Are things becoming just a little bit shit?

[Bloomsburygirl]

I was wondering if anyone else has started to notice the deteriorating standards in public services and private businesses. I went to London over the weekend, and I was shocked by the filth and litter. I moved to the UK in 2011, and I visited many times before I moved. I do not remember rubbish strewn across streets like it is now. And every place I seem to go gives off a feeling that there simply are not enough staff anymore. Restaurant toilets and public toilets are filthy, it takes an age to be served, and don't get me started on public transport (I read the recent thread on this and agree with every word). It seems to me like the consequences of Brexit/pandemic are really starting to bite, and to be honest, I miss the way it was pre-2016. AIBU, or do others feel the same? And is this the new normal? Disclaimer - I still adore the UK and would never want to live anywhere else!

Yes.

I cannot believe how some people think it's OK to vote Tory after what they've done to the NHS. I think perhaps they just haven't needed healthcare, or have private healthcare. It's horrifying how little care there is for anything that isn't life threatening, but is life limiting.

Also, why am I paying council tax when the most basic services they are supposed to provide, are being neglected? They keep missing bin collections in my area, and I currently am sitting with my flat stinking of rotting meat, because they've not been in weeks and it's piling up so much outside there is no more room. The process of complaining looks really difficult.

Nothing matters anymore.

You might as well go ahead and pronounce them 'L' in Salmon.

Yes everything is shit.

I think a big part of it is overpopulation and I don't understand why instead of the government banging on about building more and more and more houses and destroying all areas of green belt open country with tiny little boxes house with tiny little windows that no one if they could afford it would voluntarily choose to live in, that they don't properly institute policies to address over population.

I'm not talking about European migration but it is right that since Brexit there has been a huge increase in non-European immigration but it's not just that.

Where I live there are loads of houses that used to be lovely large family houses with nice gardens that 20 years ago were not cheap but in reach. Many of these have been knocked down and replaced with blocks of flats and multi-house developments.

Within 300 metres N, S ,E and W of where I live I reckon there are now about 200 more individual residences than there were say 30 years ago. This means now that the GP surgery that used to be a quite-ish local practice where they new everyone, is now oversubscribed, too many patients for the drs, lots of locums to fill in, hard to get an appointment - because there are too many people in the same area without any public investment in the services to cater for them.

The council under financial pressure changed bin contractors. Bins had always been collected fine. New company within months goes on strike, bins uncolllected overfloowing - its worse again because of more people in the area.
IF you think of one plot of land in the days when that was one house with a family of 4 their uncollected bin for a couple of weeks is nothing compared to the same plot now with 10 flats on it and about 15+ people living there.

Used to be able to park easily outside the local shops , bank, post office which was agreat community hub for the elderly. Now never any parking, people hooting, shouting abuse because there are too many people trying to get a space. The bank closed too.

So much of the "things are shit" round here is to do with overpopulation and over intensification of the living space.

I really wish that someone in government would get a proper grip of this issue because it will drag the country into the third world.

That is not true. 38 billion was the total allocated to the project, after two years the total spent was 25 billion with a total cost projected to be around 29 billion. The vast majority was spent on testing,over 10 billion was spent on testing in the first year of the 13.5 billion spent. The NHS covid app cost around 35 million, a very small fraction of the total spent.

😆

To put this into perspective, Crossrail aka the Elizabeth Line went wildly over budget, took many many years to build and is probably harder than building a city in some ways - that cost a bit over £20 billion.

Seriously?! I've just come home from a night out in Islington and I work in Whitechapel. I don't recognise your description. I live in East London also.

The only people getting richer are the super rich, off the backs of everyone else.

How do you know that the anti-social aren't fully employed? I used to work in investment banking and some of the worst behaviour I ever saw was in the City.

Ok @Peradventure55 it’a useful to have a better breakdown. But, if only a tiny fraction was spent on the NHS app, why was Did Harding in charge of the rest? The money spent testing that you mention - do you mean actual physical test kits bought by the government? Is that a different budget? And 29B is still a vast amount of money, as the comparison with the Elizabeth Line shows. Where did it go? Where are the accounts? Where are the reports on it?

It’s not just the UK. I have had cause to visit several western countries this year decline was noticeable in all of them, with the US being the worst - only went to east coast though - NYC and NJ. NYC frankly feels dangerous and frightening once you get out of the touristy central areas and is filthy in many places. Mainland European countries show less deterioration - supermarkets and produce fab in comparison to UK - but loads more graffiti in public spaces and many more homeless people.

