Is the UK about to collapse?

[Penfield]

Sorry - There was probably a better way to put this.

Does anyone else have a feeling that we are close to some collapse, explosion, disintegration of society ...

With gas prices, petrol shortages, inflation, Brexit fall out, Covid, gaslighting government etc

I feel like we're on the edge of something - big ...

There’s a hell of a recession on the horizon. It was obvious as soon as covid arrived at exactly the same time as Brexit. The recent lunacy of the housing market has just thrown petrol on the flames. It would be bad enough if we had a sensible government of responsible adults but this lot will run round like headless chickens. We’re in for a rough ride.

[quote takenforgrantednana]if you read about the great depression back in 929-1939, there are far more similarities in what we re all going through now than you would first think have a read if you dont know your history - www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Great-Depression/[/quote]
10 years of that and then a world war. Let’s hope it’s not that similar.

And by the way - I'm not expecting the world to collapse. I mean, specifically the UK. That's what it says in my title.

I'm not talking about climate change - although that is a greater concern, still.

In this post I just am thinking about the state of the UK.

If an MP can't keep a second home roof over his/her head and feed/clothe their family...maybe they should re-train as an HGV driver, or a butcher...

No.
And it is not a horrible time to be alive, assuming you're not a female in Afghanistan.

I do wonder if we’ve now had the boom period - when we could all go on lots of holidays, everything was plentiful and cheap, low interest rates, low inflation, population boom. And we are now into a long term period where it has proved that this wasn’t sustainable - not least given the impact on the planet.

I worry for my children and my main concern is making sure we and they have a nest egg to help us cope with the changes and that I invest in my children to help them manage this long term too (good qualifications and work ethic etc).

It definitely has an end of empire feel about it. Something feels about to collapse.

I watch the twits at Tory party conference dancing and joking and it feels very 'Fin de siècle'.

The arrogance that comes when you feel you are untouchable but to me it feels like the end it coming.

People are getting tired of incompetence, with us lurching from one crisis to another.

I have faith things will get better.

The race to the bottom attitude is shocking. People in other countries would be on the streets by now for sure.

Well wherever you look things don’t like great. But over the 60 years I’ve been around each decade has involved some pretty serious and scary shit. We have more sources to get news and opinions and general information about current affairs then we have ever had which can make it feel like there’s no respite from what’s happening. In the past it was the news at 6 and 9 pm on tv and radio and the daily papers and that was pretty much all there was. We didn’t get to find out as much as we do now about the shenanigans our MPs and PMs get up to, or the royals or our councillors. In the past they’ll have been every bit as immoral, incompetent and self-serving as they are now, but we didnt have Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, cameras and recording options on our phones. Now we get to see what is going on as it happens and it can be bloody scary and depressing.

It's quite possible the UK will collapse as a nation, if Scotland, Wales and NI go their own way. Who could blame them? They've been treated with utter contempt by Westminster.

Don’t look great I mean .

@NeedAHoliday2021

What does “collapsing” look like?

I think it’s going to be a tricky few years with an increase in poverty but we’re coming out the other side of a pandemic so those expecting a continuation of what was before are naive. Most of the issues we face get blamed on Brexit yet it seems similar in a Canada and they haven’t gone through Brexit. Globally, there’s a big impact and it’ll play out as these things do. Media also over play everything so basically, most of us will just ride it out.

I have just come back from Canada No comparison. They said they were short of labour but not evident. Some shops were on reduced hours so 11-7 but shops were well stocked, particularly of food. All bars and restaurants were open and well staffed and everything in a good supply

Much more CV19 cautious that the UK but no evidence of shortages.

No not at all. I was in central London yesterday, busy, buzzy, stores had customers, plenty of traffic.
I was 70 miles away in a depressed area, life was going on as usual.
Property market booming.
Not sure where all the doom and gloom is coming from - short term hiccups are inevitable. But things have been far worse than they are now, even in my living memory.

My DDad was born just before the end of the second world war - neigbours of DGP along their road were bombed out - DGF was other side of the world facing danger. DF had a childhood playing in bombed out hosues and remembers rationing ending. He also remember hong Kong flu.

Both parents had to stop their education and earn to help family out. Uncle and many of DMum family had to emigrate for work as apparently there was a period of huge umemployment in the 60s.

My DParents started their family in the 70s - DM was sacked once she was pg with first - they then went through the winter of discontent and 3 day working week.

80s saw MIL and DF massive industries that empolyed most of their local areas grind to a halt before letting them- some of the last -to go in the late 90s.

I do think the 90s felt more upbeat - but then I was coming of age and young adult so would probably have felt great on that alone.

So I think the country has been through worse in one of my parents lifetimes.

