The U.K. is prepared for nothing

I agree Oldnproud, the Covid shutdowns revealed just how unprepared some people are, and how they panic at the slightest hint of a shortage. There are government preparedness guidelines which people may laugh at and dismiss as irrelevant, but there’s a very high chance that we will need them at some point.

AGAA4

I wonder how many of us have enough food to last more than a few days if disaster happens.
Apparently families in the 1980s had enough food stored to last over a week. Now it's only 2 days.
If Russia decides to cut our cables and we have no internet no food would be ordered and we would soon run out.

I was wondering along those lines too.

While some people have neither the money nor the space to buy and store an 'emergency' stock of food, many could if they wanted to or could be bothered.

Many dried and tinned foods will last for years, so as long as people pay attention to safe use-by dates and always use the oldest first, none of the stored food should ever end up wasted.

There is a lot that is totally out of our control, but being prepared for a breakdown in the food supply shouldn't be one of them for everyone, so I hope that those with the means to do it actually take some steps to prepare for this scenario themselves, especially those who have already given it enough thought to realize that this is a major issue. We can't, or shouldn't, expect the authorities to to all our thinking and planning for us if we are capable of doing it ourselves.

What strategic issues? Macron has done nothing to confront the illegal migrant situation, despite receiving a great deal of money to do so. We haven't forgotten the less than diplomatic speech he made after his state visit either.

Starmer has rebuilt a lot bridges with EU, being united in adversity over Ukraine has been the prime reason. When it comes to trade little has changed, until we accept their rules there will be slow progress.

Farming in the UK is at a low ebb, food production is becoming a dirty word because there is just no return on investment. The Trump tariffs ensure that there is little chance of any price revival, environmental payments have been cut, no reason for any optimism.

I think this is where Keir Starmer has done well to create and maintain such good relationships with other European leaders in such a short time. (I think perhaps we see this more clearly from the other side of the channel). Macron and Starmer in particular, seem to work closely together on strategic issues and this seems very positive in the light of the threats that face us.
I know some people will scoff about "never here Keir", but sometimes you have to consider the bigger picture.

Quite apart from floodplains - what about farming land being sacrificed to something like solar panels built on it? That when our population is still increasing.

If there's one thing that makes enormous sense to me = it's as well for a country/any country (including ours) to be as self-sufficient as possible re food.

Never rely on anyone/any country else for something you can/should deal with yourself.

Meanwhile at least some people where I am now can see this and also believe in doing what we can towards being food self-sufficient. I've already got the Christmas present on the way for a friend of mine that runs one of these local foodgrowing schemes - focusing on us being aware re wild grains more.

Allira

Maremia

About the flooding Ambergran, one simple thing would be to ban all housing construction on flood plains.

We know that Maremia!

Why don't Planning Authorities?

"brown envelopes" maybe???

As in planning permission given when it shouldn't be.

I've seen building on floodplains done myself on the one hand. In another location I can think of = I've seen planning permission given to one household and they've quite openly said that it wouldnt receive permission for the exact same thing for another household.

Domestic incompetence is disastrous but when it comes from dealing with threats outside of our borders it is beyond frightening.

Our local authority has built flood gardens near us and they have built defences on the river Roding.
Some councils are doing good work on this.

Not complacency, it is sheer incompetence and bureacracy.

A friend is getting her central heating system replaced under a government/energy company scheme. The company undertaking the work come from a town 100 miles away, not even on a direct motorway route. No doubt under some government tendering system.

All gas heating installers have to be part of the Gas Safe scheme so qualified and monitored. Why couldn't a local company have been used to do the work. I would bet a penny to a pound that within a 20 mile radius there will probably be anything between 20 to 100 such installations under this scheme. Say one installer in each local authority area.

Reduced travel time and costs and the installer close at hand if there are any teething problems.

This is only one example, of these inefficient incompetent schemes we dream up and fail with. Remember David Cameron's Green Deal? that collapsed under incompetent firms bidding and getting work for jobs they could not do.

Read the report on what went wrong with COVID. That was a government that thought incompetence was something to be proud of.

