Little Britain - the state of England today

I mentioned Alistair Campbell. I'm well aware of his history when it comes to the Iraq War and the Blair government.

He said on Channel 4 news that the government have no real policies for this country. Their one big idea was Get Brexit Done and that's falling apart. Their record on covid is abysmal and so they're trying to distract us with flags and football while the real issues of the day get sidelined. We've elected a completely amoral man to be PM and a cabinet of numpties. (his word, not mine).

David Davis yesterday said something along the lines of "killing children to save money was morally unacceptable"

Funny thing, I agreed with Alistair Campbell and David Davis on the same day. Perhaps if more people watched Channel 4 news we'd have less of this nonsense that is basically "my country, right or wrong".

Elleee

Ex Conservative PM John Major said today regarding the cuts to international aid
'The government has blatantly broken it's word and should be ashamed of it's decision'
'This isn't Great Britain it's Little England'

This would be the same John Major who served in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet? That would be the government that sold of all the council houses and sold off the utility companies. IMO this is the root cause of our current housing crisis.

Maybe he and others should hang their heads in shame.

Someone also mentions Alistair Campbell! For goodness sake why do those who did so much damage in power get wheeled out as 'statesmen'. Him and Blair are responsible for taking us to war.

I don't see the UK (England) that I live in shown on Channel 4 News or the BBC. Most people are law abiding and more than do their bit for their own communities.

The football has been fantastic OP it's brought communities together. People of all ages, and backgrounds coming together and lots of bunting and flags. Yes what happened with the hooligans at Wembley was disgusting but it was a tiny, tiny minority. The same with the abuse aimed at certain players. Nasty sad little morons who could live in the UK but they could also live in France or anywhere else.

Art in schools? I'm more worried about the mental health of our children and young people. They need to socialise and play and catch up on the basics. Art, music and drama will play a part I'm sure. It's not only 'Little England' where this is a problem surely.

Maybe you should watch the French news channels OP surely they reflect the life you live now better than Channel 4.

well said, Grannyactivist.

I can’t comment being a non resident though in general I think the government has a lot to answer for in these situations. It’s all about money, greed and power unfortunately. They dupe people who can be bothered into voting for them with promises and visions of a glorious era .Maybe they should be sued when they don’t deliver as anyone in business would be ?

I care. And I campaign and lobby, sign petitions, demonstrate. I do what I can, but sometimes I feel like the boy with his finger in the Dyke. I could become very demoralised - especially as I work with people who are on the margins of society - but I also see the very best of people. People, from all walks of life, who commit themselves to making a difference in society, particularly those volunteers who force themselves out of their comfort zones. At the height of the pandemic there was a great community effort that I think has sowed seeds for more cohesive communities in the future (I hope so anyway).

So often these sorts of discussions come down to Left, Right or Centrist Politics, to Brexit or Remain, to 'mask' or 'no mask' wearing - and ignore the fact that we're all multi-faceted people who are more than the sum of our political views.

I am a Christian on the political left, but amongst the Conservative voters I know there are many who are kind, thoughtful, caring people; people who go out of their way to be helpful, who volunteer and make a point of looking out for their neighbours. Today in Parliament 24 of them defied the Whips and voted against the cuts to foreign aid; I salute each one of them and any other Tories who support their position.

I believe that this current government is acting in a moral and ethical vacuum, but I also believe that there are MPs (of all parties) who view their job as a vocation and went into politics to to serve their constituents. The country is not finished yet and, inevitably, as the demographic changes so will the political landscape.

Ellianne We have several friends in England with whom we are in regular contact. Family too. I am signed up to several campaigning organisations, I watch the English news on tv and read English newspapers on line and our friends keep us informed. I am aware that there are many little stories about peoples' goodness and kindness and some not so small, such as Marcus Rashford's campaign for continuing school meals and Captain Tom's fundraising for the NHS.

The genie has been let out of the bottle and it's going a lot of effort to change things, effort that I think the Tories lack.

I had a similar attitude towards what was happening England when I lived in France Dinahmo, so I can understand your frustrations. It wasn't until I analysed my feelings that I realised the news I was receiving abroad about the UK was primarily depressing and dwelt on all the negatives. Much of it is sensationalised and not representative of the real situation. You gradually become out of touch with your home country and start to be more critical of it. I can assure you that plenty of caring does go on in England and that young people especially are striving for the best possible future.

SueDonim
Absolutely!!!

Why aren't you all caring about the wrongs? And, if you do, why aren't you doing something about it?

