Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

I have never met an American who did not enjoy visiting, being relocated to or stationed in the UK. Today I still hear conflicting opinions about life in general with regards to immigration, taxes, opportunity, the longterm economy etc and would like to hear your opinions.

Thanks

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Having just moved from the UK, even though I'm only 21 I'm quite glad I left.

We were promised a referendum on the EU and we never got it.
We have an inept leader who we didn't vote for.
The ordinary man is fed up and voting for the disgusting BNP.
Expense FRAUD + THEFT, is widespread in government across most parties.
Criminals have more rights than ever before (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...er-heaven.html)
15% VAT was a complete waste of money + time in reality.
Bin collections every other week.
Just a few things that irritate me in the few months before I left!

On the flip side:
NHS has vastly improved over the past few years!

I'm too annoyed by the bad points to think of any good points now!

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

I’m not sure I understand why people get so worked up about this – it’s not like he came to power in a coup, or even violated any rules or laws to become PM, and I don’t remember anybody making a similar fuss when John Major first became PM without the electorate having any say in the matter.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

That line confused me too..how the hell did he get in if nobody voted him in? Maybe not him, but obviously the 'majority'.

It's the same here though, when I hear my friends complaining about Obama now, I just smile and say "You voted him in"!:p

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

it's just the way our parliamentary system works - the leader of the majority party is the PM, and the parties themselves can have their own internal mechanisms to decide who gets to be the leader of that party. There's nothing nefarious about it.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

It also works the other way. When people were complaining about Bush to me (in the UK) I would say (in all honesty of course) "I didn't vote for him.....";):D Either way at least he wasn't put in office without being elected....

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

If only you hadn't quoted the Daily Mail, you were on to a winner. :D

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Very true :)

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Personally, I love the UK and have no issues - but we live in a very nice area, which many are not lucky enough to do.

It's a beautiful country, lots of history and culture, excellent NHS (used it several times in past few years and each time been brilliant), proximity to Europe, my husband has a good job, we have freedom of speech, our local school is excellent (14 pupils in my daughter's class), my children can go to uni for vastly subsidised cost, it's safe (no experience of yobs or crime here), no dangerous weather, polite people, our children play safely out in the street, etc. And we still get our bins collected weekly!

We have a very nice life here and are only moving abroad for a few years because of hubby's job - certainly wouldn't want to live abroad forever but a big part of that is being very close to our families. But as I said we live in a very nice, fairly affluent area, and I'm sure that those in inner cities may feel very differently.

All in all though, a fab place to live and most people realise just how great it is when they move abroad and realise that everywhere has it's problems. The grass is rarely greener and anyway, the grass here is usually covering some very beautiful scenery. ;):D

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Great to see a positive post about the UK :thumbsup:

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

I think the UK is good or bad, largely depending on where you live.. of course the yanks love it - they are only visiting in the majority of cases. And being a tourist is VERY different from actually living there.

Having just come back from a 2 week visit there, I am very pleased that it confirmed we made the right decision in moving to the US.

The town we used to live in, is filled with chavs and gangs of "yoof" on every street corner, and is a very intimidating place to be. It was a little like that before we left, but I didnt think it was as bad as I just saw it!

With the economy as it is, shops are shutting down everywhere, jobs are hard to come by, reposessions left right and centre, crappy government (although isn't it always?) etc etc.

On the other hand, it still has some beautiful contryside, culture and history unmatched by few other countries, and some pretty decent food! And clouds! I forgot how pretty they can be (esp when not black and leaking!)

In essence - remove / avoid the nasty towns and the chav/ yobs, and its a pretty nice country.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

[QUOTE=Chrissywissy100;7836876]of course the yanks love it - they are only visiting in the majority of cases. And being a tourist is VERY different from actually living there.

Having just come back from a 2 week visit there, I am very pleased that it confirmed we made the right decision in moving to the US. QUOTE]

You wouldn't generalize that after reading most of the posts on the MMBTUK board, or from some of the Brits on here either;)

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

You'll find some on each side I think.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...&postcount=173

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Which in itself is fair enough as these are the conditions at the outset, but I disagree with how Mandelson has finagled his way back into public office completely unelected.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Poor old Gordon Brown....he will go down in history next year as the Prime Minister who never won a General Election, a PM who was a PM by default, you might say.....Tony's sidekick who stepped into a breach after Tony sailed off into a very lucrative sunset elsewhere. It's not strictly true that "nobody voted our Gordon in" - true enough the electorate at large didn't vote him into the office of Prime Minister - the Labour Party hierarchy did the job so he took the job, a job which he will be well and truly out of this time next year, with his freshly printed P45 in his hot little hand.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

:D:D:D This is so funny...here in Edinburgh we get loads and loads of American tourists, and of all those I actually met in one way or another, and had a wee bit of a chat with from time to time, I never, ever met a single one who admitted to voting for George Bush! They all said "they didn't vote for the guy!" Does that mean all those Americans who actually voted for Bush never actually leave the United States?

