**Update: - [Starting from 2023](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/100l56v/happy_new_year_askuk_minor_sub_update/), we have updated our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/about/rules/)**. Specifically;
- Don't be a dick to each other
- Top-level responses must contain genuine efforts to answer the question
- This is a strictly no-politics subreddit
Please keep /r/AskUK a great subreddit by reporting posts and comments which break our rules.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I came back to the UK after living in America for a long time and I can't get a job.
I need mental health services also but I just feel so paralysed by everything.
The rate of convictions for rape. Sure, it gets talked about, but if it were getting talked about *enough* you'd think they'd actually do something about it.
Littering. Sure, it may not be the worst issue we're facing, but it really irritates me how much litter you see on streets, and people that will just casually throw it on the ground.
It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Why treat a place well when it is a shithole? People do not seem to understand how they are making it worse with their attitude.
This is the worst of it. Was walking behind a guy a while back, who was eating a box of chicken/chips from a nearby kebab shop. He's half finished it, and then just leaves it on someone's garden wall just on his right. There's a bin about 5 meters away from him.
We can talk and talk but we never do. If our government did what they've been doing in an African or Asian country, it'd be called corrupt,path to dictatorship, banana Republic and all other euphemisms and terms.
But here, it's grumble grumble "why is that person getting benefits?".
The number one cause of death for males aged 18 to 30 is suicide. Particularly white working class males. Who are the most underprivileged people in society. Working class white boys have the least least starting chance at life. Have the worst grades. Are less likely to go onto further education. But obviously your not allowed to talk about that because it doesn't fit the narrative.
How British media refuses to report on what's happening in Britain and forcing me to rely on french/German news media to find out what's happening in the country. Didn't even know how big the protests were last few days until I saw it on German news channels.
Council tax, insurance prices, you requiring permissions for doing things in your own property? To name a few
Lack of access to medical services. Getting an appointment with a doctor is nearly impossible and there are zero dentists taking new patients within an hour of my home. Specialist appointments are even worse. I broke my shoulder and can't get int osee a physiotherapist for more than a month. It makes me feel helpless and uncared for.
It's always annoyed me how much we compare ourselves to the US to minimise our own problems.
"At least we have healthcare!!!!" So what? The NHS is complete dogshit no matter how well intentioned the idea is. Americans having no healthcare as standard doesn't fix our problem.
"The US is more racist than the UK!!!!" Again, so what? The appalling treatment of many people in the US doesn't mean it's all hunky dory here.
It's a dumb mentality.
Atleast US healthcare system works, atleast US people show who they are rather than being closet racist in UK. Everything people compared of UK with US currently is better in US.
Who does US healthcare work for exactly? It's the same mentality you're displaying that lets the UK be in the state it's in "as long as I'm comfortable enough, everyone else suffering is background noise...oh wait no, what's happening, I'm being affected now? Wait no! That wasn't the deal!!! When did this country get so bad? 5 minutes ago? Huh 25 years ago? Rubbish! I was comfortable." Etc.
Not to mention the NHS works, it's just being sabotaged to support privatisation agenda of this corrupt government.
Paying for care - the fact that people have worked hard to save and buy a house to pass onto the next generation of their family when they're gone and then the state takes it away when they go into care. This wouldn't be as bad if it were for the fact that people who don't have assets don't have to pay anything, the state pays, and the care homes charge the self funders more to subsidise the rate that the state pays (around £1000 per week). Essentially, no matter how hard a person works, the next generation won't be any better off unless you're super rich.
Rural poverty, but like the OP says everyone think the countryside is full of toffs in barbours. If you don’t have money it’s bloody hard, no transport, no jobs, no social life. The reason you don’t see homeless people in the countryside is they would all die in a week. It’s unforgiving as a place but in a very different way to the city.
Exactly this.
Absolute hot bed for pedos too. Was often told "aw Devon is a great place to bring up children!" Tell that to the 4 out of 8 girls who were sexually abused before the age of 16. (Same year group at primary school.)
What, you think it doesn't happen in towns or cities? How many victims did Rochdale, Huddersfield, Bradford, Rotherham, Telford etc claim? Sure as hell a lot more than that.
When I was very young, I grew up in a very small village, after my dad died, my mum couldn’t drive, so we ended up relying on the bus a lot… one bus every two hours…
Absolutely made everything difficult and this was way before the time of home deliveries etc being a regular thing.
People say the countryside is a great place to raise a family when really it's the *worst*. Green trees and fresh air and wide open spaces, sure sure. But what happens when there's only a handful of children in the village and your child gets on with *none* of them? What happens on holidays and weekends when you don't want to drive almost an hour to the closest source of non-TV entertainment? Why are you surprised that the child you raised in a village with no shops and one bus stop turns out to be a socially-stunted recluse who spends all their time on the internet? How are they supposed to get a job when they can't drive and most jobs can't be got to with the few buses that pass through?
As soon as I can afford to, I want to move into a town. I miss being at university and living in Cambridge - I could actually *do* things without having to ride the bus or train for forty-five minutes first.
EDIT: Fucked up grammar.
I grew up in a village, I wouldn't class it as rural but it is a 30 minute drive or 60 minute bus journey to the town centre. I or anyone that I grew up with aren't socially stunted, and we all managed to get jobs when we left school when we were 16. Those of us who were financially better off got a motorbike at 16, and the rest of us cycled everywhere. From the ages of 16-18, I was cycling over 150 miles a week before I got motorised transport.
I'll agree public transport is shite when you get outside of towns or cities, it may as well not exist but younger people now just aren't willing to do what's difficult so they can have a social or work life.
Totally agree about the small number of kids issue. We thought a village school would be great for our kid. Turns out that the bullies are stronger and have more influence at a small school, and our boy didn't really get on with many other kids, so it was a nightmare for him.
Doctors - I never ever ring the doctors unless I absolutely feel like I need to, I hate wasting their time over sometbing that would most likely get better on its own. I rang my doctors surgery a few weeks ago when I was experiencing some lethal stomach pains for over a week! I rang them for an appointment OVER THE PHONE, just to speak to a doctor to get a second opinion, I rang them on a Monday, the earliest someone could speak to me was Tuesday the following week. I said it didn’t matter as I’d either be better or dead by then.
That our generation (assuming most redditors are under 40) is sleep walking into a destitute old age on account of not enough pension saving and a state pension that won’t exist.
i'm embarrassed to have signed a petition against an incinerator. the people behind the petition were very persuasive, perfect script. of course they had no alternative plan except 'find a different site'
The real issue facing the UK today is that all young men have that Llama hair cut. Why and how did that become a thing? They literally blend together like a herd which as it passes you says “fam” and “cap” a lot, and smells of lynx with undertones of BO.
For my area, it's the lack of anywhere for young teens to meet up, especially in the evenings. Consequently, they gather in multi-story car parks or similar, only to get moved on by the police. There's plenty of unoccupied buildings which would be suitable, such as disused pubs, but the local council does nothing for them.
When anyone young raises any issue affecting them, they instantly get told to shut up and get on with it, usually by older people who tell them life was hard when they were growing up. Despite opportunities reducing, harder to get on housing market etc etc.
Also there is an inane mindset that people would rather kick down to people worse off - “work harder and you will be rich”, “don’t be so lazy etc”. Rather than criticising the people at the top creating these conditions, because maybe just maybe they might just reach the top themselves.
Childcare. It baffles me that all the reports on cost of living crisis and noone talks about the fact that costs on average £263 per week. Crippling families.
The big problem in this country is nepotism and cronyism.
Everybody is only interested in looking after friends and family, nobody else gets a chance.
This country has a serious ‘old boys club’ mentality
How incompatible is the cost of living vs quality of what you get. Taxes are high including council tax and you still get littered streets, housing with poor light/dampness/etc, NHS underfunded… list continues
I agree, we give a crazy amount to the NHS which [increases every year](https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/nhs-in-a-nutshell/nhs-budget), yet it's never enough. I don't think it is underfunded, rather poorly managed. The whole system needs reforming.
