There needs to be a rethink on business rates and how to encourage businesses to set up in these spaces.

@aspiring...

5 ай бұрын

You are right. It's not like people don't want to start bussinnesses but the rates are crippling. The conspiracy theorist I me thinks this might be by design.

@Alex-cw3rz

5 ай бұрын

Labour have said they will scrap them, which will be very helpful to the high street

@Alex-cw3rz

5 ай бұрын

​@@aspiring... when you realise that business rates are higher in town centres than out of town centres, it doesn't need a conspiracy to realise the groups that will be lobbying the government to keep business rates. From Amazon to Supermarkets, business rates help you out and hinder our high street

@adenwellsmith6908

5 ай бұрын

The other issue. Rates are to be paid before you've even made a sale. That's another factor. What's also happening, is working from home, and people are not buying in cafes, shops etc. They won't get that back easily On the pubs, that's policy. They have decided to destroy pubs.

@highlandsprings5752

5 ай бұрын

@@aspiring... Just stop thinking and the problems go away lol.

After living in London for 70 years I’ve left because it’s too heart breaking, to watch my beautiful London destroyed because of greedy politicians

@User17213

5 ай бұрын

Greedy, ridiculous politicians have turned Britain into a racist, aggressive, terrible and hateful country.

@dalia5378

5 ай бұрын

In the USA where I live, our politicians are worse!!

@dzirisenior

5 ай бұрын

The west is in severe decline

@alanyosores5642

5 ай бұрын

When the doctraines of colonizers pass to a wrong hand, then self destruction is next..because why they want to go other countries that hard to steal while they have easy to steal to their own soil😂😂😂😂

@MrSeedi76

4 ай бұрын

It's not destroyed because of "greedy politicians" but because of property prices. That's called free market. Companies buy property because they hope it will become more valuable. Doesn't matter if anyone rents the place. What politicians need to do, is to make sure property in the city is used and not just bought for speculation. We have the same problem here in Germany, even in smaller towns with less than 100,000 inhabitants. The UK of course has also the problem of its citizens deciding to leave the EU for xenophobic reasons. And a pandemic. So how's this caused by "greedy politicians"? As bad as they are, they didn't cause this.

The UK needs SERIOUS economic reform. The laws favouring the rich are killing this country.

@thomasmezei3231

5 ай бұрын

It's not only the rich Mike, the UK has had it too good for too long. The time has come for the UK to crash, gone are the days of the commonwealth and stolen prosperity. Time to face the grim reality of being out in the cold with no one for economic support.

@tayachting6345

5 ай бұрын

The laws favouring the rich and the lazy and entitled are killing this country.

@imranramzan1795

5 ай бұрын

Working from home, banks closing, online shopping all contributed to closure

@hobbes7460

5 ай бұрын

Not just your country, all countries worldwide!

@user-vp6cq4sv3d

5 ай бұрын

​@@tayachting6345"Lazy and Entitled" Benefits Scroungers? Like the Royal Family?

I lived in London for 15 years...i left when i realized that they were going to make it disappear!!! It started with the music venues, old pubs, shops... Prices for everything went up the stars, insane...i visited two years ago and i couldn't recognise my beautiful London...it s gone...all that's left are memories

When I was in UK. I saw empty boarded up streets under a constant grey sky, litter everywhere. Homeless people sleeping in doorways. A women with cat whiskers makeup casually walking into Tesco with her pajamas. Opioid addicts out of their mind and women so drunk they urinated on the streets. It's a sad declined country.

@margaretbgregory1524

3 ай бұрын

London is not a country, it’s a city in the UK

@BSworldX

3 ай бұрын

Everywhere in the UK same crap

@tomwilliams7391

3 ай бұрын

It feels like developing, rather than developed sometimes, I live in Plymouth and parts feel almost third world

@SuperSbuk

3 ай бұрын

​@tomwilliams7391 that's because of the primitive 3rd world infestation that has migrated and overwhelmed the western world

@redman6790

2 ай бұрын

@@margaretbgregory1524 To be fair, its essentially a city-state. London is where all the wealth, politics and concentration is. So any crisis in London is just merely exacerbated across the rest of the country.

Evidently the destruction of the middle class is in full swing in the UK, just as it is in the states where I am. I was a frequent business traveler to London for 30 years, and can't believe what is happening to these iconic places you are showing on this video. 🥺 Thank you for all of your efforts in filming this situation!

