Poverty could push UK back to Victorian era of social divides - report 

Shoutout to Sky for cheering along every policy that has led us here

This is literally happening. Houses that should be 80k going for 350k. Absolutely insane price hike for no reason.

I’ve lived in Australia for 18 years. Each time I go back to my hometown in UK I see more evidence of social decline and poverty. Shocking. 😢

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer 😞

It's almost as if Tories giving all our money to their friends and family through spurious contracts for over a decade was a bad idea.

I was going to say that the UK now looks like a developing country but it's not really developing so I can't.

I have never seen people this sad and depressed like in the UK

i came to the UK and i must say I was absolutely shocked by how run down and poverty stricken it was. 1st world country not

It's definitely happening. Never known society to be this divided, miserable, poor and downtrodden. I was born in the 60s and seen a couple of recessions. This is different.

30 years of wage stagnation and rampant corporate profiteering, equals cost of living crisis!!!

I am from Brazil but I went to uni in the UK and i always dreamed to go back and live there. After I visited this year though I was shocked at how my friends who worked full time jobs didnt even have money for heating in the middle of winter.

As someone living in the UK but not from here. The whole country feels like this... Old, run down, stuck in the past...Nothing seems new or nice...

Problem is that there are an unforgivable number of people who do not recognise modern day poverty and still judge it by victorian standards.

I hate to point out the obvious, but we’ve already reached this point, with one significant difference, the Victorian era was a time of great industry, mining, cotton mills, real trades like casting, glass blowers , and my trade , real jewellery designers , most of it all gone, thanks to constant selling us under the river in parliament and constant incessant need to sell off everything we had to Asia and south east Asia, and in return buying cheap mass produced garbage from those same said countries. Bring back our proud industrial heritage and national service and put the great back in Britain. First stop, get rid of the un elected government out that has well and truly sunk us to the bottom of a mineshaft.

I saw this coming years ago and tried to warn everyone. I was so angry that Brexit happened when I was 14. I wasn’t old enough to vote but I remember talking my teachers and parents and telling them that the UK leaving the EU would be a massive mistake and have unintended consequences for decades to come. Of course, no one believed me at the time and now none of the once touted benefits have come to fruition and this once great country is in a dire state of decline. Brexit isn’t the only reason for the current status quo as there are a multitude of factors. It all boils down to the Tory government who has been power for nearly my entire life which is at best doing nothing to improve but at worst actively making things worse for everyone except the super rich. My hope for the future is that young people are becoming more politically active and are realising that change can happen. As morbid as it sounds, I predict that once the silent generation and baby boomers (the heart of the Tory voting base) die off that the Conservative Party will lose a considerable power as Labour and other parties win local elections.

Speaking as a Canadian, both of my parents left the UK for the same reason, which is a ruling class that constantly steps on Brits necks to suit themselves. These are the politicians, aristocratic houses, financial administrations, and corporations who have made England a living hell for time immemorial. There is so much public development that would provide jobs, grow the economy, fulfill the needs of the British people, and that the UK needs to do now, that is laying by the wayside due to a woefully inept managerial class - HS2 cancelation, anyone? The UK is notorious as a country where business runs at a snails pace as one often requires needless permission from local councils to do anything, and that's strangling the country to death, especially in the housing sector. The Government should be creating national property development standards that bring down the cost and build time of construction, and looking at what taxes and regulations can be axed for the sake of speeding up the economy. The Government should not be giving exclusive tax breaks to the richest people in the country while talking about providing international aid in a time where people are going homeless at record rates, especially when there is no clear national housing plan, and no real solutions being offered. I'm saying this because Canada is dealing with so many of the same problems - we're a commonwealth country being strangled to death by an inept, uncaring ruling class who prevent the necessary development and change required to actually help grow the economy and help people.

We are fast becoming a broken country .The gap between rich and poor is now massive.Our housing water electricity roads NHS and everything else is a mess.And our national debt is now 2.6 trillion pounds.

im not from uk , but iv been here 25 years , the standard of living is way bellow of EU .

This is definitely happening in front of our eyes.. Super rich and super poor here in the UK.

13 million in poverty, 20 million borderline poverty, 33 million in some perpetual loop trying to stay out of poverty & the other 1.5 million extracting wealth.

An utter disgrace. Shame on the British government !!

That’s their plan! It’s all deliberate (and should be criminal) 😡

If i was paying the rent prices in the UK, i would be in poverty too as i only earn 2100 euros a month after tax. As my 2 bed flat only costs roughly 560 euros a month including heating ans water, i have a fair bit left over. But in the Uk i would probably be paying three times that so wouldn't be able to save at all. The prices for rents in the UK are absolutely disgraceful! I was born in the Uk and grew up there but due to the expense of living decided to leave and live my life in Germany.

That shot of an empty London looked like a scene from 28 days later.

Cant afford heating or electricity and am just working to pay rent bills and travel to work. We should not be held to ransom for the things that we need to survive for fck sake its 2023 not 1600

We never left that era, all that changed was the scenery and the people. In many ways it's worse than back then people and communitys/neighbours looked out for each other, especially the poorer ones. It's everyone for himself in the modern age and no government will ever fix that.

