Page 12 | To think the uk is on its knees

Ilovemycatalot · 2023-02-02T13:43:21+00:00

Just this. Every day negativity. No one is happy with life or working conditions. The country is at an all time low. Living standards getting worse by the day people getting poorer. I know we are not in poverty like some countries but honestly can’t see us ever returning to decent living standards unless you’re the few top percent earners. Tell me I’m being dramatic perhaps I am but can’t see much of a way back from this .

safeplanet · 02/02/2023 18:12

@MarshaBradyo because current funding is based on headcounts. Lower numbers means less money, it doesn't mean less need as you still need that language teacher, sendco, sports facility etc.

It could mean closing or merging schools

schoolsweek.co.uk/falling-primary-numbers-force-council-to-consider-mergers/

safeplanet · 02/02/2023 18:13

@MarshaBradyo are you on the outskirts?

SpringtimeCherries · 02/02/2023 18:14

Daphodils · 02/02/2023 17:43

We chose to isolate ourselves by leaving a market of 450m of the richest consumers in the world on our doorstep. We've erected barriers to trade with them, and therefore effectively turned investment away ever since. Membership of the single market has been the source of the UK's growing prosperity since the mid 1990s.

The consequences of that choice were crystal clear before we made it. Just about every economist on earth agreed that it would make us substantially poorer. It's almost unprecedented to get economists to agree to such an extent. And here we are, substantially poorer. And it's only just begun!

Agree with this. Brexit has harmed our economy, this seems to be openly acknowledged everywhere except in the UK where politicians still seem to evade this, particularly the kind of Brexit that was chosen (hard).

This and also not valuing our education and healthcare system, and the huge inequalities. It’s a shame, so much about the UK was so good, remember the Olympic opening? With a celebration of our diversity, NHS, achievements, creativity, compassion, music, sports… it’s been a bit trashed.

safeplanet · 02/02/2023 18:15

I wonder what the voting intentions of those posters are who steadfastly deny there are big problems in the UK and I wager that posters like @MarshaBradyo have never stepped out of their little london bubble so basically the country never improves.

pls don't tar all Londoners with the same brush. I'm born & raised and my hometown is now a bubble but it doesn't blind me. I guess it depends on who you mix with.

MarshaBradyo · 02/02/2023 18:16

safeplanet · 02/02/2023 18:15

I wonder what the voting intentions of those posters are who steadfastly deny there are big problems in the UK and I wager that posters like @MarshaBradyo have never stepped out of their little london bubble so basically the country never improves.

pls don't tar all Londoners with the same brush. I'm born & raised and my hometown is now a bubble but it doesn't blind me. I guess it depends on who you mix with.

As I said it’s not a ‘bubble’ anyone who knows London well knows how mixed SE London can be with all kinds of housing and people living here.

Part of why I like it so much.

MarshaBradyo · 02/02/2023 18:17

In any case London is largely Labour and Remain…

IMustDoMoreExercise · 02/02/2023 18:17

Crikeyalmighty · 02/02/2023 17:17

@IMustDoMoreExercise absolutely ludicrous blaming someone from 13 years ago and if I remember correctly at that time working tax credits still applied. Anything can be changed . On the other hand to balance this the Tory's brought in being able to get your hands on your pension including large lump sums at 55 - hence you have a ton of 55 to 64 year olds who thought sod this im out (understandable) and an awful lot of non working 55 plus (I'm 61 so know lots) -

Labour, and Gordon Brown in particular, ensured that as many people as possible were on benefits and that that when they did work, that they could work in low paid work for only a few hours a week.

The Tories have tried to stop that, but once it is ingrained, it is very difficult to change people's attitudes to work. People become dependent on benefits and it is very difficult to reduce them.

At least the Tories stopped people on benefits being able to rent luxury flats at the taxpayer's expense which people who were working could not afford.

Yes, I agree, allowing people to access their pensions at 55 was not a good idea now that we have a worker shortage, but it is difficult for people in manual jobs to carry on working in to their late 50s.

Maireas · 02/02/2023 18:18

safeplanet · 02/02/2023 18:09

@Maireas the population has increased because people are living longer not because of more kids....

The fall in rolls is just starting to hit London primary schools, where are you getting information that it's increasing?

"England’s school population is set to shrink by almost a million children over the next 10 years, according to the government’s latest data, raising the prospect of surplus places and school closures in some areas of the country in the years ahead."

The school I teach in, and all the neighbouring schools.
There needs to be at least one more school built in our city.