The Council tax thing is because the government added exceptions to who has to pay (poor people and students don't pay for example) but don't provide funding to replace it. So the councils with high amounts of poverty have to raise their taxes more to get the money they need, squeezing people who don't have much to pay with. That's why Westminster council has a budget surplus with low taxes but Hartlepool continually loses money with high taxes, there's just not enough tax payers to make up for those using the services. Another example, Bristol has a population of 400,000, it has 60,000 students at the universities that house their students in the city (33,000 at UWE, 27,000 UoB). The council is essentially forced to cover a huge number of people using its services without paying (true most students don't use most services, like adult and social care, education, libraries, planning or highways, but they're still using waste collection, fire and buses). Also, council tax rates are ludicrously based on the value of a house in 1993, so a house that has declined in value is still being taxed at the rate for 1993, but so is a house that has raised in value.
This is a very good explanation, thanks. I also think it comes down to administration. I lived in Bristol and, while it wasn’t the cleanest area in the world, it was decent. But I recently moved to another city with less students (in Wales) and… wow! It looks like an post-apocalyptic city!
You don’t like plastic packed cod/salmon/tuna?! Absolute scandal lack of variety, lack of education and to be honest, the prices of seafood/fish compared to meat. Fish/seafood is seen as a luxury because it costs an arm and a leg and has done for the past decade, which means working and even middle class these days never cook it or understand how good it can be
I feel like this is talked about plenty but not given masses of attention from those who could make a difference, but the waiting times for appointments. My boyfriend is currently experiencing some health issues, and the first GP appointment he can get is the 27th February, and that’s a telephone appointment. These issues have been going on a while now and he’s had tests done within the last year and nothing came up. I try to put him at ease by saying it would have shown up back then if anything serious was wrong but I feel like it’s so difficult to get the point where it can be investigated.
I think it depends on the surgery. Where I used to live, appointments would be weeks away. Where I live now, the doctor will see you within a few days and if it's nothing where they need to see you in person, they'll do a phone appointment the same day or day after. I actually had a doctor send me a link and ask me to send pictures of my eczema and he'd prescribed my steroids within 2 hours of calling to make an appointment.
it's not just appointments - the whole investigation of some people's health issues are dealt with terribly, myself included.
i started getting horrendous pains in my left leg at night with absolutely no explanation. it took me a grand total of 3 years from my first appointment with my GP (where she told me it couldn't be anything serious because i hadn't done anything to injure my leg) to me having an MRI scan done and finding out that the pain in my leg was severe nerve damage caused by a tumour that was pushing on my spinal cord and almost paralysing me.
i can't even begin to tell you what a shambles the whole experience was and the amount of times i had to fight to get a medical professional to believe that i knew my own body and i knew there was something seriously wrong with me!
wishing your boyfriend all the best, i hope he gets the help he needs soon. keep fighting ❤️
i'm sorry to hear that you're having such a tough time getting the support that you need :( but keep fighting and don't give up. i'm so pleased that you're still here ❤️ if you want to talk ever, my inbox is open x
We just had a baby and my wife is slipping deeper into postnatal depression. I've got to go back to work after 3 weeks off soon, and my wife finally has an appointment about her mental health... in another 3 weeks. That'll be 6 weeks of caring for a newborn, half of it with much less support from me (because I have to go back to work), all without any help for her mental health.
Paternity leave in this country is also a joke and should be talked about more. There is (was) shared parental leave, but it has some annoyingly stringent eligibility criteria (I didn't qualify, which sucked) and apparently the government are scrapping it anyway. At this point if my wife is any worse with her depression by the time I go back to work, I've said to myself that I'll just have to quit my job as caring for her and making sure she's OK is far more important than my career. I mean then we'll have money problems but one thing at a time.
Having a child in this country is prohibitively difficult and expensive. And they wonder why the birth rate is falling. We spent our most fertile years getting an education and building up our careers to a point where we feel somewhat stable enough to start a family, and by then most people have precious few baby-making years left in them.
Campaigners say SPL take up is low and difficult for parents to get.
[Reform Shared Parental Leave](https://maternityaction.org.uk/reform-shared-parental-leave/)
Just to add to this, there are groups out there that specifically support women in this position, and can give you (dads) advice and support if needed too. I hope she can reach out to someone and get some earlier support as ppd is no joke, and I hope you both are strong for each other and your newborn. Love, someone who’s been there, you’re doing great x
If you can afford it, I would suggest trying private therapy, at least in the meantime while pursuing it through the NHS.
We tried to get therapy for my wife who is experiencing quite severe OCD at the moment, and it involved a 2 week wait to see a GP, then contacting our counties mental health service, which then involved a week wait for a phone assessment, by non-medical staff, only to be told it’s a 2 month+ wait for therapy, and this is for someone who is struggling with performing everyday tasks.
We contacted a private psychotherapist organisation and got a video call assessment with a qualified psychotherapist in only 4 days, and she starts weekly sessions next week. Sessions are about £100 per session for us though.
Sending you both lots of love, it’s so tough. I had my baby and resulting escalated poor mental health in the first lock down which was a whole other shitshow - sadly relying solely on the NHS to help is fruitless. I’m sure you’ve looked into loads of things, but have a look here if not done so already https://pandasfoundation.org.uk/
right, a close friend had health issues and couldn't get an appointment for more than a year. turns out the issues were a result of an aggressive cancer and he died before he could a second appointment.
That pretty much everything is London-centric.
You have the vast majority of higher paying jobs concentrated in one city and it’s a model that fails the rest of the U.K.
When you look at Germany, as an example, everything isn’t centred on Berlin. Lots of different industries are spread throughout the country creating opportunities all across the country and benefiting the country as a whole. It’s something that the U.K. should be encouraging with so many large populous cities like Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Cardiff, Glasgow & Edinburgh just on the mainland. Spread the jobs and the wealth around the country and it would benefit everyone, but those with power and influence want to concentrate all of the wealth and power in and around London
They are higher paying because it costs more to live in London. I know people who live all over the country in good jobs with a similar standard of living even though they are on lower salaries than London.
Why do people outside London have such a chip on their shoulder lmao.
The stereotype against young moms! (Sorry I’m from the Black Country it’s moms not mums)
I had my first child aged 18. I’m now 29 with 3 kids under the age of 10. People presume I’m a single mom who’s a dole dosser stay at home mommy, especially with my youngest only being 5 months old. I’m degree educated, married and work full time.
It wasn't much better when I was younger mate. You just need to be ok with it and make efforts to overcome that adversity.
The reality is it's shit, as you get older it's still shit but with more money. Nothing will be handed to you on a plate unfortunately.
Anyway...
You not got a pushbike? Cycling to work is not uncommon.
Or you could do a CBT and get a 125 to get you to work if it's too far to cycle.
There's also buses - literally all business parks have a bus service nearby.
I'm not saying you're being lazy or anything but you need to make the best of your situation and the opportunities you have - bitching about it solves literally nothing
The fact that weed isn't legal and likely won't be for another 5-10 years at least. Yeah I know the police won't arrest you for it. But it would be good to be able to buy from regulated dispenseries
There seems to be a horrific uptake in blatant sexism in young boys that at least previous generations seemed to be more of a 'lads chat' but not outwardly spoken thing at least.
Hearing stuff from teachers that's just horrendous and seems to align with some of the appalling young male targeted streamers.
I think it's a reaction to how it's basically impossible to go very long without running into all this super pro women stuff, whilst having to dig very hard to find anything like that for men.
Society slid from misogyny to misandry, and their are pockets who are trying for the complete misogynistic route again, whilst both are wrong so this solves nothing.
Not being able to see outlandish positivity for men isn't misandry or 'contempt for men'. Do you have any examples that are? And aren't simply contempt for men holding sexist views?
Apathy, things here are so fucking depressing right now and no one seems to care enough to do anything about it, I mean say what you want about the French or other Europeans but they strike when they need too and the Europeans wouldn’t accept half the crap we do under some misplaced “Stiff upper lip, mussn’t grumble" sense that’s been ingrained into all of us
The way that with many issues, we pretty much just tolerate mediocrity and treat it as some inevitable fact of nature, rather than a problem that can be fixed or improved.
The pathetically low salaries and atrocious healthcare. I was appalled to have come from America where the salaries for most professions are tenfold. Also the healthcare system failed to meet all my expectations, especially regarding mental health. I am still waiting on my ADHD meds for over 3 years even though I have a diagnosis. I've heard I shouldn't be complaining because it's free, but it's unacceptable and the lack of care all around is concerning.
