How deep in crisis is Britain? This Tory heartland knows the answer | Anywhere but Westminster
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- Опубліковано 25 жов 2022
- As Westminster politics is gripped by the Tory drama that led to Rishi Sunak's arrival in Downing Street, John Harris and John Domokos go back on the road.
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With a brief stop-off in Worcester, they spend three weeks experiencing the rising unease eating away at Basingstoke - a seemingly safe Tory seat in the south of England where they find empty offices, businesses fit by Brexit, rising hunger and an impossible housing situation.
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#RishiSunak #Worcester #Basingstoke #Conservatives #Tory #HousingCrisis #CostOfLiving #UK
As an outsider I was really shocked to learn that in the UK a landlord can just up the rent for the tenants at will!
My rent here in Munich did not go up one cent. Also, there is nothing like a "bedroom" tax here. The system in the UK seems just horrible for average people.
it's very horrible, I've always respected Germany for how it looks out for its people
Indeed. If it wasn’t for the pubs, the lax gambling laws, the lax women, the temperate weather, the footie, London, the countryside and the music culture I’d have emigrated for sure.
Apollo
Britain is a horrible place now for so many.
I'm 65 years old and I think that these times are the worst ever.
The best thing for young people to do now, is leave the country.
There are so few prospects.
The pubs are shutting at a phenomenal rate.
@@silversurfer640 but they can't leave the country. Leave it to go where? Autralia? Canada? They cannot go closer, because they cannot go to the EU anymore.
12 years of Tory rule is a horrifying thing
Unless you are a Russian bot, or a sociopath.
Tories Bunch of multimillionaire/Billionaire Globalist...more poverty, destroying shops and businesses, destroying the NHS. Covid, lockdown etc.
We need General Election
Not as horrifying as 12 years hard Labour.
imagine still blaming labour after 12 years of the tories led to this
12 seconds is bad enough
Watching both the US and UK self-destruct has been a total nightmare. People are so easily manipulated by evil politicians.
and their backers
It's so nice to see..
It's a global economic problem for the average people. Makes us wonder who is in control and how can we stop the corporate and government greed. It's all ABHORRENT and repulsive!
Ignorance plays a big part both in the UK and America. Uneducated people are easily manipulated by disgusting politicians.
@@ChulitatrCapital is in control, politicians and their corporate donors. Its not some secret cabal.
In 2016, after living in Britain for 1 year (I'm Dutch), I visited a village in Somerset one day, and walked through the main shopping street. Many shops were closed, some of the windows were broken, empty bottles rolled over the pavement in the wind, and young families walked by, arguing, with a toddler in the buggy, a bag of sweets in its hands, Mom behind it, with Dad next to his wife, whose body was twice the size of his. She was the loudest of the two, he walked like a beaten dog. Homeless people were sitting on porches.
For the first time in my life, I felt as if I was in a warzone, or as if I walked on a film set of it.
Things are a lot worse now ...
@Sabrina Belladonna and thatcher got a state funeral for getting the ball rolling.
Yet £8 million a year spent on hotel rooms.
The Netherlands has been experiencing a housing shortage for several years due to a lack of land, lack of construction workers and building materials, and issues with registration regulations. Housing costs in the Netherlands are relatively expensive.Oct 27, 2022
Thats the issue now, but It startend with policy from the VVD many years before that.
I came across this simple explanation of tory politicians, which I copy here. :-
A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a man below. He descended a bit more and shouted: "'Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago but I don't know where I am".
The man below replied "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude".
"You must be a technician." said the balloonist. "I am" replied the man "how did you know?" "Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you have told me is probably technically correct, but I've no idea what to make of your information and the fact is, I'm still lost....
Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip with your talk."
The man below responded, "You must be a Tory politician". "I am" replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"
"Well," said the man "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You have risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems.
The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault!!!
................................................................
Sadly, it fits very well with today's tories.
No it doesn't.
Cool story bro
Love it
That is a great metaphor. 👍
It's so illustrative.Thank you.
The fact that food banks are now normalised is a stain on us all
It IS convenient in a way tho.
The Royal family are the biggest Welfare recipients in the U.K. The British Tax payer funds the Royal bigot
and Racist lifestyle, yet people in the U.K. are struggling to pay household bills, old people can not afford to have their heat on in winter,.
Back to the 30s
Book : Britannia Unchained: 2012
Joint Authors : Liz Truss, Kwasi Kwarteng, Priti Patel,, Dominic Raab & Steve Skidmore.
Quote ‘....... the British are among the worst idlers in the world’.....
@@hahmed6209 I read it when it came out and it was considered to be on the batshit crazy wing of the Tory party by the Tories; it took less than 10 years for it to be the mainstream Tory thinking.
I saw a homeless person in a doorway. I thought I would like to help him. So I travelled to the most affluent part of the town, searched for the largest mansion with the nicest gardens and popped a few hundred pounds through the letterbox. That money should trickle down to help the homeless person I saw earlier. This is Tory policy.
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She seems quite knowledgeable and well-educated. I just Googled her name and found her webpage. Thanks for sharing!
Pm is richer than the monarch. This is the most out of touch parliament has EVER been
And his wife finangled so as not to pay £20 million in taxes to the Treasury. Who are they trying to kid?
@@adscri : the funny bit is that I am convinced you would do exactly the same if you were in their shoes !!
@@franciscouderq1100 👈🤡
@@franciscouderq1100 ‘convinced’
Powerful words.
It's not so much how much he's worth. I don't begrudge the guy for his parents making something of themselves in this country and giving their children a leg up. MP salaries are double or triple that of the average person in the country anyway. It's more so what he does and how he helps, such as more tax on the wealthy and funding where it's needed most. But the money always goes where it doesn't need to, such as in the wealthiest's pockets.
