Why is the UK struggling more than other countries?

[Mac Mickmanus]

3 minutes ago, placeholder said:

 Here's a link to people who differ with you on that score:

New ONS figures reveal cold homes death toll

https://www.nea.org.uk/news/271120-01/

 

 

That is a link to a charity and they are seeking donations , that isn't a credible news source

[vinny41]

11 minutes ago, placeholder said:

You mean it's legal in the uk for a charity to misrepresent what it's doing with the money it's raising/.

They seem quite highly rated.

https://www.charityclarity.org.uk/charities/national-energy-action/

If your going to quote figures from the ONS what don't you provide a link from the ONS

In the winter of 2020 to 2021, most excess winter deaths were in hospitals in England (36,500) and Wales (2,100), with 54.7% and 39.1% more deaths occurring in the winter than the non-winter months in England and Wales respectively (Figure 7).

In England, the excess winter mortality index (EWMI) for hospitals was significantly higher than other places of death, whereas in Wales there was no significant difference between hospitals and care homes.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/excesswintermortalityinenglandandwales/2020to2021provisionaland2019to2020final#:~:text=An estimated 63%2C000 excess winter,(December to March)."

 

No mention of heating in the ONS report

[metisdead]

Some troll posts and replies have been removed.  A post with a link to charity site that related the Covid pandemic has been removed as well as the replies. 

[Mac Mickmanus]

6 hours ago, RayC said:

I'd heard of the 'Big Mac' index but must confess that I was unaware of this additional 'Mac' index, which measures the relative warmth of the UK population.

To be fair, I was commenting on a media report about a person complaining about having to sit under a blanket when sitting at home watching television , which IMO is a bearable "hardship" .I will keep my sympathies for people who don't have a home or a blanket or a television 

[RayC]

1 hour ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

*Deleted post edited out*

 

Things that effect me in the UK and my experiences also effect many other people in the UK and they share similar experiences .

Yes. Some do, some don't.

 

1 hour ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

 

I am quite sure that my local supermarket wasn't the only supermarket in the UK was rammed packed before Christmas and that I am not the only person in the UK who has been giving credit by my gas company .

Again no doubt true in some cases not in others.

 

1 hour ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

   Things that effect me also effect everyone else in the UK.

To a lesser or greater degree, yes but what's the point of this whole theme? That your experience is the 'mean' and/or 'median' experience of the UK population?

 

1 hour ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

If you were to accept and believe everything some posters living in Thailand say, you would think everyone in the UK gets their food from foodbanks and people are  freezing to death at home because they cannot afford to heat their homes .

And the other side of this coin is that if you were to believe the claims of Brexit supporters living in Thailand, the streets of London will be paved in gold some time in the (undefined) future.

[kwilco]

2 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

you would think everyone in the UK gets their food from foodbanks and people are  freezing to death at home because they cannot afford to heat their homes .

Yes - they are and the footfall on retail shopping this Christmas was 30% down on 2019 pre-Covid

[Mac Mickmanus]

2 minutes ago, kwilco said:

Yes - they are and the footfall on retail shopping this Christmas was 30% down on 2019 pre-Covid

There has been a decline in retail shopping with many people now shopping online and getting things delivered , its much more convenient  and cheaper to sit and home and browse online and then make a purchase with a few clicks and then get the goods delivered , rather than traipsing around the shops .

[Mac Mickmanus]

3 hours ago, RayC said:

Yes. Some do, some don't.

 

Again no doubt true in some cases not in others.

 

To a lesser or greater degree, yes but what's the point of this whole theme? That your experience is the 'mean' and/or 'median' experience of the UK population?

 

And the other side of this coin is that if you were to believe the claims of Brexit supporters living in Thailand, the streets of London will be paved in gold some time in the (undefined) future.

