I don't like the UK

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. 

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!!)

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.

And some peoeple think we'll fix it with a labour government!!

Did we all forget about Bliars Iraq and Browns Bottom?

Agreed.

It is such a shame because there was great potential. But it's rotting from the inside. Everything is a shambles.

Incompetent justice system. Health service not fit for purpose. Greedy incompetent government. Bankrupt local councils. Businesses closing every minute of every day. Budget cuts everywhere. Dumb as *** humans everywhere.

Oh well.

All to make us American.

The few really decent politicians get hounded out by the ones who are into shady things as the decent ones that uphold good standards make the others stand out and they don't like it.  

People blame the party in power at the time for decisions they don't like but has anyone blamed the opposition parties for letting the party in power get away with things? Is all party parliaments that we have in the UK so it is the collective vote, so one can't blame the party in power as all party politicians played their parts in these votes! People forget that a single party in power is outnumbered by at least 2 or 3 to 1 by their competition parties, and also that the MP's voting in the party in power don't all agree so not all vote for the thing being proposed. 

Much of the big problem in politics today is the parties are owned by big companies, which influence the things being pushed forward to be voted for. The big companies who own the shares in all major political parties also own the press, so they brainwash the people to get the politiccians or parties they want into power. Before the EU became involved when Blair sold us out,, no political party was on the stock market, so no big shareholding company had any direct sway on the political direction we took.  

We are recently facing one of the most dangerous situations wd have ever faced. Our last steelworks which is massive, and in Port Talbot in Wales, is closing and it is our ONLY means to independently produce steel if we had a war.

I feel sad.I know you are a good person and it it upsets me you have to deal with tthis.

What's the alternative though? Most other countries are rightly choosy about who they allow in.

You usually need experience and/or qualifications in specific profession that's in demand or a guaranteed job offer. Otherwise you'd need to be very rich to meet the requirements for an investment or retirement visa. 

I think that your views are more in line with my own - Gemma O’ Doherty has talked a lot about this and I agree with her