You cannot solve a problem if you refuse to acknowledge its causes
Indeed and n many first world problems are due to too many people thinking money and possessions are what bring bring happiness .
Yep. Country gets what it deserves
You cannot solve a problem if you refuse to acknowledge there is a problem.
Areas like that should never have elected a tory MP.
It's not exactly Millionaire's Row.
It's truly disturbing that masses of areas who never voted in a tory MP until 1979 or 1983 seem to do so every single tlme now.
@@dvidclapperton You could say that about Brexit voters, who's city/ town depends on EU funding, or jobs 😞.
I had never heard of the "bedroom tax" before (not from the UK). I looked it up and couldn't believe what I was reading. That is the most absurd, backwards measure I've ever seen!
It's a con
the british tory party have got the con into a fine artform now - they have been doing it since thatcher their goddess normalized their hatred for the working class of britain
Its because there are thousands of people waiting for bigger homes and a council house is never a forever home
It’s not a tax. It’s the ending of a double subsidy to self entitled people who don’t need or deserve it, can’t understand it, and think they should get a free pass paid for by the workers.
It's not nice but it is fair, this only applies to people renting government subsidised housing that is larger than they need (Eg 1 person in a 3 bed house), this pushes people to move to appropriate accommodation and allows people with larger families to be housed.
I came back to the UK in mid-2020 as I took an offer of fully scholarship-funded PhD in England and since I moved back, I came across endless issues (bureaucratic, administrative, logistical, even social to the extend), even so, I was living continously in the UK before for over a decade and has a resident status. I was so disappointed, despondent and anxious with what I observed. Level of poverty, crime and general helplessness was staggering - post-Brexit reality hit hard with empty shelves and rising prices of goods/services as "replacement" of immigrants was not that easy as many pro-Brexiters believed, pandemic took another toll on society and business, finally, with war in Ukraine came realisation that business/money brought by Russian oligarchs destabilised huge GB economy, making average live of Brits, unsustainable. A few weeks ago, I decided that I no longer feel comfortable and safe to stay and continue my work with the university. Costs of living went up and scholarship remain painfully low (30 gbp more than lowest national average in 2019!) with growing responsibilities and expectations that doesn't seem to correspond with potential benefits of making such professional and personal sacrifices. I decided to withdrawn and take position back in the EU. As much as it saddened me (as being a doctor was my long-lived dream), I felt that I have to be responsible for my future and stability. That's no longer something that I feel I can achieve back in the UK.
High inflation in the EU too. Demonstrations not shown by the BBC /media.
@@verdebritanica How come your water costs 120 euros a month? And food prices aren't so different! Rail tickets are not the same as the UK.
Well you operated in Higher Education so were surrounded by like-minded public sector personnel. A bit of a bubble. Would things be better for you anywhere else? Doubtful.
@@celtspeaksgoth7251 As opposed to you who has nothing to do with HE but knows all about it. What is wrong with the English?
I agree with you and I have made the same experience....👍
"You're having to count every penny, what do you do?" "I'm an accountant" 😂😂
I wished he would have asked her open ended questions rather than make statements like 'so you're having to watch every penny'.
Yup and by definition she is
I am an accountant. My income averages 70k a Yr.
@@jacksoncrate More like a half of what you've said.
@@Kfffu I have my own business. Been doing it 20 yrs.
The only people in this country not left behind are the multi-millionaires and billionaires.
Yes I think we are just going to die of misery.
Don't vote for Tories then
Really? Does that include the multi millionaire socialist, Beer Starmer?
Most people are managing
@@pershorefoodbanktrusselltr3632 whataboutism? Can't you just agree that the tories have been a shitshow and you've been duped?
When I was in the UK in 2017, I was surprised how many homeless people I saw on the streets (London). I'd just come from Canada where there were also masses of homeless people (Vancouver). As a Yank, I always assumed we had the corner on that market. It's clear to me now that the middle class is being wiped out everywhere. You've got your rich and your poor, and that's that.
I think the link is British colonialism and neoliberalism. US, Canada, UK, all linked as being either Britain or former British colonies. There's an arrogance and a disdain for social democracy that seems to link these cultures. They'd rather tear themselves apart than let someone they don't like have something nice.
How many of those homeless were white. Tell that to the migrants who still keep coming on a daily basis, they seem to get put into 4 & 5 star hotels because of their human rights. Us Brits are struggling and have this thrown in our faces every day.
Hi bud can understand the homeless are literally all across the streets.
Also be careful who you givw your money too, I hward some of those who look decent actually have jovs and some homes but still beg, was a documentary somewhere.
Id help someone really struggling or in desperate need but those who are just putting it on, not sure about.
Also London, Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester has loads homeless roaming around.
@@sparrow_6177 Yet you vote for the Tories who do this
Neoliberalism, tricle down economics etc. Doesnt work
The real problem is career politicians who have no benevolent vocation just personal ambition.
The problem is capitalism and the right wing.
'In England, people are just talking. They don't make any changes.'
The man summed up our current situation perfectly. I do wonder if this had been France or Germany, would the people have been so flaccid and spineless in their response? We just endure injustice to extremes and never strike back.
Just shows how well the ''schooling'' is conducted in certain lands.
That's because in Britain people 'know their place'.
@@PanglossDr And some might I add.
Soon ,but way too late, they will see the myths they believed in were all fairy tales
People only act when it affects more people.
The media are portraying this like its affecting everyone to the extreme, and its not. Which is why conservatives keep getting voted in. Think about it.
Most of Britain is working class
@@bensims7501 News flash, most of the world is 'working class'' or should I say new age Serfs?
That chip shop owner is so spot on
'What have we done in the last few months to solve this madness?.... Nothing'
The government is all talk and zero action
Because u have a Left wing govt, the Tory party is more left and corrupt than the Demokkkrats, and that’s saying something.
