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.

@ThirdElephant

I think there are teething problems certainly, and COVID definitely hasn't helped matters!

What will make the difference going forward is if we actually force businesses to pay people a fair wage with decent working conditions, or whether the government capitulate to the businesses and allow them to continue to bring in cheap labour from overseas so that they can maximise profits.

In the long term, yes, but workers are needed now in, for example, food production. 1.5 million cauliflower are being left to rot in Scotland for want of people to pick them. Studies have shown that migrant labour does not depress wages. It ha been a cliff edge Brexit. It didn’t need to be.

So many threads on here about how to make family bulk meals on no money that it seems fairly clear that people already are struggling. The energy price crisis is going to be a major catastrophe, not just for ordinary people but if businesses have to shut off over Christmas due to the cost of gas it won’t help with all the shortages.

We have food on the shelves but the price has definitely gone up of a weekly shop. I shop online and realised that the 'BOGOF' offers have now vanished, good offers consist of 50p off.

Absence of random goods are creeping in, squash flavours, raisons etc, it's a trivial level right now (who's panicking about no orange and pineapple squash), but what's interesting to me is why? If goods that were of plentiful supply/frequently on offer are now going on and out of stock - something is happening further up the supply chain to cause that.

Possibly it's because essential goods are being prioritized for delivery given distribution challenges. Sensible. If those distribution challenges worsen then we'll see more goods absent from shelves more often until it's more noticable. It would feel worrying for that to happen and people may well then start to panic buy. Although if the food has no production issues at source it will be a supply chain issue rather than shortage.

Its a good time to anticipate that distribution problems ahead may worsen, not to panic but to think now's the time to think about decent cheap food options e.g pasta, veggies, lentils so that if it happens you can roll with the short term pain and not panic.

I blame the media for making people panic with their sensationalist headlines. There must be a lot of people with money to spend if all the stockpiling stories are true.

I live in the South east and have been able to buy food as normal. I buy the basic range in Tesco etc so nothing fancy. i can't identify with you saying that the food shelves are empty, certainly not where i live. Fuel stations are all back to normal too.

I live in the Southeast and there's plenty of food on all the shelves

I mean yeah, quite a few items I want lately are out of stock but no-one could say there's no food on the shelves.

@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!

Yeah that Granny shivering at home should just cut down on Sky tv and cigarettes

@Rosewaterblossom the cheaper labour thing is an interesting concept, cheap labour is only viable if you have people willing to work for that rate, as soon as the workforce disappears the rate goes up. Market forces and all that. Ask anyone in a trade at the moment, they can pick and choose.

I think what's more worrying is the situation with China and Taiwan.

@Ilovegreentomatoes

South east .

I live in the South east and there's tons of food on the shelves.

I find the no food on the shelves posts offensive. There’s plenty of food in this country. Maybe people can’t buy the exact brand that they want, but they can buy something. I actually prefer shops like Aldi that don’t have 20,000 types of the same thing.

Well, I’m looking at life on the continent and it’s looking pretty rosy compared to us.
These aren’t teething problems. The Brexit repercussions are going to go on and on. Rees-Mogg reckons we’ve got fifty years to wait until we see a benefit.
As for ‘who knew’?! Any of us who listened to those despised experts.

@Mamamia7962

I think what's more worrying is the situation with China and Taiwan.

Good point. Doesn’t bare thinking about!

I wonder if the Pandemic had anything to do with it?

I bought £100quids worth of groceries for my fortnightly shop this week. There is plenty of food on the shelves.

The country is not going to shit, but if people keep talking it down it will.

Totally agree. It's really bloody depressing. There never seems to be any positivity coming from this country lately.

South East here too. Plenty of food on the shelves. We did have an issue with the fuel for about a week but it seems to have calmed down now.

Exactly @BunsyGirl.

All the food/items I've had trouble getting over the last month or so, are very much first world type problems.

A particular cut of beef
A particular smoked gammon joint
Sparkling mineral water
Certain pizzas and flatbreads

But food in general is still very much in supply here.

I think there are teething problems certainly, and COVID definitely hasn't helped matters!

‘Teething problems’ 🤣 That’s a bit of an understatement!

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!

Sure, poor people are just so bad with their money, aren’t they. 🙄

@BunsyGirl yes I know there are always people worse of but you can still feel crap about the current situation.

@ThirdElephant

I think there are teething problems certainly, and COVID definitely hasn't helped matters!

What will make the difference going forward is if we actually force businesses to pay people a fair wage with decent working conditions, or whether the government capitulate to the businesses and allow them to continue to bring in cheap labour from overseas so that they can maximise profits.

think there are teething problems certainly, and COVID definitely hasn't helped matters!

Are you Boris? Sound very much like him.

What will make the difference going forward is if we actually force businesses to pay people a fair wage with decent working conditions,

Yes Boris likes this argument too. The trouble is with his "high wage economy" soundbite is it doesn't stack up to scrunity: a) if that's the model then what's going on with low wages in the public sector? And payfreezes. b) if wages go up then businesses logically will pass costs onto the consumer - so prices will go up. So how is that improving matters?

They will get in - it is beyond credence, but they will.

Part of the reason is the absence of a credible opposition; although how this Tory shower can be regarded as credible I do not know.

I have savings and can meet the rising bills; heaven help those who do not have savings or are on benefits.

@TheBlackArt

Totally agree. It's really bloody depressing. There never seems to be any positivity coming from this country lately.

I just notice it on mumsnet really. The people I know in real life aren't pessimistic at all. Most people are just getting on with their lives as usual.

@BunsyGirl

I find the no food on the shelves posts offensive. There’s plenty of food in this country. Maybe people can’t buy the exact brand that they want, but they can buy something. I actually prefer shops like Aldi that don’t have 20,000 types of the same thing.

I do very much agree with this comment though. I think we are in for tough times, but let's also keep perspective