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Does this surprise you? :lol:

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Towards the end of his presidency 80% of the US voting population denied voting for 'the boy who would be king'.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Could you help me out by saying what you consider Britain's "better days" to be?

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Of course it is. Economically the country is all but in a debtor's prison with 50 squillion in debt and not a hope of repaying it in 100 years or so. Politically, it's a spent force with little influence on the global stage, and getting further isolated from neighbours in Europe, while all the MP's can do is line their pockets and not have the decency to put their hands up when caught. Militarily, it cannot even adequately equip our troops or defend the borders from wave after wave of illegal immigration, etc, etc, etc.

I've never met a visitor, American or otherwise, who did not enjoy a visit anyplace safe knowing they have an option to leave.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

You mean like the US Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Agriculture........... - need I go on?

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

There you go asking me hard questions again!:confused:

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

http://www.visualeconomics.com/gdp-v...bt-by-country/
This is quite an interesting graph - the UK doesn't look so bad compared to much or Europe or the US and Canada

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

the third comment down sums it all up rather nicely

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

It's still bad compared to a few years ago when it sat around 28% of GDP, and the govt's accounting is dodgy at best as they ignore the impact of pension contributions and PFI commitments which are a public debt and would push the figure much higher.

Of greater concern is where the debt is heading. A lot of it was used for extra public spending on Health, Education, dole-wallahs etc which will need to be sustained, especially the former as the population ages. Choices are limited for solving this, either cut public spending - unlikely, or raise taxes, all the while the debt still needs to be serviced, which currently runs at 3% of GDP per annum.

I'm not seeing the sunshine.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?

IMO, it is. In 1910, the British Empire was the biggest and best in the world, and booming. Shortly afterward, it went into decline and is now a shadow of its former self.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Looking at this chart it doesn't look too disasterous yet.
http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/uk...ebt_chart.html

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

You are right....looks that that blue line is headed the same way though. Have to add though, regarding my long range example, it isn't truly representative when you think about what the British Empire has lost in the last 100 years.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

yes but to even out what we lost as an Empire, we did invent Viagra.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Given the decline of the Empire it's good to see some parts are growing.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Very true! :rofl:

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Is this about the United Kingdom or the British Isles?

If the latter, I notice a distinct lack of comment about the Isle of Man or Republic of Ireland.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Post back here in 12/24 months...maybe your views will have changed a little.

I think many Brits take the UK and all it has to offer for granted...you don't realise this until you become an expat. :eek:

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Is this a trick question?:unsure::confused:

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

That's because John Major wasn't a Tosser, didn't pick his bogeys and eat them live on national television and he had genuine widespread suppot of his party.

Toss chops Brown always has been and always will be a complete plonker who can only ride the coat tails of others to get anywhere.

Gordy face is NOT a leader - he's a backroom wannabe but without the key ingredients to be one.
That's why he hid under the shadow of Tony for so long, thinking Tony's leadership qualities would rub off on him, - they didn't and can't!

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Britain has been in decline for a long time and never recovered after the 2nd world war.
However, even without the war, the country never kept pace with the rest of the changes in the world and retained old and destructive attitudes.

Hence why it is a sad and pathetic state today.

Not being born there but growing up and spending most of my life there, I am very happy to see the back of it to be honest, as it was a miserable life for me.

While I like some things about the country and have some English habits/attitudes, aswell as some of my all time fave TV progs being British (One foot in the Grave, Only Fools & Horses, Its a Knockout, etc), I won't return under any circumstances.

The USA, even though it may be a little foreign to some people, suits me so much better than Britain and I love it here, even though I don't like how they drive and you have to temper your discussions sometimes, because people here have guns.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

are there any other 10-year olds out there who would like to comment on my question?

If Brown didn't have the widespread support of his party then why did he have no serious challengers when he stood for the leadership?

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Details Elfman, details. You're such a stickler. Sheesh.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

That's not exactly how I remember the Major government.

Re: Is the British Isles long past it's better days or not?
 

Can you tell us what these changes were that the UK did not keep pace with and why it is now "sad and pathetic"?