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!

Yip.

What happens when the extremely wealthy run a country that they don't even live much time in and couldn't give two hoots about most of the population. The far right plan to remove the human rights laws are beyond shocking as is the support of the genocide of the children living in Palestine.

Yet, the public would vote them in again tomorrow.

Well in fairness they have acted - they've hoarded assets at an astounding rate while devaluing money. 😄

To a certain extent there's not much they can do about it anyway . The best you can hope for is cross border cooperation and working with neighbouring countries as a bigger trading entity to soften the decline and make the slope more gentle.

Blood clinics near me are a nightmare recently
Today it was a 2.5hr wait, and they closed an hour after opening as too many people
I'm meant to have bloods done every 8-10 weeks and have to take a day of annual leave from work to get them done m

We were in Rome this year and DH and I were saying, I bet, when the Roman Empire was amazing, they never thought it would end. And we were wondering what it was like for normal people towards the end, or even the beginning of the end. I think the U.K. has had an amazing run since probably the 16thC as a centre of arts, science, politics and business, but maybe, like all empires (and I’m not talking about the British empire as such, more of Britain as a central powerful country) is beginning to come to its natural end.
Even thinking back to the dark ages and the Middle Ages after the Romans had left - there’s no guarantee from history that things keep getting better and better. There are way more examples of great countries ruining it all and falling into decline.

It seems like every shop you go by has a job going... but I think people got so used to pissing about during covid, no-one wants to work anymore. Even the lab jobs in my industry have people saying 'can I work from home?'... NO! You don't have a million pounds worth of lab equipment next to your fridge!

They're trying to stop any wealth growing that isn’t in their elitist club.

This. This is exactly what a Tory Government does. It devises the means by which wealth flows in one direction and that's to them.

Oh and my gas and electric is £115 to just make sure the house doesn't get mouldy or damp
Currently 16c inside so it's not even paying that for warmth, and it's a pretty well insulated 20yo apartment with a good energy rating
If I wanted to be comfortable and warm it would be more like £250pm which I can't afford

On the same weekend recently I went to both Home Bargains and Morrisons

DD4 needed to use the loo both times. I was disgusted at the state of the toilets in both shops

We couldn't use either as they were so bad

I emailed Home Bargains to complain and didn't even get a reply

Train Spotting sprang to mind

Housing is a major issue, it’s been the main driver of the economy for years but it’s not productive to have so much income swallowed up by housing. Yet many celebrated that their house outearned them! Add in stagnant wages & now high tax.

Yep, this is what 13 years of Conservative government looks like. I fear for those people needing the safety net of public health care & social care.

Been thinking the same for a long time.

Also add the detrimental effect of Covid and lock downs etc. Someone on here posted about people having forgotten how to behave in public and actually I couldn't agree more!

Average age of a UK citizen is already over 40 and as that increases we'll have fewer workers relative to retirees able to keep the economy going.

its already an issue. In the 60s you had 5 workers to 1 pensioner, now it’s approx 3:1 & forecasted to be 2:1 in the next decade or so. Things will get worse!

I feel exactly the same OP.

It’s a bit of a nebulous thing to express, but I feel there is an ingrained sadness now that emerged during the pandemic and hasn’t left us.

I feel that during the pandemic, a new mindset developed in some people. I think some people became irreparably suspicious of others and much more focussed on themselves. I think that this means that more selfish behaviours are now displayed - people drop litter more readily for example, and are disrespectful to people around them in shops and restaurants.

Not everyone has become like this though. When I’m feeling low I often remind myself of the the NHS workers who stood by us all in the pandemic.

Given the cost of the scheme, it's over £1million per refugee.

Dh is trying to call HMRC today
Took four attempts to get the postcode said properly and he wasn't mumbling or anything now a forty minute wait to talk to a human
Most costumer service is poor everywhere and most shops look like the apocalypse has hit them. The staff are frazzled and overworked.
Had some post today , been two weeks since the last lot of post was delivered, so should be grateful for this I guess

It seems like every shop you go by has a job going... but I think people got so used to pissing about during covid, no-one wants to work anymore.

This narrative is odd, we have worked shortages. Yes there was the silver exodus but it was largely driven by poor health not laziness!

@SerendipityJane it’s desperate isn’t it? Society is falling apart around our ears and this is the hill the tories choose to die on 🤬

Your right.
-Brexit.
-Covid handling shambles.
-No money for the NHS but let's stick ££££ to Rwanda scheme that's going nowhere.

• Shitty foreign policy decisions

Wonder what they'll do next? Get rid of the NHS probably they're already batshit crazy why not ruin the last of any good thing.

'Becoming'? 'Just a little bit?' Things have been awful for a while haven't they? And getting worse? All areas of infrastructure and public life seem to be not functioning. Dh and I were trying to think of one area of life that works well at the minute and all we could thing of was our newish local recycling centre (formerly known as the tip) which is well organised, well staffed and runs like clockwork. Other than that....

The U,K is a disgrace. I live in S.W Scotland but travel in many parts of the U.K every month. The trains are awful, the buses are filthy and full of manky people that can't seem to wash or use a hanky. I am fed up washing my hands in cold water in every restaurant and pub i use, even M&S have turned off the hot water in their toilets.
Prices are through the roof. Used a pub the other day when visiting relatives, their Whisky has risen £3 in 5 months ! I had lunch in a little cafe last month, they were charging £9 for lentil soup.
I am fed up being served in shops by staff that can't even be arsed to lift their head and look at you, yes i know they are on minimum wage but so are most of the customers.
I don't know what the future holds for us but it will be shit if it carries on like this.

I voted YABU for "becoming" and "just a little bit"!

I left London (100% my home) in 2019 because I didn't want my son to grow up playing in the park next to a bunch of tents where homeless people had to live, even when it snowed...

Honestly the 00s were such a good time for this country. 13 years of Tories and we've got record numbers of children in poverty, teens skipping meals, childrens average heights going down after decades of upwards trends due to malnourishment...

I don't blame Brexit per se, it's got much more to do with the Tory governments making ideological policy choices to make the rich richer and the poor poorer, and screw everyone in the middle by underfunding every single public service including the NHS, police and court system.

If I could move away I would.

Since doing a booking online for the recycling centre the queues have stopped and it's mostly empty now
We did go along the other day and was quizzed for a few minutes about what we had
Made us feel a bit uncomfortable tbh and ther only had two cars there and lots of staff not doing much.
I can imagine that fly tipping has increased since they brought in this one.

Yes I have noticed that the country is looking dirtier and people don't have pride in the area they live in anymore. Who are these people who think it's ok to drop their litter in the street or if they no longer want some item of furniture just dump it for someone else to sort out, then moan when their council tax goes up. It's the same with public toilets in restaurants etc, makes me wonder how some people live and what state their houses must be in. You don't need money to either put your rubbish in a bin or take it home.

The shit employers are struggling getting staff. Lots of shops offer very few hours for minimum wage. So if you only want to employ someone at peak time, say lunchtime and Saturday, then yes you will struggle to get staff.
Good employers are recruiting fine.

Our m and s food hall closed it's only loo
There are a few public ones that require some PPE to use them they are so filthy and Greggs now have a code you need to put in to get onto them ( fed up with people using them without buying anything I suppose )
I used a supermarket loo the other day and it stunk !! No hot water either and the hand dryer was broken