The Winter of Discontent #2 Food, energy, transport, jobs, housing etc

[Littleelf]

that is actually shocking. Are you in a position to swap supermarket? Some people aren't due to transport, living area etc. I shop in Lidl and I find it much cheaper. I can't get everything there but I usually only need to go to the supermarket for 2 things which I can pick up on my way to work to so pretty easy.

Me and hubby have had a conversation in the car on the way home from this particular shopping trip and agreed that from this week we will be swapping to Lidl and we will see how that goes. I was so shocked at the tills, we simply can't afford this every week! We have shopped at tesco just out of convenience for some time, its closest to us and I do save up my club card vouchers for Christmas and other big things but I think its time we changed how we do things.

As a family living pay check to pay check, facing redundancy in the new year, with another baby on the way things have got my very anxious to say the least. We don't earn very low wages, we are quite average earners its scary how unaffordable living is becoming.

 

[emmer_moans]

I have shoes repaired, however I had a paid I wanted repair and it wasn't possible to resole due to how they were made. Companies want you to buy again, its a bit like household item. My mum and dad have the original boiler in their house from the early 1930s. You would never get a modern day boiler lasting that long.

There's definitely planned obsolescence going on with products, marketing is pushing people to buy new phones every time their contract expires or upgrade ipads upon each release, and they stop doing software support for older versions but realistically some of these computers, phones, ipads could physically last much longer.

 

[Lollyy]

Few points I would like to add.
The HGV drivers is not down to brexit, people don’t want the shit jobs. Maybe employers should renegotiate hours/salary for these jobs and people might apply. Most company’s treat workers like dogs
They got the working from home & then increase the heating prices. Disgraceful.. all planned.
Petrol prices going up. Concerns about pollution, yet in my town they are widening all the pavements, temp lights everywhere and constant traffic. Great for pollution
The electric vehicle bullshit is gunna be the same as diesel.
Convinced the toilet rolls have got smaller & don’t even get me started on the lack of offers in the supermarkets.
Don’t even get me started on the heat pump boilers. All whilst boris is on holiday painting..

 

[JoeBloggs]

Personally I think HS2 was a complete waste, especially knowing how much government consultants get paid! They need to invest in the North instead of encouraging people to work in London. They need to get those poor and deprived areas with little work help and encourage business to have offices up North, there is no need to it all to be down south.

 

[Misssj80]

Just to say thank you for all recommending the teddy bedding, I've just ordered my son some and myself a throw for my bed or when on the sofa. Have so far avoided putting the heating on but the mornings are getting so cold.

 

[WilmaHun]

The government is entirely in denial about any of the problems normal people are facing.

Did you see that Tory MP complaining about how hard it is to live on 82k salary? Fucking patronising.

And that's in a normal state, if the economy crashes I have absolutely no faith Rishi has any idea how to fix it, he's completely out of his depth.

I agree. It seems absolutely ludicrous to me that people are faced with having to choose whether to heat their homes, or put food on the table. Neither of which should be a choice anybody living in a first world country should have to make. The government are completely out of touch with the tough decisions the people in their country are up against

 

[Mark81]

What are peoples thoughts on the HS2 NE being scrapped?. A friends gf has spent the last few yrs relocating wildlife from the proposed route. What an inordinate waste of time/money.

Better stop the waste now. It was always a waste of time and money. The whole project could have been spent upgrading the whole UK network and reopening some lines. We are are small island, high speed isn't all that necessary

 

[Misssj80]

Can someone please tell me the facts? As I’ve already stated, I’m very anxious about what is going on currently.

I am panicking badly. The articles about lack of food, industry potentially having to shut down. What can I do?

I want to be prepared now. Is there anything I should buy to be prepared? Matches, more candles, blankets, batteries, torches, tinned food, camping gas stove? Please help?


Please can you post the link to this? I’d like to read so I know exactly how bad things could potentially get.

