Uk totally messed up - is anything good?

[tallcurvey]

The UK is an utter mess.
i can’t think of a single thing that is better than a decade ago.

when will people wake up and see brexit and the current government have ruined the country?

is their anything that’s better?

@Ac380 interesting point about the bricklayers.

Where I’m from, the education system includes vocational schools specifically designed for students who are less academically inclined and unlikely to pursue A-levels or university. These schools are free for students aged 16-18 and offer a blend of traditional academics with hands-on vocational training. Depending on the subject some are two years some three.

At the end of the program, students graduate with a trade qualification, making them job-ready. The structure is quite balanced—alongside regular subjects, students attend vocational lessons twice a week: one day focused on classroom-based learning and the second on practical, hands-on training. The options are diverse, ranging from mechanics and bricklaying to hairdressing, cooking, and more. It’s been a while since I moved to UK, but I believe even more trades are available now.

This type of system is incredibly beneficial. It provides a clear pathway for those who aren’t pursuing higher education, ensuring they don’t leave school without valuable skills. By equipping students with a trade, it would not only make them more employable but also boost their confidence and career prospects, offering them real opportunities to succeed in fields they’re passionate about. It’s a practical, forward-thinking approach that bridges the gap between education and employment.

Yes, since the pandemic people are quite apathetic

@ChillWith

ZebraD
I think most people know but weirdly just accept it.

"Yes, since the pandemic people are quite apathetic"

Actually that is scarily accurate- since the pandemic there is a sense of not really giving a shit that wasn't there before.

Well said Kosenrufugirl. The Brexit lies such as an “oven ready” deal and his insistence that Europe will be lining up to buy our cars etc did nothing to encourage a deal likely to cause the least harm to our economy.

I don't understand why Brexit voters don't seem to mind that it was all lies. My mum and dad still live Johnson and Farage when all Johnson and Farage have ever done is lie to them.

I can't remember a time when life in this country was worse than it is now and the billions that Brexit costs us every month could be paying to fill potholes and rebuild the RAAC schools and hospitals that have needed doing for the last 14 years (Plus fixing all the other stuff that's now broken down and neglected.)

The country needs money and Brexit does nothing except cost us huge amounts of money. Forever.

Whatever people wanted from Brexit Brexit actually makes worse.

If you wanted to reduce immigration then Brexit has increased it to previously unheard of record breaking levels.

If you wanted to slash red tape then Brexit has increased it to the extent that famously Businesses are having to hire facilities to store it.

If you wanted to get away from EU rules then soz, but obviously most companies aren't going to make special products for the U.K. market so mostly the only change is that many multi-nationals now have their European HQs in the EU instead of the UK, we now have to bribe car and steel companies with £ billions of taxpayers money to stay here, we pay more for our energy and water than almost anyone, we have bee-killing cancer-causing pesticides, shit in our rivers, and lower food standards. Well done.

Surely sanity has to prevail at some point?

The country never recovered from the 2008 crash. The current shitshow is the result of years of stagnation and bad management.

I've got some friends in a band. Most of their sales are in Europe. They've had to ship their merchandise operation to Germany because it's not worth sending CDs from the UK any more because of the (Brexit) customs charges.
We're talking maybe a few thousand CDs by the way. They're not Coldplay.

And it won’t reduce public funds, not a single one of the many analysis has noted that as a likely outcome.

That certainty seems at odds with analysis today. Listen to R4 from about 7.20am on playback

Plus look at contraction of private sector since budget

I don't think it's just the pandemic. There was such a huge deal made about Brexit and getting out the EU that to a lot of people (and a majority of the vote of many millions was to do so) it promised a better future. They were sold a lie (we actually left the EU in 2020).

And western economies haven't recovered from 2008 crash and are still sticking with a bust financial model that doesn't work for most of its citizens. The birth rate has plummeted and the ponzi scheme of importing millions of foreigners every year is starting to finally coming back to bite the western leaders and a backlash to it.

I don't know where you're from, but I wish we had a system like this. It's ridiculous for some youngsters to stay at school for years. I have provocatively said in the past that we should go back to a school-leaving age of 14, as long as the leaver goes to a job, and let the government provide money to the employer for giving relevant teaching for a while. If someone shouts at me that we are already doing things like this in the UK, I'll say, "Good, I hadn't realised."

@EasternStandard

“That certainty seems at odds with analysis today. Listen to R4 from about 7.20am on playback”

A radio 4 piece on the Today show is not analysis. It’s a news report. And i heard it, that was referencing the increase in Gilt yields. Which is largely to do with US treasury yields also reaching ~5% (because the markets are anticipating Trumps tariffs, and higher inflation in USA). This impacts bond yields across the globe because they are all chasing the same money.

As there wasn’t a great deal of headroom in the spending figures announced in the budget for the Gov to meet fiscal rules (£9.9bn), and because we have such a huge amount of debt, any increase in gilt yields has a big impact on whether fiscal rules are met or broken.

Because of the astronomically large debt the tories left (and high deficit), a 1% increase in gilt yields costs the Gov an extra £12bn per year in interest payments. So if yields stay as they are (not guaranteed), and spending stays the same, then likely the gov will break their fiscal rules purely because they’ll be spending £2bn more in debt interest than they have allocated as contingency.

That’s not the same as saying that the tax raised will be lower than expected.

forecast tax take hasn’t changed since the initial analysis by OBR, BoE & IMF back in October.

@EasternStandard

Comparison of U.k. 10yr Gilt yields & US 10 yr treasuries . Notice they are following almost identical trajectories.

It's a combination of 2008, Brexit and Covid.

On 2008 to be fair it was a crisis created by Governments, Companies and individuals (mortgages) simply taking on too much debt.

This of course helped the economy boom from the late 1990s to 2008 but every party comes with a hangover.

There were politicians such as Vince Cable who accurately warned of the dangers but no one likes a party pooper when the party is in full swing.

not a single one of the many analysis has noted that as a likely outcome.

If you dismiss analysts on R4 a quick Google show headlines on same front from yesterday

Rise in UK borrowing costs could push Reeves to new public spending cuts
Analysts say costs hitting highest level since 1998 risk wiping out almost all of chancellor’s £10bn buffer

Richard Partington and Heather Stewart
Tue 7 Jan 2025 19.31 GMT
Share

Rachel Reeves could be forced to make fresh cuts to public spending at her March “spring forecast” as a rise in government borrowing costs risks the chancellor breaking her own fiscal rules.

The Independent
Reeves may need to cut spending after jump in borrowing costs, say economists
The yield on government bonds jumped to its highest level since 2008 as the pound also tumbled in value.

*Economics
Tax & Spend
Reeves Eyes Spending Cuts If UK Bond Slump Eats Up Headroom
Chancellor to reaffirm her fiscal rules in speech this month
Treasury under fresh pressure from soaring borrowing costs

The claim no one has said this isn’t correct, more than a single one has said it, a fair few have and it’s been picked up by the press.

No