kittycat1

Am i the only british expat that actually likes the UK?

hnd

Perhaps you are one of the few ...

... as said previously, how very sad

CeeBee

Probably. I like my home city though. It's the greatest city in the world because it's 'home'. But the UK in general? Its an awful place with zero prospects for young people like me.

The way I see it going the UK will be a nation of 'coasters' in the coming years, by which I mean nobody will have any aspiration to be a great achiever in their industry because you are punished so heavily. You earn a high salary, you pay higher taxes. You buy a more expensive house, you pay more stamp duty. You want to buy yourself a nice car, you have your bank account raped and all the eco-nazis start having a whine.

I am one of the people that want to do very very well for myself. That can't and will not happen in the UK.

We used to be a great, proud nation. Now look.

The Dean

Post Of The Month. And it's only the 4th...........

littlejimmy

You need to get rich enough to afford good lawyers and accountants so you can rake in the millions whilst avoiding taxes. Unfortunately for most "normal" people, this is impossible.

The argument about which of the two parties will be best is a specious one anyway. You could fit a rizzla paper between them. They are both bought and owned by big business and their policies reflect this. The rest of the populace is kept happy with a diet of junk food, junk TV and celebrity gossip. Apathy is encouraged.

Still, I love the UK because it's home and its where the people I love are. It also has beer, great countryside and fish and chips.

Puerto Plata

Ah....Perhaps......Lucky guess there Dean

typical

*shrug* I like the UK, and I'd vote Labour again (but maybe not this election).

Never say never, but the Tories continue to do anything they can to ensure I'll never vote for them.

I consider the minimum wage, the increases in funding to the NHS, and the creation of civil partnerships real accomplishments that I doubt would have been seen under the Tories.

On the other hand Labour have got ridiculously centralist and don't seem to understand "civil liberties", they're finishing the wrecking of the education system that the Tories started (and seem determined to continue), and they seem to have forgotten the point of being in government - to get solidly progressive policies in place.

Anyone who says there is no difference between the two parties needs to look at their MEPs. That said, there's a lot of dancing around the "middle ground" these days.

It'd be nice if people started electing politicians for who told the truth better, and not who was better at lying, but oh well...

The Dean

the point of being in government - to get solidly progressive policies in place.

Interesting - who dreamed that one up? What about a government that actually introduces policies the people want, instead of trying to impose their own agenda on the people? Forlorn hope I suppose........

And BTW - all that extra money for the NHS - why hasn't it got any better? [First rule of life - if you throw more money at something that is bad, it will get worse - more money simply encourages more of the same].

typical

Sorry - I mean "the point for Labour of being in government". I would have hoped that's what people who voted for them were voting for. It's certainly what the Labour party used to stand for...

I wouldn't want to live in a country where a government was purely populist. I have a probably over-naive feeling that representative democracy should involve electing people who are prepared to learn more about an issue than the public at large, and make intelligent policy appropriately... (indeed, the select committees are pretty awesome at this, it's a shame they don't have more power to hold ministers to account).

I don't think that's always true - if you try to run something on a shoestring, it'll invariably suffer. The NHS was getting bad precisely because it was underfunded. Given the pittance we still spend on it, it's actually amazingly good.

I don't think it's fair to say the NHS hasn't got better, either - although much of the money has gone to making it feel like a better place to work than it was. Which is not a bad thing for the sustainability of the NHS.

They really need to sort out cancer care quickly, though.

littlejimmy

When did you last use the NHS, out of interest?

The Dean

Last year............ my daughter had open heart surgery at one of London's most famous heart hospitals.

The place was a shining example of how a good hospital should be run. I think when it comes to something so specialised, the NHS is still the envy of the world in many ways.

Why do you ask?

Brains1983

I've no problem with the UK, just don't want to live there. As some other posters have said, it's "home", and where some of the people I love are. but the weathers shit.

I don't understand that much about the politics and don't offer any opinion on it, however it amuses me that people complain about how "bad the NHS "is or "is getting worse". I've never had a problem with it, had a couple of non-serious operations over the years, along with bits and bobs of physio and the like. I also don't know anyone else that has had a serious problem with it, they've nursed several of my family back to good health, and offered care and support to those with terminal illnesses.

I don't think there is a country in the world with a state health service that wouldn't want to swap theirs for ours. It works very very well, albeit now and again there is a cock-up. Government has to take a business like approach to run an organisation that size, and of course there will be cock-ups, much like there are in any business.

If you don't like it, go private or **** off.

Anyhoo, that's my two cents worth.

littlejimmy

I was just wondering on what what you based you assertion that there had been no improvement in the NHS.

Personally, I've had a lot of experience using it and have had very few problems.