to think the UK has become awful?

[ma1formed]

I can't pinpoint when, but it feels like everything that was once pretty good is now quite awful

So expensive
No doctors
Uni costs for kids insane
Terrible rent / can't buy a house
Everyone seems quite unpleasant or racist

Is it just me?

We are the most racially integrated country in the world. There isn’t anywhere I’d rather live as a non native.

While health care is average in this country (compared to other European countries) when spend an average amount on our NHS so what do we expect? We should spend more but it’s not as terrible as people like to go on about.
There’s never been a more accepting and liberal time to be gay, trans or neurodiverse.
Women have never been closer to equal rights.
We live in an age where social mobility has never been better, we have political freedom and most of us can choose how we make a living and what we do in all aspects of our lives.
People are quite literally dying daily to get here.
In the words of red dwarf’s Queeg ‘appreciate what you’ve got because basically I’m brilliant’.

Seriously...so because we're not as bad as some of the worst war torn broken countries in the world we should be grateful!?

We've had years of austerity and years of division - the well pitted against the healthy, the working against the non working, private sector against public sector, rich against poor - the result is a horrible race to the bottom. The politics of envy which so many people have bought into is destroying us.

We are allegedly a rich economy but we have appalling public services, appalling customer service even with companies we pay a fortune too. We are fleeced for minor parking/speeding misdemeanours with no real fair right to challenge.

The country is a mess.

What are you basing the assertion that labour are no better on?

I remember pre 2010 very differently to now. I don't remember having heard of food banks in the UK back then
The Trussell Trust have gone from 35 food banks in the UK in 2010 when the Tories came in to more than 1400 now.

This graph shows the effect of government change on NHS waiting times. This "they're all as bad as each other" nonsense is why we are letting the Tories destroy the country for their own gain.

It is really crap.

Litter and dog shit everywhere.
Dog poo bags on every tree and fence.
The smell of cannabis everywhere.
Yobs.
Gutters full of weeds, overgrown paths.
Children addicted to screens and unable to concentrate.
Really poor manners and a high level of ignorance.
The widespread belief that people can somehow change sex, be non binary or become a different species.
Sexual grooming of children in schools and libraries (see also drag).
Crumbling infrastructure.
No police when you need them.
No GP or dentist appointments for many people.
Impossible for young people to get on the property ladder.
Very poor rental accommodation.
A reversal of women's rights which were so hard fought for.

And I live in what is considered to be a nice town.

It does feel like the mid 90s but worse. Dirty towns, broken roads, crappy public services.

But worse. I don't remember then the feeling of division. Brexit seems to have divided us. The campaign was done that way of course.

Don't think that will be undone for years.

Of course! Labour will be in next & things won’t improve. Then who will we blame?

No party can sort it, it’s too late.

And many, many, many better places.

That was not previously the case.

’it’s worse in Albania’ isn’t the gotcha you think it is.

If you’d like perspective from another country, I can tell you all the things you said are similar elsewhere.

US has horrendously expensive healthcare and many people either don’t go to doctors until they’re practically dying or they go bankrupt trying to be treated. #1 cause of bankruptcy here is health costs.

Also trying to see a doctor is challenging. My DH has cancer and when I asked for an in person doctor visit (back in June) I was told first available would be January 24. Fortunately I did find a different (better) doctor who’d see him sooner. I got the first bill the other day for surgery, $11,000 for the anesthesia. Not looking forward to the surgeons bill. Or the hospital bill. (I have insurance but it won’t cover everything)

College here is insanity. The university my son attended is now $87,000 per year, takes 4 years to get a degree (we got aid because we’re not well off) but it was still costly. A “cheap” school is still likely well over $20k per year.

Racism - worse than ever.

Housing- extremely expensive in any metropolitan area. I don’t know how my kids will afford to buy a house. If you buy in the boonies, then you spend half your life commuting.

Short story, I’d love to move somewhere else!!

Erm, that's a rather random and very unsubstantiated comment at the end there. Australia is incredibly multicultural ( 1 in 4 people born in another country - 1 in 3 have parents that were born in another country). Very peaceful and harmonious. You can't just make up shite about another country. It's a bit rude.

It feels like centuries of exceptionalism are being dismantled before our eyes until we can all see the English emperor never had any clothes.

I spend a lot of time wondering where to live and can’t help but think nearly all western countries are skewered. We enjoyed the privileges while we had them but there is a global levelling up that is being played out. Our children will not necessarily by citizens of first world countries if they remain here as the nations they colonised rise in power and resource.

Our demographics are all wrong: our ageing population which older millennials and younger Gen X will soon add to, will hollow out the state coffers. There will not be enough working age people to pay for us future retirees and our spiraling health costs but sure, blame immigration.