@wesleybarton3871

5 ай бұрын

Rent control and levy taxes in the billionaires is the only remedy.

@claritadeluna6609

5 ай бұрын

I recently saw a video coming out of San Francisco where exactly the same situation is happening. This is happening everywhere 😮. Our governments have destroyed our economy and this is the outcome of years of hard work. Everything is collapsing in front of our own eyes.

@cretinousswine8234

5 ай бұрын

The state has allowed private citizens to become more powerful and influential than the state itself, which represents all people in it.

@user-xf5bh5le4q

5 ай бұрын

@@cretinousswine8234 The state is represented by power elites. Today power is in the hands of elites from financiers. The success of a financier’s work is determined not by the quantity and quality of products produced, but by the amount of profit received. Any effective manager is concerned, first of all, with reducing costs. His headache is not about how to retain the unique engineering staff, but about why he should pay them high salaries when he can outsource this work? As financiers captured all the key positions in states, this logic took hold at the government level. The fall in industrial production does not hinder GDP growth. The withdrawal of production from the country is not perceived as a weakening of the economy. Bankers' incomes are growing! Globalism is the power of bankers, leading the world to the abyss with songs about democracy, freedom and equality. In reality, everything is exactly the opposite. By defending the opportunity to control global financial flows, they will ruin the industry of Europe, incite a bunch of conflicts, and burn the savings of ordinary people.

@FarerynielIthilwen

5 ай бұрын

Camden was on the cusp of being chewed out in 2005, now it's pretty much all tat.

Astonished by the empty units in the centre of Covent Garden. You can’t just blame online shopping for this, it’s an economy in big trouble.

@Anon1370

5 ай бұрын

yep the economy is in big trouble alright

@brianjones4026

5 ай бұрын

yes it is and we are still shipping them in to live in hotels and all the rest ! What a Nightmare to see your capital city in tatters, dysfunctional policing by rainbow kneeling sorts and Covent Garden dead as a Dodo !!

@PeacockRhino

5 ай бұрын

Too easy for Labour to blame Brexit and the Tories the civil service than to have uncomfortable conversations about how we turn the country around.

@Anon1370

5 ай бұрын

@@PeacockRhino thats why we need a new government to reform everything the two top partys don't work good.

@stevehaddon151

5 ай бұрын

​@@brianjones4026wtf has any of that got to do with exorbitant rents ya tool

It's just so sad. Moved to London in 1999. In 2000 I manged to rent a tiny flat in Bayswater next to Paddington & Notting Hill. It was so lively, Bars, Clubs, Whiteleys, Cinema, Prime Time, Blockbusters, Tower Records,HMV and so much more, it was buzzing, Just vanished.

@G-Man78

14 күн бұрын

no chance you could rent there now unless you had 2k a month for a small one bed. I'm assuming in 99 the rent would have been like 600- 800 a month ?

it's absolutely shocking how many places became like this during covid and still haven't really bounced back yet..

@AwesomeHairo

Ай бұрын

Government restrictions*. Not because of a virus with a over 98% survival rate.

@firefly88887

9 күн бұрын

COVID is the biggest con ever! This goes much deeper than the great Covid swindle !

@geoffmccaw1497

Күн бұрын

yet????

I remember when I worked at my local council and business owners would ring up because they were struggling/behind with business rates and a senior colleague would say, 'Well it's a luxury to have a business!' What nonsense. Having a business is a risk and it gives local people jobs. There is zero sympathy from local government.

@sugipulaboule9

5 ай бұрын

You mean grubbment. Pay CASH Everywhere you go, No kard or phone payment whatsoever people, ditch the phones and JUST SAY NOOO.

@nataliam9764

5 ай бұрын

That the Socialist mentality. Disgusting.

@zerotoleranceforsataniceli4794

5 ай бұрын

Your "senior colleagues" were either ignorant or were globalists, who want the destruction of the small man and the small business . I hope you have this colleague a piece of your mind before you left

@karmatraining

5 ай бұрын

Investments always carry risks. What is the alternative? Risk-free investment?

@macairhead5137

5 ай бұрын

@@karmatrainingyou entirely missed the point. The point is government greed and sheer ignorance make these problems. These aren’t part of ‘risks’. This is stupidity and ideological twattery by local government.

