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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Are things becoming just a little bit shit?

563 replies

Bloomsburygirl · 08/12/2023 09:38

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!

OP posts:
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user1497207191 · 08/12/2023 13:11

@Fartooold

I agree, in the main. But dirty toilets have been left dirty by the people who have used them - blaming the stores is only part of the issue, why are people such disgusting pigs?? Same goes for litter and rubbish. WE are responsible. Those of us who choose to just dump their crap anywhere.
And yes, I know there are are exceptions - seagulls pulling rubbish out etc.,, but in the main it is us, members of society, who are making the mess.

I fully agree. Too many people don't give a shit anymore about anyone or anything but themselves. People (mostly younger ones sadly) merrily walk down our village high street, dropping litter, sweet wrappers, sandwich containers, etc despite there being several litter bins along the route - they just don't care. Same with yobs in Corsas throwing their MaccyD bags out of the car as they drive along. We can't continue blaming councils all the time, society as a whole has lost the plot, always expecting "someone else" to sort out their mess!

We had a plumber a while ago, went to our loo, when he'd gone and I next went in, he'd actually wiped his arse on our towel - it was covered in shit. What kind of brain dead moron does that?? I'm sure he did it deliberately! Another tradesmen actually stood on the toilet seat rather than sitting on it and broke it! What kind of animals are these, masquerading as humans??

the80sweregreat · 08/12/2023 13:14

That's so bad with the plumber :(
Totally grim and I bet he charged a fortune too :(

beguilingeyes · 08/12/2023 13:15

The thing I don't get is - we have the highest tax burden ever and absolutely nothing to show for it. What are they doing with our money (apart from giving it to Dido Harding)? I remember when we had an NHS that worked, schools that weren't falling down and councils that functioned properly. What happened?

EasternStandard · 08/12/2023 13:18

beguilingeyes · 08/12/2023 13:15

The thing I don't get is - we have the highest tax burden ever and absolutely nothing to show for it. What are they doing with our money (apart from giving it to Dido Harding)? I remember when we had an NHS that worked, schools that weren't falling down and councils that functioned properly. What happened?

Did you want lockdowns and CoL energy support? Cost a fortune but I remember it being wanted generally on here and probably off (although seemed v high on mn)

Outside that increasing number of elderly who need care plus not very healthy population

The aging population thing is going to be tough though

the80sweregreat · 08/12/2023 13:19

The doners and share holders get the profits I'm sure , hardly any is pumped back into the system
The dodgy concrete fiasco has gone quite lately , what's happening there?
The roof in the NHS hospital in kings Lynn is still propped up by scaffolding.

bakewellbride · 08/12/2023 13:20

Yep. The amount of dog poo on the streets on the school run is terrible, it's a nightmare with the youngest. I have to yell ' 'no don't walk there!' 3-8 times per walk and it's only 15 mins

fetchacloth · 08/12/2023 13:21

I started to notice this deterioration 20 years ago. It's got significantly worse in the last 5 years.
As a country we're not creating enough financial growth to fund our public services and this has been the case since the early noughties.
Unfortunately we don't seem to have had a government with enough backbone to deal with it. 😕

Diyextension · 08/12/2023 13:21

2dogsandabudgie · 08/12/2023 12:52

the80s - Why would people fly tip just because you have to book a tip run. I went last week and booked it on Friday for the Sunday at a time convenient for me. I prefer this new system as you're not queuing for ages.

I took some old fence panels to the tip…..refused to take them as there are classed as construction materials now, along with sheds,decking,rabbit hutches and so on. So i could drive miles and pay £40 to dump them , burn them or fly tip. Seeing as i pay £2500 council tax i wasn’t paying. I looked on the council website and it suggested “having a bonfire” with the above items 🙄. I thought wood was recycled ? Fly tipping will be on the rise.

bonfire it is then.

the80sweregreat · 08/12/2023 13:21

People who don't pick up after their dog should be prosecuted, but who would enforce it?
You rarely see any police around anymore anyway

fetchacloth · 08/12/2023 13:21

lkwhjis · 08/12/2023 10:32

Two decades of low skilled mass migration, low productivity, 5 million economically inactive being funded by others, record low 47% net contributors in the economy. And then Covid happened with rampant borrowing, money printing and government corruption. Too many people not contributing enough. Too few holding those people up. This is what you get.

This 😒

the80sweregreat · 08/12/2023 13:23

Our tip has some things that you can't recycle anymore too.
Dh has been on for forty five minutes now to the tax office , still not answering
His call is important to them though
Apparently

hotpotlover · 08/12/2023 13:23

My husband spoke to a restaurant manager recently.

He said he's really struggling to find an Italian chef at the moment.

I also don't know how they would bring over a chef from Italy if they have to pay 38700 pounds.

It's a big mess.

fetchacloth · 08/12/2023 13:24

jesterdourt · 08/12/2023 11:31

If we want better public services, we have to pay higher taxes.

that’s the conundrum

And we have to create financial growth to achieve the higher taxes otherwise we're screwed. We can't keep taking taxes from people who can't afford to pay more, that's unsustainable and unfair.

TheGhostILoveTheMost · 08/12/2023 13:25

I think this is very noticeable in retail too. I used to go into shops like next and m&s and staff were everywhere. Now there's a button to press for service on tills. Walk straight into changing rooms, no staff. No one to help when you can't find something.

