2023 - Where are we ?
Discussion
We'll hopefully still be in the EU and glad of it, especially with the size of Mexico, Brazil, Russia and China. Our ever sliding momentum down the pecking order will be a stark reminder of globalization and our limited ability to compete in it.
But these predictions are always b
ks. Predict 1990 in 1980? No. 2000 in 1990? No. Predict 2010 in 2000? Some of us might like to think we could 
But these predictions are always b
ks. Predict 1990 in 1980? No. 2000 in 1990? No. Predict 2010 in 2000? Some of us might like to think we could ewenm said:
I suspect my daughter being on the verge of her teenage years will be more of a worry to me than anything more "macro" than that
This for me too.But on a wider scale, 10 years isn't really long enough for this country to see much of a change IMO. I don't think the UK will be that much different to what we see today, we're in for a 'lost' decade or more that started in 2008 and will last 10-15 years (more if we don't get our act together, so we might be a bit better off as a nation, maybe a bit worse.
Abroad we'll see the Euro crisis come to it's inevitable end, with either a two-tier Euro or a lot of smaller countries having their tax and fiscal policies dictated from Brussels, there may even be a federal Europe as per the stated wishes of Barroso and co. but there are a of of hurdles (not least of which popular sentiment) before that becomes a reality I feel.
We will have shifted away from tribal two party politics after several hung parliaments cause the more intelligent thinkers to understand how it all works. We will have re-nationalised the essential services of water, energy and transport and will only provide benefits to bring recipients up to the national wage which incidentally will also be the level at which personal taxation will start. At home we will have invested in schools, fire & police and hospitals but slashed excessive management levels in all services. The financial sector will continue to flourish in the City and British industry will have been encouraged to grow thorough incentives. We will have radically reformed the stamp duty to remove the antiquated stepped system which will in turn energise the housing market and building industry generating more jobs. Meanwhile abroad the Euro will have all but disappeared after several failed attempts to prop it up and the EU will continue to be in a constant state of disarray with Germany pulling the strings meaning globalism will no longer be seen as the universal panacea some believe it to be. The UK will increase trade with other non-EU countries such as China and the far east. Oh and I nearly forgot, Scotland will still be part of the UK. 
Or it will still all be st - who knows?!?
Or it will still all be s
t - who knows?!?
+1crankedup said:
Any forecasts for the future of U.K. Ten years from now how are we, as a Nation shaping up in the Global economics, Social and Eco World ? How different will it all be for us left living here? Over to you.
How different is it now from 2003? Not much I suspect, we'll still be a rich, safe country obsessed with first world problems, defining poverty by how few playstation games a kid has and convincing ourselves everything is much better in a rural French village whilst ignoring the fact that to live like you want in one, you first need to make your money in the UK! 
In terms of socio-economics, maybe I've read too much of what Stephanie Flanders was saying, but I reckon there will be increased tension between London and the rest of the UK.
If our currency remains strong, it will continue to benefit London to the detriment of the rest of the country. The economy may even show 'growth' only in terms of London, while the rest of the country stagnates.
This could actually provide an interesting proposition for Scotland. Rather than separating from the UK, a UK with an independent London, with its own microcurrency complete with its own exchange rate, could be in place instead.
It's possible microcurrencies could form outside of existing economies anyway. Perhaps certain investment banks might start operating on a completely different currency in order to separate themselves from Sterling and the Euro, and governments could trade with them.
Either way, if something isn't done to separate the volatile world of investment banking with the high street and the people who use it, whose main concern is stability, then we'll suffer.
I think there are some interesting, radical economic changes ahead. They will need making, and both laymen and bankers will kick up a fuss, but it needs doing and will happen.
If our currency remains strong, it will continue to benefit London to the detriment of the rest of the country. The economy may even show 'growth' only in terms of London, while the rest of the country stagnates.
This could actually provide an interesting proposition for Scotland. Rather than separating from the UK, a UK with an independent London, with its own microcurrency complete with its own exchange rate, could be in place instead.
It's possible microcurrencies could form outside of existing economies anyway. Perhaps certain investment banks might start operating on a completely different currency in order to separate themselves from Sterling and the Euro, and governments could trade with them.
Either way, if something isn't done to separate the volatile world of investment banking with the high street and the people who use it, whose main concern is stability, then we'll suffer.
I think there are some interesting, radical economic changes ahead. They will need making, and both laymen and bankers will kick up a fuss, but it needs doing and will happen.
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