Major current problems in the UK?
 

Unemployment, crime, etc. How are things there?

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Pretty much similar to all the many other occasions some time after a Labour Government has been elected out of office. This time round it looks as if the cleaning and clearing up all the $hit left behind with a Coalition monster mop and bucket will take a little longer to put right this time round. Sadly, there is never, ever any gain without pain beforehand.and this time round the pain is likely to be a tad more severe such was the mess left to sort out. Wilful fiscal irresponsibility and deliberately uncontrolled immigration from the third world and elsewhere and the craziness of "human rights" legislation and the chronic downgrading of social mores really is one God almighty load of the proverbials for any incoming new Government to take on board at the outset, so it really will take some time to put right.

Slowly things are beginning to take shape but ever so slowly, and there will be hiccups and pitfalls on the way.

A word of warning here - I wouldn't place any reliance on whatever the crappy BBC has to say. It is nothing more than the mouthpiece of the British Labour Party anyway, and they have no conception whatseoever of the meaning of impartiality and even handed fairness in its political reporting. :eek: But what else would you expect as all their recruiting is effected by means of the Guardian newspaper.

I know what I'm talking about as I am here right on the spot, so to speak...on home territory, so I can see all the $hit at first hand. Even so, it's still a lovely country and I can see why so many people are wanting to come and live here - well, just witness all those scenes over at Sangatte. But perhaps they will not be so eager to come here once they find out that the munificence of easily obtainable social welfare handouts will no longer be so easy to come by or that the madness of the "Human Rights" legislation will no longer favour criminals and penalise victims of their crimes.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

:thumbsup: That just about sums it all up.

This government is now encouraging 'British Days' and marches, to support our army. Under Labour, this was frowned on. This governmnet have stopped the free legal aid to those using the Human rights bill to stay here (unless they are in detention). They are trying to bring in a British Human Rights
bill, but not sure how this will go as Labour sadly signed us up to all sorts of rubbish in the EU.

Re the BBC: Labour put someone in charge of the BBC to be their mouthpiece and when he spoke against him, they sacked him. The expert who said Blair had lied about the weapons of mass distruction, ended up dead too.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Well, after the last two party political broadcasts on behalf of the Tories :lol:, I'll just say that crime is down again this year* - has been going down for years - and NHS waiting times are down significantly although rising a little bit since the coalition started to 'improve' things.

UK unemployment is 7.7% currently - a number America can only dream of - but I don't know where you are, so maybe it's better there.

* I can't find the report now but numbers were released just a week or so ago.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

The same as most countres in today's day and age...my long time good friend who is German and lives in Germany will be the first to tell you the Weather,Crime, Work etc is the same there as in the UK...I suppose there are countries "out there" that can "report" good times etc for me and mine life here the UK has so far had no problems to report ie Crime etc but then again our life in Aus I could report the same but I know others where it is not the same situation as mine/ours. I for one am glad about certain papers here in the UK being under inspection they really do paint more doom and gloom than papers in other countries that have very similar problmes to life here and that has a lot to blame on peoples perception of life here in the UK.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Seems to me the neo liberal policies of New Labour ran the UK into the ground and the Tories are hell bent on further destroying what little Britain can be proud of. Let's hope the cap in hand attitude towards big business and bankers gets dropped now that the News Corp sh*t has hit the fan and the Government starts thinking of the people living in Britain not just those that own the place.
I don't expect to see much change though I'll just remain nostalgic for politicians who actually cared about the people like Bevan and Benn rather than their own bank balance.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Show me any politician who actually cares for the "normal" person and I will fly to the moon with my own wings. I don't care who runs the government as long as they actually listen to the people and that's not going to happen anytime soon....the general public should have more say in how the country should be run and let whoever is in government know that politicians actually work FOR the people, more referendums on issues such as Europe, the selling of British Companies to overseas foreign companies etc but all in all we have it good compared to the likes of Greece etc and Asian and Middle Eastern countries....it's not great but it could be a lot worse.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

I'm not in favor of lots of referendums, I prefer a parliamentary democracy
As a way to make decisions......but I want better politicians.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

ho hum :rolleyes: I am home and loving it. :wub:

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Good point. I wish I was at home so I could read about the Murddock phone hacking scandal in tomorrow's Observer.