I don't think there will be a huge collapse - we'll muddle through and are on a bit of dowward slide at the minute - there may well be a brain drain again for my children's generation and the aging population with associated need for resoruces and climate change are big problems lurking - but I think other countries have similar problems and the UK is still relatively wealth so it could be worse.

`those of us who remember the Bay of Pigs and the nuclear war clock, the winter of discontent, IRA bombing, 9/11, Vietnam....who remember when households were sent leaflets telling us what to do in the event of nuclear attack....well its just one more damn thing. Not saying everything is tickety boo but there always seems to be something.

I think people should post their age with their answers. I'm almost 60, and seem to have lived through more than one of these situations. My parents lived through the war. Life is full of ups and downs, and there were plenty of people having a rotten time in the boom.

@SantiagoSky

The race to the bottom attitude is shocking. People in other countries would be on the streets by now for sure.

The UK has become very strangely detached from the consequences of political decisions. I find it healthier in countries where people don't shy away from talking about politics. It's things like people saying it's fine and seemly to have a pared-back Christmas because too much consumption is bad, which may well be true. But you can do that any year of your life. To just dismiss it like that, when it's actually a result of catastrophic mismanagement on the part of the government, with consequences that will go well beyond Christmas is absolutely batshit crazy.

@Penfield

Sorry - There was probably a better way to put this.

Does anyone else have a feeling that we are close to some collapse, explosion, disintegration of society ...

With gas prices, petrol shortages, inflation, Brexit fall out, Covid, gaslighting government etc

I feel like we're on the edge of something - big ...

No the UK is not about to collapse.

Some people are going to have a pretty shitty winter, but then we have had a pretty shitty twenty months already with Covid.

The thing with a lot of this, people voted for it. Millions voted for Brexit, that is a lot of the supply issues and having an impact on inflation. People voted for the Conservatives, this is what you get with a Conservative government (I know the alternative was Corbyn, which was equally shit). Gaslighting, politicians have always lied, now is no different, except perhaps that more people seem to believe the lies.

I don't think that there will be revolution, but I do think that there will be change. I would like us to swing towards a Scandinavian style high tax, but extremely good public service state, however I can see us swinging more towards being a US style, low tax, but almost non-existent public services and safety net. The tantrums people through over a the NI rise proves that most people in the UK, whilst they talk about wanting more spending on health, social care and education, just are not prepared to pay for it, where as in the Europe the people are prepared to pay more tax for a better society.

I also have faith that things will get better @zoemum2006

I feel like I've got so used to the lies and manipulation that our governments feeds us constantly that I can see through it and read the truth/subtext instantly now - not difficult I know - but it took me a while to cotton on.

The numbers of people that are also now doing this are seemingly increasing. It's incredible that we weren't awake to it earlier on -but I suppose until now we've not been led by such corrupt charlatans.

@Penfield. Without being rude, can I ask how old you are? I do think the older you get, the more you've seen and been though, the better you deal with things. If this is your first tough time, it's understandable that you would be worried.
I'm of the mind that all govts have been incompetent but because there wasn't such a massive media awareness with everyone trying to get a soundbite to make their career, it just never got exposed. Govts are just human beings making decisions about extremely difficult matters. When they make a right decision, it's unnoticed because they're just doing their job. When they make a,wrong decision, the words chaos, mayhem, collapse are just tossed around to elicit clicks. There's a reason why news programmes don't broadcast good news but rather focus on bad. People love to gossip and gossip is rarely about good things.

@madisonbridges

I'm nearly 50!

I don’t watch the news. That seems to help loads. I hear a bit on here and from family about the big stuff. I avoided getting petrol for a week when all that crazy was ongoing. I’ve noticed the odd gap in a shelf at the supermarket. Covid restrictions seem to be pretty much gone now. I don’t feel like the world is ending at all.

I don't think that there will be revolution, but I do think that there will be change. I would like us to swing towards a Scandinavian style high tax, but extremely good public service state, however I can see us swinging more towards being a US style, low tax, but almost non-existent public services and safety net. The tantrums people through over a the NI rise proves that most people in the UK, whilst they talk about wanting more spending on health, social care and education, just are not prepared to pay for it, where as in the Europe the people are prepared to pay more tax for a better society.

I think people would be really happy to pay higher taxes if they thought we'd get anything like the services they get in Scandinavia. But people have just seen £37 billion wasted on Track and Trace with just a shrug and no consequences or paying back whatsoever. People just don't trust this government to manage the money for the public good, and they are right, sadly.

No .....a Global Pandemic is going to cause change ....

I do know what you mean OP but I'm trying really hard to just concentrate on my everyday life (which hasn't been too badly affected so far thankfully) and keep away from worrying about the bigger picture because none of it is anything I have any power over. I'm watching someone I love suffering terribly with anxiety from worrying about 'the big picture' so I'm keeping my focus firmly in the here and now and the good things in my life.