Weren't things meant to get better?

[BeachTree]

2 years of pandemic - restrictions, rules, missing out, illness, misery

We're emerging from this slowly and now we are facing
*Inflation
*Incredibly high petrol and diesel prices
*Ukraine War
*Blooming Brexit ( clearly was going on pre-pandemic)
*Refuse collection strikes
*Train Strikes
*Cost of living crisis - huge increases to food and electricity
*insert various other crappy things going on right now

Weren't we meant come out of this and start living and enjoying things again.

I think the whole country needs a change of mentality, a change of direction and some far better thinking through of the trade off between making money and public benefit.

Coming back from Denmark the UK feels like the Wild West. Government should be governing for 'all' of the people, not just people who vote for them or their mates- it shouldn't be making short term decisions just to curry favour with certain parts of the electorate and that's what this government are doing-- always campaigning- never governing.

I always used to think the Tory's were the party of business not this bunch- they are clueless Brexit benefits very few businesses big or small but benefits few people too apart from the very rich and for the short term some lower paid jobs and tradesmen but even now they are talking about bringing in large numbers of Indians and phillipinos to compensate for EU staff who have left all totally pointless , a ton of lost business to other countries and at a cost of £400 billion!!!!!

They spaff away vast sums to management consultancies to tell them the bleedin obvious, initiatives like test and trace are massively overfunded with no doubt certain people creaming vast amounts off in fees. They don't seem to have heard of tendering or due diligence. A bunch of posh twerps and jumped up barrow boys playing at government.

I feel so sad for my son whose a hard working lad - he's on 35k and is only 24 but panics because he loves living in London but wants to buy somewhere in next 5 years and unless we inherit he can't save that deposit whilst paying high rent. We don't have that kind of money either and don't own a house .
I feel for the young families out there who based having a family and buying a houseon things as they were 3 or 4 years ago

I feel for people like my father in law in his 80s panicking because local part full of stories of 12 hour ambulance waits or people in corridors in hospital

There is a lot of aggression and anxiety around and it's hardly suprising. When people like Rees Mogg post their 105m profits around and was so confident of the UKs prosperity post Brexit that he advised all his clients to move their cash out the UK--

None of those even comes close to what is going to hit us this autumn.

Energy bills going from 1200 p.a to 6000 plus p.a in the space of a few months is unprecedented, add in inflation of 15% or possibly higher AND with no end in sight.

The sanctioning of Russia and hence limited gas supplies will last for several years.

I don't think Spain has even now fully recovered from the 2008 crash and now this.

The U.K. didn't really recover either. There were green shoots but then covid.

The IRA did plenty in NI and mainland UK.

The IRA wasn't the only terrorist organisation during the Troubles.

I agree. I'm dreading this winter and I have to keep hiding all the 'we love Autumn' threads on here. I can only think they don't have to worry about fuel bills while they are frolicking about through the Autumn leaves. I hope their cinnamon candles keep them warm.

Not being goady (I’m not British) but am genuinely wondering why things are so much worse in the UK compared to other countries in Europe.

Inflation is hitting everyone but I think it's worse in the U.K. because of high housing costs, low wages, higher taxes & the gov haven't done anything about the fuel burden.

Not being goady (I’m not British) but am genuinely wondering why things are so much worse in the UK compared to other countries in Europe. holidaying in France fuel and food is much cheaper , fruits and veg are much more fresh and just taste better.
people do seem to be doing a bit better but at the same time very cautious,
as a wise person said to me a couple of days ago, if Europe can survive this winter then we all come out stronger.

Honestly I think many people are subconsciously traumatised by the past 2 years. Not the virus but the way life as we knew it suddenly came crashing down like a house of cards.
Before 2020 if someone had told you that your kids (and most kids) wouldn’t be in school for 6 months, that it would be illegal to see your close family and friends, that almost every business, pub, shop and visitor attraction would close for weeks, that your kids couldn’t play in a park, green or in fact anywhere and that if you even simply went for a walk you wouldn’t be allowed to stop for a picnic or even to sit on a bench, that you wouldn’t be allowed to drive your car for weeks or even leave the area you live for weeks you would have called them mental. No way would I have believed that someone could tell everyone that and it would actually happen.
To have life closed like that. Then to be able to open it and slam it shut again.
It’s completely destabilising. I personally will never see life the same way again. I will never trust life or just amble along. I’m the back of my mind now, is that the world could flip in an instant. One week normal, the next total hell. Of course that could happen on a personal individual level but I am talking about a nation wide level. Happening to everyone at the same time.
Now the news knows many people are harbouring more fear than they used to. They know exactly what buttons to press. They take it to their full advantage.
Every bad or not great thing seems like doomsday now. All because of what we have gone through for the past 2 years.

