To ask what the rest of (geographic) Europe are doing differently?

[CanIJustAskAnotherStupidQuestion]

I have friends and colleagues in Nordics, Spain, Italy, Germany and they all keep asking what the hell is going on in Britain, with double digit inflation and 80% increases in fuel costs. They don’t seem to be feeling all of this to the same extent.

So why is it happening here, and not so much elsewhere? I know that e.g. France hasn’t been hit with fuel bills for consumers because EDF is nationalised (but presumably that means they will get hit in taxes). But what about elsewhere?

I'm not sure the lower unemployment rate in the UK is actually of any benefit when so many people in-work cannot afford the basics.

Even the monarchy is shady. Real shady. Spain is ranked the lowest on the corruption index out of all the major eurozone countries.

That's partly because of the post Brexit exchange rate - we get less euros to the pound now so it is more expensive to us.

I don’t they are doing this, they don’t care about the economic migrants. They have had the ability to stop them for years but don’t. The do the menial jobs we won’t.

But people WILL pay for this. The money has to be taken from people and put back into the economy sooner than later.

This is the thing. Many of the examples given involve government subsidies, which would increase our enormous public debt even more. There's no 'freebies' just borrowing that will have to be repaid through higher taxes in the future.

Our unemployment figures are massaged and manipulated by the whole zero hours contract fiasco and the fact that many people in jobs don't earn a living wage. It looks like people are employed even if they're barely working any hours.

I'm a Conservative voter but I think Liz Truss is proposing economic measures that might make her popular now, but aren't the right answer for our economic health as a country.

Good question, and yes the rich owning everything is exactly what they appear to want. Just like in Victorian times, except that this time “the rich” can come from anywhere on the planet. We haven’t a hope of ever working enough to clear out of renting if we’re facing competition for buying from all around the globe.

If it wasn’t a very deliberate strategy to impoverish the British people and force them to become the new slaves of the world in place of places like Bangladesh then it sure looks like something very close to it.

And yet you have an unemployment rate of around 13%, and youth u employment of over 25%. Sounds like a really happy and sustainable position to be in. You'd have thought with that wonderful EU FoM and the right to live and work anywhere in the EU, that some of those workers would have exercised that right to make their lot better, wouldn't you?

@PersonaNonGarter
"The French are in complete chaos - EDF has had to be nationalised. And they are unable to take advantage of the energy crisis as they are not able to generate as much as usual. Further, they are in the grip of a crime wave and the government is paralysed as Macron lost his majority."

EDF was originally a nationalised company, and was then partly privatised, with the French government retaining over 80% of the shares, so EDF has always been under government control. The government has bought back the remaining shares in order to ensure that the "profits" generated are retained by the French treasury - i.e. the taxpayers (as opposed to the UK, where the "profits" are sent overseas to the foreign investors rather then benefitting the consumers/taxpayers).

Macron has not lost his majority - at the last election he polled over 55% of the votes.

De Croo (the Belgian PM) has said the next 3-5 winters will be difficult. The German politicians seem to be divided on selling out Ukraine to get the gas flowing again, or making a stand.

Nationalisation means that all taxpayers pay for the service. Currently EDF is selling at below market cost, which means that taxpayers will have to fund the difference, and if there's not the money in the budget already then taxes will need to increase. As it will be classed as critical national infrastructure, it's not like a private company which can cease to trade if it cannot afford to run - the government (taxpayers!) are liable for running costs, infrastructure and service.

@Calmdown14 that's exactly it. UK has had lower pricing fir a very long time compared to other countries in Europe.
And relative to income as well.
Discretionary spending has been higher in the UK and this is what is now changing by the looks of it. Less spare funds.
Yes, a coffee might be Euro2 in some country which looks cheap from UK, but relative to local income it might equate to a £3.50 coffee here.

"what is your reasoning for the crime wave?! News to me"

@sjxoxo thousands of Albanian criminals, who could come legally to the UK if they weren't criminals, choosing to come on dinghys from France, which is being paid millions to sit on its ass and wave them off, could be a small contributing factor. All the nice Albanians just get on a plane with their passports, rather than tossing them in La Manche.

