Eggs are getting scarce, mold is growing in many apartments and the prices for almost everything are shooting through the roof: the British are currently having to deal with a number of annoyances. An overview of what is not working properly on the island – without claiming to be complete.
Exploding prices
The economic situation is worse than it has been for a long time: the recession has officially begun, inflation is more than eleven percent, real wages are falling. Treasury Secretary Jeremy Hunt wants to top up the empty coffers with around £55bn in tax hikes and spending cuts.
After all, the government is cushioning the particularly exploding consumer prices for electricity and gas over the winter – but from April the British will probably have to dig much deeper into their own pockets.
Without electricity in winter?
While there was hardly anything as hotly debated in Germany in the summer as the filling level of the gas storage facilities, Great Britain was distracted by the regular overthrow of its prime ministers. Then the British electricity network operator suddenly warned: If there is not enough gas, in the worst case the electricity would have to be switched off temporarily.
In an “unlikely scenario,” some homes and businesses could face planned three-hour power outages to ensure grid stability, the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) said.
Trains stand still
A few months ago, the British media wrote of a “summer of strikes”. Now this is long over, but the strike is still going on. A number of trains are regularly standing still because the employees of the largely privatized railway companies cannot reach an agreement with the employers. Royal Mail workers are also involved in industrial action, so post is often a long time coming.
Lack of skilled workers
There is no economic upswing without skilled workers: Great Britain has a shortage of workers, particularly in the service sectors – such as gastronomy or logistics – also because there are no easy visas for them to pave the way to the British labor market.
Before Brexit, EU citizens often worked in these jobs, but many of them have now left the island. “What we need are people who do the jobs that the population doesn’t want to do,” economist Charles Goodhart recently told the Financial Times.
The next plague
The British have largely declared the corona pandemic over – regardless of the infection situation – and now the next epidemic is troubling the country. With more than 200 confirmed cases, Britain is suffering its largest outbreak of bird flu to date, according to the Environment Department. The virus hits turkeys, among other things – and with them a traditional Christmas meal.
Almost a third of the annual turkey production of 11 million animals was culled, the Daily Mail newspaper reported at the end of October. In addition, according to the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA), more than 750,000 hens have been killed since the beginning of October, making eggs scarce. Supermarkets are therefore already rationing sales.
sewage on the coast
Anyone traveling to the British coast must be prepared for an unpleasant experience here and there, which has repeatedly caused indignation in recent weeks and months:
If the pipes to the sewage treatment plants are too full after heavy rainfall, excess sewage can be discharged directly into the sea and rivers – a number of sewage treatment plants have recently used this option. Dozens of beaches were subsequently closed due to pollution.
Dilapidated apartments
While rental prices are skyrocketing, especially in the capital London, little is happening when it comes to the maintenance and insulation of the properties: “At least” tens of thousands of apartments in the country are not safe because of moisture and mold, Building Minister Michael Gove admitted in a BBC interview.
“We know there is a significant number of properties, some of which were built in the 1960s and 1970s, that are in poor condition,” said the Conservative politician. They are in dire need of refurbishment or repairs.
The problem with B
The fact that trade with the EU has collapsed and that post-Brexit trade deals such as those with Japan or Australia have not yet kept what was promised makes it clear: Brexit is paralyzing the kingdom. The independent economic regulator OBR emphasizes that Brexit has had “significant adverse effects on trade” with the EU and is causing lasting damage to the economy.
Public support has fallen to a record low, according to a survey. 56 percent of people in Great Britain now consider Brexit to be a mistake, as the opinion research institute Yougov found out. Of those who voted to leave, only 70 percent still hold to their opinion at the time – fewer than ever before.
