AIBU to feel life in the UK has worsened since Covid?

[MerryAmberViper]

feel everything is just getting worse since covid

Im on a good salary of 32k live alone entitled to no benefits and lucky enough I can afford to put heating on in winter but have to be careful

crime everywhere with lenient punishment or sometimes no punishment at all
everyone seems entitled angry or depressed and no one seems to care about following the law
clear resentment and disagreement in country people on social media saying vote green or vote reform and if you dont you are terrible
divided country especially with brexit when inflation being caused by covid and the war brexit hasnt changed much
stagnant salaries if you can even get a job at all
everything expensive
people on great salaries of 100k+ moaning about the tax they pay because they are bad with managing their money even though they are on over double average salary when people like myself manage on much less
massive wealth inequality
NHS and public services run down
terrible government both tories and labour

The people who earn double what you earn and moaning probably have to keep multiply children which is why they’re not as well off as you think they should be

Brexit has caused a massive issue with the economy. I say that as someone who has a degree in international economics. The only people that did well out of Brexit were people playing the markets.

Again people have children to pay for, your posts are really ignorant. People had a better quality of life 8 years ago and are now struggling, those with children who are now young adults are struggling trying to support them. I’d be really well off if my wage was just for me

YANBU. I think my biggest woryy is young people and no jobs and the ticking timebomb of an ageing population. My ds graduates year and I'm hugely worried for him. Young people massive student debts and poor chances of getting work.
I'm sick of shoplifters, kids on bikes raoming around with masks and balaclavas on. I fear we are drifting into a lawless society.

Home working is good for my mental health not having to factor in a commute and being able to do laundry on lunchbreak is so helpful! And I catch far fewer colds in winter avoiding public transport and save on commuting cost too

Brexit and COVID both happened in 2020, yet you're dismissing Brexit as a casual factor in UK economics? Huh.

Wow.

There we are then.

Been gradually getting worse, in many ways, for longer than that. A generation or so ago, parents didn't both need to work FT when the kids were small. Social media/smartphones have increased hate and bullying. From a very diverse area/family, and lived different places, and never saw hate or tension before.

People on over 100K are not moaning about the tax they pay because they are bad with money, it’s because their tax rate effectively goes to 60% due to loss of personal allowance. Additionally any child care help which they are funding through their high taxes gets cut, along with losing all child benefit etc. has nothing to do with being bad with money, has to do with working hard and having to give away half your salary to fund others lifestyles who often don’t work or are having their child care funded when actually being over 100k you just lose it. You seem to live a very sheltered life without considering the bigger picture

Britain has significantly outgrown Germany since 2016, and how outgrown France and Italy since 2016.

It's nothing to do with Brexit but obviously you won't get that opinion on the media many people on MN read!

It's Brexit. It was so obvious what a terrible idea it would be at the time, which is why that utter buffoon David Cameron was so stumped.

Even so, it has been worse than even I imagined. I will never forget the day after the referendum, bloody awful day.

If someone lives in London and has 2 kids in childcare; that money is quickly eaten up:

how many kids do you have?

I'm afraid you've been lied to.

Since 2016, the UK's cumulative real GDP growth has exceeded that of Germany, France, and Italy. For the period roughly 2016–2025, estimates show the UK around 12–14%, compared to Germany at roughly 7–8%, with France and Italy also lagging behind.

Yes our economy has been performing badly - and has been for the last 20+ years.

The reason for that is high taxation and high spending.

Brexit?

Nope - nothing to do with it, sadly.

The EU's economy is doing even worse - and has been performing badly for many years.

where in the North are you getting a “nice terrace in a nice area for less than 100k”?

Do any of your older relatives go to local pubs/social clubs? I'm surprised, if so that they aren't seeing the change. People do seem to be chatting less. Our local pubs certainly have changed. A lot of people are drinking indoors. A lot of people are over fixated on certain topics. We never had corridor care. We didn't have the amount of women dying because their physical health is increasingly being misdiagnosed as panic attacks etc. Teachers are having a difficult time, teenage crime/antisocial behaviour is on the rise. Housing us ridiculously expensive. Where do you live?
It's austerity and lack of funding, finally catching up imo, allowing oversees buying of chuncks of property, seeing property as purely for profit, too many HMO licenses etc with the effects of lock down, thrown in.

You’re wrong about Brexit. According to the office of national statistics and LSE- Brexit has definitely affected everyday life in Britain. Prices have gone up partly because importing goods from Europe became more expensive and complicated. There are also still worker shortages in some industries like healthcare, farming and hospitality because fewer EU workers came to the UK after Brexit.
People can believe what they like influenced by social media and those who wanted Brexit if the first place (Farage for example) because it lined their pockets. But the evidence shows actually they’re wrong. Brexit has played a massive role in the state of Britain now.

@Livelovebehappy as asked, were are terraces, not in drastic need of a full refurbishment going for that? I played, guess how much with older relatives (I'm 59) re housing, it absolutely shocked them. They are the MC wankers who are marching for Palestine and shaking certain placards, ask them were everyone is going to live, work and see a dentist and they can't answer.

I definitely think there's a before and after covid feeling. But I've put that down to a change in me rather than others. My life has changed beyond recognition (in a positive way) as a direct result of covid. One of the changes has been more time and headspace to be aware of the wider world, so I'm not sure if the things I'm noticing now are new or just new to me.
Pre covid I existed on an exhausting treadmill that meant I lived by keeping my head down and focusing on what I had to do next. I didn't read so much news, or have time to observe how others were behaving.
The positive changes in my life have also increased my empathy with other people who are struggling, because I feel fortunate, and I think this adds to my sense that things are awful out there (therefore, worse?). But I'm not sure if it's accurate.

That doesn’t really prove Brexit had no effect though. Most economists compare the UK to how it would likely have done without Brexit, not just to other countries that are also struggling.

The UK can grow slightly faster than Germany and still be worse off than it would have been. Brexit created more barriers to trade, extra costs for businesses and reduced investment. Even the Office for Budget Responsibility has said Brexit will reduce UK GDP in the long run.

It’s also not just one thing causing problems. Brexit, Covid, energy prices and years of low productivity have all played a part.

Also, the EU doesn’t really have one economy. Some of the member states are performing really well and some aren’t.

@littlehorsesthatrun when Universal Credit was at white paper staged, many of the charity feedback was that it was going to affect claimants taking, low paid, temporary etc jobs. We don't have a benefit system that prioritises people being able to chance working. Housing benefit is even worse. Our Housing situations started during austerity, local Housing rates and the bedroom tax. I agree that Brexit was a disaster, but so were Tory policies. They hate the poor. Posters on here sneer at the low paid.

Homeworking is definitely not the worst thing to come out of lockdown. It can be very beneficial for many people in terms of flexibility and less commute and cost saving in other ways.

Negative issues coming out of lockdown are speech delays young children, PSTD from anyone that had a loved one pass away or needed hospital treatment during that time, including mums who gave birth.

OP most of your post is just far too exaggerated, eg ‘no one cares about the law’.

I think that’s fair to an extent.

I also agree it’s too simplistic to blame everything on Brexit alone. Austerity, housing policy, underfunded public services and low wages were already causing serious problems before Brexit happened. The two things can both be true at once.

Where have I said that? What is it with some people on here twisting things to suit their narrative.?
You do realise it's OK to be happy right? Prices going up etc, I get it. But, my life, MINE, is good. I don't feel "poorer". Council tax goes up every year, and I've not had a pay rise in God knows how long. But as I said, you find a way. Seems the saying "misery loves company" is defo true...

It is awful. To make matters worse, the bastards have stolen your punctuation.

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