Ok slightly tongue in cheek but… roadmen gangsta wannabes gotta be struggling right about now… surely? I saw someone earlier in all black, balaclava on… my man, it’s 33 degrees…

Image is AI generated, for the avoidance of doubt!

Yes I stole this pic but I havent heard much recently

I worry that the social contract may be breaking down because what used to just be "you don't do that", is now, something people have realised you can do and get away scot free.

I bet for most of my life you could have gotten away with shoplifting and fare dodging, and a small minority probably did. But now it feels like a lot more people have decided, "what the hell, - I might as well do it too".

In 2025–26, 52.7% of shoplifting cases were closed because no suspect was identified, although the shoplifting charge rate rose to 23.2% A load of people have just stopped paying for petrol too.

Fare jumping and being an arsehole on public transport seem endemic. 40.9% of people reported experiencing or witnessing ASB in 2025–26, up from 35.5%.

People are not only not paying their TV licence, many aren't even getting driving licences or insurance. Then there are those using "ghost plates" to get away with breaking the law while driving.

The highstreets are full of dodgy hairdressers and vape shops and then you have all the cash in hand BS on top of them.

And it's not even the big stuff that gets me down...round my way loads of drivers suddenly think it's ok to stop wherever they like and just bang on the hazards. A load of them park in bus lanes, or in some cases just stop in the middle of the road....and then you have the double parking.

Loads of people are getting away with shit because the prisons are full to the point they are releasing rapist early.

Am I wrong to feel as depressed about all this as I do?

Serious question. I admit I feel pessimistic, but I would like someone to tell me I am overreacting and that things are going to be fine.

Back in the 90s, I assumed most families just wanted a better life and that their kids would quickly integrate. Since the 2000s, though, I feel things have shifted in the opposite direction. Am I wrong?

Here are the things I wrestle with:

1. Religiosity

Most of Britain has become more secular, but surveys suggest around 75% of Muslims say religion is central to their identity (compared to 22% of Brits overall). religious people tend to be driven by religion rather than societal norms and values.

1. Criticism of Islam

From Rushdie to Batley, it feels like criticism of Islam is riskier than criticism of other religions. The government is even working on a definition of “Islamophobia”. we are a piss taking nation, ut this one area is off limits, it seems.

1. Liberal values

Islamic teaching is often described as anti-LGBT, misogynist, and undemocratic. Some Christians quietly set aside similar teachings, but do British Muslims tend to do the same? Or am I focusing too much on widely publicised cases?

1. Sectarianism and identity

Polls sometimes show British Muslims caring more about overseas issues than UK ones, and antisemitism seems rife. Even muslims admit admit it is a huge issue in their communities.

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/03/sorry-truth-virus-anti-semitism-has-infected-british-muslim-community

https://unherd.com/newsroom/gaza-independents-party-confirms-the-rise-of-uk-sectarianism/

1. Extremism and terrorism

92 people have been murdered in the UK since 2000 by Islamist extremists. One politician was killed and another resigned due to fear of being murdered over his political views. i know plenty of Muslims condemn extremism but the extremism comes with the islam. Countries with no islam dont have these issues.

1. Demographics

The Muslim population of the uk doubles every 20 years. any fringe group can be tolerated in small numbers but the increase size and influence on the country worries me.

1. Integration and solutions

Other European countries seem to be facing similar struggles. Are there examples of integration that I am overlooking, either here or abroad? What is working, and what gives you hope

If there are good reasons to feel optimistic, I would really like to hear them

personally caburys finger doesnt count as a biscuit to me. fig rolls for the win!

(picture just illustrative - i couldnt find one that includes all biscuits)

Anyone noticed how our adverts and other media has a very heavy emphasis on mixed race couples. That is fine but why are these couples always Black and White couples dominantly ?

Black people seem to be overrepresented on British telly and ads, than say Indians who ALSO have a long, rich history with Britain.

Are other minorities not important enough to show “ diversity “ ?

Britain is more Indian than Black statistically ( 8% vs 4% ) but our TV and ads will make you think it’s more black.

FYI I don’t have anything against Black and white couples. Just an observation and I’m curious.

I'm an American that lives in Ireland. I've always understood "nonce" to mean the same as "numpty" and "eejit" - basically idiot, or dumbass, or similar.

Recently, someone told me that it's slang for sex offender, specifically a p*dophile, and Wikipedia seems to back that up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_British_terms_not_widely_used_in_the_United_States#N

So tell me, Brits, which one is it? Or is it something else??

5Pillars, a popular Islamic publication in the UK recently posted a guide to "navigating LGBTQ pride month" for Muslims.

It includes such advice as "there should be “compassion without compromise” — supporting individuals who struggle with questions of sexuality while maintaining traditional Islamic positions on marriage and sexual ethics."

Harry Eccles, a nurse and activist, suggests the best way to get Muslims onboard with gays is for them to have a cuppa and a chat with a gay person.

How effective do you think this strategy is likely to be?

