UK has gone to shit.

[Ilovegreentomatoes]

What is happening to the uk? No food on the shelves, the cost of living has become extortionate coupled with stagnating wages it seems this is a country where unless your in the higher income bracket you really can't afford to live anymore.
Poverty is going to be rife I dread to think the amount of people who will be choosing between food or heating this year.
Aibu to think this country has gone to shit of the likes we have not seen for a long time.
I am lower income and feel like I can't afford to live anymore.

*I almost have to tread carefully here to avoid 'deletion'.

I hope I am allowed to ask- in what way are you so sure a parallel universe in which Labour won would be worse? Seriously, I'm a HCP- I am obligated to work under the auspices of 'evidence based practice'.

Where's yours?*

JC was promising free broadband, unicorns and magic money trees for all. Why would anyone want that?

@baroqueandblue

Shortage of fuel was very localised. LONDON. Media made this out to be countrywide.

I live in London, and yes we have ongoing shortages at the pumps. My mum, on the other hand, lives in the northwest. 10 days ago the buses couldn't run properly and she couldn't get a taxi to prevent her hobbling home (78, bad knees). Guess why that was?

I think this is part of levelling up.

[quote BunsyGirl]@jgw1 well I’m on a lot of Facebook travel groups and lots of people are complaining about significant increases in costs for holidays abroad in 2022…which accords with what I have found when I have priced up the holidays we took in 2019 for the same dates in 2022. But it’s definitely Brexit, everything’s Brexit…[/quote]
It's fairly obvious these price hikes (including holidays) is down to a combination of reasons. A perfect storm if you will. Now how much blame you assign to brexit s a matter for debate, but completely denying it has had an impact is silly

@VladmirsPoutine

And the reason things won't change is because somewhere deep in the electorate's psyche is this 'Keep calm and carry on' mentality or 'We won the war' and variants of 'when I was young my siblings and I only had 3 baked beans between 5 of us and a cushion on the floor next to a single solitary candle and we managed just fine.' It's a lost cause as far as I see it.

Actually, we've already seen this, here.

'There's food but maybe not the fancy-schmanzy foods (you know, those available to the vast majority of wester Europeans over the past 30 years are used to accessing) we cannot now get'.

What's wrong with turnip?

I actually think we're seeing the last hurrah of ' make do and mend'- by which I mean - those really happy to have choices and options removed from them as it makes them less uncomfortable about the reality of their truncated lives.

I think this is part of levelling up.

😁

Nearly levelled my poor old mum! I was furious at Bore-is for downplaying this, but what's new?

Crisis, what crisis?

Bozo has jetted off to Marbella - so we're in the capable hands of Dominic Raab, what can possibly go wrong?

The shelves are empty in some supermarkets because there are some people panic buying. I have a colleague at work who has her garage stacked high with tinned food and toilet rolls. Some people are quietly getting on with stock piling.

@jgw1

*I almost have to tread carefully here to avoid 'deletion'.

I hope I am allowed to ask- in what way are you so sure a parallel universe in which Labour won would be worse? Seriously, I'm a HCP- I am obligated to work under the auspices of 'evidence based practice'.

Where's yours?*

JC was promising free broadband, unicorns and magic money trees for all. Why would anyone want that?

Wrong manifesto, love.....

It's fairly obvious these price hikes (including holidays) is down to a combination of reasons. A perfect storm if you will. Now how much blame you assign to brexit s a matter for debate, but completely denying it has had an impact is silly

Yep. Brexit is to blame for the weak pound which was ultra strong just before the referendum.

@jgw1Let me give you one example of why there have been significant price increases. Hiring a car in the US used to be dirt cheap. Two weeks for a SUV, £500. Now well over a £1000. Why? Because the hire companies sold off their stock at the start of the pandemic to try and raise money to keep afloat. So now they have a lot less cars which means that there’s more demand than supply. Then they can’t replace them quickly enough because (and this is also an example that I touched upon earlier in the thread), there’s a shortage of microchips so the auto industry is struggling with production…neither of these things have anything to do with Brexit.

[quote BunsyGirl]@jgw1Let me give you one example of why there have been significant price increases. Hiring a car in the US used to be dirt cheap. Two weeks for a SUV, £500. Now well over a £1000. Why? Because the hire companies sold off their stock at the start of the pandemic to try and raise money to keep afloat. So now they have a lot less cars which means that there’s more demand than supply. Then they can’t replace them quickly enough because (and this is also an example that I touched upon earlier in the thread), there’s a shortage of microchips so the auto industry is struggling with production…neither of these things have anything to do with Brexit.[/quote]
People pay more to hire a care for a few weeks than I do on my holidays.
Am I meant to be impressed by that?

@Hulkynothunky @TatianaBis Except that I was talking about increases in holidays since 2019 when the pound had already dropped …and is now stronger against some currencies…but yes, I am silly!

[quote BunsyGirl]**@Hulkynothunky* @TatianaBis* Except that I was talking about increases in holidays since 2019 when the pound had already dropped …and is now stronger against some currencies…but yes, I am silly![/quote]
That's fine. But that aside prices have risen recently. And I don't know whether you are aware or not but by focusing on this one holiday issue since 2019 you come across as hell bent on denying brexit is to blame for recent price increases. Like I say I'm not sure whether that's intentional or not.