One of the things they're doing is providing Evusheld to their most vulnerable (those of any age whodon't form intended response to covid vaccinations and who are also most likely to be severely ill with it)

Currently in UK in summer 25% of ICU beds are taken up with people in that category, and that could be cut by over 90%. That's an important difference to hospital capacity, especially as absolute numbers are set to rise.

UK hasn't explained the decision making on this point (no minutes published, as they are for other covid treatment and vaccination measures, so we don't know who made the decision or how it was reached) and the only given reason so far (effectiveness against later omicron variants) applies with greater force to the new vaccine that the government has chosen (which explicitly states effectiveness and duration is not known). Big double standards, as there is plenty of data (primarily from US and Israel showing Evusheld is effective - I mean the vaccine probably is: the double standards is there is more actual peer-reviewed evidence for the one dismissed for 'lack of evidence' than there is for the one approved

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62710522

The UK has long had more expensive petrol and diesel than across the Channel - it's because there's so much tax on it. Lorry drivers had been complaining for years about Eastern European drivers being able to fill up cheaply before arriving in the UK with their load, do a few internal trips using the cheap tank of fuel, then pick up their back load and return home with it, refilling the tank after leaving the UK.

Nice to see not all the Tory cabinet are on holiday but are instead taking the time to post on MN.

A very large % of the Spanish youth, myself included, HAVE indeed exercised their right and left the country because it’s impossible to develop any kind of career of future if we stay home. It’s one of the big social issues in Spain right now. I left for uni and never went back. The country is losing their best scientists, artists, researchers. In my industry, over 75% of young people have either moved to Northern Europe or have at least studied for a few years abroad because the conditions are pretty dire for our generation back home. Although having said that, at least the higher education system is fit for purpose for those who do stay, with tuition fees less than 1k per year, and completely free of charge for high achievers. They can at least get a good degree which allows them to then explore other options.

You can’t expect every single under 25 to move somewhere else though, because that, too, requires money. Money the average Spanish family doesn’t have. I was lucky that I was offered a bursary when I started uni which meant I could afford my flight, halls deposit and the first few food shops. Then straight into work alongside a full time practical degree.

That’s the experience of many of my peers. We’re now thousands of miles away trying to build a future and yes, Spain is not somewhere I’d want to return to right now. But at least I know my parents are not in danger of having their heating cut off this winter. If they were to lose their house there are decent social housing options where they live. Healthcare is top notch and they can be seen in A&E within the hour, even at weekends. Their medicines will be cheap for the foreseeable and they’re not as worried as I’d be in the UK about doing the food shop.

Why do you think it unreasonable to want to see some hard evidence when your anecdata doesn't reflect everyone else's?

Obviously people make different choices at stages of their life, hence retirement towns, but I’d not encourage dc to move to high youth unemployment country.

This experience is indicative of the problem Spain has. Brain drain that has been going on for over a decade.

Spain is projected to suffer a net loss of -24% in the next 50 years. The best and the brightest leave Spain to work elsewhere while it imports cheap labour and elderly pensioners. Of the young who are left behind, 25% are unemployed. Is that utopia? A distaste in the making, more like.

I would not encourage my DC to move from the UK to Spain. I would, however, encourage them to move from the UK to other countries where conditions and opportunities are much better.

Being in a slightly better position than Spain is nothing to brag about, sadly. I love both countries dearly and yet have had to move somewhere else where the situation isn’t as bad.

This thread is indicative of overly simplistic thinking. Sometimes understandably in times of crisis.

The fact that we are applauding any country for giving freebies and nationalising energy that it doesn’t produce (thereby subsidising it) shows a complete lack of understanding of the economy works.

It’s like we no lessons were learned from 14 years of quantative easing, or the inflationary impact of locking up healthy people, paying them to do nothing while stoking demand for goods that are weren’t being produced. Nationalising energy and giving out freebies like free train travel now is nothing short of bribery to people who refuse to understand how the economy works. Nationalisation means you pay in the future. Just like lockdowns were now free and we are paying now through inflation.

It’s probably area dependent and not blanket for everyone

I moved to U.K. and see opportunities in comparison - although I’m in London and I already see it with late teen

Where are you thinking?