Hilarious or irritating? National treasure or pompous twit? What's your opinion?

Over the past several months I’ve noticed random changes to toothpaste prices. Some of them don’t even make sense. Is there anyone in retail that can explain what this is all about?

3 weeks ago this was £2 in ASDA Two weeks ago it was £7.70 Today it’s about £5

So in the advert a mother gets told by her sons teacher that his behaviour is bad in school. They later go home and laugh about it while drinking Robinsons Orange Juice. Weird advert on many levels. Doesnt make me want to buy robinsons and kind of promotes the idea of encouraging your children to be little brats and not responsible for their behaviour. Am I overreacting? Absolutely. Is it just an advert? Probably. Will I be boycotting Robinsons anyway. Yes.

What kind of street is that? People live here, right? Why does it look like this? Is this common? The city is Portsmouth btw

took my 3 year old to the local garden centre. they have a soft play area (quite small) where adults can have a coffee while kids play. nice place to take the little one on the weekend.

anyway, when i get there its packed and they tell me my kid is the last one they will let in for “health and safety ” reasons. note - the soft play is a bit removed from the cafe where you pay and anyone can just kind of walk in (without paying). they have signa up telling people to pay the £3 on the door.

anyway we go in and they decide to do a check of who has actually paid and see if anyone shouldn't be there.

of the 6 families there, only 3 had paid. the woman told them and not one of the freeloading families (one with 3 adults and 6 kids using the soft play) left. they all just sat there sipping their coffees and grinning at getting away with it.

i asked the woman if she was going to do anything about it and she said that there was nothing she can do if they wont leave. i asked why i should pay if no one else was and she just said she “understands“ why i might be upset.

they were also turning away paying customers because the place was full of non paying kids!

ok so this isn't perhaps a big deal but it feels to me like this was a microcosm for the whole uk at the moment (or maybe its always been like this?) a small percentage of us go to work, follow the rules, and pay our taxes.

the rest are on the take or playing the system. Nicking stuff from shops and no one does anything. free food from gregs. Driving around in their motability cars while i fork out for my own insurance and tax. going to work while they sit at home and get almost the same as me…working cash in hand on the side.

is it just the suckers paying? is it just the suckers supporting the whole system? is it the suckers that the government will continue to bleed to fund everyone else? how long is this sustainable?

I can't think of another country who insist on being so enmeshed with another nation halfway across the world.

Is it cultural? Is it historical? Something else?

I wont lecture anyone on thier political opinions. Its nit my place to do so.

But it is my place to ask a question of people. Where do you see britain in 5 years. Where do you want us to be?

Like america? Like Sweden? Like somewhere else?

This week the news has been about the irony of the British king visiting the USA on thier 250th birthday and lecturing them about democracy.

Where do we think we the country should be in 5 years?

Following the news that the HPV Vaccine has essentially stopped cervical cancer. I was reminded about how, at the time, the vaccine would lead to promiscuous teen sex and the downfall of western society.

Every couple of years another thing is going to end the UK as we know it and it usually turns out to be nothing but at the time the world is ending.

So what are some of your favourites?

No matter where I go in the country, something seems just that little bit off everywhere I turn to. When I’m driving, people are making more risky manoeuvres, people are driving dangerously for the sake of driving dangerously. Manners for what was once a polite and thoughtful country seems to be completely lost. At work, everyone has decided to become more of a jobsworth - monitoring a lot of what I do and say at work. At night, people screaming, and revving their cars and bikes CONSTANTLY down a 20mph road for absolutely no reason other than it makes them look hard.

Have we all just collectively gone insane? I know we can’t ignore current politics and the way things are going in the UK, but it’s exhausting to see people slowly falling for the ‘I don’t care’ mentality, for a country that was once a very polite, considerate nation.

Anyone else feel the same?

Having lived in South East Asia for a little while I got very attached to the humble bum gun.

So much so that I installed one in my toilet.

If you had shit on your hands, you wouldn't use toilet paper to wipe it off would you? You'd use water.

So why do we treat our bottoms differently?

I see this as a huge cultural missed opportunity.

Cleans bums. Saves trees. Feels great on the poop hole.

(I just got told I have an unwiped arse, which would be partly true, I only wipe once after zapping my chocolate starfish with some pressurised water.)

So in the old days there were nightmarish 'council estates', which by all accounts were horrible places. Ne'er do wells congregated and made life hell for everyone who lived there. Police were near permeant fixtures. It seems the way to tackle this has been to distribute the 'poison' all around the UK and thus dilute (?) it?

So now all new build estates have social housing allocation. This might mean that your new 400k house is next to a lovely single mother with three kids, down on her luck, or an alcoholic who sits on the street drinking all day and blasting his music.

As someone living in a 400k house with an alcoholic blasting his music all day and glaring at my kids, I feel a bit hard done by. I worked hard and saved up to live in a nice area and the government has parachuted a problem into my life.

But am I being unreasonable?

Is it better to concentrate the problem or spread it out?