Ex Londoner here. I left the country 18 years ago, and every so often get nostalgic about moving back. Watching this is so sad, and is probably part of what my friends there are telling me that the country has changed and isn't what it was when I left.

@life107familyfitnessboxing8

5 ай бұрын

The UK is finished

@squeaker19694

5 ай бұрын

So sad, it had such a lovely culture and beauty.

@daMillenialTrucker

5 ай бұрын

@@life107familyfitnessboxing8 its because they've gone woke, letting in a bunch of radical muslims, telling boys they can be girls, and taxing the hell out of ya'll. im an american and im seeing this, the western governments want us to suffer, there has to be change

@stjut

5 ай бұрын

Me too I left in 2005 and got nostalgic about moving back, a case of grass not being so green. What I left is no more.

@zakdee2732

5 ай бұрын

Where did you peeps go and what's it like there? I'm trying to find somewhere good to move to.

I grew up in a bustling East End. Markets were everywhere and thriving. I lived overseas for decades and only came back ten years ago. 'My' East End is now just blocks and blocks of soulless flats, many unoccupied. It's heartbreaking.

Going back to central London after this video, I now noticed all the closed shops I never realised before.

The reason these videos are so good to watch is because many of us have next to nothing in assets, are stuck in low pay jobs, with zero options for upward movement. So when we come online and see that we are not alone in this decay, it is soothing because you don’t feel like it’s your own fault anymore e

@midwestlakelife

5 ай бұрын

This is so true. You are not alone. So many of us out here struggling.

@etienne8110

5 ай бұрын

It can still be your fault if you ate voting tories... In a democracy, our condition is the result of the elections... So at some point, most of the people are voting to create this misery.

@jimp1646

5 ай бұрын

@@etienne8110 The elections are a two horse race. Both the Tories and Labour have a record of implementing policies that are detrimental to society. It's highly likely Labour will win the next election. Guess what's going to happen to rent prices when Labour forces more private Landlords out of the rental market? People will not be voting for higher rents, but that's what they will get with Labour.

@markg3683

5 ай бұрын

@@etienne8110 It's not only the Tories. Remember that half the rates go directly to the local governments, which in most cities are Labour controlled. The other half is redistributed to councils by the national government. They both waste money like crazy.

@etienne8110

5 ай бұрын

@@markg3683 except they don t have a say on the rates... The ones making the laws are the only ones with real power. And they ve been tories for a few decades....

Useful tip - if you want to see what London looked like previous years you can go on street view and it has a brilliant option under search which says "See more dates" and you can jump back in time

@TheBlackManMythLegend

5 ай бұрын

thanks mate

@estebantia2413

5 ай бұрын

Never knew that ... Thanks for sharing!

@sunstardrummer963

5 ай бұрын

Yeap.Shocking to see.

@rockstar78970

Ай бұрын

for example, the oldest footage is the year 2007/08, those were the golden days of the city, lots of businesses and people walking around, pretty much reasonable prices and looked mostly British, now it's full of immigrants 😕

Thanks for putting business rates overlay. Really helps us understand whats going on

THAT was a month before Christmas, folks, in CENTRAL London, not January/February. Would be interesting to see in numbers, the amount of tourists who are staying away.

I visited Barcelona in March this year and I travelled around the entire city and I didn’t see one large, medium or small independent shop closed. It was completely buzzing with people and business was booming everywhere. It was like Covid had never happened. The difference is in how the country is run and the breaks the business get. Business’s in UK is on its knees because of pure greed. Who benefits?

@tigritsa74

5 ай бұрын

Exactly. Stop illegal immigration and everything will be ok for your own people.

@tigritsa74

5 ай бұрын

It’s not the rich who are at fault

@darrencavanagh5328

5 ай бұрын

Poor landlords? Please!

@brentsrx7

4 ай бұрын

Yes, greedy beurocracy that creates no value in your society destroyed business and job opportunities for everyone.

@robertdaloia1048

4 ай бұрын

The NWO...

Thank you for posting this! Very well done!

I lived in Acton W3 from 87 to 98 ….go back regularly…. Breaks my heart to see the decline …Great informative video 👍

This is just heart breaking, I worked in London in the 60s - it used to be such a vibrant place , I'm so glad that I experienced it how it used to be! I shall never go to London again, but live with my memories.

