AIBU to think this might be it for the UK and will never get better?

[Desperado40]

I am sorry for a very pessimistic view, but I feel we are stuck in a downward spiral in the UK. Is it just me, or does anyone else think that we will be stuck in this loop with the effects of Brexit and a decade of austerity taking decades to ever recover from (if ever?).
If anyone has a better outlook, please let me know.

My parents live outside of the UK and I was speaking to them just yesterday, the way they were complaining about the state of their country sounded like they were complaining about the UK and our issues...makes me think that its not just us facing these issues, rather they are global and the standard of living etc is in decline in many many places

Tbh I think you should see a doctor if you see nothing but misery over the next decades.

no, I think it’s a cycle. Other countries aren’t bathing in unicorn tears and tap-dancing with diamonds as studs either.

Why not pop along to your library and browse the history section? Might be something takes your fancy.

Well op it is true that things are tough in lots of places right now. It is also true that things are cyclical. For instance the UK used to be the "sick man" of europe and wanted desperately to get access to the single market as a result.......

It's a cycle, it will get better, look up the 'Winter of Discontent'. The early 80s had lots of strikes too. The miners were out for a year.

What's going on in the UK that's not happening everywhere else?

As long as people keep repeating that “things are bad everywhere” then perhaps, yes. It gives the government something to hide behind, like covid and Ukraine, rather than facing up to the effect of leaving the biggest trading partner without a plan.

things are worse everywhere so people complain everywhere but the standards fell from different starting points.

I see a mix. There are economic cycles and we will come out of this one.
But i do also think that there will be a slow decline in the west that has started before this blip.

Its everywhere. And the countries that have better economies at the moment
often have other downsides ofsetting it. Its easy to feel the grass is always greener but these things go in cycles.

I don’t think it will get better unless we have a radical change, politically and economically, and that doesn’t seem likely. Labour would be better than the Tories, but not by a whole lot.

I worry that the NHS, education and other public services have been so chronically underfunded for so long that they simply can’t recover without something extremely transformational being implemented. Likewise the energy sector and the environment, Labour is just proposing marginal improvements and it’s nowhere near good enough. I suppose at least they’re not proposing actively running things into the ground, but it won’t be enough to turn things around.

Ditto tackling poverty and homelessness and the gap between rich and poor.

Nothing I see politically makes me think “yeah those guys would fix things, we just need to vote those guys in”

If you are feeling pessimistic then I'm not sure this will give you what you need. These threads attract the cynical and the hopeless who come along to stamp out any moments for optimism and it will only cement your gloomy outlook.

@BadShepherd no one can get to see a dr…….that’s part of the problem. As soon as the government will recognise that the nhs is completely broken and partly privatise it the sooner we can start fixing healthcare. At the moment you can’t get care whether you can pay or not. If you create a system whereby those who can afford to pay can that will free up space for those who can’t.

We will recover. Global economy is on a downward.
But I am more than convinced that UK is doing worst than it could thanks to the current party in power passing the hot potatoe to each other, being absent, doing nothing or, worst, just coming out with mini-budget ideas.
I think next year is going to be proper tough. Higher energy prices, higher food prices, higher all other goods prices. Strikes and general discontent. Sadly, I think more people will suffer due to becoming enpoverished and understaffing on basic services when they most need them.
I keep my hope for a political change, but as time passes it dims more and more.

I think what is currently happening is a huge adjustment.

We had it reasonably good over the last few decades.

Cheap goods, cheap food cheap energy,... you name it we had it.
Consumerism is on its knees as economies can't supply the stuff cheply anymore. Reasons are the shortages of raw materials and other emerging economies wanting the same consumer goods as us. Add politics and war and here we are.

Generally we need to learn to consume less and be more self reliant as a country/ continent. This will take time, decades? Maybe, who knows.

I suspect we'll look back to the early 20s with fond memories.

I'm not going to explain what I think very well.... I do think the UK will continue to face challenges and there will always be barriers in getting what you want/need. I also think that this is part of living and life - and always has been.

I think if we didn't have problems we would go looking for them and I think that an easy and comfortable life provides no opportunity for growth, and no opportunity to appreciate what you do have. I have the least I have ever had this Christmas but what I do have - I will enjoy. It's about attitude for me, I can stay in bed and cry about the difficulties I face living in the UK or I can get through each day as best i can and appreciate it as much as possible. Because there is always much harder conditions out there.

Don't get me wrong - I hate it when people say things like "You think your life is hard - think about people who have it harder". This helps no one - but for myself this is one thing that gets me through. It's hard to count your blessings when you take them for granted.

I am aware I sound like a patronising Christmas story!

The next 10 years are going to be very challenging for me - health, work, finances.... But what the hell - I bet I get through them. And then I will worry about the 10 years after that!

Some of the issues the UK is wrestling with are worldwide. However, what worries me is that the UK political system seems to mean nobody bothers to come up with actual solutions to the big problems we facing. A fundamental reform of social care / the NHS is clearly needed to make sure the health system stays functional but neither political party has a plan. There is also no chance of the two major parties working together to come up with the best plan possible, instead it feels like both are hoping if they ignore the problems it will go away. Same with a host of other issues. That does make me feel pessimistic, other countries have managed to introduce big sweeping reforms to fix big entrenched problems but I can't see that happening here.

We just bought. V. Cheap camper. I think I’m going to try and pop over to France once or twice a year. At least the supermarket shelves are full.

Most worried about our health service tbh. A neighbour couldn’t get an ambulance for someone having a stroke the other day. Another neighbour waited 12 hours with a broken back.

Stop being so dramatic. I’m in my 60’s and have experienced both good and bad times over the years.
The thing I’ve realised is that generally the bad things had nothing to do with the government/economy/environment.
Eg cheating partner, dead babies and a house fire would have happened irrespective of which party was in power.
You have to plan for the worst, grit your teeth and get through it and then enjoy the good times when they come.

Yeah we need PR @CrabbyCat

Having a severely disabled child was FAR easier under the Blair years.

I rather agree with @Fairyliz - if this is the worst you’ve ever witnessed, your cage has been gilded.

That's not quite true. Not all miners.

I disagree about decades of austerity, though I think high energy costs will be here for several years.

Agree about Brexit, which is the worst economic decision this country has made at least since the second world war.

OP and everyone else- please vote at every opportunity to get rid of the Tories, whoever you choose as an alternative.

The west has lived well for the last 30 plus years because we have exploited labour and cheap cost of living in developing countries.

Now those countries expect more and there is a levelling up of wages/lifestyle. As a result our way of living will see stagnation and even recession as a result, because everything costs more coming out of these countries.

Whichever government is in power will be managing our relative decline now. Ironically I think as a country now is the time to become more insular in terms of securing our own energy, food and production.

This is Global, not just UK.
All part of the economic cycle.