What's most worrying is the sheer amount of people that don't care.

Almost like we've had the same government for the past 13 years, who have grown increasingly bold with their machinations, after being consistently voted in no matter what.

This is what the Tories have wanted & been pushing us to for years & it’s been cheered on by our press & those who own it.

It's almost as if it is as intended.

Same thing is happening in Canada 🇨🇦 although the media (CBC) is covering it up.

We're already in this situation. When I talk to people and look around there are broadly two types of people; those driving around in Chelsea tractors back to their large homes, and those who struggle to rent and have no disposable income. It doesn't even matter what your level of education is, people are either well off or broke.

It's time we hold our government responsible

We still have victorian drainage and sewerage systems, so when it rains the drains cant cope and cause flooding as well as sending manhole covers into the air with the water pressure.

Funny how Sky News doesn't mention the economic reality of Brexit.

The uk is such a depressing place to live, the place is falling apart and then add some of the most miserable weather on earth. How any immigrants want to come here ive got no idea

Already happened. Old terraced streets, 0 hours contracts, opium and gin everywhere. laissez faire approach to social welfare.

My partner has worked 35 + years has been ill for three months. Made to feel like a criminal for being out of work. I’ve been trying to support us applying through agencies one has come through for me new year. But has left us I. A difficult position over several months. It’s a total nightmare. Living with antisocial neighbours to add to the this. Who take drugs and get every benefit going

It’s already happened, there isn’t no going back or stopping it now. It’s utterly tragic, the lower working class have been completely neglected, betrayed and abandoned by governments in bed with large mega corporations where the money doesn’t go back into the local towns and villages, it goes into the corporates pockets and in financing further development of technological and financial hubs in central cities that are tailored and targeted at everyone but the working class. This has been decades in the making and it’s all now coming to a head. What a tragedy, it truly is.

This is so heartbreaking. It has already happened here in America.

One of the problems is the Wages people get paid for doing honest work, it's nowhere near enough with all of the price hikes and the rise in the minimum wage in April will just go on increased food/fuel/rent prices.

Britain always was dependent on it's colonies so it's just result of it. Victorian era was rich people using poor people to work, still the mindset of Brits, now they just remember it with nostalgia.

I've lived in Birmingham since 2016 and the gap between rich and poor is getting bigger and bigger. I'm not left wing but can't help but feel like this is largely down to Tory rule and neglecting those most in need. I come from a council estate but worked hard to get even this far, but it feels like there's no safety net at all for the vulnerable. Once people end up in poverty or homelessness it's very hard for them to bounce back. Even a Labour win at the next General Election won't fix this damage overnight. The damage is deep and will take years to repair.

UK citizens need to actually group together and fight back instead of moaning on social media. We need to grind the country to a halt! If not we can wait it out until we have lost everything.

The richest 10 per cent own 43 per cent of the UK 's wealth. The UK still has a thriving Royal Family worth over £20 billion and still has a flourishing aristocracy which has doubled its fortune in the last decade. Little has actually changed since the Victorian era.

It really is. At least the biggest companies should be stopped from sucking the last money from the poorest.

Exporting manufacturing jobs was giving two fingers to the working class just hooped

It’s time we are SILENT NO MORE .

The REAL reason housing is 100% totally destroyed:- 1) The average house price in the past was 2.5x the average salary !!! 2) The average mortgage in the past was 2.5x the average salary. 3) The average mortgage payback term, in the past, was 21 years. Today !!!... 4) The average mortgage is 5x the average salary. 5) The average mortgage payback term is 35 years. 6) The average house price ($290,000) is 8x the average salary (34,000) - profiteering, simply because there's MORE MONEY given through mortgages !!! 6) Rent charges, of course, follows this profiteering. ZERO government control whatsoever !!! This is BY DESIGN from the Tories, who's extensive 'property portfolios' and money backhanders have benefited massively. In any other similar situation, DELIBERATE RIGGING of conditions like this is a criminal act !!!

And it's all BY DESIGN.....

It's getting bad now. My parents say the years either one gets a new car we can only go on one holiday and it might not even be abroad.

Shame there's not some of that Ukraine money left for the British people

THE TORIES SAID LOUD AND CLEAR THAT THEY WERE PLANNING TO TAKE US BACK TO VICTORIAN TIMES, AND THEY HAVE DONE IT.

The Rich have become more selfish and the Poor Just Continue to Stay Poor! It's heart breaking !😢

Not just mental conditions, PHYSICAL health conditions

This is the Reason Why so many People are giving up on their lives because they don’t see any Future for Themselves because of Poverty, inEquality and lack of Opportunity this is why people become Addicted to Drugs and Alcohol because they don’t see any Hope!!!

Imagine if we all just flat out refused to pay our bills. What could they do? Arrest millions of people? 🤣 I'm sick of being worse off every week in this country, barely affording to buy dinner for tomorrow

Poverty wasn’t the problem in the Victorian era, it was unequal distribution of wealth.

All as planned. Can't reset without breaking society, eh King Charlie?

