Maybe, it's just the media, but is anyone getting strong Third World vibes off the UK at the moment?
What on earth is that supposed to mean? Third world vibes? What, like regular famines, civil wars, military coups, inter-ethnic genocide, kids having their arms cut off so that they'll make more effective beggars? I think the UK is a bit away from those scenarios yet, Brexit notwithstanding.
For example a substantial number of their coastal areas are now polluted with raw sewage.
2.1 million of their population use food banks.
The most third world thing about the UK, is they have a King 👑
Third World? No.
Greece or Bulgaria or Romania or Albania? Maybe.
OP, was there a particular metric you were thinking of but didn't mention?
I've been living here since 2011. While, I've been applying for various positions on the continent, I do still quite like living here despite the abysmal governments we've had since 2010. The quality of living here is quite good on the whole, though decisive action needs to be taken by Labour when they get in next year on a host of issues including the NHS, climate change, housing and inequality.
A large number of our coastal areas and inland waterways are also polluted with raw sewage.
No metric in particular.
It just seems a constant drip feed of bad news from the UK!
For example, last night on C4 News they were talking about the huge increase in vicious dog attacks in the country. I mean you don't hear hear about that on French or German news. Vicious dogs attacks is just something you don't associate with a civilised country. And, yes, I know it makes a great media story but, as you say, decisive action needs to be taken by Labour when they get in.
this was only in November so does that make Ireland a third world country ?
"A child has been treated for serious injuries in hospital after a dog attack in County Wexford, Ireland, on Sunday.
Nine-year-old Alejandro Miszan was playing with friends near his home when he was mauled by a pit bull."
Do you follow French and German news on a daily basis though?
There have been 14 Bully XL deaths in the past 2.5 years here. An increase sure, but there are over 68 million people here.
Calling it third world is just silly but I will say they is certainly a feeling of decay about the place. Not just in an international relations sense but I was in Hove and Brighton for the first time in over a decade there recently and even the wealthy areas seemed rundown compared to when I was there last. The A23 dual carriageway to London was also an abomination due to lack of maintenance. Now, that's a small sample size and may not be true for the rest of the country but it really stood out.
I don't consume French or German news so I don't know really what's happening locally there
The UK is more self critical since it left the EU. Which makes sense since it's more independent now. So, you are probably getting a lot of that.
Also, there are more news outlets and maybe more independent journalists there. And you also have the gutter press.
We are no different here, but we pretend everything is grand, and we do not have the range of news outlets here.
You're having a laugh now surely. Have you been watching the Irish news lately? Crime has been out out of control for at least a decade and we have people living in tents on Grafton Street. Does that make us a third world country?
The decay thing I get but I can't imagine there aren't run down parts of France, Italy, and Germany. I used to live in Brighton & Hove and would go back tomorrow if there was more development there.
What about Ireland? Surely there's a similar negative flow of news, no? Housing? HSE? Climate change? Cost of living?
The UK hasn't become more independent, the opposite is true. As for independent journalism, it's all but a myth when a few billionaires control most of the press.
Boris and yer wan who lasted a few weeks are certainly the kind of leaders you'd expect to find in a Third World Country.
I know many English people and many of them say that their standard of living is falling rapidly.
Their national debt is going through the roof, their balance of payments is worsening, Brexit has been a disaster. NHS in crisis. Wide-ranging strikes. The very rich are getting richer at the expense of the poor. The country reeks of mis-management.
Corrupt gorvernment, food missing of supermarket shelves, extreme nationalism, skyrocketing inflation, failing agriculture and industy, national health system being sold off from under the peoples noses?
Been over to the UK a few times. What I cant get over is people working in pointless jobs and little or no manufacturing.
Lst time i was over they were complaining about fuel prices and the mortgages hadnt hit 5% yet.
Is it a third world country? No, of course not.
Is it on the slide? Yes, I think it is. Brexit was obviously a monumental own goal but Boris Johnson and Liz Truss being repeatedly promoted to positions up to and including Prime Minister was something that wouldn't have happened in the past. Even now, the Home Secretary, one of the 4 major political offices, is not a serious politician. The fact that she's in her job is an indicator that the lunatic fringe of the Tory party is still very much alive.
Everyone realises that Sunak is basically just a caretaker until the inevitable election defeat. it will be very interesting to see who emerges as the next leader of that party. If it is someone like Braverman then that'll be a bad omen.
I remember seeing some time ago that the poorest section of Irish society are apparently 62% better off than their British counterparts.
With Ireland the bad news is concentrated across areas like housing, health service and cost of living.
For the UK, bad news seems be permeating every sector of life (except for the Tory cronies of course).
It's quite sad in a way. Only around a decade ago, the UK wrote us a cheque to help us out. I think it should be stark reminder to everyone how quickly economies change.
The cheque was a loan. It wasn't a selfless gesture.
The UK is where it is for a plethora of reasons. It's more similar to the USA than any EU state which brings advantages and disadvantages. I'm comfortable but I pay almost a grand a month for a bedroom and I'm basically trapped here.
Let us call a spade a spade. The UK is changing, just as France etc has and is changing. Look at the tens of thousands each year risking their lives or who want to risk their lives leaving France to go to the UK.
Net migration into the UK during 2022 is reported to have reached a record high of 606,000, with immigration estimated at 1.2m and emigration at 557,000. Without being racist, every time I visit certain parts of England I am reminded of people wanting to make it like Pakistan. Something like 30% of births in England / Wales are to mothers who were not even born in England / Wales.
What happens in England happens here some years later.
Only for our corporation tax bonanza the last decade our dole , pensions etc would be a fair bit off what they are now. It's fairly debatable whether the bumper returns will continue.
Just curious, have you ever been to a third world country?
Yes, I've been to the US.
It actually scary to think what's going to happen Ireland if some of the big MNCs move out. We should not be gloating on the UK's situation at all...
It's in the relegation places, could be Second World next year.
Why would they? It's not like Ireland is about to do something catastrophically stupid like follow the UK's example.