I agree it's not all brexit related. Covid for one cannot be understated! But it is one of the many reasons, and so many people in the UK (maybe those who voted for it) seem intent on denying it's had an impact on prices.

@Suzi888

Humans have happened, with their panic buying ways!

I can’t see that many people genuinely having to choose between food and heating and if they are, then they need to take a good look at their expenses.
My job involves working with people who are struggling and when you sit down to look at their finances, there are astronomical sky tv packages, mobile phone packages, personal ‘grooming’ costs, cigarettes, alcohol, constant minor home improvement costs (new rugs, sofas, colour schemes etc.) Brand new cars, designer clothing… maybe I’ve been in the field too long!

You very obviously don’t work with people who are poor or living in poverty. I have done, up close and personal, and I can assure you that the reality for very many people is a million miles away from what you describe.

@AuldAlliance

Unfortunately only answer in that situation is rock bottom. Hopefully renewal and complete change. What does this mean? How can you effect renewal and complete change if you're at rock bottom? Or would it be complete change from a functioning, albeit imperfect society, to a failed one?

Rock bottom to me means admitting we’re in a situation that needs radical change. And I think we do.

We can’t keep on with this situation of reacting to crisis and hoping for the best.

Throwing bail outs at an issue and hoping it goes away, that just creates a new problem.

The rich get richer and not just the poor get poorer. Most of us do. Not just in monetary terms but in quality of life.

The neoliberal way of life is not working out.
Truthbomb. Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party Manifesto was a plan. A workable plan.
Boris and Co. didn’t have a plan, but got voted in anyway. The reason? Media propaganda and big money.

@ivykaty44

Government need to look after the British people b4 trying to help the world

they will, but only if there bank balance is appropriately rich, otherwise they'll look after foreigners if there might be some corruption in it for them

You know Brexit is about the one thing that will really drive "Britain" apart. I don't think its doing a damn good thing, except driving us back to a 1970s style economy, which wasn't full of high paying jobs.

What you'll get - inflation, increasing costs of everything, stagant wages, and the same proportion of secure jobs reserved for the echelons. Brexit isn't going to promote social mobility, its going to keep people exactly where they are, and with less money in their pocket.

Transition to a high wage economy is, charitably, ten years plus. So a lot of people are going to have a very miserable time for the next decade. And probably the next one too, unless you've already got assets, in which case, its a very good time to invest, but strangely, not in the UK.

@jgw1 how exactly would I know what you spend on a holiday?!! Seriously, I was giving you a clear example of a price rise that is due to Covid.

Shortage of fuel was very localised. LONDON.

Oxfordshire, North Wales. Neither of which are London, and still some localised shortages in Oxfordshire, but better than two weeks ago.

It's always the same old. They never have a good word to say about the Tories but they simply had to vote Boris as Corbyn would have been so much worse. And they will have to vote Boris again because Keir Starmer will eat my kids.

It frustrates me that Labour don’t see the importance of the view that Corbyn (and now Starmer) would be worse and that this argument continues to be trotted out so much. Instead of belittling the argument they need to see that until this view can be countered things won’t change. I agree we can’t say how it would have been under Corbyn - but that’s the point, he didn’t get the chance because he was not seen as a credible alternative.

And the brexit vs covid argument for the cause of problems. Why does everything have to be so damn black and white. Could it possibly be a bit of both? People just don’t engage and debate (on both sides) so of course nothing changes.

Let’s not forget as well OP we are now Covid Island through this governments stupidity with masks and social distancing. Us mighty British are about to learn so very hard lessons, Covid and Brexit like a twisted nightmare are going to wreak utter havoc this winter.

The fallout will be tough for many people. God help us all.

Petrol stations in my area never ran out of fuel and I think didn’t in majority of areas. Shortage of fuel was very localised. LONDON. Media made this out to be countrywide.

I’m nowhere near London, not a scrap of fuel in my town or the neighbouring town for over a week, still a struggle to get any now. But sure, assume because it was fine for you it was just the mythical “London”.

British water companies allowed to pump actual shit into the sea, and teens' mental health some of the lowest in the world, compared to most of Europe it's significantly worse... It's not just a Brexit problem, it's a government problem and a cultural, societal, structural problem IMO

@Hulkynothunky I gave three examples originally but that one was seized upon by other posters who tried to argue that I was wrong. I wasn’t and I have given clear arguments as to why I wasn’t. In fact, their reactions shows just how people are blaming Brexit for everything without considering other reasons.

[quote BunsyGirl]**@Hulkynothunky* @TatianaBis* Except that I was talking about increases in holidays since 2019 when the pound had already dropped …and is now stronger against some currencies…but yes, I am silly![/quote]
The point being that increases in holiday prices for Brits from 2016 was Brexit. The later increases a combination of factors.

lexmitior and, where's the 'on the ground' commitment to high quality education, training, preceptorships, apprenticeships?

Eleven years of Tory rule.

The latter? (apprenticeships). My DH works in a huge waste disposal company (in IT). They pay the apprenticeship levy. They have tried over three years to set up apprenticeships (in help-desk IT); but, every time, the 'academic content provider' has turned out to be some bogus, Tory 'grant' fuelled non-existent shell company with no actual academic 'content' to offer; 'office' in some derelict downtown high rise with dial-up, more or less. Who then goes bust. Year after year.

They've given up, and see the AL as 'just another tax'.