Keep voting for liberal democracy and you keep getting the same.
The people are no talk and no action. Its not a surprise the government is a reflection of that.
Always keeping calm and carrying on when we should be rioting.
Well, firstly they are getting their wages. Secondly, when their elected, they secretely told what they now have to do, otherwise will send out, I believe. Thirdly, ye, probably new party could try to change it, but not sure about all these reach elites influence on the parties.
Now, now, don't be rude. Sit down politely, have your cup of tea, and everything will sort itself out. Do you see anyone crying at BP Oil? No. Everything will be allright.
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It's a delicate season now, so you can do little or nothing on your own. Hence I will suggest you get yourself a professional that can provide you with entry and exit points on the securities you focus on.
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An excellent documentary, no nonsense, just reality. A portrait of a declining nation.
Indeed : too many in England and in Wales voted brexit (ni and Scotland voted bremain) with a nostalgia for a British empire that no longer exists!!
@@davidlally592 I'm positive that the educated elite wannabes children at uni etc didn't get out of bed in time to vote
Way too busy being a spoiled brat ,no doubt
My family talks about German history daily
Having a PM that is richer than royalty is a serious problem. He is completely disconnected from the plight of the people on the ground.
But so was Boris Johnson and many of the others.
Like the royal family?
Footage of Rishi trying to pay for gas and can of coke at the gas station, not knowing how to do it makes me laugh every time. They are truly detached from reality.
Would you rather have a homeless guy in charge?
The upper classes are begging for a Revolution. When it begins there will be no place to hide. Never vote Tory again.
The man in the chippy is right , people of Britain talk and do nothing about it and now we have an unelected prime minster with him and his cabinet only being ministers for seven years and now front bench ,
We don't elect a PM, we elect a party and the party decides who is PM. Its a parliamentary system.
The French would have burned a lot of things by now
@@MarcLucksch yes totally , Uk People just talk gossip and complain and do nothing whilst the ruling elite just laughs
@@MarcLucksch Not just the French. This is outrageous for any European country.
The British just love muddling through.
THIS...
Is what real journalism looks like.
Telling THE TRUTH.
If you are reading this, know that you are worthy of anything you desire. Most times it amazes me greatly how I moved from an average lifestyle to earning over $63k per month, Utter shock is the word. I have understood a lot in the past few years that there are lots of opportunities in the financial market. The only thing is to know where to invest…
I keep wondering how people earn money in financial markets, i tried trading bitcoin on my own made a huge loss and now I'm scared of investing more.
@@bjoe631 That won't bother you if you trade with a professional like *Mr Gary Mason Brooks* my consultant. I found him on a CNBC interview where he was featured and reached out to him afterwards. He has since provide entry and exit points on the securities I focus on. I basically follow his trade pattern and haven’t regretted doing so.
@@dralfred2400 You allow people to trade for you? that's interesting, I would love to learn, hope it’s safe..?
@@bjoe631 It's 100% safe,I basically do nothing but collect profits, he was able to get me in early on most of these stocks and I exited just at the right time, his analysis was really on point.
@@dralfred2400 I'm glad I stumbled on this today, how do I get in touch with him?
Everyone tries not to mention the elephant in the room.....The unending harm that Brexit has done and continues to do to the UK.
@@Millie.com232 we're all cheap
I wonder whether some people are blaming covid?
@@tonychorley4936 i wish someone would've told me brexit would destroy the world economy.
how will the rest of the world ever forgive us....
who is this?
It was like this before brexit. Brexit has made it worse
This always happens under Tory govts. I remember the 1980s, I was a student in relatively affluent Brighton and travelled up north on Union business. I was shocked, driving through entire industrial estates all locked and boarded up, whole estates a picture of dereliction, shopping centers all closed. It happens every 30-40 years.
Not true. There was a Labour government in the 1970's and Britain had to go to the IMF for help. It was a lot worse than this.
@@errolmichaelphillips7763 They went to the IMF because of how much debt the outgoing tory government accumulated
@@jurz995 Labour was there from 1964 to 1970 and the Conservatives from 1970 to 1974. The Labour Party regained power in 1974 and the IMF went in. It is difficult to say who was truly responsible.
@@errolmichaelphillips7763 you say it was the Labour government, the next comment proves you wrong, you say 'it's hard to tell who it was'. Classic Tory u-turn.
@@NathanNoodles It's hard to tell because Britain had been struggling since WWII. By the way, I'm not a Tory supporter. I'm not British either.
It's not just the people it's the environment, nothing is maintained and everything is falling apart.
I could watch an hour of this, John. It's cracking stuff.
It is only when people who still have homes, still have “respectable” jobs and social status begun to feel any pain that the stress and insecurity of poverty is acknowledged as real.
Brutal but absolutely true.
THIS. Only when the comfortable are made to feel uncomfortable will there be outrage.
outstanding analysis thanx
@@EMSpdx so well said! thank you
Of course. There will always be the less fortunate and relatively poor in a society. I don’t think it’s possible to eliminate poverty on a large scale
Thank you John Harris for allowing people to speak on their own behalf, and be heard.
A priceless series this.
Yes fully agree, certainly a terrific recording of social history
@@chrisbates7743 hopefully we can watch it back in twenty years and it is better for our kids when they have kids
Glad to see another ep in this series! I got so much out of watching Anywhere But Westminster a few years ago. Thank you!
I am from the US I have been watching many shows on the crisis in UK and stunned at the rules, taxes and lack of laws to protect the people. It is horrible that the Royal Monarchy has so much and takes even more from the people. The Council Tax is absurd. Even the poorest have to pay even if they own nothing.
US is no better.
You pay property tax in the US its similar to council tax I'm just an ordinary working bloke and fortunately i don't know any one who uses a foodbank nor do my work colleagues
Definitely just as bad in US, which layers on opioid/fentanyl crisis, rising food/energy costs, crime/violence, on top of low wages + lack of affordable housing.
