What do people think will make Britain great again?

[Logiclady94]

I keep coming back to this thought and I wondered what other people thought so I decided to ask the wonderful people on mumsnet for their opinions. I was reading that more jobs were lost, people are being told to return to work to save the economy, coronavirus means that people still don’t feel comfortable doing that, work/life balance needs sorting, income and taxes need rectifying. Not an opinion but you see a lot of the richer need punishing, house prices are ridiculous..

So my wondering is what are people’s thoughts genuine thoughts about what they would change with this country?

Well, maybe not great, but must be pretty good judging from 300,000 immigrants a year wanting to live here - stats are from 2004 onwards when T Blair opened the UK to Europeans. T May tried to get it below 250,000 and failed when Home Sec. It is now around 200,000 I think (ONS stats pretty complicated and possibly Covid affected).

when T Blair opened the UK to Europeans

Sure the UK was open to mass immigration even before 2004.

The ‘Great’ in Britain is or was originally a geographic term not a boast or value judgement. It is the largest island in the British Isles. Like the Great War meaning a huge conflict or Great Lingford being a bigger place than Lingford Minor.
Do people really not understand this?

Clearly not reading some of the drivel here! If this country is so bad why are so many trying to get here?

@mbosnz

Actually a large part of our wealth came from the Industrial Revolution. We produced large quantities of products more quickly and cheaply than non-industrial countries could, and we shipped them around the world.

That Industrial Revolution was built on the back of the wealth of the colonies. You plundered the colonies for raw materials, cheap labour, and then sold those goods back to them, creating a market for those goods.

I don't think it was that great for the workers here either who produced the goods, England's satanic mills springs to mind. Child labour etc

I agree we need to be more self sufficient, rather than relying on imports, etc but I think the overwhelming problem in the UK is overcrowding. We don't have enough space for people to live comfortably, there's never any peace, in addition there's not enough land to support the number of people who live here.

We need to stop buying cheap tat also, investing in things that will last, expecting manufacturers to make stuff that lasts. Can't see it happening any time soon though

The markings of a country which functions well are equality, justice, care for the vulnerable, freedom, care for the natural environment and respect for all its citizens.

This country needs to address the huge inequalities of wealth and opportunity, to invest in green technology, to move away from a service based economy, to improve education and move away from the ridiculous "university for all" mentality. We need to value people for who and what they are, ensure a decent standard of living for everyone with proper care for the elderly, the disabled, those with mental health issues or chronic illness.
Sexism, racism, homophobia, disablism, ageism, sectarianism etc need to be dealt with. There needs to be a move away from rampant consumerism. And there definitely needs to be a move towards rebuilding social cohesion.
We need to ditch trident, scale back the military and stop trying to sit at the big boys' table. No good is coming from it.

Libertè, ègalitè, fraternitè would not be a bad place to start.

scale back the military

It would be a big mistake to do it.

As JFK said, "Ask not what your countrycan doforyou, ask whatyou can dofor your country."

Speaking as a descendant of the working classes who get ripped off and exploited by "my country" to service its rich elites whenever they feel like it, go away. To what extent is it "my" country? I prefer to take inspiration from FDR if you want it from America. I also prefer to take inspiration from Europe.

My major suggestion would be that the UK get over this pathetic insistence that private market forces always work best and recognise where they are totally ineffective and in fact corrupting. Re build a new public sector for essential infrastructure and equally essential redistribution. Give more opportunities to all. Start by holding some sort of urgent inquiry into the forms, functions and principles of local government. God knows local elites are corrupt in various parts of the country but privatisation has made things worse, not better, and central London elites are no better. Slowly dismantle buy-to-let landlords to stop the richer groups directly exploiting the poorer.

We need to ditch trident, scale back the military and stop trying to sit at the big boys' table. No good is coming from it.

Ditch trident possibly. Scaling back the military, conventional or newfangled, no way. Some people really need to grasp that there is a world out there.

@Lessstressedhemum

The markings of a country which functions well are equality, justice, care for the vulnerable, freedom, care for the natural environment and respect for all its citizens.

This country needs to address the huge inequalities of wealth and opportunity, to invest in green technology, to move away from a service based economy, to improve education and move away from the ridiculous "university for all" mentality. We need to value people for who and what they are, ensure a decent standard of living for everyone with proper care for the elderly, the disabled, those with mental health issues or chronic illness.
Sexism, racism, homophobia, disablism, ageism, sectarianism etc need to be dealt with. There needs to be a move away from rampant consumerism. And there definitely needs to be a move towards rebuilding social cohesion.
We need to ditch trident, scale back the military and stop trying to sit at the big boys' table. No good is coming from it.

Libertè, ègalitè, fraternitè would not be a bad place to start.

Have you come across a country like this?

“Make Britain Great again” makes me shudder - drifting dangerously close to MAGA territory.

I do think at a micro level there needs to be more emphasis on personal responsibility - there were many signs of that at the beginning of lockdown, and encouraging to see people working together for the benefit of others. Shocking to see how quickly it dissipated - prime example being the littering.

At a macro level we are heading for a no deal Brexit and need to focus less on maintaining some imaginary world position and perhaps look to those European countries which seem to have a less fractured society and work to close some of the deep divisions Which have come to the surface over the last few years. Also to avoid a race to the bottom for the sake of trade deals.

