Pauline
Forums Admin
I know we are not supposed to talk politics but this has been a very interesting time in UK politics so let’s make an exception.
At one point last week the £ was below the $! It is back up to its new normal around $1.12. When we moved here in May 2010 it was about $1.80. What a difference a decade makes.
We arrived on the day of the election where the Conservatives (David Cameron) formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats (Nick Clegg), beating Labour (Gordon Brown) after many years of Labour control.
Five years later an election and the Liberal Democrats almost ceased to exist and we had a Conservative government still with Cameron.
Then the disaster of Brexit and Cameron was replaced by Theresa May. She had an election and won but lost some of her majority and had to have a coalition with a Northern Ireland party. She lasted a few years but was thrown out because her Brexit deal wasn’t radical enough.
Then came Boris Johnson. He had an election and won a large majority. Previously Labour areas went for Johnson. He sort of got Brexit done. Then came Covid and all economic problems from Brexit were intertwined with Covid problems. Boris was thrown out after a series of improper things that finally pushed his party too far. That was last July.
After two months of leadership campaigns and elections by party members only (not a public election) the Conservatives chose Liz Truss as their leader. The Queen died, 10 days of mourning, then Truss introduced her dream budget, and the dream of a far right part of the Conservative party, and the pound plummeted, interest rates rose, the markets and people freaked out. So she sacked her Chancellor, brought in another who we remember from the Cameron years, and reversed everything. Markets settled a bit.
And today she was forced to resign. They will pick another leader within a week they say.
We’ve had 5 administrations since we moved here in 2010 (Cameron/Clegg, Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss, ?). To compare, there have been 3 in the US (Obama, TFG, Biden).
During the past 6 months utility prices have increased dramatically. My monthly debit has gone from £150 to £250 and is now £330. Food prices are up. Petrol prices are up. Interest rates are up affecting people with mortgages. They don’t have long term mortgages here. Usually 2 years. So people will renew soon at a high rate.
And to think that we moved here thinking it would be a more politically stable and more fair society than the US! May we live in interesting times!
At one point last week the £ was below the $! It is back up to its new normal around $1.12. When we moved here in May 2010 it was about $1.80. What a difference a decade makes.
We arrived on the day of the election where the Conservatives (David Cameron) formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats (Nick Clegg), beating Labour (Gordon Brown) after many years of Labour control.
Five years later an election and the Liberal Democrats almost ceased to exist and we had a Conservative government still with Cameron.
Then the disaster of Brexit and Cameron was replaced by Theresa May. She had an election and won but lost some of her majority and had to have a coalition with a Northern Ireland party. She lasted a few years but was thrown out because her Brexit deal wasn’t radical enough.
Then came Boris Johnson. He had an election and won a large majority. Previously Labour areas went for Johnson. He sort of got Brexit done. Then came Covid and all economic problems from Brexit were intertwined with Covid problems. Boris was thrown out after a series of improper things that finally pushed his party too far. That was last July.
After two months of leadership campaigns and elections by party members only (not a public election) the Conservatives chose Liz Truss as their leader. The Queen died, 10 days of mourning, then Truss introduced her dream budget, and the dream of a far right part of the Conservative party, and the pound plummeted, interest rates rose, the markets and people freaked out. So she sacked her Chancellor, brought in another who we remember from the Cameron years, and reversed everything. Markets settled a bit.
And today she was forced to resign. They will pick another leader within a week they say.
We’ve had 5 administrations since we moved here in 2010 (Cameron/Clegg, Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss, ?). To compare, there have been 3 in the US (Obama, TFG, Biden).
During the past 6 months utility prices have increased dramatically. My monthly debit has gone from £150 to £250 and is now £330. Food prices are up. Petrol prices are up. Interest rates are up affecting people with mortgages. They don’t have long term mortgages here. Usually 2 years. So people will renew soon at a high rate.
And to think that we moved here thinking it would be a more politically stable and more fair society than the US! May we live in interesting times!
).