Just from reading posts from today from Thai living posters you would think that UK business trade is down 30 % due to a 30 % decline  in shop sales , 65 year olds are being forced back to work and 2.1 Million people need food banks for survival and they are saying how terrible it is in the UK

   The reality is that people shop online these days , early retires (50-65) are being encouraged to go back to work and 5753 food packages are being handed out on a daily basis , bringing the total to 2.1 million packages handed out per year

   The situation in the UK really isn't as bad as some  posters imagine it is  and that is due to the misinformation they receive 

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Just from reading posts from today from Thai living posters you would think that UK business trade is down 30 % due to a 30 % decline  in shop sales , 65 year olds are being forced back to work and 2.1 Million people need food banks for survival and they are saying how terrible it is in the UK

   The reality is that people shop online these days , early retires (50-65) are being encouraged to go back to work and 5753 food packages are being handed out on a daily basis , bringing the total to 2.1 million packages handed out per year

   The situation in the UK really isn't as bad as some  posters imagine it is  and that is due to the misinformation they receive 

Bad news sells or gets clicks. Good news, not so much.

[RayC]

11 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Just from reading posts from today from Thai living posters you would think that UK business trade is down 30 % due to a 30 % decline  in shop sales , 65 year olds are being forced back to work and 2.1 Million people need food banks for survival and they are saying how terrible it is in the UK

   The reality is that people shop online these days , early retires (50-65) are being encouraged to go back to work and 5753 food packages are being handed out on a daily basis , bringing the total to 2.1 million packages handed out per year

   The situation in the UK really isn't as bad as some  posters imagine it is  and that is due to the misinformation they receive 

The point that I - and others who reply to you - are making is that you, me or anyone else cannot use our individual observations and experience and pass it off as representative of the UK as a whole.

[RayC]

6 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Bad news sells or gets clicks. Good news, not so much.

Maybe but it doesn't make it any more or less true than good news.

[Mavideol]

11 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Just from reading posts from today from Thai living posters you would think that UK business trade is down 30 % due to a 30 % decline  in shop sales , 65 year olds are being forced back to work and 2.1 Million people need food banks for survival and they are saying how terrible it is in the UK

   The reality is that people shop online these days , early retires (50-65) are being encouraged to go back to work and 5753 food packages are being handed out on a daily basis , bringing the total to 2.1 million packages handed out per year

   The situation in the UK really isn't as bad as some  posters imagine it is  and that is due to the misinformation they receive 

news are just posting the "real" data provided by reliable government sources, maybe u don't like it but data speaks for itself and usually that's the truth

[Mac Mickmanus]

36 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

news are just posting the "real" data provided by reliable government sources, maybe u don't like it but data speaks for itself and usually that's the truth

I am talking about posters on here though posting misleading information and I am posting the real facts as posted by media outlets .

   The retired people whom the Government are encouraging to get back into the work force are those who took early retirement at 50 years old . 

   Its not the retired people over retirement age (66) who are being encouraged to get back to work .

   Many people do shop online these days and that is the reason why  retail (shop) sales are down by 30 % because its much cheaper to buy online these days with online prices 50-70 % lower than shop prices 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Mac Mickmanus

[Mac Mickmanus]

32 minutes ago, RayC said:

The point that I - and others who reply to you - are making is that you, me or anyone else cannot use our individual observations and experience and pass it off as representative of the UK as a whole.

Its not just me who has been credited  with utility bills and its not just me who has been cutting back on utility usage and its not just my supermarket which was busy , that is common for the whole of the UK

[Bluespunk]

48 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

I am talking about posters on here though posting misleading information and I am posting the real facts as posted by media outlets .

   The retired people whom the Government are encouraging to get back into the work force are those who took early retirement at 50 years old . 

   Its not the retired people over retirement age (66) who are being encouraged to get back to work .

   Many people do shop online these days and that is the reason why  retail (shop) sales are down by 30 % because its much cheaper to buy online these days with online prices 50-70 % lower than shop prices 

Absolute nonsense, all you are doing is attempting  deflection from the realities of brexit. 
 

