I am not British and have not lived in the UK for over 10 years
But I was educated there and have lived there at various points -- longest stretch is close to 10 years during the 'golden' years (mid 90s to mid 00s)
The UK was always more divided than continental Europe -- much greater social, economic and educational disequilibrium, etc.
So it was never a 'perfect' society in the sense that many Europeans picture it (and the issues listed in the above para have a direct impact on the overall, country-wide skill set -- I understand that Rob Cannon got into trouble for saying something similar, but -- having lived in multiple European countries where I speak the local lingo -- I think it's true)
But that said, the UK had clout and a certain spring in its step and it was considerably better at certain things than anyone else in Europe, particularly financial and professional services -- basically, the stuff that people on here do for a living. I was also personally of the view that the UK elite was better, more pragmatic and generally more impressive than was the case in peer countries (which also fed into top level management and -- to some extent -- politics)
But it's game over now. In the end, bad governance (including Brexit -- that old chestnut) catches up with you. These days the UK is -- for lack of a better and more accurate term -- a sh1t hole and British people and their ideas don't enjoy the same status in Europe as they did previously, I don't think
I guess where I am going with this is that it isn't sufficient only to celebrate what may or may not happen at the next GE and look forward to a Labour government. You guys should be fvcking furious. The degradation is real and tangible. You cannot turn back time, and public enquiries etc. have zero real world impact, but you should demand that someone answers for this
Anyway, that's it from me on the subject. Have a nice day, everyone :)
look at how it was in the 70s before the “golden age” of the 90s of which you write
things turn around quickly
Thus speaks an historian. There is a 25 year gap here. A generation, really, of people living and trying to have a life that is as decent as possible
I lived in the UK during the late 80s, the mid 90s and the mid 00s
Things were pretty dire in the first period, improving but still somewhat sh1t in the middle period and much better (as in London was easily as cool, chic and prosperous as Paris) in the latter period
Look at how the BBC presented the environment inhabited by our cockney friends in Eastenders — it went from squalor to recognizable middle class territory, in line with what was actually happening in the real world
This is just one guy speaking (and a guy with a London-centric perspective of the UK), but my point was that the UK had something special. It wasn’t perfect, but it was special (in a European context at least) and it was p1ssed away unnecessarily
People voted for this and they have to own it, at least partly (and the opposition is also partly culpable for failing to offer an attractive alternative), but it’s a shame to wait for a generation to regain something that was yours to begin with (and it isn’t even 100% certain that things will get better in the future), don’t you think?
PS — Germany is currently the sick man of Europe if you ask The Economist. They were also the sick man of Europe in the late 90s, according to the same source
Sometime decline is difficult to snap out of and you feel it if you go there, I think
(I am significantly exposed to European small caps (most of which are German), so I am monitoring the situation carefully)
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You forgot European countries refusing to extradite to the UK because of the state of the prison system.
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is that true? re prisons
heh MAX if so
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There is lots of stuff I forgotten! Far too much to put in one post
Election soon come
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Article today: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/05/ge…
To be honest it does sound as though the service wasn't used to the request for assurances and didn't respond in time.
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I am not British and have not lived in the UK for over 10 years
But I was educated there and have lived there at various points -- longest stretch is close to 10 years during the 'golden' years (mid 90s to mid 00s)
The UK was always more divided than continental Europe -- much greater social, economic and educational disequilibrium, etc.
So it was never a 'perfect' society in the sense that many Europeans picture it (and the issues listed in the above para have a direct impact on the overall, country-wide skill set -- I understand that Rob Cannon got into trouble for saying something similar, but -- having lived in multiple European countries where I speak the local lingo -- I think it's true)
But that said, the UK had clout and a certain spring in its step and it was considerably better at certain things than anyone else in Europe, particularly financial and professional services -- basically, the stuff that people on here do for a living. I was also personally of the view that the UK elite was better, more pragmatic and generally more impressive than was the case in peer countries (which also fed into top level management and -- to some extent -- politics)
But it's game over now. In the end, bad governance (including Brexit -- that old chestnut) catches up with you. These days the UK is -- for lack of a better and more accurate term -- a sh1t hole and British people and their ideas don't enjoy the same status in Europe as they did previously, I don't think
I guess where I am going with this is that it isn't sufficient only to celebrate what may or may not happen at the next GE and look forward to a Labour government. You guys should be fvcking furious. The degradation is real and tangible. You cannot turn back time, and public enquiries etc. have zero real world impact, but you should demand that someone answers for this
Anyway, that's it from me on the subject. Have a nice day, everyone :)
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"
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our real elite remain less khuntish than those in most other countries tbf
people involved in government, MPs etc, aren’t really the elite, they’re just estate agents these days
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I AM DELIGHTED WITH THE LAST 13 YEARS OF CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT AND AM ASTONISHED AT HOW MUCH THEY HAVE MANAGED TO ACHIEVE!!
13 MORE YEARS!!
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all this “game over” stuff is BS anyway
look at how it was in the 70s before the “golden age” of the 90s of which you write
things turn around quickly
just get a new government in ffs and never ever let the tories have another go
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I have no idea why the tories just didn't provide schools with concrete seeds to grow more.
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looking forward to the tozzas having negative seats
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negative seats would be lol. Imagine losing by -50, so in the next election if they win 50 seats, they have to be relinquished immediately.
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This genuine infographic circulated by the DfE made me heh and also do a sad about the state of this country. The tozzas are truly lost.
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Absolutely what Canute said and thank you.
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is that real? LOL
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Yes it is, tweeted out by Gillian 'sweary mary' Keegan herself.
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Thus speaks an historian. There is a 25 year gap here. A generation, really, of people living and trying to have a life that is as decent as possible
I lived in the UK during the late 80s, the mid 90s and the mid 00s
Things were pretty dire in the first period, improving but still somewhat sh1t in the middle period and much better (as in London was easily as cool, chic and prosperous as Paris) in the latter period
Look at how the BBC presented the environment inhabited by our cockney friends in Eastenders — it went from squalor to recognizable middle class territory, in line with what was actually happening in the real world
This is just one guy speaking (and a guy with a London-centric perspective of the UK), but my point was that the UK had something special. It wasn’t perfect, but it was special (in a European context at least) and it was p1ssed away unnecessarily
People voted for this and they have to own it, at least partly (and the opposition is also partly culpable for failing to offer an attractive alternative), but it’s a shame to wait for a generation to regain something that was yours to begin with (and it isn’t even 100% certain that things will get better in the future), don’t you think?
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PS — Germany is currently the sick man of Europe if you ask The Economist. They were also the sick man of Europe in the late 90s, according to the same source
Sometime decline is difficult to snap out of and you feel it if you go there, I think
(I am significantly exposed to European small caps (most of which are German), so I am monitoring the situation carefully)
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I’d be more worried about your exposure to British LARGE CAPS
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