I stopped reading the daily mail etc as most is just scare mongering. However, I do have a cupboard in my bedroom that has two extra packets of pasta, 4 tinned tomatoes, 4 baked beans, 4 tins of soup and a couple of tinned fruit and tinned veg. Packets of noodles and porridge oats and a couple of long life milk. It's something I do every year running up to winter, I don't drive so get online food shopping and one year the snow was bad so the van couldn't come out. I also think if I were poorly and couldn't get out at least I would have something in. It's all stuff we use anyway(apart from the long life milk) so it gets used up regardless in the end or would be donated to someone that would make use of it. It's just a safety net, nothing major but makes me feel better.

 

[reCAPTCHA]

do we need two isles of sweets, two for crips another two for soft drinks.. another two for bread and cakes.

Honestly? I can live with blackouts and pandemics, but please lord don’t take my sweets and cakes aisle. Is anything sacred????

 

[Reverend]

What are peoples thoughts on the HS2 NE being scrapped?. A friends gf has spent the last few yrs relocating wildlife from the proposed route. What an inordinate waste of time/money.

I personally think that HS2 is a huge waste of money. It would have been better to have paid out to re-open many of the Beeching lines.

However, Johnson did promise that they would have better rail links in order to level up. Unsurprisingly, he's broken that promise as he doesn't live in the north so it won't effect him.

 

[HotesTilaire]

There are courses run for medical staff who are refugees to convert their qualifications- your NHS gaps are being plugged by refugee nurses and doctors from Syria and Afghanistan.
Like most famines, there’s enough to go around, it’s just not affordable to everyone.
To be fair much as I like coming on here for updates on crisps, I could survive without them. I’m not down to eating porridge cooked over candlelight just yet.

 

[Tatooine_legend1]

I am 41 and I vividly remember he excitement of a power cut in my childhood. Was fairly uncommon, but very exciting as a kid in Cornwall We would have a stash of candles as standard.

My 92 yr old MIL often tells me that she quite enjoyed the Second World War She has fond memories of running to the shelters with her little dog tucked under her arm.

No wonder the old people these days have lived so long. Those that didn't die during the war, made it through. Their mindsets are strong and they don't let the small things get to them. These days many younger people sweat over the small stuff. The old people these days genuinely had a reason to be worried back then. My nan died a few years ago, aged 95. I can imagine how tough her life was as she lived and raised in Leyton. I never really spoke to her much about her childhood, but couldn't have been easy. My other nan was a cook in the army, where she met my grandad. Actually I never spoke to either of them about their lives when they were younger. I don't think we understand how much struggle our old people went through when younger. Makes you appreciate them more actually. It is a shame how this country treats it's old.

 

[Tatooine_legend1]

It's actually not a bad idea to go back to the way things were 50/60 years ago. By that I mean saving money where possible and having to choose between luxuries or the more important things.

Too much consumerism these days that, thinking about it, isn't good at all. Myself for example, I would buy a new phone every couple years, but looking back now I wouldn't have done it. I have a phone now that has lasted me for about 5 years.

Eventually it will need replacing, but at least I am not spending 100s of pounds on a phone every couple years. That's just a small example, but there's definitely far more things that I have bought because I wanted it, rather than If I absolutely needed it.

 

[kazizzle]

How come there's a shortage of Chef's at the moment? Is it because it's a stressful job and since the pandemic people thought fuck it?

Potentially but also they may have gotten other jobs and realised that they could have a better quality of life doing something else. Cheffing is so demanding on your time - long shifts, six day weeks, very little family time. Might also be because of the pandemic there weren’t as many young people starting out in kitchens so now there’s a bit of a skills gap as new chefs haven’t been able to be trained over the past year or so.

 

[dancingqueen5678]

Saw on twitter that scurvy rates are rising

 

[GobShyte64]

Poorest would be effected the most though. Shortages created by increased demand also raises prices.

I also remember reading stories of parents with autistic children who could only have one particular brand because of the texture.



Bring back the workhouses too for all the feckless folk. I just see it as being survival of the richest.

My son is autistic and is ridiculous for brands. I can only buy Aunt Bessie Roasties, Only proper pringles, only proper salt n vinegar crisps (Walkers), The only thing I can buy the cheaper versions of is the cereals. But even mccains chips at £2.50 a bag and he wont eat Icelands £1 bags because apparently they taste like cardboard. He lives on the beige diet. I'm glad he eats though as there was a time he didnt eat anything and was really underweight.

 

[hollowcrown]

Netflix are not only creative with their TV series but also with their accounting practices too.