You can’t refute facts so you resort to fictional 50 bedroom home owners and alleged anecdotes about supermarkets, which, even if true, prove nothing. 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Bluespunk

[Bluespunk]

32 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Its not just me who has been credited  with utility bills and its not just me who has been cutting back on utility usage and its not just my supermarket which was busy , that is common for the whole of the UK

Even if true, that anecdotal “evidence” does not change the fact that brexit has damaged the uks trading practices and economy. 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Bluespunk

[RayC]

5 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Its not just me who has been credited  with utility bills and its not just me who has been cutting back on utility usage and its not just my supermarket which was busy , that is common for the whole of the UK

???? So you're reduced to trolling yet again.

 

On the off chance that is not the case, I will try to explain one last time the problem with using personal experience as evidence for the wider population.

 

All of what you state is correct with the exception of the final phrase ("... that is common for the whole of the UK").

 

Taking your post at face value. I received a utility credit; I know people who have cut back on utility usage and I have seen busy supermarkets so yes, you're right, two of us have experienced the same thing: it's not just you. Your statement is logically correct.

 

However, you cannot then extrapolate our shared observations and say that it ".. is common for the whole of the UK" (unless "common" is defined as a minimum of two people). In order to reach that conclusion, you would need to analyse the data from a statistical sound survey e.g. a survey of individuals who are representative of the UK population as a whole, not just two individuals based in London.

 

The comments that you are posting are personal opinion and not facts as you infer. They have less validity and are less reliable than findings from survey data.

[Mac Mickmanus]

3 minutes ago, RayC said:

???? So you're reduced to trolling yet again.

 

 

OK, lets end the discussion right there

[Mac Mickmanus]

 

 

UK government looks to lure early retirees back to work, reports say

 

 

People who quit during pandemic may be offered ‘midlife MOT’ as way to address labour shortage

 

 

Plans to coax middle-aged retirees back into work to boost the economy are being considered by the government, according to reports.

Older people who have given up work could be offered what is being described as a “midlife MOT” to entice them back into employment, the Times has reported, and it follows a recent House of Lords committee finding that a wave of early retirement for professionals aged over 50 since the Covid pandemic has caused a huge labour shortage.

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/dec/24/uk-government-looks-to-lure-early-retirees-back-to-work-reports-say

[Bluespunk]

15 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

 

 

UK government looks to lure early retirees back to work, reports say

 

 

People who quit during pandemic may be offered ‘midlife MOT’ as way to address labour shortage

 

 

Plans to coax middle-aged retirees back into work to boost the economy are being considered by the government, according to reports.

Older people who have given up work could be offered what is being described as a “midlife MOT” to entice them back into employment, the Times has reported, and it follows a recent House of Lords committee finding that a wave of early retirement for professionals aged over 50 since the Covid pandemic has caused a huge labour shortage.

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/dec/24/uk-government-looks-to-lure-early-retirees-back-to-work-reports-say

The problems the U.K. faces will not be resolved by “luring” and “enticing “ retirees back to work.

Especially, as noted in the report you link to, early retirement is not the only problem regarding the workforce. 
 

“The report also noted that retirement, increased sickness, changes to migration and the UK’s ageing population had all contributed to the current tightness in the labour market.

 

Figures from October revealed that nearly 2.5 million people were not looking for jobs because of long-term sickness, adding to the labour shortages.”

Edited December 28, 2022 by Bluespunk

[josephbloggs]

1 hour ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

I am talking about posters on here though posting misleading information and I am posting the real facts as posted by media outlets 

Brilliant. Pretty sure it was you a few pages back who told me not to believe what was in the media.  But when it suits you we should, right?

[Mac Mickmanus]

4 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Brilliant. Pretty sure it was you a few pages back who told me not to believe what was in the media.  But when it suits you we should, right?

Believe what I say and question everyone else 

[Mavideol]

10 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Believe what I say and question everyone else 

or the other way..... do as I say but don't do as I do  555

[Kwasaki]

23 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

or the other way..... do as I say but don't do as I do  555

No do as I say full stop. ????