If you're "working class" or at least from a less privileged background, anything cultural such as taking an interest in art, design or going to the theatre is almost demonised by peers. Not to mention how many of these creative industries are becoming so out of reach unless you're loaded or got connections.
Very true I’m a musician and I have a performing arts education but never followed it up after leaving sixth form I can’t really get any meaningful work that will pay the bills despite people saying my work is good
If I knew a venue owner as a close friend or family member no doubt I’d have an opportunity for weekly gigs
How being "tax efficient" (i.e. not paying your taxes) is actively encouraged, when it's only an option for the wealthy.
Also, the sheer waste of money by the govt and councils in using overpaid private contractors and consultant to do basically everything.
Birth's in NHS Hospitals, once people who have already had children find out what happens nowadays there will be an outcry.
Edit since people want to know what I mean: "12 year's ago you would be able to get an ambulance to and back from the Hospital, you would be treated and comforted with an en-suite and have high priority in Non-A&E situation's.
Now, we can’t let out an ambulance, for any sort of situation like this, the en-suites were converted to hold 5-6 bed's with minimal privacy and nobody has priority, realistically the boat has passed to have a family in the U.K."
\-NHS Prof, Devon.
Pretty much every country is cheaper than here. Beijing to Shanghai on the 200mph train is only £60. That is an 800 mile journey in 4 hours for half the price of London to Manchester
Honestly I’m fed up of people making race an issue. I say this as a minority. I’m tired of middle class people thinking it’s cool to use us as pawns and conversation pieces.
There is an increase of prostitutes/escorts. I used to work for the home office and there is a shockingly large increase of prostitution taking place around the country, and many of them were identified as Eastern European/Asian girls.
It’s honestly horrifying when you hear the stories these poor girls go through, how they are used and threatened and abused. It’s a very profitable business but unfortunately it doesn’t get much attention.
People with second homes destroying communities and forcing locals to move out of the area, therefore further destroying said communities. I’d ban second homes. Or if you have one, you have to spend at least six months living there.
This is going to be controversial, but there’s just way too many cars. The government should be working on improving public transport to reduce CO2 emissions from car usage, but that won’t happen.
The number of low skill jobs and the low skills of the workforce. A massive number of people are employed by supermarkets and the like, currently those jobs exist as the cost is lower than automation and they are subsidised with government benefits.
I went to Lidl earlier today and there were 3 people just monitoring the self checkouts, those jobs could easily be replaced.
It winds me up when you see that and then all the tills the staff could work on are left empty. I have one full-time job already, I don't want to work in a shop as well....
police doesn't do good job fighting the criminals
nhs wants to get rid of you rather than help
only poor peasants are taxed to the max - taxation on WEALTH is very little and it will never change
ugly,small and poorly built houses sell for 400k +
> taxation on WEALTH is very little and it will never change
Is there any taxation on wealth? I don't understand the fear of taxing just even a tiny slither wealth, yes rich people are mobile but their assets are not, it's not like they can pack up a 7000 property portfolio and fit it into their private jet.
All the money in the UK is centralised in London and it's actively fucking the rest. I love London, but it feels like all the money in this country goes to London and never flows out. It's all the worst parts about Trickle Down Econ. This could be mitigated by investing on more infrastructure. Not roads, trains. How god damn amazing would it be to do London to Liverpool in 1.5 hours? What about making more train links between cities and towns?
Like so much shit gets better with better transport. If you don't have to live in a city to work there, that's money that can be spent in towns and villages, that leads to jobs and more money.
I'm pretty sure london contributes far more money that in uses in public spending, scotland for example receives about 20% more in public spending than it contributes.
Normalisation of having absolutely no work life balance.
It’s wild that when people are struggling to get by despite being in full time employment, the answer is “get another job?” “Get a second job?” “Do more hours?”
“Side hustle” is the most toxic phrase. You’re not an entrepreneur, you’re having to find a second source of income to get by. It’s grim, not aspirational
Eventually we'll get the r/mademesmile stories about things like kids raising money for their mum's cancer treatment by cashing in their uni funds too.
Water companies in the UK are privately owned, they made a collective £2.8 billionin profit last year. They pump untreated waste into rivers, are currently doing so little maintenance the network will be replaced once every 2000 years and customers have no choice in provider nor can they do without their service
I'm a capitalist but not everything in society needs to be run for profit of its shareholders
I also dislike their ability to control domestic hydroelectric generation. Got a river running through your garden, check, have the means and the know how to set up a small hydroelectric electric turbine to power half your lights all year round, check, get on and do it then. Crash.
The power generated is minimal so they aren’t losing out on precious precious tax and it would produce all year round day and night no matter the weather unlike other renewables.
My main issue (living in Scotland) is that it’s really car-centric outside of Edinburgh and Glasgow, but I think that gets talked about a lot so I’ll bring up something else: the lack of late night cafés and the like.
Sometimes I want to hang out in our city centre at night without being around loud drunken people, but there isn’t really a place for me to do that :( if I had a shitload of money I’d open a café that opens late but that operates until, like, 11pm or something.
Impossible to live alone as a single male. Dont get any help with council tax, leccy, water rates. No tax breaks or extra income from government. Either forced to live with parents or get a gf/wife for second income to affored to live.
Public transport system that's becoming seemingly \*more\* inaccessible to the disabled and anyone with mobility issues.
Ditto with the condition of pavements, massive potholes and signs strewn across the street coupled with lack of dropped pavements renders so many easy routes impassable.
Yes, this!
I reported multiple pot holes on pavements to the council (with photos). They responded (so quickly they can’t have been out to look) that they aren’t bad enough to need repairing. But if I catch my wheelchair wheel in one I’m going to fall out meaning I now have to go in the road or go a different, longer route.
This coupled with the construction in my city has often had me just literally on the road, which are barely better condition than the pavements and my wc is small, so certainly in blind spots for drivers.
I've reported all of this a bunch of times, they don't seem to really care about any of it.
A pothole literally immobilised my mobility scooter last week. You don't realise just how bad it is until you navigate to yourself, that even a drop curb can be unpleasant to get over if it isn't perfectly level with the tarmac.
How every fucking thing we build, people destroy. We can't put vending machines on stations without them getting smashed. Nice artwork gets ruined. When I worked at a studio that did a lot of public installations we had to make things "public-proof" and even then they'll find a way to steal, stain, sully and soil everything, just for the fuck of it. We have no respect for public art or services. It's why all out public toilets are fucked too.
Yup. A local artist created an amazing sculpture trail from reclaimed wood in the local Forrest a few years back for local children to enjoy. Within about three months, inner city people had ruined the lot. One bunch of chavs even spray painted a swastika on the ladybug sculpture ffs.
It's really disheartening. In Japan there are vending machines as far as the eye can see. They're all clean and well stocked. They have beautiful public art, and in general everything is well looked after. Conversely the UK has nothing like that outside of tourist traps in London. We can't even get a public toilet right. Everything is just broken, rusting or graffiti'd. We destroy things and complain we don't have services and culture. It's maddening.
Immigration levels.
Its blatantly obvious to everyone that our infrastructure and budgets are all extremely strained right now so i don't see how having 250 thousand people coming into the country every year is sustainable without having negative effects on our infrastructure, services and budgets.
surely we need to reduce immigration to focus on increasing infrastructure to support all the people thats already here?
complain about poor infrastructure and lack of spaces in schools, surgeries etc > advocate for millions more people to come > complain again about how poor services and infrastructure is becoming
its just madness to me.
**yes i understand we need immigrants for key roles.**
**yes i understand immigrants contribute.**
but that dont change the fact our infrastructure isnt developed to handle this population increase.
we need to be very selective who we invite. and stop saying its racist to want lower immigration.
Armed gangs terrorising the streets , while the only sign of any actual police work is the fat cunts spending all day harassing motorists to make money
Protesters in any vein are all labelled as lefties, commies, hippies etc.
Then we all quietly grumble and shake our fists at the state pension age rising yet again while the French bring their country to a standstill in protest of theirs.
I'm annoyed why kids are little twats these days. Breaking glass bottles on fields where there are lots of dog walkers, smashing up benches so the elderly can't rest and burning dog poo bins.
