From My perspectives, not sure the UK was ever great in our lifetimes. As for being an industrial power, that ship sailed pre 1914! Education? The tripartite system followed by the much.lauded comprehensive system but did not address differences between different neighbourhoods. Working practices? Perhaps Archers has a better perspectives on this than me. I can recall the bleak days of the Heath Government, the struggles of Callaghan and the fuse that Thatcher lit in the 80s. Governments: Often confrontational, particularly in the early 70s, throughout the 1980s and post 2010. Health? Ask Chilco! Where the UK has been succesful.in.our lifetimes is in popular culture, the opening up.of Museums, the Open University and the opportunity for lifetime learning and retraining.
Great is subjective, but we were/are definitely in the top 5% of countries for quality of life and although not a US level superpower we were definitely part of the next tier alongside France, Germany, Japan etc...
When discussing the state of the country we need to move away from extreme descriptions which discredit genuine discussion.
On the one hand this is still one of the best countries to live in and we should appreciate that fact, too many just wallow and claim the country is an embarrassment, these discussions tend to end up being nonproductive. This is an issue that tends to pervade some elements of the left.
On the other it is definitely in decline on a sharper level than comparative nations, my partner is from a provincial city in the Philippines and she now regularly mentions how noticeable the decline has been here since she moved over in 2018 so it isn't just our own perception. Denial and hubris over this tends to pervade elements of the right, especially those on the side of the current government.
We are in a tricky situation, but the UK does have the capability to turn this around. However it is likely to be a fairly drawn out and arduous process and some home truths need to be learned before we can get there, namely;
- Strong public services and infrastructure are likely to mean greater taxation, these things do not come for free. But we must invest in them if we are to get on top of this situation.
- The UK will never thrive outside of the European single market in the way it did before and ultimately if we want to arrest the slide we need to attempt to rejoin it.
- Immigration is required to maintain our services unless significant investment is put into training and educating our own population, this has been slashed.
- Our adversarial political system is failing and must be reformed to one that forces greater co-operation.
- Housing should be viewed as an essential, not an investment. We need a concrete plan for mass development of affordable housing, NIMBYism for the sake of NIMBYism must be battled, however new developments must be matched by infrastructure development including schools, GPs, roads, public transport options, this will cost the country money, but it is necessary to help it country thrive.
None of that is guaranteed, but these are some of the things that need to happen to get the country back on its feet, we either acknowledge this or accept further decline.
