To be fed up of hearing 'just get on with it'?

[glitterpaperchain]

This kind of 'just get on with it' RE the heat is all over Facebook. People talking about the heat in 1976 and saying 'we just got on with it' or 'we muddled through' (as if people didn't die as a result of that heatwave)

My issue is - shouldn't we as a society be aiming higher than just getting on with things and muddling through? We should be campaigning for better infrastructure, better working practices.

I just think we have all this technology, we're supposed to be a rich country, let's fight to make things better rather than just managing. What happened to the spirit of the first union workers who demanded better conditions and rights? I want to see that spirit back.

Yes the heat is hard, especially for vulnerable groups and some situations (outdoor labourers, hospitals etc).

But what are you actually wanting government/ someone else to do about it? Better future planning absolutely eg new builds designed for hot weather with slatted shade and better insulation, more trees in city centres etc.

But there's a) no money to retrofit all public buildings with air con b) surely in the long run any changes have to be sustainable not knee jerk. Climate change will only get worse if we all buy air con units.

I think in that context the 90% of us who can need to modify our own behaviour, put up with occasional school closures/ cancelled trains etc, and think of long term environmental measures we can all do.

I agree with you that there's a lot of cronyism, mismanagement, high managerial and beaurocratic costs in a lot of the public sector and that needs to change in major way.

I would however also say that just because there's money for an air con unit to cool one small room, doesn't mean there's the money to provide and run air conditioning throughout an entire schools of classrooms filled with 30+ bodies

You're right, we should just let people die
People die of the heat, people die of the cold, of the flu, of road accidents.

If you want to do something about it, do so, great on you. That's very very different to just moan 'oh my god, it's soooooo got, I don't think I can cope with it yet another day'.

And I would hope that as of today, no child has died in school solely due to the heat.

It's hard to tell really what point you're making. You say 'well what do you want to government to do about it?' and then you provide good suggestions. Yes, those things.

There are subsidies for things like solar panels and insulation, this could include things like solar powered air con units, they can be installed in vulnerable spaces like schools. I don't want to hear 'there's no money' as a reason not to do something necessary. But I won't derail the thread with my thoughts on freeing up/finding more public money.

More guidance for schools to follow on when to close. Legislation for workplaces like a maximum legal temperature, so workplaces either need to close or ensure the workplace is cooled. Maybe a warm weather equivalent of winter fuel allowance to help vulnerable elderly people.

There's plenty the government can do.

Ive only read just get on with it on mumsnet. Usually said by a parent about their kid. Who they expect to go to school on 38 degree heat, so mummy can work in her air conditioned office.

In the real world, I haven't heard anything this fucking grim.

How do you think collective action happens?

You’ll just need to convince the population to pay more tax to fund it all

Well it starts with people discussing the idea

I think anyone who says ‘we just got on with it’ were rather young back in 1976 and didn’t have to deal with getting to work, deal with kids and do the cooking etc. I was 14. And yes we actually had a great time - it felt like an endless summer. Because I was cooking or cleaning or working or even going to school as much of it was July/August. All I had to do was enjoy myself. Even if some were older (say 20s) come on - it’s not a race to the bottom.
It seems we are likely to experience more of this and air con can be retro fitted - much of NY and Boston and other older cities in the US have plenty of housing stock built before air con existed - with those iconic window units. We can do the same here (and they are removable).

It was 40 degrees in 2022

we're supposed to be a rich country, let's fight to make things better rather than just managing.

We are not a rich country, by a long stretch.

Fight with whom exactly?

You're freelancer working from home - who should come to your home and fix it for you?

@glitterpaperchain my point is these are facts, not memories.

I said 'shouldn't we as a society be aiming higher than just getting on with things and muddling through? We should be campaigning for better infrastructure, better working practices.'

How did you glean from that that I want someone to come to my home and fix it for me? Is thinking of others a foreign concept for you?

Yes, because after all, it's not getting hotter every year or anything...

how much extra tax are you willing to pay for this?

Its affected my bowel issues I could just get on with it if the 76 brigade dont mind me trailing a Cat 1 hazard everywhere

The point of my post is not to debate whether it was slightly warmer in 1976. I made my point quite clear by prefacing with 'my issue is'. Here it is again for you:

My issue is - shouldn't we as a society be aiming higher than just getting on with things and muddling through? We should be campaigning for better infrastructure, better working practices.

. . . and in 1990

I won't be derailing this thread by discussing how I think it should be funded.

Climate change will only get worse if we all buy air con units.

Hmm, no. Climate change will only get worse if we all buy AC and power it with fossil fuel energy.

Rapid electrification of our economy is what we need. More of that "Net Zero nonsense", please. One of things this government has got right

Amazingly I’m not addressing your point but those made by others.

And i have to post this again For the gaslighters.

During the summer of 2022, the UK experienced five distinct heatwave periods ranging from 3 to 16 days in length, which culminated in a historic national temperature record of (40.3^{\circ }\text{C}). 1, 2]
According to the UK Health Security Agency, the five heatwave episodes included:
Episode 1: 4 days (June 16 to June 19)
Episode 2: 16 days (July 10 to July 25), which included the most intense 2-day period of Level 4 extreme heat (July 18 and July 19)
Episode 3: 7 days (July 30 to August 5)
Episode 4: 10 days (August 8 to August 17)
Episode 5: 3 days (August 23 to August 25)
The UK experienced four distinct, relatively short-lived heatwaves during the summer of 2025, each lasting between 5 to 6 days. While these events were brief, they occurred throughout the season and resulted in the warmest overall UK summer on record. 1, 2, 3]
Breakdown of the 2025 heatwave events:
Heatwave 1 (Third week of June): Officially declared in mid-June, lasting about five days in central and eastern England before breaking with thunderstorms.
Heatwave 2 (Late June - Early July): This event lasted about six days for parts of Yorkshire and the Humber and five days in the East. A longer, more intense spell of this heatwave affected London and southern areas, peaking at 34.7°C between June 23 and July 2.
Heatwave 3 & 4 (July and August): Additional, intermittent heatwaves occurred during these months, pushing the overall summer average for the UK to a record-breaking 16.1°C. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

We recently got solar panels installed and by selling the power back to the grid we're still earning money even with our AC running

It would be great if we could make our country better equipped to deal with the heat. We haven’t tho (yet, maybe one day 😂), so yeah we do need to just get on with it really. Vulnerable people, no I wouldn’t think or say just get on with it, as it’s a hell of a lot harder for them to do so. But people like me…? Yes just crack on. Today was uncomfortable at times but nothing horrendous and what difference would moaning and not “getting on with it” make. What does that even look like like? Just laying in bed and crying about being too hot?