To think our towns and cities are just so run down lately, and our standard of living has decreased significantly?

[blahhhhg]

I don't know if I'm just feeling a bit down and bitter lately but I just feel like lately our country seems to have gotten very run down. I went out into town today and couldn't help but notice how grotty and rundown everything looks. Litter everywhere, security guards everywhere - in nearly every clothing shop there is security on the door now, security wandering up and down the high street. It makes you feel really unsafe but they must be there for a reason now? Shops are dirty; filthy floors and used Starbucks cups just left off the shelf for some poor worker to clean up. Clothes for sale that are covered in makeup stains. I just found it really depressing. It's just not one town either, I've noticed it nearly everywhere I've been. I'm in my late 20s so it's not like I've had decades of life experience to draw from and I have a rose-tinted view of yesteryear, but it seems that in the last 5ish years things have really declined.

You could easily be describing my area. Ordinary working class neighbourhood till 10-15 years ago when half the third world turned up

We're in Wales labour always. We have the same issues. No Tories to blame here.

Wales is still primarily ruled by Westminster. The Welsh government doesn't override majority of UK national laws, just a few areas having devolved status. Of course the Tories are to blame for what happened when they were in government, Wales wasn't exempt from their rulings.

The bits of wales I’ve visited always seem quite nice and tidy but then again I’m staying on dedicated holiday sites and walking that area/shops so not down the residential streets.

I don’t agree with renting air bnbs that could be a full time home.

Those 20mph randomly take the piss a bit though 😅 also did not enjoy following three logging trucks 😱 final destination style

@Crikeyalmighty we visited Copenhagen recently and it was so lovely - and so depressing to come home and compare what it’s like here - litter, feral people, poor public services. Everything just feels so unloved and the air of hopelessness and aggression is really noticeable. I hate it.

@BirraMoretti yep - we came back for family reasons related to elderly parent not because we didn’t like it - however we are still reasonably ok as live in Bath which whilst it certainly has its issues is a veritable bubble of niceness compared to most other places I’ve been - went back to my east midlands home town last October- first time in 22 years - good grief is all I can say. Copenhagen is I think a really good place for a family trip

😂😂

So many tin shack house here making meth clearly.

The distinction between private/public spaces and public spaces is noticeable.

Take Manchester, the city centre is, in parts, grubby, littered, real problem with aggressive begging and homelessness. Amidst it all is Spinningfields, a privately owned district with public access, which is soulless but immaculate - clean, well kept pavements and planting areas, feels safe, hardly any litter.

Yep. Plus of course the fact that funding is from Westminster and based on a contentious formula.

I live in South Wales. There are areas of deprivation and we have the issues that are plaguing everywhere else in the UK. But I like it here.

The last time I needed a GP appointment I got one the same day. Blood tests and another test the day after, further tests two weeks after that. One of my friends has terminal cancer and is getting excellent NHS and social care.

Yeah and people using rivers as toilets due to the lack of indoor plumbing.

Why are some people intent on over-egging the state of the UK? It's bad in parts, like everywhere else.

Talking of that though a post was shared on Facebook a few days ago someone did a poo down the side of someone’s house 🤢

But yes exactly that. There are pockets are pure filth and pockets of ideal and then most places are somewhere in the middle.

Its fashion to hate the uk more so England.

Starmer has to go.

I don’t think it’s fashion to notice how bad it has got in some areas and not like it. There’s no point denying it.

That’s the point though.

The pure filth isn’t just pockets here and there. It’s tidal wave of filth, decay and feral behaviour, everywhere.

Most MN are too hidden away in their suburban bubbles on their six figure salaries to realise just how bad things are.

Says the poster with the username number blah blah blah posting on a popular forum🤔

'taxation is greater' in the sense of ordinary people yes, public sector spending higher, mostly due to the manufacturing industry being ripped out of the UK and a health crisis meaning more people not working, can't work, and more temp, short term jobs.

The tax burden has shifted from the very wealthy to the middle class and working class since the 80s and never shifted back.

The bottom 10% of earners have an effective tax rate of 44%, which is more than twice as high as those in the top 0.01% (21%). The top 0.01 % own 10% of this countries wealth

😂

Because of course it was all so simply amazing under the Tory’s!! This has been a very long time in the making - me thinks you have a particular agenda.

Does it really cost a fortune for, at the very least, every householder to keep the immediate area of their property clean and tidy....A broom, dustpan and brush and garden hand fork at most is all the equipment needed.

A few parks, high streets and some main roads in the county I live in come under the care of the local town councils and along with groups of volunteers helping they see to planting, weeding and building structures, making the area look really nice.

Since this has begun they have won many awards by entering the areas in Britain in Bloom competitions and some people in the community will help out by watering areas such as those planted under the street signs near their houses, contributing to their surroundings.

Does community service still exist?
If so litter picking should be something passed down by the courts as part of a community service sentence.

What’s an “ordinary working class” area to you? Did you mean white English?

And do you really need to speak in such dehumanising terms “half the third world” 😒

And if you mean immigrants from Africa and Asia, just a reminder there’s plenty of areas with few immigrants and many problems.

What do you think has caused this tidal wave?

The general sense of entitlement, impunity and lack of decency.

What do you think causes it?

I tend to just fly over and not look down
😉