How do you know ‘we’ don’t care and are not doing anything about it? I could reel off loads of things that people in my world do to make lives better for others. Just because we don’t make a big noise about it doesn’t mean we don’t care.

People

As MoorlandMooner pointed out: "Poe0l make small or big contributions for good as part of their day to day lives."

I am a school governor and try to make sure that the school creates the sort of environment that will give children a good start in life. I belong to a local group of women who are involved in social action - supporting local people where needed; initiating social projects etc.

These are the sorts of things that many people do daily but no-one person can change the mess there is around us. Lots of us just chip away as best we can.

Oh we do care - believe me.

I have just been watching some sort of fly-on-the-wall police documentary which focussed on homelessness, multi-occupancy dwellings and addictions. I was once a social worker and it brought it all back - that sense of being powerless in the face of malign forces and uncaring government. Nothing has changed - it has all got worse.

The crunch question is what can we do?

Vote for a government that has some sense of morality and compassion; and a real grasp of what life is like for those at the bottom of the heap?......been there, tried that and watched the little Englanders vote in what they thought was their own self-interest, forgetting that we are all brothers/sisters and we are all affected by the misery of those at the bottom by way of increased crime etc.

I try not to think too hard about it all - I have more than enough to be depressed about - and I recognise my total impotence here.

I try to do what I can in the small sphere of influence that I do have.

I can see that it's next to impossible for you to make change politically Dinahmo. I believe a lot of people feel the same way here even though they can vote. Our voting system means many (including me!) don't feel their voices are heard e.g. in a safe constituency for a particular party there is little hope for those who want change.

That said many millions of people here and I'm sure in France, whatever their political persuasion, make small or big contributions for good as part of their day to day lives...it just isn't sexy or newsworthy and so we don't hear about it.

It seems we’re not alone with our racism.
This from a left leaning news outlet.

www.euractiv.com/section/non-discrimination/news/france-has-a-discrimination-problem-says-national-human-rights-defender/

Kandinsky forgot to add - many of the refugees fleeing to the UK have family members already there plus English is more likely to be their second language, rather than French.

MoorlandMooner I am interested in what happens in France. There's very little that I can do about it because we don't have a vote apart from the very local elections. We could not participate in the recent elections because we aren't nationals.

When we told a friend that we'd got our residency permits he asked whether we were planning to become French nationals. My answer was no because we are English and not French. I think that now we have left the EU it is possible to have dual nationality. Of course, when the UK was part of the EU dual nationality wasn't necessary.

Kandinsky I think that the police in France are more violent than those in the UK and make life extremely difficult for the refugees in the camps.

"Makes you wonder why 1000’s of migrants risk their lives every year trying to enter this country from France."

Less than a quarter of migrants to France try to leave there in order to enter Britain. Those that do have many, varied reasons for coming here e.g. they have family here, the speak english, they come from countries with strong historical ties to Britain, they don't come voluntarily but are utterly powerless and forced by people who have control over them.

I care Dinahmo .

I thought Alistair Campbell was excellent on the Channel 4 news, he's got the measure of the government.

I've just had an email from one of the campaign organisations asking me to write to my MP about the NHS Corporate Takeover Bill which MPs are voting on tomorrow. All that talk from the Tories about saving the NHS from being overrun by Covid patients and the NHS is safe in their hands. Now this!

My point is.
If this country is so awful why risk your life trying to enter?
Why not stay in wonderful France?

"Why aren't you all caring about the wrongs? And, if you do, why aren't you doing something about it?"

I care deeply about the wrongs and I think you will see from many other threads on here that many other people too.

As for doing something about it, well again, lots of people do try very hard to do something about it...we campaign, sign petitions, volunteer our time to charities, try to be good citizens, write to MPs and vote for parties we believe will make positive changes.

Some people don't do anything to make change...perhaps they aren't able, perhaps they have their own problems or perhaps they are all right Jack. I imagine a lot of people who do nothing are just overwhelmed or feel powerless or without hope.

A huge amount of good goes on here in Britain as well. Really positive things.

May I respectfully ask if you care about the wrongs that happen in France and what you do about them?

Kandinsky

Makes you wonder why 1000’s of migrants risk their lives every year trying to enter this country from France.

And your point?

Dinahmo

WWM2 Was that photo taken at the wall painting of Marcus Rashford? The one that has been vandalised?

Yes it was.

Makes you wonder why 1000’s of migrants risk their lives every year trying to enter this country from France.

Ex Conservative PM John Major said today regarding the cuts to international aid
'The government has blatantly broken it's word and should be ashamed of it's decision'
'This isn't Great Britain it's Little England'