@TheMisanthropyOne

5 ай бұрын

Did you go UFO club and saw Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett? Please say yes.

@marie-ctunnicliff513

5 ай бұрын

Regrettably not! If only...@@TheMisanthropyOne

@Objectified

5 ай бұрын

It's happening in Seattle and SF because of the mass shoplifting and the refusal of the cities to prosecute a variety of crimes, or to clean up the homeless encampments they allow to occupy large areas. When key stores like Targets and grocery stores close it massively reduces the foot traffic that helped keep nearby stores alive, and they eventually close.

@Andromeda_CT86

4 ай бұрын

I have the best memories of my last 30 years visiting London frequently. Its still incredibly vibrant. It's my favourite city, especially in the summer.

@HenryJoy

4 ай бұрын

I managed betting shops in Denmark St.Oxford St..all over Soho. Brilliant back then

Loving this series because you are showing the real face/state of the UK that the majority of us experience on a daily basis (not what our corporate media and government, want to talk about or show the rest of the world). You are doing a public service young man, but watch yourself because a certain section of society won't like it. Don't let noone hold you back. All power to ya 🙏🏿

@johnn17golf

5 ай бұрын

Same worldwide, not just London or UK. We need to focu to the real wealth creators - the working forlk who breate the goods and services and are the consumers as well. All this focus on making the corporations and even smaller business happy is not how you build an economy. You build a successful economy from the wealth creators UP.

@nkhamoza1

5 ай бұрын

I'm in Zambia Africa. My Mom and I want to open a shop and we can't believe the cost of the retail rental spaces. We don't understand how anyone can afford it. It's true it's the whole world, that 1% are taking everything. It's alarming!

@aluna_m888

5 ай бұрын

So sad 😢 the reality is depressing !!!

@kampai71

5 ай бұрын

But MacDonald doesn’t seem to have any problem with thriving. Anywhere anytime! Is it true that when Londoners elect city authorities the City of London (the banking district) is excluded??? The City elects its authorities from the banks?!

@miamitten1123

5 ай бұрын

Central London (even when buzzing) seemed boring, pretentious, hipster and touristy to me. Notting Hill, Wandsworth, Lambeth even South Croydon, Wallington seemed much better places to hang out.

I'm originally from London and this is the first i'm seeing of London since i last went home in early 2021 and i'm shocked by covent garden. I'm shocked by a lot of the uk and the rapid changes that i've seen - everywhere seems to be losing it's life and soul. I live in Leeds now and the same is happening here. Gone are the days !

Lived in Croydon in the very early 2000s. Came back recently to visit a friend and thought I was in another country entirely... I held on fast to my purse and don't plan to go there again any time soon.

Congratulations. It's about time someone talked about the cost of rentals for shops. Most of the conversation concerns, "The cost of wages" but the costs of doing business, outside of wages, is ignored.

@thehammer9599

3 ай бұрын

Who would have thought that -closing down the economy for two years -paying people to sit on their arse -treating people like taxable commodities -inviting the 3rd world to prop up pensions … would have fkd the nation?

It brought a lump to my throat seeing what the West End is becoming. I used to work in Soho during the '80s and '90s. There was a lovely local community there with a fishmonger, greengrocers and butchers' shops. Plenty of lovely little Italian places too where you could grab a cannelloni and an espresso for a couple of quid. All that is gone now, taken over by post-production companies and editing suites. It's amazing to think that if you were a bit skint back then, and needed to rent a pad, Soho was considered cheap and cheerful. I'm so glad I experienced London in its gorgeous, slightly tatty, prime, while it still had a heart. Foreign oligarchs and multimillionaires seem to have transformed it into something unrecognisable.

@ZombieSexmachine

5 ай бұрын

The lockdowns and high taxes are what's shutting them down. So government did it.