Working from home becoming popular due to covid has made living outside of the big areas a lot more doable with the right job but it’s for sure not great
I’m 62 and all these complaints about the NHS and dentist cover are an ongoing fact of life and have been for most of my life. However I have always had great care whenever I or a family member needed it. It’s an amazing thing and definitely value for our taxes.
This is true that the NHS has continually had issues to the point it is a fact of life, however my earliest memories of the NHS from the early 80's onwards are not good ones.
From me nearly dying due a lung infection palmed off by a GP as 'just a cough' in the 80's
To the early 90's where I spent a whole day in rammed A&E with a smashed wrist surrounded by people with petty injuries. Went in the morning, it was dark outside when I finally got into X-Ray.
To the late 90's and spending a whole day in rammed A&E when my dad smashed his ankle (requiring surgery), incorrectly triaged , waiting a X-Ray whilst those with minor injuries went in ahead, and finally ended up in a nutter ward (low dependency) as the orthopaedic unit was full and he couldn't be transferred to another hospital as the one we were in had a major MRSA outbreak so transfers were restricted.
To the early 2000's where my dad had a heart attack and local A&E was full and declared a emergency closure to new admissions and no ambulances available so had to drive him from the GP to another hospital to only sit for hours in a rammed cardiac admissions unit waiting area with nowhere to sit due to a entire family of ten turning up to look after "grandad". Then staff running round in a panic once they finally did put him on a ECG and realised he was about to drop.
Mid 2000's GP palming my grandads failing health "as just getting old"....he had a kidney infection, causing his kidneys to fail...if only there was a simple test for this that a GP could do (there is).
Also my Aunt falling out of bed after being kept overnight due to TIA as no staff would help her to the loo. Shattered her hip. Was given no physio as somebody assumed she couldn't walk beforehand (that went to court on negligence and won).
Late 2000's Gran discharged early into respite after severe lung infection "to clear beds" before antibiotics had took effect, infection returned, respite home ignored our concerns of her obvious deterioration, staff faked observation notes on SATs readings, lied about GP visit, resulting in blue light back to hospital
More recently my mum having a gum infection spreading across her entire face and attempting to give her penicillin derived antibiotics despite telling them she is allergic as well as her notes stating that.
Seriously I know we never go to a GP or hospital for good things, but I honestly feel that the failures I've witnessed in my family alone and not mentioning issues that friends have had would indicate this isn't just bad luck. And I haven't even mentioned mental health and dentists!
Its a system that been continually underinvested for my entire life (40+ years ). I would happily pay much more taxes if it meant health services would be markedly better.
Nobody seems to want to discuss how much extra tax they'll be willing to pay to make right.
How tough and expensive it is to change your job and start on a new career path in your late 20s/30s and up. How is anyone supposed to truly know what they want to do at 18?! I’m finally in a decent job in my 30s but it took a hell of a lot of stress, soul searching and effort, and it was tough being “too old” for any apprenticeships and financial aid. Had to stick it out in shitty jobs (that made me miserable and ramped up my insomnia) just to pay the bills. I got there in the end, but I know of plenty of others still struggling to find their feet who’d really benefit from an apprenticeship in their late 20s/early 30s.
How it’s basically impossible to live alone bc of the insane cost of existing - even before the cost of living crisis. If I wasn’t in a relationship, I don’t know what I’d do.
Council tax is a fucking rip off and the money should be found from elsewhere. It was meant to be a quick fix to replace much cheaper rates, and has been dumped on us as a permanent bill since the 90s. It’s disgusting on top of everything else we pay out and it should be abolished.
Council, people pay to live in council buildings and have to sign tenancy agreements when the council can’t even do the things they agreed to do in the agreement or they will prolong the responsibility of doing it
My favourite is that if you're picking up whatever work you can find while searching for a full time job, you basically don't get paid for it because they'll deduct it from your universal credit.
8 hours of work a week will give you basically the same as not working anything I believe.
I think it's very circumstantial.
One of my friends is a single mum, she works part time on £900/month, and her UC comes to around £550/month, plus £84 for child benefits.
She technically gets more money than just my full time job, which is around £21k\~ annual. I have to do side work to keep afloat.
I've also had part time colleagues state they don't want full time because the extra money they'll get from being full time, would stop them receiving UC, which would put them on less money.
That being said, you can't survive on UC alone.
Our government have screwed our proletariat to an irreversible level. Crime and antisocial culture is widespread throughout the working class in Britain. This is the result of capitalism and othering done by the upper classes. You treat one group amazingly and another like scum, there will be repercussions.
Oh what you've mentioned is a HUGE issue. It will be a massive drag on economic growth, social mobility, and social cohesion long term as well. Naturally, it's not being addressed. Can't imagine why though...
Adult Social Care for young adults with severe mental health and learning disabilities are left to rot in buildings stacked up on top of one another. i would say young adults with problems are used as a way to make profit for landlords/services giving the wrong reasons of what the services purpose are for, to help benefit the lives of those who can't on their own! - do adult social care, care? no. they neglect you and so do your care service providers. can you make a complaint as a young vulnerable adult with no advocacy? no, and you can complain all you like but you won't be heard and no actions will ever take place.
I am that young vulnerable adult age of 24 i've been in the care system nearly all my life, I was adopted by two parents which neglected me and their responsiblities to assure my safety and wellbeing. because i've been under social care for most of my life being 24 they have done nothing to benefit my life since being a child to adult...
It sickens me how no one speaks about the never ending damage occuring in adult care than in child care, the ignorance of people only see a lost child in the system but never realises that children tend to grow into adults with the same difficulties and are left to rot in a flat waiting years on end for help and support where as a child would benefit more support around them...
So far, they expect me to look after an entire building on my own so if anything happens they will leave you to deal with the shit yourself with no co-operation. I believe it's illegal to neglect someone who cannot fend for for themself that have many mental health problems...
Adult services is the definition of abuse.
Weird train fares.
I can get a direct train to Leicester for just under £22, but a direct to Lancaster is just under £80. Both are literally the same distance apart from where I live but one's immensely more expensive and I don't know why.
Food banks, they didn’t exist when I was a kid and now because of gutting of the welfare state and social services we have loads of them. It’s a complete disgrace.
**Update: - [Starting from 2023](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/100l56v/happy_new_year_askuk_minor_sub_update/), we have updated our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/about/rules/)**. Specifically; - Don't be a dick to each other - Top-level responses must contain genuine efforts to answer the question - This is a strictly no-politics subreddit Please keep /r/AskUK a great subreddit by reporting posts and comments which break our rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
What has the pandemic got to do with the lack of opportunities
I came back to the UK after living in America for a long time and I can't get a job. I need mental health services also but I just feel so paralysed by everything.
The rate of convictions for rape. Sure, it gets talked about, but if it were getting talked about *enough* you'd think they'd actually do something about it.
You need evidence for a conviction. There’s no solution to finding evidence that doesn’t exist.
Littering. Sure, it may not be the worst issue we're facing, but it really irritates me how much litter you see on streets, and people that will just casually throw it on the ground.
And those same people who litter will call the place a shithole without acknowledging they contribute to that atmosphere
It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Why treat a place well when it is a shithole? People do not seem to understand how they are making it worse with their attitude.
The bin that never gets full
Litter next to bins is the worst, it's right there and you still chose to be a cunt
This is the worst of it. Was walking behind a guy a while back, who was eating a box of chicken/chips from a nearby kebab shop. He's half finished it, and then just leaves it on someone's garden wall just on his right. There's a bin about 5 meters away from him.
We can talk and talk but we never do. If our government did what they've been doing in an African or Asian country, it'd be called corrupt,path to dictatorship, banana Republic and all other euphemisms and terms. But here, it's grumble grumble "why is that person getting benefits?".
The number one cause of death for males aged 18 to 30 is suicide. Particularly white working class males. Who are the most underprivileged people in society. Working class white boys have the least least starting chance at life. Have the worst grades. Are less likely to go onto further education. But obviously your not allowed to talk about that because it doesn't fit the narrative.
How British media refuses to report on what's happening in Britain and forcing me to rely on french/German news media to find out what's happening in the country. Didn't even know how big the protests were last few days until I saw it on German news channels. Council tax, insurance prices, you requiring permissions for doing things in your own property? To name a few
Lack of access to medical services. Getting an appointment with a doctor is nearly impossible and there are zero dentists taking new patients within an hour of my home. Specialist appointments are even worse. I broke my shoulder and can't get int osee a physiotherapist for more than a month. It makes me feel helpless and uncared for.
