Thirteen years of austerity and Brexit will do that to a country.
Both caused by the Conservative Party. Vote them out and we can perhaps begin to move in the right direction.
Starmer might not be great, but he would be a step in the right direction.
It does seem to be a common thought that the country has really gone downhill since 2010. I'd certainly agree, but I think it's got significantly worse since 2020.
To me, the problems of the UK specifically (as opposed to international problems, such as the cost of living crisis) are, in no particular order:
1. A non-functioning NHS.
2. Self-defeating isolationism caused by the Tory vanity project that is Brexit.
3. A spiralling decline in public transport, with the government seemingly actively encouraging this.
4. Increasing automation of jobs, leading to job losses.
5. Public service cuts.
6. Increased working from home, leading to a more isolated lifestyle, less socialisation, and less of a sense of community at work.
Some of these could be easily fixed (e.g 2) by rejoining the single market and restoring relations with the EU, but you won't get the Tories doing that.
I've heard various theories about the non-functioning NHS; the fact is, it did work reasonably fine up to Covid, but it all seems to have gone to pot since Covid. I'd like to see some investigation into the causes of this and how we can wind the clock back to 2019 or before. I do wonder whether it is as a result of years of underfunding and bad management by the Tory Party, and it's only just reached breaking-point.
For 3) I'm hoping this is a short-term effect caused by the cost of living crisis, but to be quite frank the move to work-from-home isn't helping the viability of the public transport network and I do wonder whether the best solution, in an ideal world, is simply return to the 2019 normal. However I can't see that happening immediately, as work-from-home is good for profits, at least now, because companies can cut costs by selling property. However, perhaps in the coming years if it is seen to be bad for productivity - and thus profits - they will think again. Plus, spending all your time in a "bubble" without a work social atmosphere is not good psychologically, and good psychology is directly related to productivity.
For 4) again we seem to be at the mercy of the free market (if automation increases profits then you're not going to see it reversed): I'm really not sure what we can do here other than if the resulting unemployment leads to a hit in tax revenue.
For 5) this is down to the country's financial problems which I do hope we come out of.
I think the sad fact is that many of these problems are caused by the free-market system, and is driven by the profit motive. I'm really not sure what we can do about this, but perhaps the pendulum will swing back if productivity and profits take a hit as a result, or high unemployment, as a result of automation, leads to lost tax revenue.
One thing that will help is if we get a genuinely more positive and inspirational government, that might make people feel more optimistic. The current government is offering none of that, and the bad vibes given off by the government do nothing to lighten the mood of the rest of us, thus leading to a vicious circle of doom and gloom. By contrast, a government that makes active steps to fix the NHS, to repair relations with the EU, and to improve public services including public transport might (even if it cannot fully realise its aims) give the country the more optimistic kick-start it needs.
I do think things will get better (because we've always recovered in the past, including - eventually - from the after-effects of WWII), but it may now be after 2030. I do wonder whether the 2020s will be comparable with the 1945-55 decade; there was, I believe, a strong recovery in the 2nd half of the 1950s. I'd say under-45 (ish) people have more cause to be optimistic, as they will still be well within the working-age bracket in ten years' time - but for those of us over that age, the clock is ticking.