@fungus_am0nguz644

5 ай бұрын

Dude ive been going to London since the late 90s and i try to go every year to visit friends there. I went this year '23 after my last time there in 2019 and couldnt believe how much it had changed. Like is different when you visit a city and you go there to party, go to restaurants, shop a bit, go sightseeing, its all fun. This last time i went it felt depressing, in SoHo blocks and blocks of boarded up closed shops, in fkn SoHo and Covent Garden, i was like wtf, there's soooo many of them. Of course rent prices are insane these days but a lot of big cities are the same but dude what a depressing site it was seeing all those prime places boarded up

@tenabarnes3269

5 ай бұрын

Look up the cities of Seattle Washington, Portland Oregon, Los Angeles , Oakland, Sandiego, and Sanfrancisco, California, these places look the same and worse than London, there are many other left leaning larger cities and states that are on their way there. The problem is spreading coast to coast. Also look up Toronto , Canada, Vancouver, Canada, Perth and Sydney, Australia, and cities in Germany, Brazil. This same agenda is happening all over the world and is by design, this plan is the masterminds of the World Economic Forum in action and all of the current government leaders have been bought and are owned.

@janpacana6293

5 ай бұрын

​@@tenabarnes3269 Wrong. 71 % of the USA's economy are in Democrat cities, counties and states. Republican states. 9 of the 10 poorest states 10 of the 10 states with the lowest monthly salary Lowest in education, Lowest in healthcare

@Objectified

5 ай бұрын

@@janpacana6293Thank you for demonstrating your ability to be duped by statistics without context. You undoubtedly believe the "blue states pay for red states" derp as well despite the fact that it's not only been disproven, it's been shown that the return on federal tax dollars in those states tends to be superior. "Poorest" states? Arkansas' poverty rate is 16%. California's poverty rate is 12.5%. New York's poverty rate is 13.6%. If you want to hang your hat on such relatively small differences, that's on you - especially when those differences in those southern red states are largely due to the high number of people living in rural areas. You want to compare the poverty rate of blue-state inner cities with rural areas? As of 2023, red states comprise about 40% of the U.S. GDP with 46% of its population. Lower healthcare goes hand in hand with poverty rates. You can get world-class healthcare in any U.S. state and in most larger U.S. cities. The difference is in the affordability of health care, which disproportionately harms the poor. Guess which racial cohort is far and away the largest group of poor?

My last visit to London was in 2003 ….. never going back, I just keep the good memories from the 1980ies and 1990ies

@luciatheron1621

4 күн бұрын

Same. I lived there for a few years. Last visit was 2003. I still have a soft spot for this city.

Thank you for posting and explaining the business rates issue, I visit London 8 to 10 times a year and the pretty picture boards fooled me into thinking that an exciting new store was coming or older one was being refurbished. I am deeply saddened by this, my local community in wales has suffered enormously with so many stores boarded up, online is great but I love the person to person interaction with the sales rep that knows you. It seems like a different era.

After having my restaurant/cafe since 1991 (passed down from my father) based in zone 2 of London i will unfortunately be closing the doors for the first time in January and moving on. The UK does not support small businesses and bigger businesses too it always seems they are against us when we provide so much for the community its sad, they charge us for every little thing, tv license, bin collection, and council tax the list goes on lets not forget the rise in stock (food) prices, buying products you just can not make profit anymore!! All the council seems to care about is building flats and houses to gain more profit, every little space they find the council goes ahead and builds flats🤦🏻‍♂️ THE UK is finished!

@donkeydan5996

4 ай бұрын

Same over here in the states , so sorry you have to close up. I had a restaurant 15 years ago and it was hard then , can’t imagine now

@Mrc172

4 ай бұрын

TV license leaves me shaking my head. Why the hell should you need a license to watch TV. I live in Australia and like the U.K we used to have them. When we elected a Labour government in the early 70s (the first since 1949) the license was abolished in 1974.

@oceania68

4 ай бұрын

@@Mrc172 Abolished 18 September 1974, to be closer to the date, by the Whitlam Government. The Fraser Government in 1975 tried to reintroduce the licensing but thankfully failed due to the huge backlash.

@MeiinUK

Ай бұрын

Whereabouts are you in zone 2 ? I hope you won't give up so easily without a fight first.. good producers like Unilever are dominating the entire globe. The food companies like Compass are also to blame too. I hope you won't actually give up just yet... Not just yet. Cos I hate some of the imported food items etc.... as they can often be contaminated and we won't know ?....

Like many problems, this isn’t limited to the UK. A visit to New York City or Paris shows the same problem. Property tax rates are tied to property values, but property values have become detached from their income potential. In part, the few, who are extremely wealthy, living in the centre do not shop there. The number of middle income earners who commute into and spend their wages in the centre has also fallen.

@morghetoofun2979

5 ай бұрын

Global nightmare caused by Global...