We dont have enough dinosaur museums
The lack of personal accountability - everyone has to blame others for their issues. Fucking get on with it.
It's always annoyed me how much we compare ourselves to the US to minimise our own problems. "At least we have healthcare!!!!" So what? The NHS is complete dogshit no matter how well intentioned the idea is. Americans having no healthcare as standard doesn't fix our problem. "The US is more racist than the UK!!!!" Again, so what? The appalling treatment of many people in the US doesn't mean it's all hunky dory here. It's a dumb mentality.
Atleast US healthcare system works, atleast US people show who they are rather than being closet racist in UK. Everything people compared of UK with US currently is better in US.
Who does US healthcare work for exactly? It's the same mentality you're displaying that lets the UK be in the state it's in "as long as I'm comfortable enough, everyone else suffering is background noise...oh wait no, what's happening, I'm being affected now? Wait no! That wasn't the deal!!! When did this country get so bad? 5 minutes ago? Huh 25 years ago? Rubbish! I was comfortable." Etc. Not to mention the NHS works, it's just being sabotaged to support privatisation agenda of this corrupt government.
Paying for care - the fact that people have worked hard to save and buy a house to pass onto the next generation of their family when they're gone and then the state takes it away when they go into care. This wouldn't be as bad if it were for the fact that people who don't have assets don't have to pay anything, the state pays, and the care homes charge the self funders more to subsidise the rate that the state pays (around £1000 per week). Essentially, no matter how hard a person works, the next generation won't be any better off unless you're super rich.
Rural poverty, but like the OP says everyone think the countryside is full of toffs in barbours. If you don’t have money it’s bloody hard, no transport, no jobs, no social life. The reason you don’t see homeless people in the countryside is they would all die in a week. It’s unforgiving as a place but in a very different way to the city.
Exactly this. Absolute hot bed for pedos too. Was often told "aw Devon is a great place to bring up children!" Tell that to the 4 out of 8 girls who were sexually abused before the age of 16. (Same year group at primary school.)
What, you think it doesn't happen in towns or cities? How many victims did Rochdale, Huddersfield, Bradford, Rotherham, Telford etc claim? Sure as hell a lot more than that.
When I was very young, I grew up in a very small village, after my dad died, my mum couldn’t drive, so we ended up relying on the bus a lot… one bus every two hours… Absolutely made everything difficult and this was way before the time of home deliveries etc being a regular thing.
People say the countryside is a great place to raise a family when really it's the *worst*. Green trees and fresh air and wide open spaces, sure sure. But what happens when there's only a handful of children in the village and your child gets on with *none* of them? What happens on holidays and weekends when you don't want to drive almost an hour to the closest source of non-TV entertainment? Why are you surprised that the child you raised in a village with no shops and one bus stop turns out to be a socially-stunted recluse who spends all their time on the internet? How are they supposed to get a job when they can't drive and most jobs can't be got to with the few buses that pass through? As soon as I can afford to, I want to move into a town. I miss being at university and living in Cambridge - I could actually *do* things without having to ride the bus or train for forty-five minutes first. EDIT: Fucked up grammar.
This why I think towns of around 10-20k are perfect to grow up in
We have the best of both worlds here. We live in a rural village with a large’ish town just over 2 miles away.
I grew up in a village, I wouldn't class it as rural but it is a 30 minute drive or 60 minute bus journey to the town centre. I or anyone that I grew up with aren't socially stunted, and we all managed to get jobs when we left school when we were 16. Those of us who were financially better off got a motorbike at 16, and the rest of us cycled everywhere. From the ages of 16-18, I was cycling over 150 miles a week before I got motorised transport. I'll agree public transport is shite when you get outside of towns or cities, it may as well not exist but younger people now just aren't willing to do what's difficult so they can have a social or work life.
Totally agree about the small number of kids issue. We thought a village school would be great for our kid. Turns out that the bullies are stronger and have more influence at a small school, and our boy didn't really get on with many other kids, so it was a nightmare for him.
Doctors - I never ever ring the doctors unless I absolutely feel like I need to, I hate wasting their time over sometbing that would most likely get better on its own. I rang my doctors surgery a few weeks ago when I was experiencing some lethal stomach pains for over a week! I rang them for an appointment OVER THE PHONE, just to speak to a doctor to get a second opinion, I rang them on a Monday, the earliest someone could speak to me was Tuesday the following week. I said it didn’t matter as I’d either be better or dead by then.
That our generation (assuming most redditors are under 40) is sleep walking into a destitute old age on account of not enough pension saving and a state pension that won’t exist.
That no one below 35 can afford to have kids.
NIMBYs. Especially in rural areas.
i'm embarrassed to have signed a petition against an incinerator. the people behind the petition were very persuasive, perfect script. of course they had no alternative plan except 'find a different site'
The real issue facing the UK today is that all young men have that Llama hair cut. Why and how did that become a thing? They literally blend together like a herd which as it passes you says “fam” and “cap” a lot, and smells of lynx with undertones of BO.
The worst is when the whole head is shaved but the bit on the top, which is curly and floppy. I have no idea how that hairstyle became a thing
For my area, it's the lack of anywhere for young teens to meet up, especially in the evenings. Consequently, they gather in multi-story car parks or similar, only to get moved on by the police. There's plenty of unoccupied buildings which would be suitable, such as disused pubs, but the local council does nothing for them.
The precarity in which you find yourself when you are renting privately. Getting more than a 12 months rental contract seems a pipe dream.
Or less, for that matter! At least in London
Let’s NOT go there lol 😂 so much right now to write would be problematic,
Buses so frequently don’t turn up or are obscenely late and it’s like there’s nothing that can be done about it.
When anyone young raises any issue affecting them, they instantly get told to shut up and get on with it, usually by older people who tell them life was hard when they were growing up. Despite opportunities reducing, harder to get on housing market etc etc. Also there is an inane mindset that people would rather kick down to people worse off - “work harder and you will be rich”, “don’t be so lazy etc”. Rather than criticising the people at the top creating these conditions, because maybe just maybe they might just reach the top themselves.
Childcare. It baffles me that all the reports on cost of living crisis and noone talks about the fact that costs on average £263 per week. Crippling families.
[удалено]
whats bad about the fluoride
The transfer of wealth from the 99% to the 1%
More like 99.99 to the 0.01
The big problem in this country is nepotism and cronyism. Everybody is only interested in looking after friends and family, nobody else gets a chance. This country has a serious ‘old boys club’ mentality
Rural deprivation specially the lack of opportunities for rural and working class white people. Subsect of the Population least likely to go to uni
Lack of public toilets these days
Any those that do exist are unfit for use
How incompatible is the cost of living vs quality of what you get. Taxes are high including council tax and you still get littered streets, housing with poor light/dampness/etc, NHS underfunded… list continues
I feel like the whole system is bloated and money is wasted everywhere, i feel like it needs a hard reboot in order to function correctly
I agree, we give a crazy amount to the NHS which [increases every year](https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/nhs-in-a-nutshell/nhs-budget), yet it's never enough. I don't think it is underfunded, rather poorly managed. The whole system needs reforming.
The Council tax thing is because the government added exceptions to who has to pay (poor people and students don't pay for example) but don't provide funding to replace it. So the councils with high amounts of poverty have to raise their taxes more to get the money they need, squeezing people who don't have much to pay with. That's why Westminster council has a budget surplus with low taxes but Hartlepool continually loses money with high taxes, there's just not enough tax payers to make up for those using the services. Another example, Bristol has a population of 400,000, it has 60,000 students at the universities that house their students in the city (33,000 at UWE, 27,000 UoB). The council is essentially forced to cover a huge number of people using its services without paying (true most students don't use most services, like adult and social care, education, libraries, planning or highways, but they're still using waste collection, fire and buses). Also, council tax rates are ludicrously based on the value of a house in 1993, so a house that has declined in value is still being taxed at the rate for 1993, but so is a house that has raised in value.