[quote Logiclady94]@Lostnameperson- It’s not an opinion but I’ve read articles saying that Britain’s richest should be taxed a higher amount or their wages be capped above a certain point.. just because they earn more. Like I say I don’t agree and I think they shouldn’t be punished because their income is higher.. there should only be consequences if they are fiddling the system in any way shape or form[/quote]
Not capping wages necessarily but upping the minimum wage to a decent living wage and means testing corporate tax would be a good place to start.

Capping salaries would mean the money goes straight into profits - and UK companies need to have the flexibility to pay competitive rates to attract talent.

Are people really worried about a world position?? Just sounds like headline / click bait.

Most people have family so want a better world for their DCs/ elderly, friends.
A more positive mindset, less whingeing would make a difference.

Bluer the British middle classes have become, or are becoming again, pathetically obsessed with status as something in and of itself. The notion of status as something to be earned with some substantial means or results other than status itself appears to be reducing. It’s very 18th - early 20th century. Optimistic blithe positivity is similarly for the rich.

No most of this thread is not about world position or whingeing, but about measures which would make this place a better country for all to live in. And which would keep the UK afloat and prosperous, for the benefit of all its citizens, in years to come.

[quote Logiclady94]@KaptainKaveman- also for music I don’t think it is necessary in schools.. if a child is interested in music and pursuing a career in music they can choose it as a specialist subject and students that aren’t interested in music and arts shouldn’t be forced to waste their times in lessons that they aren’t going to pay attention in.

Year 10 & Year 11 were the only years were I got a say in what lessons I went too and I was much more likely to not bunk off them because I was interested and I chose this subjects rather than year 7,8 and 9 where the subjects were forced on me.

I didn’t like Art, Music, but I liked History and Geography. The worst thing was when I got to year 10 I could only do one or the other.[/quote]
So because you didn't like art and music nobody else should have the opportunity to do these subjects? And bunking off was a reasonable way of responding to subjects you didn't like? Getting rid of this kind of thinking would help this country be "great"

There are plenty of homes in the UK

• 400,000 of them are empty
• 2,000,000 of them are second and holiday homes

There is loads of space in the UK

• cities are crowded but the rural areas are not

Armed forces

• aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines are not much use against Russin hackers twisting elections

Inequality

• folks voted for this government - did they not read the manifesto?.

Brexit

• you voted for it
• you keep telling me you know what you voted for

Woodville, sadly, no I have not come across a country like that. Surely, though, it is something for which to strive.

As for scaling back the military, I am aware that there is a world out there. I do not, however, believe that being bellicose or trying to keep up with the big boys benefits anyone. I also believe that the world would be a much better place if all countries became much less militaristic.

I also believe that the world would be a much better place if all countries became much less militaristic

That would happen in an ideal world but ours is far from that.

'trying to keep up with the big boys benefits anyone. I also believe that the world would be a much better place if all countries became much less militaristic.'

Who is trying to 'keep up with the big boys'?! It is so simplistic to wish countries were less militaristic. The military are our defence. Also, look at all the humanitarian stuff ours do and how they are doing so much covid testing and organising the distribution of ppe. It isn't remotely about keeping up with any 'big boys'.

There are plenty of homes in the UK
- 400,000 of them are empty
- 2,000,000 of them are second and holiday homes

I would assume those numbers are for the whole of the UK. It's not a uniform spread across the countries.

10% of all the houses in my area are listed on AirBnB.

It has a lot to do with it because we are ruled by the same sort.

We need to close the gap between the haves and the have nots. Build proper council housing for cheaper rent and continue improving existing council housing, keep free public transport for children, invest more in state schools. Increase taxes for the extremely wealthy and improve wage levels for many. UK wages are very low in comparison with other developed countries. Council tax should be altered to be based on income and those in mansions should pay a lot more. Stop entertaining foreign investors to buy up UK companies then asset strip them til they die!

After waking up early again, worrying about how shit everything is, I think we need to:

• Develop some pride in the things that made Britain function in the past - i.e. stop undermining the courts, parliament etc. E.g. The government has plans to make negative changes to jury trials - if anyone cared they wouldn't do this

• stop being so hard as a country. I am sick of 'suck it up' 'deal with it' 'get over it' - saying these things helps no one, helps nothing

• take a long hard look at what is happening in people's lives. The poverty in our country is pretty astounding and it is a national choice. Same with homelessness. We are a victim-blaming nation.

• Start to work on solidarity. Each person's struggles matter for the health of the whole country - a country with fewer people with serious problems would benefit us all.

A decent government for a start. This one is turning out to be the worst in many years. We also need to lose the constant political correctness, it serves no useful purpose.

We need to stop constantly focusing on the Service industry and start manufacturing too, we have brilliant engineers in this country. As an example, look at the F1 teams, most headquartered here and cars designed and built here, amazing skill, we do have the skill and it should be encouraged in other areas of manufacturing.

This country is also good at having a pop at the wealthy. If someone takes a risk, starts a business, employs people and becomes wealthy off the back of that, good luck to them. They took the risk and have been rewarded. If they are paying what they need to in taxes, that's good enough. The do gooders need to stop with the shaming of these people saying they should spread more of their wealth to the so called have nots. That's the governments role, not the role of an individual.