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Original poster

What do people think will make Britain great again?

319 replies

Logiclady94 · 18/07/2020 09:56

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?

OP posts:
ListeningQuietly · 18/07/2020 16:54

Manufacturing in the UK
BooHoo running sweatshops in Leicester
excellent Hmm

Alsohuman · 18/07/2020 16:57

I really don't get the view that because a previous generation had to fight for something then people today shouldn't ask for more. Surely every generation should strive to improve society and make it better for future generations?

Of course they should. But the focus should be on things that really need improvement. Our benefits system has gone backwards, homelessness has gone through the roof, social care is appalling - those things are crying out for improvement and where we should be putting money and effort. Not into aspects of society that are the best they’ve ever been.

WhatifIfeellikeacat · 18/07/2020 17:05

To be great, Britain needs to improve its recycling facilities and stop sending waste for recycling abroad.

Chanjer · 18/07/2020 17:08

When it rejoins the EU

KatyChe · 18/07/2020 17:17

If all leave voters left!

So Britain would be great again if it became a Totalitarian state, in your opinion?

lakesidesummer · 18/07/2020 17:18

Britain became great asset stripping other countries.
It isn't going to become great again.
It could become a more equitable, medium sized country with decent living standards for all and a lower than average carbon footprint if it wanted to.
I see no evidence of any desire for this though.

labyrinthloafer · 18/07/2020 17:19

@KatyChe

If all leave voters left!

So Britain would be great again if it became a Totalitarian state, in your opinion?

What the heck does totalitarianism have to do with anything Confused
SpeedofaSloth · 18/07/2020 17:20

Cancelling Brexit.

user1497207191 · 18/07/2020 17:24

@doadeer

Some people think increasing production and no longer outsourcing to China will. But I can't see how that would happen without prices increasing dramatically.

There are lots of ethnically produced goods made in the UK but they are often 3x the price. These exist already but most people don't buy them.

And I imagine food prices will increase as a result of Brexit too.

Automation. When lots of the UK manufacturing went to the Far East, it was because labour was far cheaper. Over the decades, labour in places like China has become a lot more expensive, hence more automated factories etc. So, labour isn't as big an issue anymore for the factory produced/automated production. We could bring a lot of that back into the UK without significant price increases, especially seeing as transport and logistics would be a lot cheaper. Just look at what we do produce here, i.e. toilet rolls, crisps/snacks, beer/soft drinks, breakfast cereals, tinned foods, etc etc - all high volume, low price things due to automation. We could easily extend that to other consumables and make more use of machinery/automation in the industries where an element of "human" input is still needed.
KatyChe · 18/07/2020 17:24

@labyrinthloafer

I prefer to live in a democracy. I don't necessarily agree with Brexit but people who say that everyone, who votes in a different way from them should leave, are the most intolerant people I come across. How about trying to engage, understand and influence people who disagree with? Telling them to fuck of and get out of the country, gets their backs up and entrenches their position.

user1497207191 · 18/07/2020 17:28

@PastMyBestBeforeDate

People need to stop voting based on the front pages of newspapers, slogans or public images of 'celebrity' politicians and start understanding the policies they're voting for
People also need to stop voting based on the crap posted on facecloth and twatter!

Newspapers etc are often a lot more balanced and usually give a lot more information/backup reasoning than some random person in a Twitter post.

ListeningQuietly · 18/07/2020 17:30

Anybody who thinks Brexit will be good is either ultra rich with a spare passport
or does not understand what it will do to the UK

The UK got rich by plundering the world
and drawing boundaries on maps to keep people fighting each other
(particularly in the Middle East and Africa)

It will never be a great power again
but it can at least slide gracefully down the league table

GetOffYourHighHorse · 18/07/2020 18:15

'The UK got rich by plundering the world'

Oh change the record, it was hundreds of years ago. Many countries did exactly the same thing. If we were busy plundering now you'd have a point.

Great Britain is still respected internationally and people are desperate to live here. Why would that be if it was so awful? I don't see it 'sliding down the league tables' anytime soon, sorry.

Raimona · 18/07/2020 18:16

I’m not in favour of more childcare. I think we should be supporting parents to spend time with their children, not pushing them into jobs while their children are raised in groups by strangers. I’d like to see more financial and social support for SAHP, less stigma and discrimination surrounding taking time out (particularly for men), and routes back into work when children start school (free training etc). Followed by less presenteeism, more flexible working hours and more WFH opportunities so parents can work around school.

Raimona · 18/07/2020 18:20

The UK got rich by plundering the world
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.

FedUpAtHomeTroels · 18/07/2020 18:24

It could become a more equitable, medium sized country with decent living standards for all and a lower than average carbon footprint if it wanted to.
I see no evidence of any desire for this though
This sounds good to me, but they are too many people who expect cheap food, cheap clothes, cheap home decor, and cheap holidays in the sun.
Reducing our reliance on Cheap goods from other countries and producing decent quality, decent priced things for ourselves would be good. No one needs to redecorate annually, buy new clothes for every weekend out on the lash, and have a sunny holiday annually. They are just nice to have and do, not essential.

mbosnz · 18/07/2020 18:27

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.

mbosnz · 18/07/2020 18:27

Sorry, if you want to know more about this, read 'The Divide' by Jason Hickel.

serenada · 18/07/2020 19:00

@Camassia

I was with you up until this...

Stop giving people reason to be suspicious or mistrusting of you.

AlwaysCheddar · 18/07/2020 19:28

What will make this country great again?

Common sense

mbosnz · 18/07/2020 19:32

Common sense

Shame it's not so common. And there seems to be a real dearth of it in power . . .

Alsohuman · 18/07/2020 19:34

@GetOffYourHighHorse

'The UK got rich by plundering the world'

Oh change the record, it was hundreds of years ago. Many countries did exactly the same thing. If we were busy plundering now you'd have a point.

Great Britain is still respected internationally and people are desperate to live here. Why would that be if it was so awful? I don't see it 'sliding down the league tables' anytime soon, sorry.

No, it wasn’t hundreds of years ago. It was less than 200. The empire still existed as the beginning of WWII. And many countries didn’t do the same thing. Have a look at a pre 1939 map and see how much of it’s pink.

I’m not convinced lots of people want to live here, there are a lot of professionals fucking off elsewhere.

DisobedientHamster · 18/07/2020 19:36

Nothing.

UntamedWisteria · 18/07/2020 19:38

OP you sound like one of Dominic Cummings' focus groups.

Are you?

GetOffYourHighHorse · 18/07/2020 19:44

'No, it wasn’t hundreds of years ago. It was less than 200.'

Ok, the end of the empire was many, many decades ago. My point was we aren't currently plundering and many countries have pasts that of course were wrong and wouldn't stand up to modern day scrutiny. Should we all wear sackcloths to atone for the sins of our ancestors?

'I’m not convinced lots of people want to live here, there are a lot of professionals fucking off elsewhere.'

You must miss all the stuff on the news about immigration then? Where are all these professionals 'fucking off' to? Please link I'd be interested to see the stats.