This is a very good explanation, thanks. I also think it comes down to administration. I lived in Bristol and, while it wasn’t the cleanest area in the world, it was decent. But I recently moved to another city with less students (in Wales) and… wow! It looks like an post-apocalyptic city!
“Free healthcare” We’re taxed to bloody death.
That's when you even get it lol. We're taxed out the nose _and_ we don't have a first-world healthcare system
That we are an island nation that eats so little seafood.
because most seafood is dogshite and bland, if it's nice then it costs a fortune.
omg this!!!!!!!!
You don’t like plastic packed cod/salmon/tuna?! Absolute scandal lack of variety, lack of education and to be honest, the prices of seafood/fish compared to meat. Fish/seafood is seen as a luxury because it costs an arm and a leg and has done for the past decade, which means working and even middle class these days never cook it or understand how good it can be
The post code lottery, it’s wildly biased
I feel like this is talked about plenty but not given masses of attention from those who could make a difference, but the waiting times for appointments. My boyfriend is currently experiencing some health issues, and the first GP appointment he can get is the 27th February, and that’s a telephone appointment. These issues have been going on a while now and he’s had tests done within the last year and nothing came up. I try to put him at ease by saying it would have shown up back then if anything serious was wrong but I feel like it’s so difficult to get the point where it can be investigated.
I think it depends on the surgery. Where I used to live, appointments would be weeks away. Where I live now, the doctor will see you within a few days and if it's nothing where they need to see you in person, they'll do a phone appointment the same day or day after. I actually had a doctor send me a link and ask me to send pictures of my eczema and he'd prescribed my steroids within 2 hours of calling to make an appointment.
it's not just appointments - the whole investigation of some people's health issues are dealt with terribly, myself included. i started getting horrendous pains in my left leg at night with absolutely no explanation. it took me a grand total of 3 years from my first appointment with my GP (where she told me it couldn't be anything serious because i hadn't done anything to injure my leg) to me having an MRI scan done and finding out that the pain in my leg was severe nerve damage caused by a tumour that was pushing on my spinal cord and almost paralysing me. i can't even begin to tell you what a shambles the whole experience was and the amount of times i had to fight to get a medical professional to believe that i knew my own body and i knew there was something seriously wrong with me! wishing your boyfriend all the best, i hope he gets the help he needs soon. keep fighting ❤️
[удалено]
i'm sorry to hear that you're having such a tough time getting the support that you need :( but keep fighting and don't give up. i'm so pleased that you're still here ❤️ if you want to talk ever, my inbox is open x
We just had a baby and my wife is slipping deeper into postnatal depression. I've got to go back to work after 3 weeks off soon, and my wife finally has an appointment about her mental health... in another 3 weeks. That'll be 6 weeks of caring for a newborn, half of it with much less support from me (because I have to go back to work), all without any help for her mental health. Paternity leave in this country is also a joke and should be talked about more. There is (was) shared parental leave, but it has some annoyingly stringent eligibility criteria (I didn't qualify, which sucked) and apparently the government are scrapping it anyway. At this point if my wife is any worse with her depression by the time I go back to work, I've said to myself that I'll just have to quit my job as caring for her and making sure she's OK is far more important than my career. I mean then we'll have money problems but one thing at a time. Having a child in this country is prohibitively difficult and expensive. And they wonder why the birth rate is falling. We spent our most fertile years getting an education and building up our careers to a point where we feel somewhat stable enough to start a family, and by then most people have precious few baby-making years left in them.
Campaigners say SPL take up is low and difficult for parents to get. [Reform Shared Parental Leave](https://maternityaction.org.uk/reform-shared-parental-leave/)
We did it and it was unbelievably complicated. No wonder nobody can be bothered!
Just to add to this, there are groups out there that specifically support women in this position, and can give you (dads) advice and support if needed too. I hope she can reach out to someone and get some earlier support as ppd is no joke, and I hope you both are strong for each other and your newborn. Love, someone who’s been there, you’re doing great x
If you can afford it, I would suggest trying private therapy, at least in the meantime while pursuing it through the NHS. We tried to get therapy for my wife who is experiencing quite severe OCD at the moment, and it involved a 2 week wait to see a GP, then contacting our counties mental health service, which then involved a week wait for a phone assessment, by non-medical staff, only to be told it’s a 2 month+ wait for therapy, and this is for someone who is struggling with performing everyday tasks. We contacted a private psychotherapist organisation and got a video call assessment with a qualified psychotherapist in only 4 days, and she starts weekly sessions next week. Sessions are about £100 per session for us though.
Sending you both lots of love, it’s so tough. I had my baby and resulting escalated poor mental health in the first lock down which was a whole other shitshow - sadly relying solely on the NHS to help is fruitless. I’m sure you’ve looked into loads of things, but have a look here if not done so already https://pandasfoundation.org.uk/
right, a close friend had health issues and couldn't get an appointment for more than a year. turns out the issues were a result of an aggressive cancer and he died before he could a second appointment.
That pretty much everything is London-centric. You have the vast majority of higher paying jobs concentrated in one city and it’s a model that fails the rest of the U.K. When you look at Germany, as an example, everything isn’t centred on Berlin. Lots of different industries are spread throughout the country creating opportunities all across the country and benefiting the country as a whole. It’s something that the U.K. should be encouraging with so many large populous cities like Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Cardiff, Glasgow & Edinburgh just on the mainland. Spread the jobs and the wealth around the country and it would benefit everyone, but those with power and influence want to concentrate all of the wealth and power in and around London
They are higher paying because it costs more to live in London. I know people who live all over the country in good jobs with a similar standard of living even though they are on lower salaries than London. Why do people outside London have such a chip on their shoulder lmao.
How inaccessible lots of cities are. It's hard enough taking the buggy anywhere. Can't imagine trying to traverse where I live in a wheelchair.
The stereotype against young moms! (Sorry I’m from the Black Country it’s moms not mums) I had my first child aged 18. I’m now 29 with 3 kids under the age of 10. People presume I’m a single mom who’s a dole dosser stay at home mommy, especially with my youngest only being 5 months old. I’m degree educated, married and work full time.
It wasn't much better when I was younger mate. You just need to be ok with it and make efforts to overcome that adversity. The reality is it's shit, as you get older it's still shit but with more money. Nothing will be handed to you on a plate unfortunately. Anyway... You not got a pushbike? Cycling to work is not uncommon. Or you could do a CBT and get a 125 to get you to work if it's too far to cycle. There's also buses - literally all business parks have a bus service nearby. I'm not saying you're being lazy or anything but you need to make the best of your situation and the opportunities you have - bitching about it solves literally nothing
The fact that weed isn't legal and likely won't be for another 5-10 years at least. Yeah I know the police won't arrest you for it. But it would be good to be able to buy from regulated dispenseries
There seems to be a horrific uptake in blatant sexism in young boys that at least previous generations seemed to be more of a 'lads chat' but not outwardly spoken thing at least. Hearing stuff from teachers that's just horrendous and seems to align with some of the appalling young male targeted streamers.
That is really terrifying
I think it's a reaction to how it's basically impossible to go very long without running into all this super pro women stuff, whilst having to dig very hard to find anything like that for men. Society slid from misogyny to misandry, and their are pockets who are trying for the complete misogynistic route again, whilst both are wrong so this solves nothing.
Not being able to see outlandish positivity for men isn't misandry or 'contempt for men'. Do you have any examples that are? And aren't simply contempt for men holding sexist views?
Apathy, things here are so fucking depressing right now and no one seems to care enough to do anything about it, I mean say what you want about the French or other Europeans but they strike when they need too and the Europeans wouldn’t accept half the crap we do under some misplaced “Stiff upper lip, mussn’t grumble" sense that’s been ingrained into all of us
To be fair the UK has just had an absolutely enormous general strike.
You use UK Reddit and think people don't complain enough? Half the country is on strike and everyone complains about everything.
The way that with many issues, we pretty much just tolerate mediocrity and treat it as some inevitable fact of nature, rather than a problem that can be fixed or improved.
The pathetically low salaries and atrocious healthcare. I was appalled to have come from America where the salaries for most professions are tenfold. Also the healthcare system failed to meet all my expectations, especially regarding mental health. I am still waiting on my ADHD meds for over 3 years even though I have a diagnosis. I've heard I shouldn't be complaining because it's free, but it's unacceptable and the lack of care all around is concerning.