For me personally the most striking is NHS services. My local GP was busy, new and fresh with multiple doctors in various rooms/offices leading off from a main waiting room area when I used to take my young children - same day appointments, busy and productive atmosphere. Now you go and all those offices are closed with just ONE harassed and exhausted looking GP to see everyone and you wait for ages. The info screen is broken and has not been repaired. There was a small children’s play area with several good quality toys in - removed during Covid and never returned. I went to A&E back in February and waited nine hours. Back in 2012 I went and waited forty minutes. Even in 2017 I went late on a Friday night and only waited four hours.

I know what I think about the reasons for it all but can’t be bothered with arguments on Mumsnet first thing on a Saturday! 😁

@BethDuttonsTwin

Your GP surgery is highly likely to be a private business owned by the GPs. They've "chosen" not to replace children's toys, they "chose" who to employ and for how many hours. The GP partners make more profit if they spend less on staff, services, facilities, etc. They still get the same money from the NHS whether they see patients or not! We had similar with our village GP. The small car park always flooded and was lethal when it iced over, all due to drainage problems. It was the same for many years. The GPs owned the practice and they personally owned the premises including the car park which they "leased" to their practice. They always claimed there was "nothing in the budget" to deal with the car park drainage, but in reality, they, as landlords were responsible and the parish council eventually got involved to force the issue - the GPs were basically just too tight to repair it, which was their obligation under the lease as landlords! They were happy to pocket the profits but less keen to actually spend money! The surgery building itself is also in a shocking state but again, the landlords (i.e. GP partners) want to have their cake and eat it and won't spend money on repairs!

It is totally outrageous!

And why are there no consequences for government incompetence or corruption or whatever you want to call it?

Not for Dido Harding or Liz Truss!

Think of what that money could have done for the NHS!

This is fascinating Kazzyhoward and so few people are aware of it!

We know our gps work long hours and don’t begrudge them good pay but this is a huge issue.

This is what's making me crazy about the COVID enquiry. These incompetent, careless liars are facing no consequences. And this nonsense about being unable to find their WatsApps. None of us plebs would get away with a feeble excuse.

Have you seen what the Tories are trying to do to overrule courts, exit ECHR ,they have already restricted right to protest.

And they are verbally attacking lawyers and judges who are just uploading the law.

@mantyzer @Eve 100% we are turning into a mini America where rational thinking and the word of the law is challenged. Conspiracy theorists and the idea that a “blob” are out to get them builds on the division tactics- the only thing that pathetic Party have left. It’s unbelievable how many people think leaving the ECHRs would be a positive step! Populist ignorance.

I completely agree with you!

Surely everyone has noticed. It is the direct consequence of 13.5-years of Tory Governments. Britain is badly broken. At 64, I lived as a politically minded woman through Thatcher. Even that was a gentler time, with much better public services. I don’t recognise my country any longer.

It is Brexit. It is all Brexit. Before 2016 the EU used to give us lots of money to spend on our poor areas and they used to be so spotless. Now go to the poor places and they are bordering on slums because no one is paying to upkeep them as the government no longer get the handouts.
You only have to walk around the streets of Sweden, Belgium, Italy etc to see how lovely it is. How clean they keep it and its because the EU pays to keep them kept nice.

I’m guessing that shitty rag The Daily Heil won’t be picking this thread up!

This is a problem all over Europe- sorry to burst your bubble but this has fuck all to do with Brexit

Once the government started to pay people to do nothing during the pandemic and devalued the currency 25% to be able to pay for that, the result was inevitable—a workforce that can’t be arsed to work, a collapse in service, sky high prices, and unbearable taxes.

I might be going against the grain, but I’m sick of hearing brexit as the excuse. Things turned shit after covid. Brexit is a factor, but so is a lot of other things that are covered up with the excuse of brexit.
Companies got rid of staff they didn’t use in the pandemic and never replaced them, but the uk public accepts shit service as long as a company quotes “brexit”.
Net migration has increased year on year so there are more people than ever.
Almost 6 million EU nationals applied for settled status in the first 2 years since brexit and only a small fraction of this figure left the UK (ONS website gives you that information).
Am I the only one who remembers Boris wiping NHS debt? What happened to that? Why is the NHS still in a mess?
When people stop blaming brexit and stop allowing the government and press to take us for mugs and stop believing everything you read without fact checking, then this madness will continue.