@marilynvallance

5 ай бұрын

Just accept Brexit is the main cause. It’s not happening in Madrid.

@reginamemoriesforever-vc8ql

5 ай бұрын

Enjoy your massive EXPENSIVE government which sustains itself with ridiculously high taxes and a manipulated inflated currency. Plus, your a-cultural multiculturalism that is not attractive at all and destroys the bonds between people and dilutes the character of your country

@yfomenko

5 ай бұрын

Not in Moscow. Some western companies left, but new ones came. Everything is working fine.

@shyft09

5 ай бұрын

Paris seems fine to me (London is all freehold owned by a few landlords, that's the difference IMO) Ever wonder why the landlords of those empty properties in London don't just reduce the rent until they find someone? Because that's only 5% of their inventory, They care about the inflated rents they are forcing all their other clients to pay

People don't go to shops as much now because everyone is into online shopping. It's a hassle to travel to the West End, spend money on ULEZ, CC, and parking, and then pay more for stuff that you can get cheaper online without any trouble. During lockdowns, everyone got used to ordering things online. Big companies are letting their employees work from home, and they're turning office buildings into homes and shutting down bank branches. Not as many people are working in central London like before. Amazon and Tesco are the big players, selling almost everything you can find in regular shops. Tesco even lets smaller shops, like Vision Express, set up in their buildings. People might not rent DVDs anymore, but they still love watching movies online. That's why shops are closing down, and owners are thinking about new ways to do business.

Good work. Highlighting this is essential.

The commodification of housing has shafted the working man/woman into oblivion. Last time you could actually buy a house was in the 90’s. Only problem was the wages were lousy too.

@triptwo425

5 ай бұрын

that would make my piss boil. I would sack her@@UberFoX

@MamaRebelle

5 ай бұрын

True, my house was £48,000 in the 90s a standard Victorian terrace, after separating I could afford the mortgage as a single mother. ( although I’ll be paying till I’m 70) The equivalent now would be over £200,000 for a young couple. My daughter and partner have a decent income but will not be able to get on the housing market without a lottery win

@johnross2924

5 ай бұрын

35 grand for my first house in 1989

@MamaRebelle

5 ай бұрын

@@LotharFriedrichFreiherrvon I’m housebound disabled so I live online and I’m happy 😃

@johnross2924

5 ай бұрын

@@LotharFriedrichFreiherrvon I own nothing now and Im as miserable as f*ck. Not sure where they get the "we will be happy" bit from 😂

It is the same all over the world, Vancouver, Toronto, Sydney, Melbourne, Berlin, Rome. It seems to be a cultural shift toward online and lack of good politicians in the area with any ideas on what to do. A closed shop produces zero rates, zero tax and hence the tax burden increases on the other shops, a stupid spiral of devastation.

@ladylaois8184

5 ай бұрын

NWO in full swing

@gmc9451

5 ай бұрын

​@@ladylaois8184judging by the comments on here people still don't get what's going on. Spot on re NWO.

@Scientist538

5 ай бұрын

Productivity heads to zero when both parents have to work as there is no time for women to make a home and raise a family and not enough wages for men to work and provide as the breadwinners, it's causing a demographic crisis and no amount of native soft genocide/replacement migration will solve it, the real solution comes out of nationalist left wing and pro-native social policy combined with right wing neoliberal regulation, and economic freedom reforms but both the leftists and right wing politicians in power in the west are seemingly all globalist and anti-nationalist.

@llanieliowe794

5 ай бұрын

Yh its not just a uk problem

@Pyjamarama11

5 ай бұрын

This is what happens when people vote for their politicians based on what's between their legs, instead of what's between their ears

These buildings are all owned by private equity firms with tons of cash, if they rent out at low rents, the property values go down, so it is better for them to have empty shops and keep property values up, then to get the best rent they can.

I lived in London from 2011 -2013 and I can honestly say that that is a shadow of what I remember it to be. Saddening to see. One day the people will take it back.