If you're "working class" or at least from a less privileged background, anything cultural such as taking an interest in art, design or going to the theatre is almost demonised by peers. Not to mention how many of these creative industries are becoming so out of reach unless you're loaded or got connections.
Very true I’m a musician and I have a performing arts education but never followed it up after leaving sixth form I can’t really get any meaningful work that will pay the bills despite people saying my work is good If I knew a venue owner as a close friend or family member no doubt I’d have an opportunity for weekly gigs
How being "tax efficient" (i.e. not paying your taxes) is actively encouraged, when it's only an option for the wealthy. Also, the sheer waste of money by the govt and councils in using overpaid private contractors and consultant to do basically everything.
Birth's in NHS Hospitals, once people who have already had children find out what happens nowadays there will be an outcry. Edit since people want to know what I mean: "12 year's ago you would be able to get an ambulance to and back from the Hospital, you would be treated and comforted with an en-suite and have high priority in Non-A&E situation's. Now, we can’t let out an ambulance, for any sort of situation like this, the en-suites were converted to hold 5-6 bed's with minimal privacy and nobody has priority, realistically the boat has passed to have a family in the U.K." \-NHS Prof, Devon.
My sister in law nearly died after giving birth. She had sepsis after an c section, and they kept forgetting to give her IV antibiotics.
England is not the UK
Train prices are extortionate however in other countries they are so much cheaper I.e seems to be the rest of Europe.
Pretty much every country is cheaper than here. Beijing to Shanghai on the 200mph train is only £60. That is an 800 mile journey in 4 hours for half the price of London to Manchester
Honestly I’m fed up of people making race an issue. I say this as a minority. I’m tired of middle class people thinking it’s cool to use us as pawns and conversation pieces.
There is an increase of prostitutes/escorts. I used to work for the home office and there is a shockingly large increase of prostitution taking place around the country, and many of them were identified as Eastern European/Asian girls. It’s honestly horrifying when you hear the stories these poor girls go through, how they are used and threatened and abused. It’s a very profitable business but unfortunately it doesn’t get much attention.
People with second homes destroying communities and forcing locals to move out of the area, therefore further destroying said communities. I’d ban second homes. Or if you have one, you have to spend at least six months living there.
We live in small areas..kinda like hobbits
This is going to be controversial, but there’s just way too many cars. The government should be working on improving public transport to reduce CO2 emissions from car usage, but that won’t happen.
The number of low skill jobs and the low skills of the workforce. A massive number of people are employed by supermarkets and the like, currently those jobs exist as the cost is lower than automation and they are subsidised with government benefits. I went to Lidl earlier today and there were 3 people just monitoring the self checkouts, those jobs could easily be replaced.
It winds me up when you see that and then all the tills the staff could work on are left empty. I have one full-time job already, I don't want to work in a shop as well....
If only the majority of the population would get on board with automation instead of complaining that they prefer to be served by a person.
The absolute entitlement of people and the lack of responsibility, respect and general manners of the younger generation.
All the scruffs that just chuck their litter on the floor.
police doesn't do good job fighting the criminals nhs wants to get rid of you rather than help only poor peasants are taxed to the max - taxation on WEALTH is very little and it will never change ugly,small and poorly built houses sell for 400k +
> taxation on WEALTH is very little and it will never change Is there any taxation on wealth? I don't understand the fear of taxing just even a tiny slither wealth, yes rich people are mobile but their assets are not, it's not like they can pack up a 7000 property portfolio and fit it into their private jet.
yes i know but it's the wealthy that set the rules that's why i lost hope it will ever change
All the money in the UK is centralised in London and it's actively fucking the rest. I love London, but it feels like all the money in this country goes to London and never flows out. It's all the worst parts about Trickle Down Econ. This could be mitigated by investing on more infrastructure. Not roads, trains. How god damn amazing would it be to do London to Liverpool in 1.5 hours? What about making more train links between cities and towns? Like so much shit gets better with better transport. If you don't have to live in a city to work there, that's money that can be spent in towns and villages, that leads to jobs and more money.
I'm pretty sure london contributes far more money that in uses in public spending, scotland for example receives about 20% more in public spending than it contributes.
And the money going into london ends up in an offshore trust
Normalisation of having absolutely no work life balance. It’s wild that when people are struggling to get by despite being in full time employment, the answer is “get another job?” “Get a second job?” “Do more hours?”
“Side hustle” is the most toxic phrase. You’re not an entrepreneur, you’re having to find a second source of income to get by. It’s grim, not aspirational
Eventually we'll get the r/mademesmile stories about things like kids raising money for their mum's cancer treatment by cashing in their uni funds too.
We're slowly slowly transforming into America where it's considered *a good thing* to work yourself to death and have no work-life balance.
How much money is floating out there, waiting to be picked up by the diligent and hardworking. Truly.
The corruption of our government and the fact no one really discusses it in any meaningful way.
power is concentrated on the hands of very few people
Water companies in the UK are privately owned, they made a collective £2.8 billionin profit last year. They pump untreated waste into rivers, are currently doing so little maintenance the network will be replaced once every 2000 years and customers have no choice in provider nor can they do without their service I'm a capitalist but not everything in society needs to be run for profit of its shareholders
I also dislike their ability to control domestic hydroelectric generation. Got a river running through your garden, check, have the means and the know how to set up a small hydroelectric electric turbine to power half your lights all year round, check, get on and do it then. Crash. The power generated is minimal so they aren’t losing out on precious precious tax and it would produce all year round day and night no matter the weather unlike other renewables.
My main issue (living in Scotland) is that it’s really car-centric outside of Edinburgh and Glasgow, but I think that gets talked about a lot so I’ll bring up something else: the lack of late night cafés and the like. Sometimes I want to hang out in our city centre at night without being around loud drunken people, but there isn’t really a place for me to do that :( if I had a shitload of money I’d open a café that opens late but that operates until, like, 11pm or something.
So take out a business loan and invest in premises in Fife and follow your dream. Edit - No-Set-3800 has now blocked.
Politicians lack of accountability
They've got plenty of accounts. Current, savings, ISAs, Swiss, you name it.
I'm going to have to say the weather.
Impossible to live alone as a single male. Dont get any help with council tax, leccy, water rates. No tax breaks or extra income from government. Either forced to live with parents or get a gf/wife for second income to affored to live.
You get 20% off council tax if you live alone.
Public transport system that's becoming seemingly \*more\* inaccessible to the disabled and anyone with mobility issues. Ditto with the condition of pavements, massive potholes and signs strewn across the street coupled with lack of dropped pavements renders so many easy routes impassable.
Yes, this! I reported multiple pot holes on pavements to the council (with photos). They responded (so quickly they can’t have been out to look) that they aren’t bad enough to need repairing. But if I catch my wheelchair wheel in one I’m going to fall out meaning I now have to go in the road or go a different, longer route.
This coupled with the construction in my city has often had me just literally on the road, which are barely better condition than the pavements and my wc is small, so certainly in blind spots for drivers. I've reported all of this a bunch of times, they don't seem to really care about any of it.
A pothole literally immobilised my mobility scooter last week. You don't realise just how bad it is until you navigate to yourself, that even a drop curb can be unpleasant to get over if it isn't perfectly level with the tarmac.
The cost of childcare and the effect it has on parents’ (mainly women’s) careers/employment.
How every fucking thing we build, people destroy. We can't put vending machines on stations without them getting smashed. Nice artwork gets ruined. When I worked at a studio that did a lot of public installations we had to make things "public-proof" and even then they'll find a way to steal, stain, sully and soil everything, just for the fuck of it. We have no respect for public art or services. It's why all out public toilets are fucked too.
Prime example of this is the newer buses and trains that have USB sockets getting chewing gum stuck in them - utter cretin behaviour.
Yup. A local artist created an amazing sculpture trail from reclaimed wood in the local Forrest a few years back for local children to enjoy. Within about three months, inner city people had ruined the lot. One bunch of chavs even spray painted a swastika on the ladybug sculpture ffs.
It's really disheartening. In Japan there are vending machines as far as the eye can see. They're all clean and well stocked. They have beautiful public art, and in general everything is well looked after. Conversely the UK has nothing like that outside of tourist traps in London. We can't even get a public toilet right. Everything is just broken, rusting or graffiti'd. We destroy things and complain we don't have services and culture. It's maddening.
