Britain is in a deep, terminal decline. The signs were there in the 80s but I was too young to realise it then. But now I can see it all around me, and it’s too much to ignore.

The decline of values is sad to see.

Take clothes. whereas you never saw anyone wearing a gym clothes, trainers or a tracksuit in public, you now see it all the time. Nowadays, people don’t wear their normal clothes in public and change when they get to the gym, there gym clothes ARE their normal clothes. Now it may seem petty, and if it were only for the convenience of wearing comfortable clothes, I could understand. But it’s about more than this.

Once it becomes acceptable for people who are doing no exercise to wear a tracksuit, all manner of previously tacky behaviour will become the norm.

The rise of the budget shop

Back in 1996, the only low-cost supermarket that was known about was Lidl, and in those days, it was a shop you went in quickly, if at all. Fast forward to today, and it seems that people have lost any qualms when it comes to where they shop. Pound land, Primark, Lidl and Aldi, its a race to the bottom. things become cheaper and cheaper and last for shorter and shorter lengths of time. Piles and piles of tat that sets of  an urge to acquire which has no rational explanation. There are no real winners here.

The declining standards of the media

We used to say that our newspapers were like America’s TV programs but in reality, our TV is not much better either. true, the things I watched in my teens in the nineties were not always the most edifying of programs (Eurotrash, The Word). But I’d far rather be watching either of these shows than much of what passes for entertainment nowadays. Big Brother, The Voice, Great British Bakeoff, all of which are the most watched programs on British TV. I hardly need to point out that these shows are as intellectually stimulating as a colouring book.

Deterioraion of spoken and written English

I’m going to sound like the Daily Mail here, but have you heard the way people are speaking these days? It doesn’t help that the culprits are often smart enough to know better, but in a kind of reverse snobberty, consider it more egalitarian to sound like a Radio 1 presenter than someone with a decent education.

The failure to raise social mobility (see also the rise of the underclass or the Chav)

Something which is really tragic and seems to be deeply ingrained is the failure of any government since the 1960s to raise standards for everyone. You’re still more lily to get a good job if your parents are well educated and well off. The best jobs go to the 7% of the population who are privately educated. Labour and Conservtive governments have failed to do anything about this problem. Rich and poor will always exist but the acceptance of it and the failure to do anything to correct it is one of the worse things about this country.

Chavs and the Underclass.

The benefit culture means that we are now facing a generation of people who have never worked, come from families who have never worked, and have no intention of ever working has led to a burgeoning underclass in Britain. As long as its possible to be given money and a house from the government without needing to work, it will not change. Condemnation of chav culture is not class snobbery but despair for the demise of the noble working class.

Multlicultarism, refugees, immigration.

None of these are necessarily bad per se, but when they are done unthinkingly as has happened here, they lead to unforeseen ocuureences. Such as, the dilution of english consciousness and the erosion of national character. Immigration is always a good thing when the immigration actually brings benefits to the host country. Now, its nearly impossible to find casual work because it’s all being done by cheap East European workers.

The ruination of London

The Skyrocketing rents, the impossibility of finding a job in the creative industries unless you are happy to work for nothing. You’ve heard all of these arguments hundreds of times. But  far worse is that London isn’t the same city of ten, even five years ago. Blame the financial crisis or the rise in Islamic terrorism, but people aren’t happy any more. (or maybe it’s the extortionate price of beer in pubs). Back in 2005, London was wide open to anyone who wanted to come here. I never grew up in London but I always felt welcome here. Now, to tell you the truth, it’s not a place I enjoy going to. People don’t laugh any more and nobody wants to talk to any body (let alone a stranger). You can see it everywhere, from the moment people get on the tube in the morning to the time they have to go wearily fold themselves into packed commuter trains in the evening home. People walk around like zombies, afraid to make eye contact.

Mobile phones

Perhaps responsible for most of the ill-mannered behavior that carries on in public life, mobiles are the curse of England and responsible for the wider sense of the ‘don’t give a fuck about anyone’ attitude that is so prevalent now (dropping litter, taking up too much room on the pavement, using train seats as a footrests).

After all this, what reason have I got for staying here?