It's amazing isn't it. I predicted this 20 years ago, trained up and moved. I feel sorry for those who don't have the skills to get out. My advice to any young person is to get insane skills and hedge all risk.

I'm not surprised , is life just working and being residual income/ passive income for a landlord and for the utilities and the tax man , this system has killed the meaning of life

When the many stop fearing the few.

I like the "could Push UK back" about 10yrs ago I read somewhere that the wealth gap was larger then, then in the olden days, so I think we are already there,

Sky gave its full support to all the things that are causing our poverty - mass immigration, the insane energy policy, and the lockdowns that destroyed businesses, restricted the flow of goods and caused the government to inflate the cash supply with massive borrowings, thereby driving up prices.

The Rich are getting Extremely Rich, whilst the poor are still being played at every turn !!!

I can attest. Trying to live on 500 quid a month with bills of 280 quid is a grim existence. Not being able to even afford sell off aisle items in the supermarket means I've hit rock bottom. Cheers for that.

It’s full circle! Took a while, but here we are folks! How do we get out of this hole? Nobody knows! Nobody! Government, politicians, university professors absolutely nobody! Just no answer!

In 2023!! This should not be happening.

Too many poor...and the Royals live in 40 different mansions and castles...it's wrong...

Still, we can all look on the bright side. Footballers on multi million pound contracts to keep us all entertained.

I am from India. I have visited the UK number of times. What I have felt is there is steady decline of jobs in the manufacturing sector UK. This is especially sectors like railway engineering and also other heavy engineering sectors, which had a global markets with their excellent products and services. I think it is the governments policy, right beginning from Margaret Thatchers regime which retracted from manufacturing sector consequently responsible for this poor state of affairs.

It's the jobs lost by Brexit. When stupid people get to making economic decisions.

taxed to the bollocks. All the utility billions spunked away. politicians should be interned.

The main leaders of the British Government are from priveliged backgrounds. It doesnt matter who takes over as Prime minister or the cabinet they all have a private education or money in the family. The MPs who have come from the lower classes never progress through the ranks to become Party Leaders. Also the Government spend money without a care where it goes too or what it is spent on. But i expect if we got a business person/ accountant from the lower ranks we could start saving moreoney and spend less on things that are pointless.

Minimum wage is the problem, huge companies paying the lowest wage they can legally get away with

Jack the Ripper would be appalled if he saw Britain today! 🤣

It’s sooo bloody expensive. It’s crazy and the Brits just take it on and accept it

To anyone reading: this will always happen whenever the torries are in power.

All they need now is a Victorian era population.

It’s definitely Victorian era middle class are being demoted to working class and working class poor

This is not new. I've been saying it for some years now. The only difference is that there is no super class of innovators and engineers, explorers and philanthropists this time around, to try to make things better. Now it's just the vacuous rich versus the unfortunate poor.

Those in power find it easier to blame immigrants for everything rather than recognising that there are no opportunities at all to lift British people out of poverty. No plan to help those less educated or disadvantaged to have opportunity to do more. Education is becoming too expensive, the NHS is becoming less and less available and those stuck poverty have to bridge out. The rich cannot lead because they have no idea how to help those who did not have every opportunity they had.

If the tories could, they’d bring back the poor house as well 😢

And yet no one makes a stand against this, standards have slipped desperately in the last decade or 2 , living and morally, we must get out there and cause the authorities hell

Every Briton enabled this. As a democracy with prescribed abilities to make your voices heard and make a difference and the people should have corrected the ship's bearing long ago. The fact that this decline had gone on for so long meant that a certain essential step in the democratic process was never carried out. A 4 year decline could have been passed off as a mistake but this is now amounting to decades of stagnations.

It is always the same when we have a Tory government , there is always wealth in the Tory heartland but levelling up is just a slogan

Difficult to understand such a rapid decline. Tragic!

It all started with Thatcher. I admired her way of speaking but other than that, she was a mini-Reagan

I agree with all this this government should be a shamed of its self looking after the rich

I know no country with a unequality like great britain. All primeministers are very rich and grew up rich! They do not know the Lifes of working ordinary people!

So comments are allowed for this video, but Sky has blocked comments for the video of Sunak claiming he and the government are taking the Michelle Mone issue seriously. Says a lot about Sky, I think. How about giving us the right to comment on that one, Sky?

UK slipping back info the Victorian era should be the best thing ever for all the proud Brits who have a nostalgia of their colonial past. But this time, it will be like a drug addict wandering the streets unable to find it's supplier (colonial "holdings"). One thing is for certain, the Royal society will have to be way more "innovative" this time around 😊👍

Same old same old, we are all subservient cowards

Because Mr Rishi Sunak would prefer give money to "Israel needs to defend its self" rather than build a community

Nobody mentioned lazyness, drugs and benefits

Isn't this what people were looking for by electing Tories and voting for Brexit? It was so crystal clear that things would develop as it becomes clear now.

Privatisation has profit over welfare of the people as priority. Since everything is being held by pvt companies, shareholders are to be kept happy meaning higher price low pay etc

Another reason to stop the boats then

The irony that Sky and other Murdoch media are responsible for cheering on the torie's policies that have led to this!

When has the UK ever come out of the Victorian age?