Not to mention medical bankruptcy in the US
The UK is a carbon copy of the USA.
Glad this is back. Shows the reality of what we are going through.
Get the tories out
... . ,it's hard to explain. Jacob is mad because he didn't get the ok to move out. I don't know why . Our lawyer is bugged because she thinks social services is against us.
@@politics392 yes and get labour out
@@gege4707 and in labour
@@gege4707 and in to power yea
I love these videos so much. It's such a feet on the ground series that focuses on the everyday person, and while it's heart-breaking to hear how hopeless people feel about their futures, from families to business, it's nice to know that there is some people letting everyday folk have a voice. Great video as usual.
This has actually brought a couple tears to my eyes.
thatchers diabolical legacy. privatisation and today's brexit is profoundly immoral. along with arrogant corrupt tories.
I don't why the bbc aren't does this type of thing.
@@Rik77 Maybe because they focus on reporting from a certain point of view, and that's not a man/woman in the street type of view.
its heartbreaking. The obesity epidemic.
Two books from a bygone era come to mind:
How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn and
Love on the Dole by
Dodie Walters. Both books deal with precisely these conditions during the Great Depression in the thirties. In America John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. The days of wine and roses are truly over.
Thanks for mentioning these books.
Love on the dole was written by Walter Greenwood, published in 1933.
And you forgot 😱 The Ragged Trousered Plilanthropists' by Robert Tressell, which I think is the most pertinent of all.
Even then folks didn`t go to food banks..Books. Germinal -Zola, says all.
The #1 priority for everyone right now should be investing in non-government alternative income sources. specifically in light of the present global economic crisis. Nowadays, investments in stocks, oil, and virtual currencies are still appealing.
I keep wondering how people earn money in financial markets, i tried trading bitcoin on my own made a huge loss and now I'm scared of investing more.
@@bjoe631 That won't bother you if you trade with a professional like *Sarah Alma Martinez* my coach, you may have come across her on interviews relating to bitcoin and stocks. She trades, manage trading account and offer mentorship program for clients who wish to become professional investors.
@@BeverlyTalley You allow people to trade for you? that's interesting, I would love to learn, hope it’s safe?
Wow I can't believe you guys are discussing about Sarah Alma Martinez.
@@susanhaynes679 Well this not my first time of seeing this name on social platform. A CNBC news host spoke highly of this lady and her trading strategies. Do you know her ? if yes , did you invest with her.?
It has been pretty obvious for years that the UK was going to struggle at some point. I am surprised it has taken so long. Look at the trade deficit. It is absolutely massive and has been for years and years. Everything in the UK is imported yet it has little to sell to the rest of the world. The place is the epitome of a fools paradise. Yet few in the UK seem to even realise it let alone begin to get to grips with it. It is all short-termism and hype over substance. Unfortunately the two options going forward are the current complacency and dishonesty leading towards an Argentina style impoverishment or the slow and steady grind of rebuilding the economy and national capabilities. Even if the second path is followed it will result in a fall in living standards for the population and years of frustration. Will that be politically sustainable with a population so unprepared for reality?
Coupled with the sanctions against Russia that provided cheap energy to EU 🇪🇺.
It can only get worse.
You said it like it is.
Brexit and the Tories, that's the UK's Problems.
There's always more than two options
Get the tories out
My husband is English and I'm American. We live on continental Europe, and every time we visit the UK things seem to be, well, sadder. So many closed shops, so many people who look like they've been left out and left behind. We couldn't live the lifestyle we currently live in Austria were we to move to the UK unless we earned perhaps triple what we do now. Wouldn't want to try.
Maybe it's not that they were left behind, but they couldn't be bothered to keep pace?
I live in Croydon. I swear, the number of beggars on the streets, on my commutes on trains, have only gone up over the years.
Austria, where the middle classes are collecting firewood from the forests to heat their homes.
@@piggypiggypig1746 What you will find is that it's happening in UK as well.
@@piggypiggypig1746 I am in Austria and never heard of that. My mother on her small pension has no problem buying all her wood herself. Scavenged wood from the forest would make terrible firewood, especially if you do not dry it properly for months and years. You'd want proper, dry logs - or pellets.
I grew up in Basinggrad. It was always pretty awful, but I visited my mother the other week and it was heartbreaking.
It sounds energizingly energy depleting . Where is that rope ..?
Yea, I wouldn't say it was a largely affluent area like he said in the video, Winchester maybe.
@@8G00SE8 Basingstoke is a largely affluent area, we see South Ham, Oakridge, Popley and Buckskin and think it's all run down, but compared to similar like area's in the North, it honestly isn't. But 2002/03 Basingstoke was/Is 1000x nicer, wealthier than it is today.
I visited GB in 2019 and was amazed at the social disconnect and the feeling of being in a 3rd world country. On my return to Australia l literally kissed the ground thankful that we lead a much higher standard of living.
No you didn’t kiss the ground
Lol not for long. Australia is going down the tubes too.
I moved here ( Australia) 5 months ago from Ireland I can tell you the standard of living is a lot better here.
@@cathalhanrahan7490 Make sure you stay there then
tony blair an the labour partys dream invite the 3rd world here for free handouts
As a Dane, it's so odd to me how fish and chips shops import cod from Denmark, and we don't even have fish and chips shops over here.
Man, fish was mostly from Russia) So, technically it is a wars against ourselves. Britain send money, wepoan to Ukraine, sanctioned Russian fish, gas, oil, etc. So now all these goods prices gone up. All these done for USA sake only and may be other reason to destroy EU. Why they so care about Russia and Ukraine, that they forgot about its own country and people?