I'm 59 and can not remember a harder period than this. Including spiralling interest rates in the late 80's early 90's. Tory supporters should be ashamed of themselves.

Including spiralling interest rates in the late 80's early 90's.

Apparently because of todays higher prices interest rates only need to get to 6/7% to have the same impact on peoples income as double figures in the past.

Every bad or not great thing seems like doomsday now.

This might actually work to the Governments favour ? Inflation up , interest rates up, massive energy price hikes, pfftp ! yeah but we are not going to be killed by a new rougue virus ! gives monkey pox the side eye

Things were supposed to get better since 2010 when the Tories got in again. All the cuts, all the austerity and all the poverty apparently needed to restore the economy. What has it all been for? Look at the state of us.

One of many to say...
THIS

Gym costs me equivalent to £5 a week (£20 per month) and I have an epicly long hot shower there Mon-Fri, saving my own leccy. So that's pretty good value for money tbh.

Quite frankly don't believe most working people can't afford an occasional pint tbh.

Brexit has robbed us of a great deal of trade, affected the labour market and cost the government and businesses squillions. Cannot understand how those who wanted it still try to justify it.

Not being goady (I’m not British) but am genuinely wondering why things are so much worse in the UK compared to other countries in Europe.

As well as the above it's hardly a secret that the Brits have a tendency to the pessimistic.

Can I just ask what have we gained from 12 years of austerity? Obviously no one could have predicted a pandemic but apart from that....David Cameron's government were no better than Boris.

I can handle it all baring the removal of free speech. You say something that is true & it is deleted on here. With out freedom we are nothing we might as well all be dead. I wonder if there is free speech in the spirit world. I expect this comment will be deleted!!

I remember the 3 Day week, that was interesting 😳😳

Being put on standby to dig graves or clear rubbish, hmmm, so much for a 2 Year Engineering Apprenticeship 😳😳

Hmm, and here we are again 😳😳😾

Quite frankly don't believe most working people can't afford an occasional pint tbh.

I don't know how anybody in the UK affords a pint tbh, cost of alcohol in pubs, bars and restaurants is extortionate. The items in Spain where the price has not increased much are alcohol, cigarettes and bottled water, perhaps we can all drink and smoke ourselves into oblivion!

Yes it’s grim right now, almost like there’s a constant grey cloud looming over everything and things getting better seems like a pipe dream at this moment in time. I worry a lot for those on low incomes, they’re going to be financially ruined unless something is done to help them out.

Add also to your list the inevitable next big Covid wave that will see us into autumn and then no doubt there’ll be a winter wave and probably a new variant because why not.

Monkeypox is also still bubbling away and is likely to start getting into the big numbers in the coming months- I’m not sure if the vaccine is adequately effective against the strain spreading right now if Twitter is anything to go by.

2008 didn't do anything apart from the government bailed out companies who were too big to fail
Sadly house prices are still going up which impacts on everything.
Banks are as knackered as the poor sods still in massive mortgage debt. The poor taxpayer is doomed.

Cost of living crisis: rent, food and energy prices. Availability of rental is another crisis. Why? Because migration and single parent families.
Our future generations shouldn't aspire to buying a percentage of a house or sharing a house late into adulthood through financial rather than choice.

Most pressing is energy prices. It's going to screw over everything.

2008 didn't do anything apart from the government bailed out companies who were too big to fail

Except for austerity, wage stagnation, lack of investment, QE & inflating assets.

THIS

I'm concerned about the lack of a plan for winter.

I don't know. Shopping centres for makeshift morgues. Boom in artisan coffins. Two for one discounted funerals.

Britannia unchained.