What's caused the downfall of this country?

[British Bulldog]

Marvellous, lets illegalise divorce and solve the problems of the world.!!!!!!!!!!

They dont need to abolish divorce but they even things out a bit, At the moment getting married, having kids and getting divorced seems to be a good carear move for a woman even down to retiring on someone else's pension.

 

[simmo]

Marvellous, lets illegalise divorce and solve the problems of the world.!!!!!!!!!!

Did I say illegalise (is that a real word) divorce?

I am not divorced, but I am sure many people reading this thread are. I know that in the 60's there was a piece of legislation that was put in place, which basically was a catch all for divorce which goes something on the lines of "an irretrivable break down of marriage". Before this piece of legislation adultery or mistreatment or whatever had to be proven.

Now I am not saying this piece of legislation is wrong as I have not been in an unhappy marriage and each couples situation may be intolerable but this and continuing pieces of legislation has made divorce so much easier over time in the UK.

It is much more easier to get divorced in the UK than in so many other countries. Divorce leads to the break up of the family unit which is THE building block of any society. It has nothing to do with Thatcher.

 

[User removed 4]

But you wouldn't recognise the country from 20 years ago, when racism and hooliganism was rife at football grounds, sectarian violence haunted the British Isles, food was crap and overpriced, unemployment approached 4 million and it was tough shit if you hated smoke being blown in your face.

So you'll need to be more specific. What root and branch changes do you recommend, and what are you hoping to change?

a)im a firm believer in the welfare state for a start , but as a safety net,it has become a way of life for far too many people.b)crime , if there are not enough prison places then build more prisons , end of story, let the punishment fit the crime not convenience,c) education, its not the kids fault but education standards are slipping , what am i on about they've gone off the edge of a cliff!! the drive to get 50% of people into university , why ?? there arent 50% of jobs that need degrees, the money that is spunked on Mc degrees like travel and tourism could be better spent on proper academic degrees in the sciences where we are falling woefully behind countries like india and china.d) the nhs , i know from personal experience the sheer amount of waste that goes on that could obviously be better spent on front line services.E)immigration , like it or not this is of concern to a lot of people , if we were an industrial economy crying out for cheap labour then it would be a necessity, but were not were a service economy with a couple of million on the long term sick , no doubt some genuine but most not. i could go on further but i feel this offers at least a brief summation of what you asked for.

 

[Zesh Rehman]

Wheres the Thatcher option?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Laughing stock to who?? We are still one of the most revered and respected countries in the world, and that could not be said in the late 70's.
.

I said mainland western europe. I'm not talking about the late 70s either. I'm talking now. Our friends across the channel rarely look to England for inspiration these days. What are we respected and revered for by mainland western europe? Please tell me.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Aside from music. I do believe we have consistently outstripped all nations when it comes to tunes. I'm currently listening to the D-sides album by Gorillaz. Genius.

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

I said mainland western europe. I'm not talking about the late 70s either. I'm talking now. Our friends across the channel rarely look to England for inspiration these days. What are we respected and revered for by mainland western europe? Please tell me.

To name two, Financial Service and Creative Industries. In both areas we lead the world and Europe.

 

[¤DãŃn¥ §êãGüLL¤]

I blame NSC's nazi moderators. Their handling of Johnny Bumlick over Spazzagate was atrocious.

 

[warsaw]

And where's the MEDIA option?

I would say that things are not so bad here, but the media, particularly the daily newspapers, and particularly the tabloids trot out a continual diet of misery (Express and Daily Moan) and /or scandal ( the Sun, Mirror). good news rarely makes the headlines because it doesn't sell newspapers. They are reluctant to give Governments or other organisations credit where its due for fear of being accused of sucking up.

I used to work on the Government's Building Schools For the Future programme which is rebuilding or refurbishing all secondary schools by 2020, that will be a massive achievement. And what about all the new hospitals? Christ, even the Tory government may have done some GOOD stuff.

I am saying that our understanding of what life is really like has been skewed by the Media where bad news rules.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

To name two, Financial Service and Creative Industries. In both areas we lead the world and Europe.

Financial services....are yes. The sector that has pretty much brought the world to a standstill. Saying your better than another country at finances at the moment is like saying that eating broken glass is preferable to barbed wire. Northern Rock, Bradford and Bingley.

Can you be a bit more specific about creative industries. It's a huge range. I work in research and development which could be included....as could painting.

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

Financial services....are yes. The sector that has pretty much brought the world to a standstill. Saying your better than another country at finances at the moment is like saying that eating broken glass is preferable to barbed wire. Northern Rock, Bradford and Bingley.

Can you be a bit more specific about creative industries. It's a huge range. I work in research and development which could be included....as could painting.

The Government definition (this government defined them back in 98) of the Creative Industries are these 13 sectors. It's been copied by loads of European countries (mostly Northern and Eastern). Most of the other countries take quite a cultural look at things so like to include tourism spend and even food!!

It makes up about 7% of the UK economy and is growing at 5% an annum.