Labour too knows its core voters resent successful immigrants so also blows the dog whistle. Expect xenophobia to ratchet up with a looming election.

In the mean time, the poor are fucked as ever. The super rich including newspaper proprietors and government ministers have made sure to keep their wealth offshore away from their own crazy peers. What makes it different this time is that the Sainsbury’s class are getting and feeling poorer and the state has no one else to fleece except them. Things are going to become even uglier.

The one thing we may have going for us is we are not as screwed as other countries by climate change. Unless that is we lose the Gulf Stream and then it is game over. Oh what cheery thoughts!

This. I'm from a country with real problems. It's heaven here for me.

It’s the Tories. But as someone who lives in another country, our groceries are actually worse (price inflation) than the UK, rent has also gone up here, it’s expensive to get medical help, wages are fixed etc. So some of these are more global than you may imagine. The NHS being completely gutted is so, so awful and sad and fully the tories fault tho. Your extortionate energy bills are terrible too. I just keep wondering if things are going to improve or continue to get worse? It’s depressing.

That brings me some hope (even if it means me having to wipe my own bum with a stick when I'm elderly (assuming that I make it that far).

Have no fear, there is such a product for sale on Amazon

Wales too.

I worry this is true.

Not that it won’t be better under Labour - it will.

but that we can never be a good place again. 15 years of the Tories has changed something fundamental in our national character. We’re cunts now.

I agree and the older you are the more apparent it seems.

Older generations always compare the past but it really does seem as though things are breaking down, the health service, law and order, the police have far too much on their plate, councils are becoming desperate to claw money back and services everywhere are being cut, swimming pools, parks, roads -potholes, children's services, just everything, it's frightening.

The homeless numbers are increasing in every city, drug users, city centers are becoming unsafe places to shop. Buisnesses are shutting shop at an alarming rate, ghost towns with ruinous buildings.

It appears the gap in wealth is widening every day with people becoming desperate, I visited my own city centre the other day and saw people legging it out of 4 different shops with security guards chasing them within the space of an hour.

I think each sucessive government does this though, with each generation, prices go up and wages and employment do not match the increases, the younger generations do not know any different so they don't complain, they are expected to adjust to the unfairness of it.

I do not envy the younger generation I believe we had it easier.
I think politics changed after the Blair years.

I left England just before Brexit happened. I don’t really recognise England anymore. Initially I missed it and would come back and visit frequently but I came back once post covid and I don’t recognise the lovely place I used to call home.

Such a shame. The Tories have honestly destroyed anything that was good. Children who used to attend school with my children (age 17/18) just seem to have far less opportunities than children do where I live now.

It is just genuinely sad. I am not England bashing as the country itself is gorgeous and most of the population are wonderful, but it seems so much hope and opportunity has just been extinguished.

Well yes as it should be.

>I then worry about them leaving uni and facing low pay, high housing costs

My dd will be facing this in a few years, the crooks in government have already applied retrospective changes to loan interest rates and increased payback period to 40yrs - of course they'll increase it again.

It's nonsense to say 'students don't have to repay the loan unless they earn enough' when the rules can be changed retrospectively - what other type of loan can have the terms changed after you take it out?

Ditto claims of it being a graduate tax - that already existed - the 40% tax rate - adding 9% because you went to uni is simply unfair and short sighted.

@algasport The U.K. is safer than Spain?

Agree with all said. Especially in smaller towns. It's a breeding pit for discrimination and hate as well. When the economy goes down the pan, people will too often pick a marginalized group and vilify them. Very worrying.

Nope, Would never go back. I wanted to live in France but that wont happen now

Brexit has been a backward step for the UK - utter stupidity. I blame the Tories for this. I've never voted for them and I can't understand anyone other squillionaires who are still planning on doing so.

The UK feels a less humane place now than 30 years ago and less humane than other Northern European countries.

In 1994, an NHS dentist left their practice Xmas party with a dental nurse and opened up the surgery at 2am to treat my severe toothache. I wasn't even registered at their practice - it was an act of kindness and humanity that I just can't see happening today. This makes me feel very sad and unsafe.

It's inevitable - police, prisons, hospitals, council services all need staff and money. People don't want those jobs. Doctors don't want to work in the NHS.

People need these things to have good lives. Not surprising that things are dirty, crime and antisocial behaviour is everywhere and people are sick.

People left these jobs. They are better off selling people shit or being estate agents. We voted for this mess

My family are two generations of refugees, so I don't feel ungrateful for being in a safe and stable country with reasonable facilities. But I think it's an error of judgement to not call out those in power for how notably worse it's become.

Actually the complete piss is being taken. There are more of us, we pay more taxes and we work hard and there actually isn't any reason why things need to be worse now.