Ps don't read the Mail cos' if you do you'll never return to the dystopian nightmare that Britain has become.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Depends where you live. Many places are still peaceful, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Norfolk (not Great Yarmouth), etc. Anyone who thinks the UK is overcrowded should travel around these counties. Best to find a niche.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

I always have a chuckle when someone returns from a short trip to the UK and reports how it is so crowded and there is crime everywhere and people are all miserable. Where is this UK they speak of ? :lol:

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

I'm interested in seeing that article. I'm trying to get my husband to see unemployment is much lower over there than here. My husband still can't find a decent job after 2+ yrs of being laid off. Maybe over there he'll stand a better chance.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

UK unemployment has dropped the last couple of months, it is also very regional with the North generally being harder hit than the south. We are going back to the SW and the rate there seems to be around 4-5% much the same as here.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Well last week I went to an area that was full of shops I like to shop in (cheap ;)) and it was right in the middle of a massive council housing estate, and I was faced with the kind of chav nightmare that is oft talked of on here and no way would I live there...........but it is what it is........doesn't mean we have to live there ourselves, but nothing like a little retail therapy. :thumbsup:

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Here you go:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13773692

(Just google UK unemployment and you'll find all sorts of info)

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Thanks for this Sally.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Sounds like Woodridge near us, it is like driving into a different country, full of bogans, cheap shops and those short term loan businesses that have sprung up lately.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

NatalieLucy, what type of work does your husband do?

I can't provide you with a link, but what I can provide you with is firsthand knowledge.

My husband is an experienced Web Developer with an excellent portfolio and work record. It took him 5 months to even be offered a full-time job - and it was in a job 100% outside of his career field. He is now permanent, thank goodness after 6 months on the job, but he isn't particularly happy with his job, and he continues to look at the classifieds every single day.

I am an experienced Legal Secretary with an excellent job history and work record. It took me 6 months to find a full-time job. I absolutely love it, but it's not a Legal Secretary position and it's still only a temp job.

We both took tremendous salary cuts compared to what we were making in the States.

Before anyone in this thread starts accusing me of dissing the UK job situation, I'm not. I live here and I'm just giving you an example of what happened in our situation.

Hopefully information like this can help you be prepared for what you might encounter.

It's very important that you get your head around that fact that you may have to take a pay cut, and be willing to possibly have to accept work that it outside your field.

Hopefully, this won't happen in your situation, but we truly believed that with our experience, we would have no problems finding work when we returned to the UK - especially in the Greater London market - but we were wrong.

Just because unemployment is much lower over here doesn't mean your husband will have a better chance of finding a job. It's all relative and based on many factors. You'll just have to wait until you get here to see what happens. It's a gamble and all of us who are moving back/have moved back have to take that risk.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

The current problems are hard to pinpoint, though most of them can be summed up under the following headers:

1) Immigration

2) Public sector cuts

3) Sovereign debt exposure (the EU)

4) Inflation

5) The fragility of the global economy

and

6) The shaky coalition

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

To add to this, I would say don't rely on classified ads when you get back. Be proactive about your search so you can find opportunities before they arise. Look for books on proactive job search to get tips, but examples would be building and actively using a LinkedIn profile to make connections, and walking in to companies with a copy of your CV. Agencies are OK, but don't expect them to be the solution.

The average job search in the US right now is 43 weeks - that's 10 months. Since unemployment is lower in the UK, DDL's 6 months sounds realistic.

But there are things you can do to shorten that timeframe. I knew two people looking for work in the UK, both in the same field. One is a friend who is creative and proactive - she found a great job within 6 weeks of losing her last job. The other is a family member who is more old-fashioned in his search methodology - looking at job boards and talking to agencies - he's still unemployed after 5 months.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Agencies are a good place to start and with all things, if you want to get something done, you have to do it yourself, so pestering them on a daily basis usually helps. Contacting companies directly is another excellent way to get your foot in the door, though going door-to-door is something I would not reccommend. Never worked with any organisation that takes those sorts of CV's seriously....

You need to stay on top of the search and contacts companies/ agencies / contacts you have aeveryday until you get to see someone. Then it's all down to you to sell yourself to the best of your ability and hope for the best.