Advertising
Architecture
Art Market
Computer Games
Crafts
Design
Designer Fashion
Film
Publishing
Software
Music
Performing Arts
Television and Radio

 

[simmo]

Financial services....are yes. The sector that has pretty much brought the world to a standstill. Saying your better than another country at finances at the moment is like saying that eating broken glass is preferable to barbed wire. Northern Rock, Bradford and Bingley.

Can you be a bit more specific about creative industries. It's a huge range. I work in research and development which could be included....as could painting.

In every economy of every country in the history of the world there have been good times and bad times. Just because we are going through a bad time doesn't mean to say that the City of London as a financial centre is not revered around the world. Which it is.

Hatterslovesbrighton is correct, there is nowhere in Europe that is close as the City of London as a financial centre. The only two other places that come near are Wall Street and Tokyo.

I notice you reply to none of my posts.

Could you answer this, if the UK is such an appaling place to live as you make out, why are there so many people from other (new to the EC) European countries wanting to be here. For some reason they find the UK incredibly desirable to live for whatever reason. Why is this? Why don't they go to France/Germany which is actually closer to their homeland if it is so good there and so appaling here?

 

[Pavilionaire]

I liken the UK now to a football team with a fundamentally good squad in need of a new management team.

Factor in a decent prime minister a la Blair of 97 and the coronation of King William V and all this doom and gloom would soon subside.

Three well-placed bullets and the country will be back on its feet in no time!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

The Government definition (this government defined them back in 98) of the Creative Industries are these 13 sectors. It's been copied by loads of European countries (mostly Northern and Eastern). Most of the other countries take quite a cultural look at things so like to include tourism spend and even food!!

It makes up about 7% of the UK economy and is growing at 5% an annum.

Advertising
Architecture
Art Market
Computer Games
Crafts
Design
Designer Fashion
Film
Publishing
Software
Music
Performing Arts
Television and Radio

Good call. architecture, art, designer fashion, publishing, music, performing arts and tv are, critically, certainly up there. Film not too sure about. I like a number of British directors etc but equally I can name a number of foreign people just as good.

 

[User removed 4]

In every economy of every country in the history of the world there have been good times and bad times. Just because we are going through a bad time doesn't mean to say that the City of London as a financial centre is not revered around the world. Which it is.

Hatterslovesbrighton is correct, there is nowhere in Europe that is close as the City of London as a financial centre. The only two other places that come near are Wall Street and Tokyo.

I notice you reply to none of my posts.

Could you answer this, if the UK is such an appaling place to live as you make out, why are there so many people from other (new to the EC) European countries wanting to be here. For some reason they find the UK incredibly desirable to live for whatever reason. Why is this? Why don't they go to France/Germany which is actually closer to their homeland if it is so good there and so appaling here?

simmo sorry to be pedantic mate but tokyo doesnt get anywhere near new york let alone london .

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

In every economy of every country in the history of the world there have been good times and bad times. Just because we are going through a bad time doesn't mean to say that the City of London as a financial centre is not revered around the world. Which it is.

Hatterslovesbrighton is correct, there is nowhere in Europe that is close as the City of London as a financial centre. The only two other places that come near are Wall Street and Tokyo.

I notice you reply to none of my posts.

Could you answer this, if the UK is such an appaling place to live as you make out, why are there so many people from other (new to the EC) European countries wanting to be here. For some reason they find the UK incredibly desirable to live for whatever reason. Why is this? Why don't they go to France/Germany which is actually closer to their homeland if it is so good there and so appaling here?

Firstly, I am not deliberately avoiding answering your posts. I only have limited time to reply......it's just the way it has paned out. Apologies.

I have always felt it is a bit of a myth that we have more immigrants than other countries. For example polish people stand out here more than they do in Germany for example. Lots of poles work in Germany as they do here. They have done for years and it isnt really an issue as much as over here.

One primary reason why economic migrants choose the UK over other countries is the higher wages. Our wages are higher than most countries due to the higher cost of living (these two go hand-in-hand) in England. A Czech lad I know has come here, has 3 jobs and makes a small fortune compared to what he would make in other countries. The first job takes care of the higher cost of living. The 2nd and 3rd jobs are all for his savings.

 

[shaun_rc]

Can we get this racist poll off here?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

In every economy of every country in the history of the world there have been good times and bad times. Just because we are going through a bad time doesn't mean to say that the City of London as a financial centre is not revered around the world. Which it is.

Hatterslovesbrighton is correct, there is nowhere in Europe that is close as the City of London as a financial centre. The only two other places that come near are Wall Street and Tokyo.

I notice you reply to none of my posts.

Could you answer this, if the UK is such an appaling place to live as you make out, why are there so many people from other (new to the EC) European countries wanting to be here. For some reason they find the UK incredibly desirable to live for whatever reason. Why is this? Why don't they go to France/Germany which is actually closer to their homeland if it is so good there and so appaling here?

Just so your post is clearer to me by what criteria are you measuring London vs New York?

 

[bullshit detector]

Where's the option for 'capitalism?'

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

We are better at cycling than most other nations.