Wexone · 02/02/2023 18:18

@KAYMACK

Ireland is not perfect but its alot better than UK. we have benefitted from brexit ports are busy. customs needed so increased jobs. a good few companies closed their businesses in UK and set up in Ireland

but we have a huge housing crisis aswell as rental crisis. expect to pay 3k for rent for family home in Dublitsn. costs are high especially fuel food and electric. supermarkets do good deals with vouchers off every time you spend a certain amount. there is no public transport unless you live on cork or Dublin. we have good road infrastructure though. you have to pay for helathcare 50e to see a doc. prescriptions are capped at 120e a month. a trip to a and e is 100e. consultants is anything from 250e to 500e. so you Need helath insurance. if work doesn't provide it its about 1.5k a year per person. you can use the public system if you need hopstiatl but long waiting lists. gp or medical card are means tested. tax is high. only went up this year from 36k to 40k before you hit the high tax bracket. anything you earn over 40k you pay half in tax. plenty of jobs. but better pay in Dublin etc. tech jobs being hit hard here. half my family is English most have moved over here. none of them will ever move back. oh aswell education is not free. you pay for everything from uniforms to books to a voluntary contribution . college is 3k fees every year not including accomadtion or books

Stasiland · 02/02/2023 18:19

@MarshaBradyo millions voted to leave the EU and give Cameron/Osborne a drubbing precisely because things couldn't get any worse in left behind areas. Brexit ironically was initially a vote against tory austerity/ underinvestment and tone deaf london centric Britain. That should have told you that huge swathes of the UK really were struggling.

Clavinova · 02/02/2023 18:21

Lonelycrab
Clav, you’ve amalgamated my post with someone else’s. I didn’t mention the NHS. I thought copy and pasting was your forte?

I was being efficient. You posted; "Of course it is" immediately after; "NHS in real trouble."

MrsGolightly · 02/02/2023 18:21

Clavinova · 02/02/2023 18:11

I am French resident
I can see a Dr face to face, without an appointment

October 2022
France's medical deserts are a political emergency

In a country with a universal social security system, 6 million inhabitants – of which 600,000 have long-term illnesses – do not have a regular doctor and there is pronounced geographical inequality. In the least-equipped areas, it is not uncommon to have to wait more than three weeks to see a general practitioner, and more than a third of residents says they have given up on trying to access healthcare because of cost, waiting time or accessibility.

www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2022/10/03/france-s-medical-deserts-are-a-political-emergency_5998920_23.html

Electricity prices capped at 4%
I think it's 15% now and only for domestic users?

September 2022
French sports and education groups expressed outrage at the closure of around 30 swimming pools, after their operator said surging heating costs made them no longer viable.

www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220906-dozens-of-pools-closed-in-france-over-soaring-energy-costs

I don't recognise this. I'm a french resident and can get a same day appointment with my doctor.

safeplanet · 02/02/2023 18:21

@MarshaBradyo apologies I thought you said you everyone you know was happy or similar. I would think that if that's your experience in London which as you say is very mixed that's a bit of a bubble.

Certainly I know the pandemic has further widened the education gap for deprived kids.

Lisbeinpar · 02/02/2023 18:22

Maireas · 02/02/2023 17:52

"on it's way out" ? What, cease to exist?
Where would you migrate to?.

Show quote history

what I mean by on its way out, is that I don’t foresee this country maintaining international respect or prosperity, not as things currently stand and if they continue this way. As for emigrating elsewhere, I am honestly considering any modern country, because I don’t believe my kids will prosper here, so that’s my main concern, making sure my kids have somewhere to live, eat and keep warm without having to work 4 jobs and selling a kidney.

MarshaBradyo · 02/02/2023 18:23

Stasiland · 02/02/2023 18:19

@MarshaBradyo millions voted to leave the EU and give Cameron/Osborne a drubbing precisely because things couldn't get any worse in left behind areas. Brexit ironically was initially a vote against tory austerity/ underinvestment and tone deaf london centric Britain. That should have told you that huge swathes of the UK really were struggling.

I’m not responsible for how people vote nor do I blame anyone as others often do nor insult

I am talking about my daily life as others are, not in a ‘bubble’ but a nice community.

I don’t actually want to stop posting nor lie about life because mn is not just for public sector etc

More importantly I want others to post positively if they wish without being attacked as otherwise it becomes very skewed.

safeplanet · 02/02/2023 18:25

@Maireas

The school I teach in, and all the neighbouring schools.
There needs to be at least one more school built in our city.

Sorry I'm confused. 😆

Are you saying that because of your experience in your area that pupil numbers aren't decreasing. As in do you have statistical data?

