit yesterday for a repeat blood test as something was off in the one I did on Thursday. I show up. I am triaged by a midwife as non urgent and wait 5 hours to have my bloods taken. Then have to wait for a doctor to review them. In the end they send me home without being seen and I am told they will call me today if anything is amiss. They call me today as blood tests were amiss again. I come in. I wait 5 hours again to see a doctor who tells me she doesn't know why they've asked me to come in as the only thing showing up is slightly raised CRP, which was only to be expected as the thing I came in for originally was a UTI that wasn't abating.

Just totally inefficient. It makes no sense, for instance, that I had to wait 5 hours for someone to come and take my bloods when the midwife triaging me for 15 minutes could have simply taken another 2 minutes to take my blood there and then. I could then have gone home and let them call me rather than sitting around taking up space on the unit all day.

The above has absolutely nothing to do with underfunding and everything to do with inefficiency.

Injecting things in to our faces.

The way we treat dogs.

Taking the piss out of people/comedy in general.

Keeping the grass green.

Yes!

Potholes.

I think we currently lead G20 if not the world when it comes to potholes.

Oh, and nostalgia. We're great at that too. Especially WW2.

Also magical thinking. Especially when it comes to buses and politicians that give a monkey's about ordinary people.

Plus Trash TV - Love Island and the rest.

@QueenofTheBorg love your username!
Interesting that the HMRC helpline decision has been changed.

"The chair of the Treasury select committee, Harriet Baldwin, thanked the minister and the chancellor for “listening to the howl of pain that came from ordinary taxpayers” following Tuesday’s announcement."

You beat me to it. We do complaining really well. I'm expecting (unfortunately) the Conservatives to win the next election too. There will be more wailing after that. Some of it by me.