To think the UK has gone to hell in a handcart?

[Superlambaanana]

I’m just so fed up hearing about powerful people (usually men) getting away with things. It seems to have become the norm for them to do whatever the hell they like with zero consequences beyond a bit of handwringing in the media, which dies down fairly quickly, and never results in anything changing or being overturned. Leaving us ‘little people’ just having to suck it up.

Examples:

P&O sacked 800 workers in 2022. The CEO, Peter Hebblethwaite even admitted it was illegal. Yet nothing was ever done about it and he’s still CEO!

Liz Truss’s honours list. Bit of a roasting in the press for a day or two, but all the Truss supporters still got their honours in the end. Add to that Boris Johnston’s and the very dubious Charlotte Owen, and now Rishi Sunak creating a whole new honours round to make sure some party donors were rewarded in a blatant exercise in corruption.

Prince Andrew. Apparently still thinking of making a return to public life!!!!!! I mean, wtaf?!!!!!!

Michelle Mone. Has she really faced any actual consequences?

Phillip Scofield. Cheats on wife, bullies colleagues and his boyfriend, but achieves victim status because he was coming out of the closet.

Post Office scandal. Yes it’s managed to get some traction, but people will tire of it eventually and I bet that happens long before the sub-post masters get any justice or decent compensation.

Cost of living crisis and energy companies making absolute fortunes at all our expense with no prospect of bills actually coming back down to where they should be - no, instead we should be happy that they aren’t going up just as fast as last year!

Water companies. Borrowing money to give shareholders big payouts instead of actually managing the water and sewage systems to the extent that rivers are now full of faeces.

😩😫😩😫😫😩😫😩😫😫😩

@NoisySnail , look up John Stonehouse and Jeremy Thorpe. Things were bad back then.

It’s nothing new. looking at history hasn’t it always been this way except now we hear about it quickly and constantly. I imagine we could quickly triple your list too.

I know about them. That is not corruption. They had a secret gay affair and planned to murder who was going to expose them.
That is bad but it was not covered up. There were very clear consequences. Jeremy Thorpe stood trial in a criminal court and was found not guilty. But he was politically exiled.
We are talking about wrong doing that is covered up and people get away with in plain sight. Today a modern day Thorpe would not face a criminal trial and would remain an MP.
It is simply not true that it has always been like this.

I agree with the points about Labour but I will 100% be marching down to vote Labour any day. I think most of us are just saying let's not be naive to how they will operate.

I agree entirely with the post that Tories must be punished for what they've done. They behave as if they are untouchable. Terrifying.

I assume it is all Conservative party supporters who are pretending that there has always been naked corruption by governments with no consequences. And it is simply not true.
All I want at this point is a government that is competent and non corrupt. At one time we would have taken that for granted.

Yes indeed I have and in my book it is all wrong. We were however talking about the British establishment. The British Empire was the biggest the world has ever seen. It covered one quarter of the Globe. Other countries' colonial power pales almost into insignificance. Charles inherited £650 million in private wealth from his mother bringing his disclosed net worth to around £2 billion. That of course is only the tip of the iceberg as the Royal Family's true portfolio has (and never will be) fully disclosed. I wonder why.

The Belgium, Swedish and even the Spanish Royal family (despite their displays of bling) can only dream of this sort of money.

And if those other Royal Families were accepting suitcases full of cash, I would also condemn them.
It is all about an erosion in acceptable behaviour. Queen Elizabeth would not have behaved this way, but King Charles does.

I’ve been hearing that the UK is going to hell in a handcart for decades. We’ve never actually got there:

https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/to-hell-in-a-handcart-richard-littlejohn

@Boomer55 what does the title of a novel have to do with this discussion? We all know the saying "to hell in a handcart" is not new, so not surprising that there is a novel by that name.

Indeed! No one is saying there wasn’t corruption and scandal in the past, it’s that in the past politicians were much more likely to face the consequence's of their actions

They really weren't. A lot of what they got away with went under the radar.

Few points:

I agree about the press and ‘their’ version of events. There is absolutely no factual reporting- it’s all done to create a reaction from us.

Don't forget that Good News doesn’t sell.

We are continually (hourly) fed information that verges on the disengenuous. No wonder we feel like this.

Certainly since Brexit, we’ve become a very inward looking country. I don’t often feel like I have a good handle on how the rest of Europe is faring. You get snippets, but you have to search quite hard in the broadsheets and tabloids. (Rest is Politics is a good way of covering global issues, I know)

Lastly, I also feel there are no morals and no accountability for those in power.
I have always felt that if you’re going to lead our country, then you should always lead by example. A moral example.

Im nearly at a point in life when I could actively choose to go and live elsewhere. As each year passes, my desire gets stronger. I’m busy researching options.

Have a look at the accumulated wealth of the Belgian Empire. King Leopold was the richest man in the world at one point. The Dutch Empire?
They've lined their pockets very nicely.

@Liloona That is such a vague statement. Give us examples.

Absolutely not me, I've never voted tory in my life and never would.

Boris Johnson illegally prorogued parliament. Never been done before. He faced zero consequences for his illegal action.

Standard MN race to the bottom approach again here.

Oh it's not that bad, be grateful etc

When people get away with things for too long they overreach, hopefully they are now over reaching and enough of us can see through them.

@coxesorangepippin I think that race to the bottom is part of the UK's problem. We should all want to make the country better, not just accept it being shit because some countries are worse. What kind of attitude is that? Totally deafeatist with zero ambition for our country.

Mistake

That of course is only the tip of the iceberg as the Royal Family's true portfolio has (and never will be) fully disclosed. I wonder why.

^

Perhaps there would be a revolution?

Oh no, but wait, we'll just keep the plebs happy with their tabloid information on the Royals instead, keep 'em happy. Why would they need to know otherwise?

And now all the algorithms are nicely set up on their cell phone we don't actually need to produce that much fluff for them to get worked up about. Harry and Meg, Randy Andy et al distracts from the actual problem of the extent of their wealth and influence.

Totally agree @NoisySnail

I think we should all be glad that we live in UK where at least we have a vote.

Imagine living in the Middle East in some theocratic regime where, if you go out onto the streets to protest about something you get shot. 🙁

The Queen personally lobied the then Tory Government (and naturally succeeded) to change laws in her and her family's favour. This included the concealment of "her embarrassing private wealth" from the public and to ensure that her household remained exempt from laws around race and sex discrimination. She held immense offshore investments that avoided taxation in the UK (and which still does) and Charles' inheritance from her is tax free.

In fact she personally ensured that she and her family were exempt from a staggering 160 laws granting her sweeping immunity from swathes of British law ranging from animal welfare to employees' rights.

I agree that we should celebrate our freedoms but I don't think gratitude is in order. We fought and died for centuries to attain the rights you are talking about. Nobody handed us the right to vote, to not send children into factories or down mines, to not lose limbs whilst doing our jobs, to not be deported for stealing a loaf of bread or sold into indentured slavery. These freedoms were bloody hard won by brave men and women. They were not god given and they did not magically manifest or "just come about".