It's so sad.

peachgreen · 08/12/2023 13:25

This is the first time I've come to the conclusion that neither party want to win the next election because the country is so fucked it feels irrecoverable. I don't believe it is, I believe the economy is cyclical and things WILL improve eventually, but it will take a long time and nobody wants to be seen to be responsible for it in the meantime.

the80sweregreat · 08/12/2023 13:26

I'm pushing 60 now and bothered by an aging population. I'm actually dreading getting older

Ozgirl75 · 08/12/2023 13:26

A rare example of things working well - I submitted my passport renewal application on Monday and it’s already been processed and sent!

Katbum · 08/12/2023 13:31

Yes - I work in a university and we are literally on the edge of collapse. All essential services stripped back to the point they can no longer function (an email that would previously have been answered and actioned in a afternoon max now taking 6 weeks, catastrophic errors on student records etc) and this is just indicative of the the wider context where we are collectively barely coping given the combination of 13 years of austerity, Brexit, pandemic and concurrent inflation. I keep wondering what the tipping point will be, it’s coming soon.

jesterdourt · 08/12/2023 13:31

The thing I don't get is - we have the highest tax burden ever and absolutely nothing to show for it. What are they doing with our money (apart from giving it to Dido Harding)? I remember when we had an NHS that worked, schools that weren't falling down and councils that functioned properly. What happened?

The cost of the gov borrowing is huge & it’s the ageing population.

”The UK’s national debt now exceeds the total value of all the goods and services we produce. Our stock of debt is getting bigger and more expensive to finance.”

“The IFS calculates that the government will be spending £108 billion a year on debt interest alone by 2026/27.”

“A declining birth rate means that the number of over 85s is expected to almost double from 1.7 million in 2020 to 3.1m by mid-2045, according to the Office for National Statistics – equal to 4.3pc of the population.”

2dogsandabudgie · 08/12/2023 13:32

Diyextension - I think it's because fence panels have usually been treated with wood preserving paint so can't be recycled.

Diyextension · 08/12/2023 13:33

Ive seen this a few times……….opened a post box and there’s a dog shit bag in it 🤣. I mean why bother picking it up just then put it in a post box 💩. Chips and curry is another one. As previously said a lot of people are just animals with respect for others.

the80sweregreat · 08/12/2023 13:33

Dh has given up on HMRC. An hour listening to terrible music and not much else
The roads are another area that needs addressing too, potholes galore or roadworks with nobody doing much

verdantverdure · 08/12/2023 13:33

beguilingeyes · 08/12/2023 13:15

The thing I don't get is - we have the highest tax burden ever and absolutely nothing to show for it. What are they doing with our money (apart from giving it to Dido Harding)? I remember when we had an NHS that worked, schools that weren't falling down and councils that functioned properly. What happened?

Corruption.

The government paid way over the odds to companies set up last week by their mates to provide PPE.

Said PPE was generally useless so they paid another one of their mates to store it, and another to burn it.

The U.K. burned more PPE than we used.

We burned more PPE than the USA used.

Test and Trace is similar. "Consultants" were being paid £1000 A DAY for no one knows what.

See also the asylum system.

If the government takes longer to process asylum claims then the Tory donor with the contract to house asylum seekers makes more money and the U.K. gets deeper in debt.

The asylum housing cost would be reduced by 90% a) providing safe legal routes to apply from outside the U.K. and b) processing most claims within about 4 months.

So guess what? Does our government promptly process claims in a matter of months and set up safe legal routes to apply from outside the U.K.?

Or does it close legal routes and drag its feet over processing claims? (And waste millions of pounds of our money on Bibbi Stockholm and Rwanda?)

Once we get a government that doesn't run the country like a profiteering racket things will start to get better.

user1497207191 · 08/12/2023 13:33

beguilingeyes · 08/12/2023 13:15

The thing I don't get is - we have the highest tax burden ever and absolutely nothing to show for it. What are they doing with our money (apart from giving it to Dido Harding)? I remember when we had an NHS that worked, schools that weren't falling down and councils that functioned properly. What happened?

Not enough people working, and those who are aren't working long enough due to early retirement, etc.

Some retired people have higher income (state plus private (often state gold plated defined benefit) pension). Not only that, but they may be "retired" for longer than they worked.

Retired people are living longer meaning higher pension, care and health costs.

Rise in the "underclass" and black economy meaning more people are "earning" but not paying taxes etc., and many claiming benefits because their "jobs" aren't declared.

Put bluntly, too many economically inactive people, whether young, old, disabled, unemployed, undeclared, illegal, etc etc. Too few people paying enough into the pot and too many taking out!

survivingunderarock · 08/12/2023 13:34

Things do feel like they are on a knife edge - socially, politically and financially. Things cost so much, public transport is unreliable where we are and the roads have been flooded for the past 2 weeks. Our road is being dug up for cable broadband that nobody can afford even on an introduction deal. Fuel is expensive and just surviving is expensive. We don't go out anymore as it costs too much yet when I window shop places are rammed. Our local markets are well attended but people are pulling out as people aren't spending. It does all feel very dystopian and downbeat. The government have just imploded and become political caricatures.

My Tory voting pensioner family are quite happy though...