Classifieds are a good way to see who's got openings, but responding to those sorts of ads hardly ever pays dividends.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

I guess every hiring manager is different but I disagree with this. That's how I got my first two jobs back when I lived in the UK and how my brother got his last job. Why would a CV dropped off personally be any less desirable than one mailed in?

The benefit of going personally is the chance to strike up conversation with a receptionist or assistant - doesn't always work but it often does - and that way they'll make sure your CV gets to the right person. Phoning is also sometimes effective.

The problem with agencies is that they only have an incentive to help you with jobs that are on their books - which lots of them won't be. Too many people think 'oh well all the agencies know me now' but lots of people won't be using an agency to fill a slot and so that person misses out.

And I can't say 'LinkedIn' enough times! if you're looking for a job and you're not on LinkedIn with a killer profile, you're shooting yourself in the foot.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

But as with everything: there are always exceptions to this rule. :)

I answered a classified ad almost immediately after we arrived back in the UK last year. It was a small law firm in Windsor. I was called in for an interview, and was hired for the job. I quit after working there for 1/2 a day (long story, loads of red flags).

But just to say: If you want to work local for a small company (and, depending upon the company, just because it's small doesn't mean it won't pay well; case in point: law firms), many of these types of businesses still choose to advertise in the local newspaper instead of going with an agency and having to pay agency fees.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Official statistics are quite confusing and often appear to contradict each other, making it difficult to place much reliability on them, speaking from a UK perspective. It was officially announced recently that unemployment in the UK had fallen last month, albeit by a minimal amount, yet at the same time the number of people signing on for JSA (Job Seekers' Allowance) had increased fairly substantially. With so many different types of social welfare benefits on offer here in the UK at the present time it's never quite clear what the true figure of the number of active, able bodied working age people here who are truly looking for work. One of the main conditions of eligibility for receiving JSA is actual proof of evidence of an active work search acceptable by the benefits office.

The sooner the present Coalition Government fully implement their promised* radical simplification of the UK social welfare benefits system the better it will be, replacing all the various out of work benefits with just one single out of work benefit - the one they have vowed to call Universal Credit or something like that. Kicked into touch never to be seen again will be things like income support, the widely abused incapacity benefit, disability benefit and whatever else is currently in operation for those able bodied people not actually contributing to the system but living off it gratis.

*More especially by the Conservative sector of the Coalition, those not allowing themselves to be influenced by Liberal Democrat wishy washy limp wristedness.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

The figures are misleading here too, once you are no longer eligible for unemployment benefit and drop off the roles you are no longer counted even though you are not employed. Also those who's employers fight for you NOT to get unemployment and the dept of labor agrees, then they aren't counted either. Even then here the rate is hovering around 20% in our area, plus those not counted.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Yes, the official rate of unemployment in the US nationally is over 9% but the 'real' rate is 16-18%.

And in some areas the official rate is closer to 30% which only makes you shudder to think what the real rate is.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

He has a BS in Communications so he could get a wide range of jobs. To be honest he's not sure what he wanted to do after graduating. Right now he has a part time job in Museum as an office administrator. He has a lot of experience in customer service.

I'm a Graphic Designer and right now hold a job as a Typesetter.

My husband does worry about finding work out there.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

The UK doesn't have any "Major current problems".

Lots of the usual overblown niggles on crime, employment, blah, blah, blah, but actually it is still the land of milk and honey in comparison to the vast majority of the world's population.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

When you look at it sensibly you are absolutely spot on.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

True, but I suppose that if UK is your only experience it would seem to you that there were major problems, for those who have seen other places the UK still looks like a better bet than other countries.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

That is exactly what I hate when someone in England says something like 'why would you want to come back here ?' when their only overseas experience is 2 weeks in Torremelinos.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Maybe all posters should disclose their 'overseas living' experience, could be an interesting correlation ...

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Yes you could be right.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

You could post your timeline in your sig... ;)

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Done. :D

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

OK, Give me a minute ...

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

I like them both! :lol:

Back on track.

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

:thumbup:



UK except - Tas Apr-June 99, Tas Jan-March 2000, Tas Feb-Mar 2001, Qld Oct 2003-ongoing........the first three months in Qld were happy, honest guv'nor......

Re: Major current problems in the UK?
 

Lothianlad should disclose at the top of every post that he's an idiot.