Where are all these lefties criticising Netflix for not paying their fair share? A deafening silence!

I'm all for banning companies trading in the UK if they don't pay their fair share. I'm sick and tired of the small (and in many cases, struggling) businesses being hounded for every last penny they owe by HRMC, but the big guys continually getting away with paying very little - despite earning billions in sales. If you are making only a small number of millions in profit on a multi billion turnover, your business isn't that brilliant.

I wonder what Netflix's TRUE UK profit is, before creative accounting and money siphoned off to tax havens?

It can't be that difficult to block Netflix services, if required to.

Why blame the "lefties" for this? It's the Tories that have been in power for the past 11 years. Their tax policies are allowing this to happen.

 

[GobShyte64]

Where I live is a massive council estate that always vote red but surrounding areas are all fancy rich old people in million+pound houses that always vote blue so my area comes under Tory. I voted for Corbyn at the last GE but would not vote for Starmer just because I feel like he has been poor opposition throughout this covid mess and feel like he's let Bojo & co get away with all sorts. I feel like he is a bit of a "yes man" & for that I feel he doesnt speak for people like myself. He comes out with soundbites at PMQs but they are mostly just taking the piss out of each other with jeering in the background.

We need a new party full of actual working people that know what it's like to be living on the bread line, that has claimed JSA, ESA, PIP, UC etc. We need real people with real experiences that can relate to the majority of the UK rather than people who have breathed politics from birth, come from money & never had to struggle or work a proper job in their lives. Kinda what the Labour party used to be about when it first came about. I can't see that happening any time soon but it's definitely needed. Especially as the next GE isnt until 2024, unless Bojo brings it forward.

 

[dancingqueen5678]

What? I was always certain that there would be customs to be paid once the UK is out of the EU.

BUT WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT THAT?
And why would anyone believe this absurd promise that the pro-Leave agenda stated? It was a stupid thing to suggest, especially as it was not in the control of the UK (as you state).
(By the way, there are also customs to be paid from the US etc.)

As a consumer, I would like to decide myself if I only want to buy from within the UK or also buy from other countries. The second choice is now more expensive and this is detrimental to my consumer experience.
Why would anyone vote for this?

In addition, it is pretty hard to buy things "from within the UK" if they are not being produced in the UK. So I either pay more or dont have access to them - reminds me of Cuba.

THIs was a definite (and stupid) step backwards.

The UK will never ever be able to produce everything themselves, especially not exotic fruit and veg, but also many consumer articles that are being produced with licences held outside the UK.



Here is a link you might find useful:

15 things Vote Leave promised on Brexit — and what it got

Some Leave voters may be disappointed.

www.politico.eu

also many UK companies import stuff (parts etc) from the EU which is now at an expense to them which means an expense to us or just completely unavailable.
Secondly a major issue that UK businesses are having is that they sell TO THE EU which the EU now don't want to buy cause they can get it cheaper elsewhere.

I don't know how people can keep blaming COVID. EU countries and countries across the globe went through the exact same pandemic we did yet seem to be functioning perfectly fine. Yes there are a shortage of HGV drivers in Europe but their shelves are still well stocked because they have freedom of movement.

Well casting my vote in a generation election was short lived.
Once.
I won't vote again until there's a party to vote for, sadly that may be never.
There is no one who would do better and no one who could do worse.
They're all career politicians and lie, bully, dictate and hypocrite and dumb down because they think the British public are dumb. The embarrassing publicity stunts, empty promises. I'm out

that's the exact opposite of what you should do! Vote for the best of a bad bunch. Otherwise you're just going to continue to have a bad bunch!!!!!!
Voting isn't a marriage. You're not looking for the "one". Voting is needing to get destination where no transport is going to so you just get on the best bus that takes you closest to your destination.

 

[MarthaFarkus]

I pay £40 per month for both gas and electric but I pay it manually. I simply cannot afford to pay the £118 pm for both that SSE want if I pay by DD. I just pay the excess, if there is one, when the bill comes in. It’s going to be a lean Christmas in the ‘Farkus’ house this year. I’ve lost over £500 a month since my daughter turned 18 in May, I work but it’s bloody difficult now.