Wow. Just wow 😳
Why do the UK have to import fish from Denmark, there are plenty of fish in the sea? there are plenty of potatoes in the UK. Its bonkers.
Precisely why you have so much Cod LOL!!!!
Honestly, my landlady is a saint. She has not increased my rent and I could probably pay a little bit more if needed. Renters are at the mercy of a kind landlord but they do exist.
But they don’t have to be. I live in a place where rent increases are subject to laws based on livability. There are still problems but nothing like you
Landlords are at the mercy of jad tenants
@@chbry1050 no they're not. they really aren't.
My son landlady is also a saint 🙏 very rare but feel blessed in these harsh times
Mortgagees at the mercy of Bankers. There’s no end to it.
A bedroom tax?! Lol only in the Anglophone world can this bs happen. Glad to live in continental Europe.
..and TV..
Brexit fans: The UK doesn't need the EU. We can survive on our own! The conservative party will represent us!
Liz Truss: Hold my beer.
Conservative party: We love the people of the UK. We have to represent the working class.
Liz Truss: Hold my beer.
Five Conservative Prime Ministers, all from the Conservative party. All failed.
All LIARS more like.
@@sparrow_6177 lIKE THIS FOOTAGE fROM A lABOUR RAG
STILL BETTER THAN anything Labour have to offer Posho minted sir keir, Raynor up the duff at 15, David Lammy Abbott and Dawn Butler all racists They are the biggest failures in the whole country NEVER LABOUR hOLD mY bEER
nobody cares about working people in the world, nowadays
Watching this you can see the UK property bubble in action. Empty properties all over the place being held by greedy investors and estate agents who artificially inflate prices, while honest hard working people are being charged for the extra bedrooms they have, which is, at best, a finger in the dam by the Conservative government for this property bubble problem.
The thing that these investors and seemingly the government haven't realised is that it isn't just smaller towns and cities that have been hit by the property bubble. High Streets and offices in London are empty now, while rents remain inflated, in a post pandemic time when new things should be opening up, they are closing down. In what should be a time of growth and prosperity after the worst of this pandemic, instead we are seeing more places close down or remain empty.
Landlords don't need to adapt to the current economic change, they can leave a property empty for years without being penalised for their damaging actions towards the local community. Property investors have even less motivation to lower their rents to fill their properties. We need actually regulation to ensure property is being used. That it isn't being left empty for investment purposes. That it's helping the community. And that local businesses, renters and home owners aren't being priced out of their homes by the UK property bubble.
The first time I lived in scarborough, about 12 years ago Game closed down, the rent is so high it is still closed now and the space haws never been let.
Foreign Investors should not be tolerated and allowed to spike the rent at will especially against the English. These foreign investors don't care about the local population like a Federal Government should. I personally feel England and other countries on the island should have remained in the EU. UNITY is the key for Europe.
That's called business
Somebody here in LA proposed a "vacancy tax." That got shut down quickly. But it might be the answer.
Estate agents don’t artificially inflate prices, estate agents battle day in day out with clients to bring their prices down. My husband runs an estate agents and about 95% of the work he does goes unpaid. He works 7 days a week until he goes to bed, he deals with so much from people like you wouldn’t believe. He can spend months on a property, dealing with the sellers day in day out, invest £500 of his own money into marketing their property and then they can just pull out and change their minds.
Yes some agents will try and inflate prices to win the business, but in that case they’ll be working twice as hard to sell it and it will always have to come down in price anyway . But these are usually the bargain basement estate agents like purple bricks that do that. Not your local estate agents on the high street.
Sorry for my rant but I think estate agents get bad name for no reason. If you want to be angry at anyone be angry at solicitors who are paid ridiculous amounts to do nothing and are usually the cause of houses falling through because they can never be bothered to pull their fingers out and do their job.
"For every complex problem, there is a solution which is clear, simple, and wrong."
It astounds me how the British press avoids mentioning Brexit as a major underlying cause for this recession. It's like the whole country wants to be in denial, 'nothing to see here, I see the unicorns all around, yes, thank you'.
Yes 100%
It doesn't because it's not. Ever wondered why most of the world is in recession and seeing rising prices?
Personally, I think the EU vote wasn't about the future prosperity of the UK but which group of countries we would allow to eat our remains.
Because it's not the problem. There are other much more pressing problems.
Brexit was a mistake.
The main shopping centre in my city, one of the first in the country built in the mid 80s, sold for £110 million 15 years ago.
It's almost empty and currently up for sale for £7 million, it's a ghost town now, he's right that charity shops are all that's left.
This situation is caused by retail going online and the existence of chain stores for electrical goods etc. where most of the supply activity is done at remote warehouses and the shops only act as a display front and place to accept payments for goods ordered. In some cases people go to a shop to see a particular item and get all the info on it and see what it is like. THEN they shop online at a different suppliers website who can offer the item cheaper by avoiding having a town centre shop and retail advisors and the expense these things incur.
I have noticed a lot of department stores such as Debenhams, etc have closed down in recent years and some other Irish stores have also gone. Unlike in the past these have not been replaced and their premises now lie empty.
@@jgdooley2003 yeah, online had a massive impact, the one I always think of is HMV, going from so popular to beyond salvageable.
I'm not really sure what can be done, but the empty space really needs to be dealt with, windows have been smashed, they're falling apart, even if they were levelled and allowed to be green spaces for kids for a while would be better than what is currently happening.
@@jay252589 It amazes me that HMV are still struggling on, I don't own a single physical copy of any music, game or movie now. Streamed or on hard drive. HMV's customers must be just old people.
Ready for new builds to be built on, owned by the Tory Chums
@@jgdooley2003 In Belgium (and the EU) businesses seem to have adapted rather smoothly to online shopping offering both online and physical shops. There will always be people who prefer "real" shopping.