BIWI · 02/02/2023 18:25

Emotionalstorm · 02/02/2023 17:22

He has good policies. And he certainly can't be worse than labour.

Show quote history

What are his policies? And how on earth do you think he isn't any worse than Labour? He's very good - like all the others in the cabinet - at saying what they want to achieve, but without any strategies to get there!

Amore2 · 02/02/2023 18:25

Onabun · 02/02/2023 14:00

Things go in cycles, everywhere Look at history - the last one was 2008, not as bad, but a real downturn. It was short lived... this too will pass.

Other countries will currently be worse off, some better off... they too will have cycles.

It's shit for some, but it will get better.

The media is terrible - stick to good strong reliable sources. Today they say the recession won't be as deep or as long as expected.

This ⬆️
Yes, it is very tough right now for many people but it was in 1930s USA during the depression era too. We have been through a great deal with Brexit, pandemic, war in Ukraine, cost of living etc… but it will pass, has got to. I have cut down how much I listen to the news as the 24-hour news cycle is depressing and I pay attention to what I am consuming news-wise. Otherwise, I would be tempted to just give up a bit and I refuse to do that.

Stasiland · 02/02/2023 18:29

@MarshaBradyo of course you like it. Sadly the traffic is only one way as I for certain could never dream of me or my children ever enjoying the opportunities of a london life as we are priced out. Can't even afford to move to desirable places here in the north as yet again priced out.
Our big M and S is shutting in a few months, Zara left last year, after that expect Waterstones to go. Our large town of 300,000 is on its arse. Levelling up a joke.
It's so frustrating being told that life is great in tory britain when reality is far from the truth.

unsync · 02/02/2023 18:31

I think it depends on how old you are. I was a child during the winter of discontent, then there was another crash in my early 20s when interest rates were double digits, then the dotcom crash early 00s, then one at around 2008/9 when my mortgage doubled and now the Brexit shit show.

Been there, done that, still here. I think the difference is that the media are going overboard with their hand wringing and people have got used to a much better standard of living than we used to have years ago.

SpringtimeCherries · 02/02/2023 18:34

@Wexone most of us can see the GP in a day in Ireland though, teachers are paid relatively well with long holidays, A&E is in crisis but not as bad as England, benefits are higher here (and if on benefits can usually get all healthcare for free). Rents are ridiculous but that’s been that way for a while, and Dublin and other areas have got very rough since the pandemic.

Belladonna208 · 02/02/2023 18:35

Yep. This has been on the cards since the Tory's Austerity programme was introduced after 2010 (ably backed by the Turncoat LibDems, who I'd never trust again - not that I did much anyway) but if you said that at the time you were accused of being utterly negative. And don't even get me started on Brexit, that Get Rich Quick Scheme for Jacob Rees Mogg and the like.

We'd better get used to being an LMIC country at best in the near future - just watch as the former Eastern Bloc countries overtake us in quality of life in the next few years.

Blossomtoes · 02/02/2023 18:35

unsync · 02/02/2023 18:31

I think it depends on how old you are. I was a child during the winter of discontent, then there was another crash in my early 20s when interest rates were double digits, then the dotcom crash early 00s, then one at around 2008/9 when my mortgage doubled and now the Brexit shit show.

Been there, done that, still here. I think the difference is that the media are going overboard with their hand wringing and people have got used to a much better standard of living than we used to have years ago.

I was an adult during the winter of discontent. Life is far worse now. Fifty years ago we had a functioning NHS, enough housing to go round at rents people could afford and enough school places for kids to get a half decent education. The only people who aren’t struggling now are the relatively affluent who can afford to pay for healthcare and sky high rents and mortgages.

JadeSeahorse · 02/02/2023 18:35

thereisonlyoneofme · 02/02/2023 14:02

having not been able to see or speak to a gp despite terminal diagnosisi heartily agree

Absolutely appalling!

I have read your GH thread posts @thereisonlyoneofme and your GP should hang his/her head in shame.🤬

Clavinova · 02/02/2023 18:36

MrsGolightly
I don't recognise this. I'm a french resident and can get a same day appointment with my doctor.

You obviously don't live in a 'medical desert'.

31 Jan 2023
Sick patients in France lacking GP to be contacted before summer, minister says.

There is a general shortage of medécins généraliste (GPs or family doctors) in France, with some areas classed as ‘medical deserts’ where people find it almost impossible to register with a doctor.

The health minister said that people without access to primary care doctors are “deprived of a regular follow-up” and that this is “no longer acceptable” for those with chronic illnesses.

www.thelocal.com/20230131/sick-patients-in-france-lacking-gp-to-be-contacted-before-summer-minister-says/