Why is there so much crisis in the UK?

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I'm getting bored of it all, as well as worried and depressed. There are staff shortages everywhere, train strikes, inflation, now water and energy shortages, new viruses or recurring old viruses. Is the UK becoming like a third world country or something?

Now I've heard there's going to be black-outs this winter. Why do we have shortage of energy all of a sudden? And to be in a society where we're all forced to do everything online, how will this work exactly? Or is it just decided by some rich idiot who is unable to think things through first?

And no, the answer isn't just to light a candle. I'm not worrying about light.

Is this all to do with Russia? The pandemic? The weather? Overpopulation? Or just rich government that have so much money that they don't want to spend out? Is this really going to happen?

Ever since 2020 there's been one crisis after another. There seemed to be peace in 2019, with just the casual local crises going on. Can somebody fill me in on some TRUE resources about this?

Why is the UK becoming so poor all of a sudden?

There have been “crises” since the Dawn of Humankind.

My solution is to just live my life.

It would’ve been much worse during the Dark Ages.

And during medieval times….and during the Renaissance….and during the early 20th century…..

Many people had lots of fear during the 1960s.

I understand it's frustrating having to go through crises all the time. It's really annoying to me.

But then I say to myself: at least I have a roof over my head.

In all my life I have never known so many crises to happen all at once like this. I don't know what's becoming of the UK.

I'm even scared that the cost of living crisis might make a lot of us end up losing our jobs and our homes. So I feel I can't even relax.

Why is the UK becoming like a third world country? Yes, I'm a snowflake but when you've been brought up in a privileged first world country only to see it fall apart right in front of your eyes is more scarier than not having it to begin with at all.

I've always felt lucky living in the UK and I appreciate it. I don't so much any more.

Honestly, I don't feel the UK will become a "third world country."

You have a job for which there is a need. You didn't lose it during the Pandemic; which means you probably won't lose it now.

The cost of living crisis is scary for so many of us. I don't know how the vulnerable are going to afford it....even the government handouts aren't enough for them to cover the rising costs.

So many people will not be able to heat their homes this winter without further help.

I do hope the UK government becomes cognizant of this.

Has Brexit helped or contributed to the problem?

Regardless, it's worrying seeing how different elements interact. That said, typically economies face struggles and then adjust, the adjustment period isn't always pleasant but it's also temporary.

This too will pass.

Well if global warming is causing an unusually hot summer then maybe the winter will be mild. I can survive winter without heating as long as I have warm clothing and extra blankets. I know I'm not elderly or vulnerable, I was just saying.

I'm hoping it will pass without affecting me. Obviously I feel concerned for the people it will affect.

Is this inflation caused by greed? Because how does the government expect us to pay for things if we can't afford it? Don't they understand that the crime rates are going to rise because of it?

I hate greed. What is the difference between, say, £30 million and £60 million? It's still way more than enough to last a lifetime so you're still stinking rich however millions one has.
Yes I want money but only enough to buy me a house with no noisy neighbours.

I just hate the way man works, where everything is boiled down to money. Money comes first. That's why I was so surprised when the world went into lockdown, as I thought that because money is more important than lives they wouldn't want to close anything down.

I don't mean to be a doomer but if the Atlantic warms the Gulf Stream is reduced, the UK and Scandinavia get cooler. You're north of me but have warmer winters, that heat comes from the Gulf Stream.

It's unlikely to be as bad as some worst-case scenarios have suggested (the model has been improved), but it will have impact regardless.

This is the Haven, so I will try not to push any political view, and that inevitably means I will be quite superficial. If you want a more detailed answer then posting in PPR might be a good idea.

Firstly, I think you might be looking on 2019 with slightly rose-tinted glasses. It was a time of instability. Lots of high street shops were going under, a large number of MPs changed parties, we had a new Prime Minister, some huge protests, and a fractious general election. But I understand that those things might not have affected the whole country the way that COVID and inflation have.

COVID, inflation, and the drought are international issues. It is possible that government action could have made them less bad than they were, but they’re not inherently a sign that the UK is becoming a third world country, in my view.

The government doesn’t want there to be this inflation, but it is primarily being driven by the war in Ukraine. Fuel supplies have been disrupted, and almost everything we do depends on fuel - without it, things cost more. Food is another important Ukrainian export - wheat products and things that contain oils are the two things I have noticed going up the most, and those are major Ukrainian exports.

Inflation isn’t caused by greed. People haven’t suddenly gotten 10% greedier.

The strikes are mostly the result of inflation. People in the public sector haven’t had their pay keep up with inflation for a long time, and the current rate has forced people to fight harder for pay rises.

Both inflation and the supply chain issues we’re having are being made worse by Brexit, but countries which have stayed in the EU are having a lot of the same issues.

Energy shortage - again, the war in Ukraine has contributed to this. While we only get about 4% of our gas from Russia, other countries get more, and so there is more demand for e.g. Norwegian gas (and British, for that matter!) which is driving up the price. We’re closing nuclear plants faster than we open them, and we’re not building wind quite quickly enough to make up the difference either. We also don’t have a great deal of energy storage yet.

The worst case scenarios that the media is “dooming” over involve the potential of having three-five days in a row in the middle of winter (where solar output is low), which have very low wind speeds across the whole country (from the south coast of Cornwall to the seas around Shetland) and are also very cold. That would mean that wind and solar would be at low levels, demand for heat would be extremely high (although the high cost might “help” there), and maybe we wouldn’t be able to fire up all our gas power stations to generate the electricity we need.

I’m sorry if this is a bit much. I do understand why you feel like things are very bad right now, because you’re right, things are very bad right now. But you seemed to be asking for an explanation, so I thought I would do my best to explain it.

^Thats what I needed, thank you.

I don't mind if a black-out was just 3 or 4 consecutive nights in the winter. But because we're so reliant on electricity and internet, hardly anyone will be able to function if there were to be black-outs throughout the day or several days.

I remember there was talk of black-outs about 10 or 11 years ago and I think I wrote a thread about it here. I might try and see if I can find it. But as far as I know it never happened.

If I knew Brexit would cause all these problems I would have voted to remain in.
And trust Russia, the most war-y country, to be the supplier of our essentials.

I'm becoming so anxious and stressed about it all that I'm struggling to go to work and it's nothing to do with my job because I love my job. But I just want to sit and not do anything, which isn't like me. I feel like I don't have the energy. It might be the hot weather too.

I certainly hope it doesn't get to the point where you have blackouts for 3-4 consecutive nights when you need heat.

I would bet this is a "worst case scenario," though.

Well if there's black-outs at night then me and my boyfriend can keep each other warm in bed. When we went to Scotland one winter the pipes froze in the family beach house and oh my God it was so cold. We turned all the radiators on but it took about 12 hours for the pipes to unfreeze. We could see our breath as we got into bed on the first night. We had our bathrobes on and thick socks, and cuddled up right under the duvet together. I woke up a couple of hours later absolutely sweating hot even though the radiators were still cold. I had to take my bathrobe and socks off to cool down.

So yeah, with the body heat my boyfriend generates you can warm up pretty good. But at the moment we can't sleep together in this heat because of the amount of body heat next to me on the bed, and we don't have another bed in the apartment and the couch is too uncomfortable to sleep on, so I stay up all night until he gets up for work at 4am, then I go to bed and get up at 10am (I don't start work until the afternoon so it works out quite well).