I don't like the UK

I Sperg said:

We will certainly elect some more of the same ilk, whatever their colour or "alignment

Sorry ISperg, but the 'they're all the same' rubbish is just ill-informed and lazy. My opinion of the tedious mantra, not personally directed at you.

Emphatically, they're not all the same. And it will certainly make a difference to all our lives who we elect this time around. 

Pegg said:

Sadly we're so disengaged with politics in the UK that we'll probably re-elect them

We will certainly elect some more of the same ilk, whatever their colour or "alignment".

Apart from Neil Kinnock, Enoch powell & Screaming Lord Sutch, they've all been pretty indistinguishable and interchangeable. 

From my perspective, anyway.. ;c)

The media always focus on style, and presentation, rather than substance and principle. 

Pegg said:

The present government was elected with a huge majority

It's what happens when "personality" of politicians gets in the way of values and principles.

Cornwall and Devon are quite nice. Used to live in South West Wales where on a clear day we could see that area. Am now in North Wales instead which is different. Both are nice.

Actually the U.K. Milltary is considerably weakened in recent years from what the Royal Navy, the Army and RAF used to be and it’s all by design as a result of defence cuts - historically we Irish used to rely on the RAF and the Navy to protect us, but even during the Ukraine conflict this may no longer be possible 

Yeah, I know... 

It's 'the will of the People' to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, apparently, although oddly, I don't think I remember that one from the 2019 manifesto...

They'll say anything, and do whatever they  want - are, pretty much. 

It'll be far worse if we give them another term. 

I quite like the UK, even if the winters get me down. I live on the Cornwall/Devon border and I'm surrounded by natural beauty, I walk in the woods, visit the beach, go to historic houses and explore interesting little towns and villages. That probably sounds quite boring to other people, but I enjoy it. The UK is incredibly diverse and quite large - there are certainly interesting things to do whether your tastes are urban and lively, or slow and rural (like mine!).

Having travelled, it's probably not quite as great as the uber-patriots believe or nor as bad as its detractors say. A complex, varied place, and I'm as happy here as I think I would be anywhere else. 

yeah urbanisation destroys greenery for more gray, but yet overpopulation requires more urbanisation and destruction of the green.

i would suggest to try scotland as that will remain green as no one bothers to live there as  its colder and wetter... but then again theres another thing about the uk, the cold wet weather is also a negative so you get more of that in scotland. so that puts them off there, while the gray development of england puts them off in england.

i think the fact its almost impossible to live or exist shouldnt be used as in most countries that is the same. humanity have always struggled on how to create a functioning system of how to make a living. and its always been ballanced to the bone where its really hard to make a living and you essentially have to be slaves full time for a living doing stuff you dont like. thats normal through all of history so honestly cant be used on the uk.... the fact is people come from other countries to here because that maybe worse in alot of other countries.

Thank you. I appreciate that. 

Wonderful post, I wish I coudl give you more than one vote.

The present government *holds* a huge majority. It suits their purposes to claim that "we" gave them the thumbs up to do whatever they want and their decisions are automatically the will of the people, but the fact is that less than 50% of votes cast were for the conservatives and they received more than 50% of the seats.

It's important to emphasise that it's the broken electoral system that gave them so much power, even more than the dumb voters who actually marked their box. 

Just my opinion, and i respect everyone elses right to have their own (im not saying anyone is wrong, or needs to change). 

I actually really love living in the uk. Little things which im sure are also happening all over the world make me feel good about the uk. There was a kid on the news about maybe 10, who was moved by the cost of living crisis. So he gave all his pocket money for months to a charity to buy disadvantaged children christmas presents. 

This moved me to do the same. My family do secret santa at a cost of £50. You choose a few things you would like and then someone picks what to get you on your list. I had my £50 donated to a childrens charity. 

I think living in such a diverse country brings out the best in most people. I have some friends that live in Leicester. There is a large Indian community where they live and they are the only white people in their street. When i visited them i was astounded by the feeling of community. Everyone was friendly. Their neighbours knocked on the door and gave them a huge dish of food they had cooked, as it was Diwali, and everyone was celebrating. It was fantastic. 

A while ago i reversed into a guys truck. The truck was brand new. I couldnt see a mark, i only hit it at about 2 miles an hour. I was having a really bad time of it around then and seeing various mental health professionals. I apologised and got out my phone to swap details. The guy looked and said 'no damage mate. Dont worry'. I said i would prefer him to take my number incase something came to light later. I had reversed into a parked vehicle, so i was 100% at fault. He looked at me and i will remember this until i die. He said 'Mate. You look like you are having a 'mare at the moment. Honestly mate. Dont stress over it. You are golden'. 

I nearly cried at that. Shook his hand and thanked his kindness. 

There is so much to complain about in this country. If you look. There is so much to celebrate as well. Little things make a big difference. I

Hope that didnt sound preachy. Not what i intended. Im just trying to see positives rather than negatives at the moment. 

Mountain Goat said:

People forget that a single party in power is outnumbered by at least 2 or 3 to 1 by their competition parties

No, that's not true. The party of government must have an overall majority. This means that they outnumber the other parties put together. Out of 650 seats, they must have 326 as a minimum to form a government, in simple terms.

Mountain Goat said:

also that the MP's voting in the party in power don't all agree so not all vote for the thing being proposed

MPs are directed on how to vote in Parliament by the Party Whips. Generally MPs do as they're told, not always. 

Be under no illusion, the governing party holds the responsibility for its decisions, it's implausible to blame opposition parties for not stopping them. The present government was elected with a huge majority, we basically gave them license to do as they wished, which they're now doing, with as little scrutiny as they can manage. 

Sadly we're so disengaged with politics in the UK that we'll probably re-elect them. People seem to believe that politics doesn't affect them, it's just a boring abstract concept...

And yet it affects the lives of each and every one of us. 

It was a golden age compared to what we have now. The biggest problem is that the current Labour party has followed the tories to the right and Starmer isn't offering anywhere near enough of a change in direction. And we've been dug into such a deep hole in the last decade that fixing it will take multiple terms even for the ideal government. 

The UK isn't the best but it isn't the worst either. We just need better people in charge of the country as currently they're sending it down the crapper and taking us with it

And let's not forget the hairstyles of Knots Landing (just for some light and nonnpartisan relief!!)

......and less "daft" electorate....who currently seem unable (or unwilling) to see how easily they have allowed themselves to become hoodwinked by the (false) promise of a simple, easy life.

Life ain't easy!

Here here.  I don't care what their ideology is (within reason) I just want them to know something about the "thing" they are in charge of (preferably with demonstrable competency....even if I don't agree with their ideas!) A seasoned teacher, in charge of education......with a protected  term of office that makes their "approach" and  vision meaningful.....for example.

Slim hope......but to stick with my theme of the evening......hope springs eternal?!

Some good points there. I think the UK has been woefully mismanaged since Thatcher. We've privatised and closed down all the industry and utilities which has made us poorer and weaker. We do whatever the USA tells us and that is really the UK's only strong point, that we have a large military power that will protect us.