AmberGran

Flooding is another prime example. I was reading recently that in the next 20 years we can expect to lose much of our coastline but I never see it being discussed anywhere apart from a few science articles. Apart from coastal erosion more and more areas inland are now flooding regularly but I haven't seen any discussion about that either. Even the Thames barrier is apparently at risk now.

Very true. Prevention of flooding is not high on anyone’s agenda yet it is a real, ever-increasing threat.

Do you think that is why they are so often in that region?

I wonder how many of us have enough food to last more than a few days if disaster happens.
Apparently families in the 1980s had enough food stored to last over a week. Now it's only 2 days.
If Russia decides to cut our cables and we have no internet no food would be ordered and we would soon run out.

We have been opposing/fighting a big development of 500+ houses on a flood plain down the road from us for the last 10 years, thank goodness our MP is on the side of their constituents.

Unfortunately the government is riding roughshod over the council planning department 🤷‍♀️

Maremia

About the flooding Ambergran, one simple thing would be to ban all housing construction on flood plains.

Tell that to the local authority who have sent out a proposed new housing plan, on land near a river that has been flooded regularly.

Allira

Maremia

About the flooding Ambergran, one simple thing would be to ban all housing construction on flood plains.

We know that Maremia!

Why don't Planning Authorities?

They're being told to tear up the rules, aren't they?

I asked Chatgtp about environmental measures which would reduce the effects of flooding. It came up with 19, applying in different sectors.

Would any of them be implemented, by government or by subsidies, on a scale large enough to make a difference?

I personally doubt it..

David49

nanna8

A lot seem to be selling shares. Do they know something we don’t ? I have a nasty suspicion about this.

They are taking their profit after a very long “Bull”market a friend who plays the market said he sold all his shares last week.
Nobody knows for certain what comes next

If everyone sells their shares in expectation of a bear market a crash will be inevitable.

Studying the stock market crash of the 1920s would be enlightening.

Maremia

About the flooding Ambergran, one simple thing would be to ban all housing construction on flood plains.

We know that Maremia!

Why don't Planning Authorities?

nanna8

I don’t really think we are prepared for much over in Australia, either. We could probably provide food for ourselves, being so big and we have raw materials so long as other countries buy them. We don’t seem capable of processing things ourselves. As for defence - well that’s a joke but there is so much Chinese investment that might protect us I suppose. We have no car industry now.

Australia does produce most of its own food and imports little in comparison with the UK. As you export quite a lot as well, you could become self-sufficient if only the supply chains were improved. This year's floods caused supply problems resulting in empty shelves in many supermarkets, except for the supermarket chain which buys local produce (IGA).

The UK imports a lot more of its food and we need to be more supportive of our farmers here.

Foresight, not hindsight, is a wonderful thing.

About the flooding Ambergran, one simple thing would be to ban all housing construction on flood plains.

Liquidising one’s assets before a predicted harsh budget next week.

nanna8

A lot seem to be selling shares. Do they know something we don’t ? I have a nasty suspicion about this.

They are taking their profit after a very long “Bull”market a friend who plays the market said he sold all his shares last week.
Nobody knows for certain what comes next

I don’t really think we are prepared for much over in Australia, either. We could probably provide food for ourselves, being so big and we have raw materials so long as other countries buy them. We don’t seem capable of processing things ourselves. As for defence - well that’s a joke but there is so much Chinese investment that might protect us I suppose. We have no car industry now.

My wife and I got back from a holiday in Malaysia after Covid had begun in Asia. The Malaysians took it very seriously and were acting rapidly. Every time we entered a hotel or other major building we were "shot" with a device that registered our temperature. We were only allowed in if our temperature was normal.
We got off the plane at Heathrow and were given a rather insulting piece of paper telling us to warn our country of origin should we develop any symptoms. That was all it said. Nothing about telling our GP etc. And Malaysia was doing a good deal more than we were!

Flooding is another prime example. I was reading recently that in the next 20 years we can expect to lose much of our coastline but I never see it being discussed anywhere apart from a few science articles. Apart from coastal erosion more and more areas inland are now flooding regularly but I haven't seen any discussion about that either. Even the Thames barrier is apparently at risk now.