I feel like social media has blinded a lot of people about the serious problems that's happening in the UK. There is genuine despair around the country yet people blissfully ignore it and bury their heads in Tiktok, instagram, youtube and Netflix and pretend everything is all right when it isn't. People 30-40 years ago wouldn't have never stood for this epic disaster.
What else can we do?
Gov is actively discrediting unions, reducing the freedoms of protesting, increasing the powers of policing protests and looking to clear up all the working regs that were brought in from the EU that is 'bad for business'...
It's no big leap to say we could be soon adopting the American system of, no annual leave, no sick pay, little to no maternity/paternity, less protection from firing redundancies and no unionisation.
And we can't do anything about it, we british are too passive and easily lead.
Luckily, we've not left one of the biggest free markets for goods and labour, so leaving the UK is real easy...
They did... They accepted neoliberalism
That's the plan, keep people busy on social media.
Absolutely true. People are so delusional.
So let me put it this way, as a 24 year old who can expect at most to make about 24k a year, where is the incentive to even try when this is all I can expect to live like?
The intensive is to afford utilities, food and rent.
@@silver4831 what about a fulfilling life? Where did that go?
@@sirdetmist3204 I may have thought that when I was 20 but now I realise its basically survival and finding that small corner of peace.
@@silver4831 yeah it's not worth the effort, it shows how far the country has degraded.
Being dead is better than "surviving".
Life is a journey and death is its destination why take the journey if there is nothing in it worth the effort or time?
@@sirdetmist3204 Worth the effort? We all got to survive it's no choice. Unless you want to be homeless. 🤷🏼♀️ And don't give me all that death nonsense, if you honestly feel that way you need to seek help.
Everytime i visit UK, i see increasing construction projects, people are driving cool electric cars, fancy restaurants etc. but it seems wealth is not distributed even
All the wealth is in London no where else
@@mistermood4164 ever been to Sunningdale or Wentworth?
It's a vast disparity
spot on
Distributive justice is only ever talked about (or written about), unfortunately. All are in agreement that it is non-existent. They argue about the best way to deal with it and that is all.
Yeah but, Brexit and Farage said "we would do just fine"?!
I just want me Brexit 😮
If you think that's the only cause of the economic crisis, you have no idea about economics.
@@brandon3872 yeah but Nigel said...
Brexit hasn’t really happened or we could get rid of the 1000’s of illegal immigrants without the ECHR telling us we can’t
@@Anakin130506 created by Churchill
I live in Basingstoke and our tory mp has been the same one since i can remember. nobody ever sees her around town and she doesnt do anything of note to help local issues like our football team being booted out of there stadium due to the land owners wanting flats to go there instead.. hopefully things will change in the next GE but i doubt it as alot of people just complain but dont vote for opposite parties
Should have a PR voting system. Far better and fairer that first post system.
@@Boatman607 i agree 100%
So do something about it ffs be proactive and get a load of people together and see what happens
Obviously unlike the Gov, the land owners of the pitch understood that there is a demand for more housing , hence profit to be made.
Vote her out then..do smth
You had 12 years to sort it out omg
Until the UK brings in proportional representation, these problems will persist.
2 simple rules for life;
No.1 - Never trust a tory
No.2 - Never forget rule number 1
Get the tories out
No.3 vote tory anyway coz you're fik
No3. Chase the free handouts Labour dish out and don't bother to work
@@Chris67688 .Labour gives support to those at the bottom....Tories reserve the free handouts to their wealthy chums and multi-nationals.
@@Chris67688 the free handouts to massive corporations and the tax cuts to the super wealthy? Or the £600 a month for the sick and disabled who had to pay into the system their entire lives (as well as their friends and family) previously?
I can't believe what is happening in Britain, the biggest problem I have is with the voters who continually vote for Tory politicians. They are literally inflicting untold pain and suffering on their fellow citizens. How do they sleep at night?
I have been a regular Tory voter since 2015 and they have lost my vote for the foreseeable future
They sleep knowing that people slightly less better off than they are suffer slightly more than they do. It's the spiteful demographic of the "I'm fine, Jack's".
@@markf9761 Better late than never, I suppose.
They are stories, they don't care. Waitrose? Go and interview in poor areas.
@@TalesOfWar I've often posted similar. The phrase is "I'm alright, Jack". There was a black and white film of that name but from a different angle. Many decades ago, I read an article about a psychology experiment that showed most people feel best when they can look at a near neighbour and think they are better off than that neighbour. You might be poor, sick, etc but, if you can see someone else a bit poorer, you feel better. It works the other way, too. You may be very wealthy but, if you are near someone even better off, you don't get satisfaction from your own wealth. Lots of comedy uses this foible.
I lived in London for 4 years in the 90's, before heading out of Europe. I am heartbroken to see the Uk in such a state, not only physical but morally. Brexit has a lot to play in todays situation. Unfortunately, I am afraid that we are witnessing the beginning of a downward spiral.
Whats going on here has been slowly brewing for decades now. England have for a very long time now been one of the most unequal contries in europe.
Exiting the union and covid was just the last straw. English society and economics simply could not deal with it and now things are falling apart, and will continue so for as long as it doesn't see any signifigant reforms.
You know I used to think we were a down to earth pragmatic nation, ‘sensible’ I think sums it up that’s why I thought that Brexit had no chance. I went into the Brexit debate really late I had avoided the news for months but I can honestly say I looked as objectively as possible on the pros and cons and just couldn’t see anything but disaster. I failed to understand we are the victims of misinformation as much as the U.S and we may think our education system is superior but I beg to differ. It was all about nostalgia for a time that never was and yes, tabloid diarrhoea and that old affliction xenophobia. I’m afraid we did get the government we deserved. Let’s hope we can learn from this dreadful experience.