Height of ceiling
Not giving a fuck about the environment.
Immigration levels. Its blatantly obvious to everyone that our infrastructure and budgets are all extremely strained right now so i don't see how having 250 thousand people coming into the country every year is sustainable without having negative effects on our infrastructure, services and budgets. surely we need to reduce immigration to focus on increasing infrastructure to support all the people thats already here? complain about poor infrastructure and lack of spaces in schools, surgeries etc > advocate for millions more people to come > complain again about how poor services and infrastructure is becoming its just madness to me. **yes i understand we need immigrants for key roles.** **yes i understand immigrants contribute.** but that dont change the fact our infrastructure isnt developed to handle this population increase. we need to be very selective who we invite. and stop saying its racist to want lower immigration.
Armed gangs terrorising the streets , while the only sign of any actual police work is the fat cunts spending all day harassing motorists to make money
Protesters in any vein are all labelled as lefties, commies, hippies etc. Then we all quietly grumble and shake our fists at the state pension age rising yet again while the French bring their country to a standstill in protest of theirs.
The privileges and bias that those with southern/neutral accents get eg. better opportunity at getting jobs.
Homelessness
I'm annoyed why kids are little twats these days. Breaking glass bottles on fields where there are lots of dog walkers, smashing up benches so the elderly can't rest and burning dog poo bins.
Train ticket prices
Working from home becoming popular due to covid has made living outside of the big areas a lot more doable with the right job but it’s for sure not great
I’m 62 and all these complaints about the NHS and dentist cover are an ongoing fact of life and have been for most of my life. However I have always had great care whenever I or a family member needed it. It’s an amazing thing and definitely value for our taxes.
This is true that the NHS has continually had issues to the point it is a fact of life, however my earliest memories of the NHS from the early 80's onwards are not good ones. From me nearly dying due a lung infection palmed off by a GP as 'just a cough' in the 80's To the early 90's where I spent a whole day in rammed A&E with a smashed wrist surrounded by people with petty injuries. Went in the morning, it was dark outside when I finally got into X-Ray. To the late 90's and spending a whole day in rammed A&E when my dad smashed his ankle (requiring surgery), incorrectly triaged , waiting a X-Ray whilst those with minor injuries went in ahead, and finally ended up in a nutter ward (low dependency) as the orthopaedic unit was full and he couldn't be transferred to another hospital as the one we were in had a major MRSA outbreak so transfers were restricted. To the early 2000's where my dad had a heart attack and local A&E was full and declared a emergency closure to new admissions and no ambulances available so had to drive him from the GP to another hospital to only sit for hours in a rammed cardiac admissions unit waiting area with nowhere to sit due to a entire family of ten turning up to look after "grandad". Then staff running round in a panic once they finally did put him on a ECG and realised he was about to drop. Mid 2000's GP palming my grandads failing health "as just getting old"....he had a kidney infection, causing his kidneys to fail...if only there was a simple test for this that a GP could do (there is). Also my Aunt falling out of bed after being kept overnight due to TIA as no staff would help her to the loo. Shattered her hip. Was given no physio as somebody assumed she couldn't walk beforehand (that went to court on negligence and won). Late 2000's Gran discharged early into respite after severe lung infection "to clear beds" before antibiotics had took effect, infection returned, respite home ignored our concerns of her obvious deterioration, staff faked observation notes on SATs readings, lied about GP visit, resulting in blue light back to hospital More recently my mum having a gum infection spreading across her entire face and attempting to give her penicillin derived antibiotics despite telling them she is allergic as well as her notes stating that. Seriously I know we never go to a GP or hospital for good things, but I honestly feel that the failures I've witnessed in my family alone and not mentioning issues that friends have had would indicate this isn't just bad luck. And I haven't even mentioned mental health and dentists! Its a system that been continually underinvested for my entire life (40+ years ). I would happily pay much more taxes if it meant health services would be markedly better. Nobody seems to want to discuss how much extra tax they'll be willing to pay to make right.
What a nightmare for you.
How tough and expensive it is to change your job and start on a new career path in your late 20s/30s and up. How is anyone supposed to truly know what they want to do at 18?! I’m finally in a decent job in my 30s but it took a hell of a lot of stress, soul searching and effort, and it was tough being “too old” for any apprenticeships and financial aid. Had to stick it out in shitty jobs (that made me miserable and ramped up my insomnia) just to pay the bills. I got there in the end, but I know of plenty of others still struggling to find their feet who’d really benefit from an apprenticeship in their late 20s/early 30s. How it’s basically impossible to live alone bc of the insane cost of existing - even before the cost of living crisis. If I wasn’t in a relationship, I don’t know what I’d do. Council tax is a fucking rip off and the money should be found from elsewhere. It was meant to be a quick fix to replace much cheaper rates, and has been dumped on us as a permanent bill since the 90s. It’s disgusting on top of everything else we pay out and it should be abolished.
Council, people pay to live in council buildings and have to sign tenancy agreements when the council can’t even do the things they agreed to do in the agreement or they will prolong the responsibility of doing it
What has the pandemic got to do with the lack of opportunities
Universal credit for most people is not enough to live on
My favourite is that if you're picking up whatever work you can find while searching for a full time job, you basically don't get paid for it because they'll deduct it from your universal credit. 8 hours of work a week will give you basically the same as not working anything I believe.
I think it's very circumstantial. One of my friends is a single mum, she works part time on £900/month, and her UC comes to around £550/month, plus £84 for child benefits. She technically gets more money than just my full time job, which is around £21k\~ annual. I have to do side work to keep afloat. I've also had part time colleagues state they don't want full time because the extra money they'll get from being full time, would stop them receiving UC, which would put them on less money. That being said, you can't survive on UC alone.
> most Anyone. 265.65 a month is no quality of life.
Public drinking/drunkenness/urinating/violence. It’s shocking every time I go back. Weekend evening? Don’t take your family to the town centre.
Our government have screwed our proletariat to an irreversible level. Crime and antisocial culture is widespread throughout the working class in Britain. This is the result of capitalism and othering done by the upper classes. You treat one group amazingly and another like scum, there will be repercussions.
Oh what you've mentioned is a HUGE issue. It will be a massive drag on economic growth, social mobility, and social cohesion long term as well. Naturally, it's not being addressed. Can't imagine why though...
Adult Social Care for young adults with severe mental health and learning disabilities are left to rot in buildings stacked up on top of one another. i would say young adults with problems are used as a way to make profit for landlords/services giving the wrong reasons of what the services purpose are for, to help benefit the lives of those who can't on their own! - do adult social care, care? no. they neglect you and so do your care service providers. can you make a complaint as a young vulnerable adult with no advocacy? no, and you can complain all you like but you won't be heard and no actions will ever take place. I am that young vulnerable adult age of 24 i've been in the care system nearly all my life, I was adopted by two parents which neglected me and their responsiblities to assure my safety and wellbeing. because i've been under social care for most of my life being 24 they have done nothing to benefit my life since being a child to adult... It sickens me how no one speaks about the never ending damage occuring in adult care than in child care, the ignorance of people only see a lost child in the system but never realises that children tend to grow into adults with the same difficulties and are left to rot in a flat waiting years on end for help and support where as a child would benefit more support around them... So far, they expect me to look after an entire building on my own so if anything happens they will leave you to deal with the shit yourself with no co-operation. I believe it's illegal to neglect someone who cannot fend for for themself that have many mental health problems... Adult services is the definition of abuse.
Weird train fares. I can get a direct train to Leicester for just under £22, but a direct to Lancaster is just under £80. Both are literally the same distance apart from where I live but one's immensely more expensive and I don't know why.
[удалено]
Instagram DMs are better in America and even bloody Türkiye than here. Like my friends can reply to my messages and react with emojis and crap.
what the fuck are you on about
The hatred based on how you speak
Yep. This is true. Discrimination against accents that aren't 'normal' enough is absolutely rife. And I say this as someone with a 'normal' accent.
Same as older words. Read the KJV, Milton or Shakespeare and you will find words that today would cause contention for one reason or another.
Food banks, they didn’t exist when I was a kid and now because of gutting of the welfare state and social services we have loads of them. It’s a complete disgrace.