[Chomper Higgot]

22 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

There has been a decline in retail shopping with many people now shopping online and getting things delivered , its much more convenient  and cheaper to sit and home and browse online and then make a purchase with a few clicks and then get the goods delivered , rather than traipsing around the shops .

Online shopping is included in retail.

 

”1.1 Definition of the retail sector
The retail sector includes any business or individual involved with selling products directly to consumers. The retail sector includes shops, department stores, supermarkets, market stalls, door-to-door sales people and internet retailers.”

 

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06186/SN06186.pdf

 

[Mac Mickmanus]

On 12/27/2022 at 12:42 PM, kwilco said:

Yes - they are and the footfall on retail shopping this Christmas was 30% down on 2019 pre-Covid

Do you have any evidence and link to confirm that ?

(I have had an online look myself and there are no reports of your claims )

[Mac Mickmanus]

12 hours ago, RayC said:

 

 

All of what you state is correct with the exception of the final phrase ("... that is common for the whole of the UK").

 

Taking your post at face value. I received a utility credit; I know people who have cut back on utility usage and I have seen busy supermarkets so yes, you're right, two of us have experienced the same thing: it's not just you. Your statement is logically correct.

 

However, you cannot then extrapolate our shared observations and say that it ".. is common for the whole of the UK" (unless "common" is defined as a minimum of two people). In order to reach that conclusion, you would need to analyse the data from a statistical sound survey e.g. a survey of individuals who are representative of the UK population as a whole, not just two individuals based in London.

 

 

Well , it isn't just you and me who have cut back on utility usage , the link below shows energy usage is down 10-15 % in the U.K which is the result of people cutting back on usage .

   (I really don't like having to keep providing links to people who keep doubting what I say, but, what else can I do ?)

 

UK households have cut energy consumption by 10%, say suppliers

 

E.ON reports up to 15% drop as Grant Shapps writes to firms saying customers cutting back on energy use should not face direct debit rise

 

Britons have cut their gas and electricity use by more than 10% since October in the first evidence of the impact of the energy crisis on household habits, according to two of Britain’s biggest suppliers.

E.ON, Britain’s second-largest supplier, and Telecom Plus, which owns Utility Warehouse, have reported “double-digit” declines in recent weeks.

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/nov/27/uk-households-have-cut-energy-consumption-by-10-say-suppliers

 

Jules Jordan - Angela White & Autumn Falls Have Squirting Orgasms

 

 

 

 

[Bluespunk]

33 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Well , it isn't just you and me who have cut back on utility usage , the link below shows energy usage is down 10-15 % in the U.K which is the result of people cutting back on usage .

   (I really don't like having to keep providing links to people who keep doubting what I say, but, what else can I do ?)

 

UK households have cut energy consumption by 10%, say suppliers

 

E.ON reports up to 15% drop as Grant Shapps writes to firms saying customers cutting back on energy use should not face direct debit rise

 

Britons have cut their gas and electricity use by more than 10% since October in the first evidence of the impact of the energy crisis on household habits, according to two of Britain’s biggest suppliers.

E.ON, Britain’s second-largest supplier, and Telecom Plus, which owns Utility Warehouse, have reported “double-digit” declines in recent weeks.

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/nov/27/uk-households-have-cut-energy-consumption-by-10-say-suppliers

 

Jules Jordan - Angela White & Autumn Falls Have Squirting Orgasms

 

 

 

 

Despite cutting back bills are still rising for people. 

From your link

 

“In the letter, Shapps said he was “disturbed” by reports that some consumers had been told their direct debits would go up “when they are making huge efforts to reduce their usage to save money at a time when household incomes are squeezed”.

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Bluespunk

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, RayC said:

Maybe but it doesn't make it any more or less true than good news.

It does make us angry though. Is that a good thing?

[BritManToo]

6 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Britons have cut their gas and electricity use by more than 10% since October in the first evidence of the impact of the energy crisis on household habits, according to two of Britain’s biggest suppliers.

I've cut my grid power usage by 80%.