Projected an image of “sensible”. There was always a sense of extreme entitlement and exceptionalism. In the last quarter of a century, Britain has become emotionally incontinent as well. Losing it’s mind collectively over Diana’s death, every second show on television being “Great British something or other”, Windrush, the disgusting brexit campaign and voting to leave the EU, queueing for 30 hours to walk past the queen’s coffin.
That’s not the actions of a rational people. It’s unhinged.
You need to free your mind
Yeah but the world doesn’t deserve the environmental consequences of your deserved nonsense
Probably the most clear-sighted comment ever posted by an English person, ever.
Looking from the other side of the world, and having family in the UK, I agree with the first reply. Regrettably, your comment is one of the most inciteful I've read in the whole sorry Brexit saga. How the Uk could cut themselves off from the world's largest trading block is utterly beyond my comprehension. In Australia, we're trying to get a free trade agreement with the EU. You had one and you threw it away.
11:28 His no to "would you vote conservative again" was so quick and hurt.
no he will vote labour and be allowed to sit on his backside all day...
My main home is in Basingstoke and my second is Hornsea, East Yorkshire. the town has gone downhill and is not affluent. Many people who work here are in service industry care home jobs and can barely afford to live from month to month. BUT the nail shops, pubs, betting shops and vape shops r full. People smoke and drink so I have to ask people: WHERE R YOUR FINANCIAL PRIORITIES? People are not the brightest stars in the sky in Basingstoke and I find the town to be very working class. I have always been careful with money and do not frequent the above businesses. It is a London-overspill town that has gone terribly wrong.
Large cod from a chippy in Cardiff is 4 quid. I have no idea why they're blaming Brexit for £7 cod. They need to look at themselves before they blame Brexit and anyone else.
What I have noticed is a lot of things in supermarkets are going up in one day by 40p ,50p a pound, everything is going up quite a lot without explanation.
Here to!! Its bizar!
there is an explanation, one the media is constantly ignoring; we are being price gouged and taken advantage of while our government runs disinformation for the corporations getting record high profits
Yhh! Milk prices have been affected the most! Every fortnight, the price goes up by 5pence (for the 2 litre size).
It's called price gouging. Lots of shop are doing home bargains herons b&m iceland and the big supermarkets all do it here an example a certain brand off flap jack in home bargains went up overnight from 29p to 49p then when the people stopped buying it they reduced it 10 p I'm not picking on that shop in particular its purely an example they all try it on.. 🇬🇧👍
@@originalunoriginal4055 it’s absolutely off it init when the price of milk goes up that often and fast it’s time to panic or at least for some/most 🇬🇧
I'm sure the majority of people who are currently moaning about high living costs must be queuing to vote for Tories over the last 12 years. As Joseph de Maistre once said, "Every nation gets the government it deserves."
Things may change this time.
Joseph de Maistre's statement works in a functional democracy with decent institutions at the very most
@@ruairievans I sincerely hope 🤞
that might be true in a country with a PR voting system but in the UK it is FPTP. so, the Conservatives got an 80 seat majority and with a smaller share of the vote. Now what do you think of Maistre's hog wash?
The working class love voting against their interests.
Politicians no matter where they are completely out of touch with reality in real life 😢
You said it! 👍👍👍
Some countries have politicians that endeavour to help their people though.
@@amh9494 There are a lot of lazy people out there!
@@5rings16 are you saying homosexuals are lazy? I might have to report you.
@@amh9494 Yes I am! If you must know! LOL
"You do it to yourself, you do. And that's why it really hurts. Is that you do it to yourself, just you. You and no one else. You do it to yourself" ♪ ♪
Scotland needs to leave the UK before it goes bust.
Would if I could but we can't. Supreme Court says we are not even allowed a referendum unless Westminster says so.
@@pingupenguin2474 you dont get your independence by asking nicely! you have to fight for it
This is only the beginning. The worst is yet to come.
This is hardly only the beginning. Enforced austerity by a callous and selfish government started this 12 years ago and people have been too thick to actually vote for a different party and it makes me incandescent with rage.
Thanks for informing us on what's going on in the U.K. I would like to see more of this about what's going on in other parts of the country.
(I may - not clear yet - just have stumbled upon a local guy who's been living in a camper van for about half a year so that he doesn't have to pay rent or mortgage and can keep his business afloat. This is 50 miles from Basingstoke.)
@@angelinasouren Listen to UK doctor is a shadow of his former self on LBC UA-cam. The U.K medical professionals are even suffering.
@@lornawilliams8761 Yes, a lot of medical staff is leaving to start working at places like Amazon. They get better pay there.
Thats Brexit Effect... mostly.. You just can't admit to yourself...... There is a proverb in Turkish. 'The one who falls does not cry.'
This is what happens when you live on an island that widely ignores that they are just a ( small ) part of the world.
Small part of the world yet it is the 5th or 6th largest economy in the world. Hardly insignificant.
@@harrychown6854 yet clearly it is insignificant. No one needs the UK, the UK however isn’t in that same privileged position.
Do they? That's not the impression I get. Perhaps you are projecting your Anglophobic prejudices while ignoring the evidence to the contrary.
@@harrychown6854 yet it can't afford to train up doctors and nurses or teachers, can't afford to feed its people, can't afford to build roads, high speed railway infrastructure, schools, hospitals, build houses....
Small? Teeny tiny, more like.
6:30 'Like an accelerated prime ministership' Not wrong there, so prophetic!
This is journalism at its best in my opinion 👏🏿
“That come back as a morale issue, do you want to treat people like dirt or do you actually respect people” sums up this Tory government that statement
More! People need to see more of this. The consequences of all that has come before this.
That video is so accurate I live in old Basingstoke and sometimes I run through the business estate and there are a lot of empty buildings
It's only just starting
@@redboyjan True that.
