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I thought it was going to be about Britain. They have been drivning towards the abyss in the last decades. I used to live in London. The difference in public in

I thought it was going to be about Britain. They have been drivning towards the abyss in the last decades. I used to live in London. The difference in public infrastructure and company facilities between the UK and Northern Europe is quite staggering. Now, add the “Ever shrinking Britain” (Scotland leaving after Brexit…, Northern Ireland more part of EU/Ireland than Britain in the future?) to the events and it makes the British Brexiteers really looking like want to cut off their nose to spite the face, except the face is the EU’s and the nose belongs to Britain.

alecco 8y ago
Sure but they are close to a balanced budget. And have the best employment rates in a long time. Unlike France, a closer example.
- pjc50 8y ago
  Yes, but at what cost? The food bank use rate is at an all time high. A lot of people are skeptical of the raw employment rate - an uber driver who does 1 hour a week counts as "employed".
  - tonyedgecombe 8y ago
    >an uber driver who does 1 hour a week counts as "employed" The underemployment rate has been falling steadily alongside unemployment.
- GordonS 8y ago
  This started long before the Conservatives came into power and actually made an attempt to right the budgetary wrongs of the previous Labour government.
lainga 8y ago
Yes, but the gap has been around since the 50s and was mostly born from Britain squandering their Marshall Plan aid playing at empire (instead of reconstruction) between 1948 and the Suez Crisis.
- abainbridge 8y ago
  I think today it has more to do with the UK having low tax as a percentage of GDP, and therefore has less money to spend on infrastructure. Here's how the UK ranks compared to other European countries: Norway 54.8%, Finland 54.2%, Denmark 50.8%, Sweden 49.8%, Belgium 47.9%, France 47.9%, Germany 44.5%, Italy 43.5%, Austria 42.7%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 41.2%, Iceland 40.4%, Netherlands 39.8%, Slovenia 39.3%, Cyprus 39.2%, Hungary 39.1%, Greece 39.0%, Spain 37.3%, Portugal 37.0%, Croatia 36.7%, Luxembourg 36.5%, Czech Republic 36.3%, Malta 35.2%, UK 34.4%. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_revenue_to_GDP_ratio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_reven...
kmlx 8y ago
abyss? the UK is one of the best examples of capitalism and free trade in the world. London is the world capital of finance, with NYC and Tokyo on 2nd place. the UK is ahead of the RoW when it comes to finance by at least 2 years. northern Europe is too small to matter on the world stage. the Tokyo metropolis is larger than the whole of northern Europe in terms of population and wealth.
- kazen44 8y ago
  London might be doing great, but the rest of the UK has been left behind decades ago..
  - kmlx 8y ago
    Only Yorkshire, North East and North West have been "left behind" (and that's only when compared to the rest of the UK, not the rest of Europe). The rest of the regions (SW, SE, E, both Midlands) have seen increases in wealth of about 30% in the last 20 years.
- bjelkeman-again 8y ago
  > the UK is one of the best examples of capitalism and free trade in the world. Successful capitalism in my mind is measured in more ways than a finance industry or stock market.

alecco 8y ago

Sure but they are close to a balanced budget. And have the best employment rates in a long time. Unlike France, a closer example.

pjc50 8y ago
Yes, but at what cost? The food bank use rate is at an all time high. A lot of people are skeptical of the raw employment rate - an uber driver who does 1 hour a week counts as "employed".
- tonyedgecombe 8y ago
  >an uber driver who does 1 hour a week counts as "employed" The underemployment rate has been falling steadily alongside unemployment.
GordonS 8y ago
This started long before the Conservatives came into power and actually made an attempt to right the budgetary wrongs of the previous Labour government.

lainga 8y ago

Yes, but the gap has been around since the 50s and was mostly born from Britain squandering their Marshall Plan aid playing at empire (instead of reconstruction) between 1948 and the Suez Crisis.

abainbridge 8y ago
I think today it has more to do with the UK having low tax as a percentage of GDP, and therefore has less money to spend on infrastructure. Here's how the UK ranks compared to other European countries: Norway 54.8%, Finland 54.2%, Denmark 50.8%, Sweden 49.8%, Belgium 47.9%, France 47.9%, Germany 44.5%, Italy 43.5%, Austria 42.7%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 41.2%, Iceland 40.4%, Netherlands 39.8%, Slovenia 39.3%, Cyprus 39.2%, Hungary 39.1%, Greece 39.0%, Spain 37.3%, Portugal 37.0%, Croatia 36.7%, Luxembourg 36.5%, Czech Republic 36.3%, Malta 35.2%, UK 34.4%. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_revenue_to_GDP_ratio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_reven...

kmlx 8y ago

abyss? the UK is one of the best examples of capitalism and free trade in the world. London is the world capital of finance, with NYC and Tokyo on 2nd place. the UK is ahead of the RoW when it comes to finance by at least 2 years. northern Europe is too small to matter on the world stage. the Tokyo metropolis is larger than the whole of northern Europe in terms of population and wealth.

kazen44 8y ago
London might be doing great, but the rest of the UK has been left behind decades ago..
- kmlx 8y ago
  Only Yorkshire, North East and North West have been "left behind" (and that's only when compared to the rest of the UK, not the rest of Europe). The rest of the regions (SW, SE, E, both Midlands) have seen increases in wealth of about 30% in the last 20 years.
bjelkeman-again 8y ago
> the UK is one of the best examples of capitalism and free trade in the world. Successful capitalism in my mind is measured in more ways than a finance industry or stock market.