To think a lot of the Uk looks like a state

[Novembermummy88]

Not sure if I am being dramatic or if years of austerity are really starting to show…? Lately I’ve really started to notice how filthy, run down and falling apart everywhere looks! I live in a town in the south east on the borders of the M25. Every where there are gapping pot holes (can hardly avoid the volume there are now and genuinely concerned I will lose a wheel at some point!), broken lamp posts, the volume of litter / filth on the roads seems very high and can’t remember the last time I saw a road sweeper, and things like pathways are a state, road markings worn out, SO many closed/dilapidated shops….the town just looks awful as do many of the nearby towns! Is it just the South East looking like this? Aibu?! Or have I watched too much Selling Sunsets and setting my expectations too high…???

I live in the north. The village I live in and the nearest town are still looking pretty well kept, clean and tidy thank you very much!!

This is what people vote for when they vote Tory. This is what Tories do. Tax cuts are great when it's your pocket getting fuller, but they affect everyone, and everything. If there's no money, no investment in public services and infrastructure, this is what happens.

It was like this in the early 90s too, I remember my local town being dirty and run down, really grim. It feels like we back there again.

Overpopulated, overtaxed, overworked, long commutes, poor education, poor local services, poor NHS services, poor state pension and a poor infrastructure.

It is an absolute shitshow.

Oh, forgot overpriced housing and massive bills and food costs.

I'm hoping we rejoin the EU so I can leave. I have lived in 4 overseas countries and had a much better quality of life in all of them, despite their issues.

I said exactly the sane thing yesterday. I'm in Lincolnshire and areas that once looked at least half decent are in a real state. Not sure if it's just do to it looking worse in Winter but I do sense some kind of collective depression where many people just aren't bothered about looking after there property anymore. Obviously many used lockdown to spruce up their homes, but this has led to old furniture/rubbish outside peoples homes.

Council cuts too of course, everywhere just looks and feels pretty bleak. Hopefully Spring will change that.

You missed off one that has a major effect: there's dog poo everywhere now: all over the verges, all over the pavements. And random dog poo bags hanging off stuff or left by the side of the road. Even if the owners pick it up, there is often some left over where the poo wasn't solid. Not only looks awful but filthy as well.

I live abroad, rarely come back to UK.
Last time I did to SE, I was shocked how poor the roads and motorways were. Fair bit of litter.
I’d like to know what Labour are going to do though to fix this. In my opinion they must put up taxes to pour money into public services.

Is indeed- trash everywhere,outdated run down buildings (like 60s, 70s builds) might have looked good abck then now they just look like eyesores, roads are a mess, countryside roads have never been widened to take more than horse and a carriage, even childrebs playground are broken outdated etc.

I am from mainland Europe and even my family members from small towns have new school buildings,awesome kids playgrounds,better stocked supermarkets etc come here for a visit they are like ..WTH…?

Large parts of the country look pretty grim to me now. Still some nice pockets but years of lack of investment in rail, roads, infrastructure really showing. Not to mention all the horrible poverty and fuel crisis. Effect of selling off so much of our public wealth to the private sector, austerity and the Brexit.

I was going to say it's like the 70s. But I actually think it's worse. I don't remember all the roads having potholes then.

I think you’ll be waiting a while. Might be faster to get skills other countries need so you can get work visa instead

@Novembermummy88 ·
Or have I watched too much Selling Sunsets and setting my expectations too high…???

Possibly! But I must say I am getting fed up of potholes in roads and pavements, chewing gum and hoiked up nasty stuff everywhere, dog/human shit and rubbish chucked right by bins.

We need a massive public information campaign on littering, initiatives for litter collecting and so on. We don't have to just accept it!

I totally agree with this- I live on a lovely street full of nice Victorian houses, tree lined and pretty. It hasn't been swept since last summer, therefore the road edges are now just muddy mulch from all the leaves which is about 3 inched deep, the pavements are slippy, slimy, covered is rotted leaf mulch and branches and twigs from the trees, there is litter, ugly weeds growing in every crack and verge, the trees are untrimmed and overgrown and sprouting from the bases blocking the pavements.

The councils response to all this is that residents should organise a team and clean the streets themselves.

And a dog licence which will fund dog poo cleaning.

I hadn't really thought about it but you are right.

There's a lot more litter about, a hell of a lot of fly tipping.

A lot of the local playgrounds are run down with broken equipment that hasn't been fixed for years. I've reported it but just get an email saying they'll get round it it.

The road markings are all worn out and the roads are full of pot holes.

So many disused buildings sat for years getting worse and worse.

Agree. On a visit to France last year I was struck by how clean it looked and supermarket shelves were full with plenty of fruit & veg.

“The North”

What on earth is that supposed to mean?

Some parts are lovely, some parts are awful, just like “The South”.

Perhaps the South East is only just starting to understand what years of neglect, and underinvestment looks like, something us in ‘The North’ have lived with for a long, long time. We don’t even have a duel carriageway through parts of the A1. You know… that main road between Newcastle and Edinburgh. It’s the price we’ve paid for not historically supporting the Conservative Party.

It doesn’t matter. We’re just ‘The North’.

But yes OP… things are getting worse. The money taken by central Government from local authorities who manage these things has really starting to bite. From pot holes to park wardens, the civic purse has been strangled, and these are the services we need to keep our towns and cities looking nice. It’s important.

Personal responsibility is a thing of the past. Like the poster who said their grandparents would keep their garden looking nice. That’s just a pipe dream now. We live in a society that only thinks about ME, consuming fast food, scrolling mindlessly, not caring about community or the wider environment because they’d have to get off their lazy arse and do something about it.

In the end it all comes down to taking responsibility - every last bit. Response-ABILITY. I think we would all do well to spend time today thinking about what that really means.

Ooooo… I’m on one this morning!

I think some councils are missmanaging funds.

Luckily where I live there is lots of care and investment in local aesthetics and services and its looking good. New playpsrks, streat cleansing teams, new stylish skate park for teens. We have a labour local council that cares.

However where I moved from looks awful lately. No upgrades or investment whilst the councillors give themselves bonuses and pay rises! I think it comes down to how good your local council is. Can you write to them?

Midlands and totally agree. Potholes that go down to the cobbles, roads aren't swept, drains aren't cleaned. Town centre is mostly boarded up, facilities such as pools and libraries only open part time, or closing completely. The council just announced massive spending cuts.

You can't cut funding and expect an identical service.

"This is because largely because of reductions in central government grants, which have been the most sharply cut component of local government revenue since 2009/10. Central government grants – including retained business rates – were cut 37% in real-terms between 2009/10 and 2019/20, from £41.0bn to £26.0bn in 2019/20 prices."

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/local-government-funding-england

It's worth a read just to get a sense of what they have to tackle.

Local government carries a lot of social care cost - as that rises so they struggle.

NI gets £122 for every £100 England gets. People there complain about public services but they don’t know they’re born! Enniskillen (population 14,000) has an acute hospital- my local market town has a significantly bigger population and can just about muster 3 GP surgeries.

I was there at half term and the difference is phenomenal.

I hope the Tories rot for this but shame on us for not making more of a fuss and putting up with it. Other countries just wouldn’t stand for it.

I would as otherwise will get worse and depressing.

That's what you get for voting for the Tories and Brexit.

This type of government does not give a damn about how the majority of people live as long as they and their mates make themselves richer at the expense of the rest of us.

Our standards of living compared to most EU countries are shockingly bad now.

The decline will only be reversed once people actually wake up to this and stop believing what the Daily Mail tells them to think.

Councils budgets are being cut, cut and cut again.
Our county no longer has a public swimming pool!