Was life in Britain better twenty years ago?

[red_slr]

Yep. Much better.

[Megaflow]

Yes and no. I was 20 years younger which always helps. But, I voted no because 20 years ago to the month I had just been made redundant for the second time in the space of 7 months.

[menguin]

Mothersruin said:

Eric Mc said:

Mothersruin said:

I think society was closer, more coherent and harmonised than it is now.

Blair has plenty to be guilty of but I see his legacy of identity politics, unchecked immigration and multiculturalism has irreversibly damaged the fundamentals of the country.

And I see a lot of those things that you see as negatives as positives. So, this is almost a pointless topic in that people view the world in different ways and "better" or "worse" can be completely different to different people.

Britain has changed and will soon not be "Britain" in what many would consider to be its "normal" state. Of course, what Britain is and meant has never been a static thing. It has evolved and changed constantly since the whole "Britain" concept came into being.

I fully expect that the United Kingdom will exist in name only in less than ten years.

Interesting that you see the gradual break down of society as a positive.

Never had you down as a closet anarchist Eric.

Interesting that you consider immigration & multiculturalism as the breakdown of society.

[Mothersruin]

menguin said:

Mothersruin said:

Eric Mc said:

Mothersruin said:

I think society was closer, more coherent and harmonised than it is now.

Blair has plenty to be guilty of but I see his legacy of identity politics, unchecked immigration and multiculturalism has irreversibly damaged the fundamentals of the country.

And I see a lot of those things that you see as negatives as positives. So, this is almost a pointless topic in that people view the world in different ways and "better" or "worse" can be completely different to different people.

Britain has changed and will soon not be "Britain" in what many would consider to be its "normal" state. Of course, what Britain is and meant has never been a static thing. It has evolved and changed constantly since the whole "Britain" concept came into being.

I fully expect that the United Kingdom will exist in name only in less than ten years.

Interesting that you see the gradual break down of society as a positive.

Never had you down as a closet anarchist Eric.

Interesting that you consider immigration & multiculturalism as the breakdown of society.

Unchecked immigration. Unchecked.

[Biker's Nemesis]

I was 33. Life was good (as it is now) but my parents and grandparents were still alive. That is all I miss.

[glenrobbo]

Consider how many pubs have closed during the last 20 years.

[Hoofy]

louiebaby said:

The music certainly was.

Came here to post that.

[Mort7]

Yes.

Mobile phones were only used for phone calls, so no phone zombies, the internet was in it's infancy, and social media hadn't been invented.

Far fewer speed cameras, and mobile speed cameras were a rarity. The police were a force, rather than a service which worries more about the rights of offenders than those of their victims.

Fewer people, but more birds and insects. More green fields.

The current trend to blame everyone else for your problems wasn't as pronounced, and people took more responsibility for their actions. Young adults acted more like adults, and less like children. You wouldn't see a bloke with a beard on a children's scooter.

Politics was less shouty, and anyone blocking streets to protest would be moved on - forcibly.

I could go on for hours, but that would get boring. Of course it could be that I'm viewing the past through the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, but life seemed a lot simpler 20 years ago.

[Driver101]

The standard of living is higher than 20 years ago.

I agree the music scene was far better 20 years ago.

The standard of people is worse in modern times.

[HairyMaclary]

I was on 33kbs dial up 20 years ago. Now I have a 100mb line

[Mort7]

HairyMaclary said:

I was on 33kbs dial up 20 years ago. Now I have a 100mb line.

Do you mean your porn downloads quicker now?

[bloomen]

Yes it was better.

I'd say the biggest difference between now and then is today's near constant hysteria of which social media is the prime culprit.

All the same if you shun the internet and media and don't live in a city life isn't radically different.

All the same I cannot think of one single public service that isn't suffering hugely if it's compared to olden times and the state of things in general feels like the West is in irreversible decline in a way it wasn't back in the day.

And if you compare it to 1979, 20 years back feels like an all round bright spot.

Edited by bloomen on Friday 19th July 11:41

[GT03ROB]

Eric Mc said:

Exactly. "Better" is in the eye of the beholder (as is the opposite - "worse").

I don't like the current massive uncertainty - but that's not unique to the UK.

But Eric back then we were all going to be doomed by the Y2K bug..... now it's just Brexit

[crofty1984]

Billiewhiz said:

Yes! I was 20 yrs younger.

EXACTLY THIS!
I think the best years, and therefore technology and society may not progress past this point were 2008-2010. I was living in Italy, had money and was in my early 20s. I'll allow late 2006-2007 but only if I can go back to America single this time.

[mike74]

I'd say life is much better now as long as you're....


- In the wealthiest 10% of the population

or

- You qualify to play the ''in work'' benefits system, child tax credits, working tax credits and other associated benefits.


For anyone who doesn't fall into either of the above two categories I'd say life now is worse in just about every measurable way.

Edited by mike74 on Friday 19th July 12:59

[dudleybloke]

Nightlife was a lot better.

[mikeveal]

Twenty years ago the country was living so far beyond it's means that the government chose to sell off half the UKs gold reserves to pay the bills.
Everyone hates the fact that spending has been cut to the bone to try rebalance the books (whether or not you consider it necessary.)

Is it "better" to live way beyond your means (storing up the pain of paying for later), or to live almost within them?

[P-Jay]

mikeveal said:

Twenty years ago the country was living so far beyond it's means that the government chose to sell off half the UKs gold reserves to pay the bills.
Everyone hates the fact that spending has been cut to the bone to try rebalance the books (whether or not you consider it necessary.)

Is it "better" to live way beyond your means (storing up the pain of paying for later), or to live almost within them?

That a very barbed view of what happened.

[Down and out]

Mothersruin said:

I think society was closer, more coherent and harmonised than it is now.

Blair has plenty to be guilty of but I see his legacy of identity politics, unchecked immigration and multiculturalism has irreversibly damaged the fundamentals of the country.

No Twitter as well.

[anonymous-user]

20 years ago things were hardly different to now in Britain. I think many people saying things were better are harking back even further to a time that didn't exist.

I remember amongst other things (more than 20 years ago):

Filthy, unreliable trains where the idea of customer service from staff was to not give you change in the buffet car "because I've cashed up the till" or the ticket inspector threatening to confiscate your rail card because the ticket clerk advised you wrongly (yes BR, I carry the pain to this day).

18 months wait to get a driving test.

3 months wait to get a phone line connected.

National Front/BNP instead of Tommy Robinson/UKIP.

Pre-punk 1970's music.

Beer like piss.

Ghastly meat and two veg restaurants.

All of the above (bar National Front/BNP instead of Tommy Robinson/UKIP - just evidence that tts will always be a constant) are much better now.

1999 v now = more internet/social media (whether that is good or bad is a matter of opinion) and you can certainly get your hands on material 'stuff' much quicker now.