Why does a 5.05% yield signify we are a 3rd world country now but it didnt 26 years ago?

We have a national debt of £2.7 Trillion and are currently making interest payments of £71 billion annually, (£105 billion in 24-25) as that debt matures and is renewed at higher rates then at say 5% we will be paying £135 billion annually in debt interest. But every year the budget deficit means the debt grows larger still. The government spends £ 1.2 trillion annually with a deficit this year of 10%. In 24-25 the government will take 45% of national income. The country also has some £9 trillion of further liabilities for golden ticket public sector pensions.

We must now pay higher interest rates on our debt than all 'majors' except Australia(just), India, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, and Turkey.

We have I think the highest electricity prices in the world now, the prospect of little fall in BoE interest rates, a private sector still saddled with covid debt, no growth in GDP per head, an influx of immigrants we cannot afford to house and give free public services. We cannot make steel, and depend on imports for our energy.

This situation wasn't the case 26 years ago. Sounds pretty 3rd world to me - not really the right term perhaps - but our decay is evident in our sinking financial credit rating.

I'm in general agreement with NMKC, the debt trajectory looks bad (but so does the US, France). We are ex-growth, GDP per head is falling as we import low skilled immigrants and their dependents, and more highly skilled move abroad for friendlier tax climes. The tax take is the highest for decades and is being spent on public services which are hardly the envy of the world. Housing is scarce and expensive and energy is expensive also. Successive governments have smothered our animal spirits and half the population is living on the excessively taxed other half. We seem to be continually in a period of managed decline, where is the growth to come from?

A good question to which nobody appears to have a good answer. The current administration promised economic growth but beyond wishing it to happen they don't seem to have a clue. Very worrying. Having travelled extensively in Asia, I can say that the UK certainly now feels a lot more 3rd world than some so called 3rd world countries do. In some aspects that is.

In my experience (having worked in numerous overseas countries) the average British worker (say NHS or police or construction) is no less efficient in carrying out their core shift responsibilities than a European, American, or Asian worker.

What sets them apart is the inane amount of bollocks they need to complete during their shift. The 'endless paperwork'. The 'endless performance indicator' measuring. The 'don't upset a neighbour at any cost'. This permeates through everything. From government bureaucracy to endless EDI training sessions. Don't get my wrong. Everything is important but in sensible measures. Quality, safety, compliance, contemporaneous records, and so on. Why does everything take so much longer in this country?

20 years ago I did a postgraduate and remember an NHS Manager. Bottle Tipex = £1 and 50% effective before drying out. Mouse Tipex = £1.10 and 100% effective. You know what the procurers bought!

For years, I've argued we waste so much time in endless meetings and chatting the most absurd shite. Our culture says 'meetings = importance and status'. You ask someone to meet and they say 'OK. In 4 weeks I've got a 30 min gap'. My meetings are 45 mins max. Outcome driven. Wanna chat? Not in my meeting!

This 'lack of productivity' is what the next few governments need to tackle. In the private sector I bill my clients via a timesheet that accounts for every hour of work I do for them. Imagine Whitehall and the corridors of power doing this! Just might help tackle our debt levels by not wasting so much taxpayers money (and me and you stumping up for it).