@@TheRealDeal130 take care of you and yours 🤙🏼
Majority of Brits voted Tory party and the Majority voted Brexit. Today they are enjoying the results, but not so positive outcome for all.
Brexit didnt cause this
Thanks, Guardian. We could have had Corbyn. You put this lot in. Well done. Why aren’t you claiming credit, Guardian?
I wonder how many of they interviewees voted for Brexit and felt (believed) that being poorer was worth it for the "sovereignty"?? Now that reality is biting what do they think of a hard Brexit they got?
Well presumably some people fall into that category. But so what ? Most people understood that Brexit would be a long term project when they voted . And many of our current problems aren’t necessarily due to Brexit .
@@Lifelongloser how is it that Northern Ireland is not suffering the same economic damage? Nothing to do with being in the Single Market and Customs union?
Or buy/read The Guardian..
@@Lifelongloser “Long term project” beyond beyond the rest of your lives?
Don’t worry this project will be abandoned, once the EU let’s you back in.
@Lou Smith so.. Uk are in this situation. Welcome brexit
Brexit was a huge mistake & the faster UK rectifies that mistake the faster it recovers-UK was part of a 600 million market & now we are just some small forgotten island
I guess some people value other things more than money
@@roncoots3800 like sovereignty and blue passports (made in France)?
@@roncoots3800 they won't when they don't have enough money to buy food and heating 😬
Lack of border control food checks
All the pain just for stopping the FOM…
Reminds me of whats happening in my country, Sri Lanka. Except that inflations at 65% and pekole are looking to escape to England!
Minus the cold ofc. English have to worry about increased heating costs as well.
We go through daily powercuts
What is the point in coming over here, check before you do because they are putting migrants in tents. England is not all it cut out to be. I am British and would leave in a heartbeat if I could afford to.
It's not just "England" the rest of the UK are suffering
I lost my motorbike in that car park! I've no sense of direction, it's not helped when it all looks the same.
The chip shop owner is right. We just take a beating and accept it.
Kind of like the cod he's preparing. We get dropped in the hot oil, we sizzle, but we don't do anything. We're like dead fish.
@@berniethekiwidragon4382 stand up.
Quiet desperation is the English way- Pink Floyd
Yes he knows his plaice in life.
I am from the U.S, the economy is no better here with rising costs of everything, mainly housings and food. Gun violence is out of control. England has always been a great interest with fascinating places to visit back in the early 80s and 90s. It's hard to view Britain that alot has changed, nothing is the same anymore. The economy and the global pandemic crippled our way of life.
Covid has absolutely nothing to do with it. Its merely energy and supermarkets being greedy. They're making billions in profit and taking from those that can't afford to give. Very shortly people will resort to crime to be able to afford to buy what they need.
Blame Brexit. Every single bad thing in the whole world, is Brexit 😢
Basingstoke was a very prosperous town in 20-th century, but now... It's very depressing indeed.
Heartbreaking
This is very well produced and enlightening. Thank you.
Easily pleased
Please note kids, in the interest of balance, John Harris was one of the most ardent anti-Corbyn supportors. Imagine what kind of Govt we could have had if we won the GE? Quelle surprise this is happening under tory rule.
Aye cos Seumas Milne is clearly a working class hero . . . . .
Why on earth would you leave one of the planet's largest trading blocks?
Racism.
All the people in that food bank queue? They voted for the tories because they wanted to leave the EU.
Who will be the first politician to come out and admit Brexit was a big mistake?
Brexit didn't create poverty its not the exit we wanted or voted for.
@@RandomnessTube. was the brexit you wanted on the 2016 ballot? If not, then why did you vote for it?
@@RandomnessTube. Brexit was a show of hands for racists and xenophobes.
@@RandomnessTube. Can you tell me which Brexit did you vote for ?
@@RandomnessTube. It's increased my partners business costs in basic food product trade. This very directly trickle down to consumers with a 25 % increase in price. Thats after all other current factors are taken into account. Its just fact. Brexit has made the poor poorer.
Pulling out of the Worlds biggest Trade Market was super intelligent
But it was about their "freedom". Lol. Freedom has a cost and now it's being paid.
Our anger at the inequalities in our society that has been brewing for decades was used as a weapon against us, turned against the impoverished and immigrants via austerity and Brexit respectively. I don't see Tory voters or Brexit voters as enemies (some of my family and friends vote those ways), but as victims like the rest of us that are manipulated by false promises that these awful measures will lead to a better society.
THIS VID JUST CONFIRM HOW THE BRITS UNDERESTIMATED THE DEVASTATING CHOICE OF BREXIT.
“Growing the pie”. How do you grow the pie when you’ve cut off your access to all the ingredients?
Love these videos, they're the best thing the guardian puts out because they just let people talk.
chosen people
@@alanhall2795 I've heard pretty diverse opinions and they've visited a lot of places and just stopped random people. Yes you can edit anything obviously but this doesn't seem that way.
If we are being honest, we need to admit this isn't just the fault of one party. Its the entire governing class.
Yes Tories and New Labour. 40 years of managed decline.
@@matthewcoombs3282 The country has been looted, people are trying to get out with what they can.
It’s also partially the fault of a socialized mentality - the UK is well known for lots of people living off the dole or single parent benefits. And where’s the daddies ?? Why aren’t they paying for the children they created?
@@tutttutt9558 The multiplication of the zeros of humanity will lead to the collapse of society.
No, they are just the meatpuppets of the real power brokers. It is the bankers who are the root of all of this evil.
No one here has commented on how poverty affects children, or how they can get out of the spiral of their parents despair. It leads to mental health issues later on in life, and unless you can afford private treatment mental health gets worse and worse.
lol that Tory conference aged well.
I could watch your videos all day John. Real life as it plays out. Nothing filtered or varnished. These are quite priviliged encounters and conversations.There's no wonder that many people have stopped voting.