I am a yorkshire man, that worked in London. I know the areas you walked fairly well. Covent garden used to be ramed with people. Shops and restaurants and pubs and bars. This is not a slowing down of the economy. It's a fully planned destruction of our society, they destroying the UK to its death. I live in thailand now for the past four years. I returned to England on the 2nd of this month, after not returned in that time. I flew back to Bangkok after only 5 days. The country is in such a dark way these days. So many bars, restaurants, and pubs that used to be so busy. Now many only open wednesday to sunday. Many not even open week day lunch times. Some only open friday to sunday evenings only. I witnessed big restaurant bars at 1pm, with as many as only 3 customers in. I just had to get out again. Unfortunately! just see how much destruction next year will bring. By the way i was in Preston Lancashire. England the Uk, European countries, the U. S. The Whole world is being destroyed.

@UnimportantAcc

5 ай бұрын

Out of interest, do you work in Thailand? I've been looking to emigrate to Asia, but it is not easy as my qualifications would not recognised out there!

@GrantHarri

5 ай бұрын

100 percent agree brother I moved to Mexico 2 years ago I cannot watch and be around what’s going down in the uk❤

@marktyler3381

5 ай бұрын

Harder when you're from London.

@malcolmmcphee2582

5 ай бұрын

@@UnimportantAcc It is not easy to work in Thailand. You can only do certain jobs.

@llanieliowe794

5 ай бұрын

haha its shit in Bangkok for women though, so I still love the uk even if its been facing troublers since covid and the tories

This issue has a huge impact on Mental Health all adding to the growing problem of people feeling lonely & isolated. Visting Cities or your local High Street either alone or with family/friends tended to lift people's spirits in a variety of positive ways but the loss of these precincts results in people losing that community engagement along with current/future employment.

@GT380man

5 ай бұрын

Agreed, I no longer even visit high streets, as the war is long lost. It’s way too depressing watching injured people limping around after nearly four years pro bono warning people about jabs. Mugs.

@GingerPeacenik

5 ай бұрын

Nothing has changed much here in Florida, for what it's worth. Gee, what did we do differently here....?🤔

@Marirenee0313

5 ай бұрын

Yes it does people need third spaces so they can get out, and get away from being on their phone and being online all day.

@user-lp8fe8nn2j

5 ай бұрын

​@@GingerPeacenikprices in Florida supermarkets are hell crazy

Hey, I am just a Yank from the state of Wisconsin in the USA but after watching this presentation I will say that former PM, Liz Truss may have been onto something when she suggested lowering taxes and business rates to spur the economy. As I recall she was laughed out of office as Thatcher-lite. Downing Street has to come up with a plan to get investment flowing again and no easier way than to loweri taxes. It sounds oxymoronic but indeed lower taxes increases economic output thereby increasing tax revenue. New subscriber here and in time a London visitor. Jolly Good!

@ChatGPT1111

26 күн бұрын

Looks like you guys are going to continue your decline. Wisconsin is the only swing state where Trump isn't leading by a substantial margin. Keep voting for this $hit and see what happens.

@denis-mf3cx

2 күн бұрын

She crashed the economy with her crass economic policies, 47 days wipe out billions upon billions from the economy. She and her fucking insane advisers from think tanks should be jailed for life!

So sad to see Covent Garden like that we had the most amazing Italian meal in that place only five years ago great video thanks for sharing from New Zealand

For The Strand and Covent Garden, you can tell this is down to reduced tourism and massive rent and rate hikes. I used to visit The Tea House. Seeing it closed made me a bit sad. The government needs to take responsibility for the fact that they have scared people away from coming here for tourism or to live. They have also set no caps on rent. Landlords are charging huge amounts for rent and councils for rates. Getting people to go back to work in the centre will make a small difference but not much. Most people can’t afford the fares anymore or to buy things when they’re there.

@bluceree7312

5 ай бұрын

Exactly. Choose a pub, any pub, in any area, and it would be clear to see that in 2019 on a Wednesday afternoon the chances are it would be busy with after work office people getting a pint or two before taking the train home. Now they all work from home and your chosen pub is probably empty.

@Robert-A-R

5 ай бұрын

I agree with the majority of what you’re saying - but net migration into Britain last year was 745,000, so they’re not really being frightened off coming to live here.

@IKTGWIW

5 ай бұрын

@@bluceree7312 So, work from home results in drink at home which, for some, could mean drink at work at home🤠

@nmart1n

5 ай бұрын

@@Robert-A-R You would have to believe those numbers were real, plus they don’t take into consideration or ever talk about people leaving. I was really thinking about people who might move for work and/or with a view to buying property and settling.

@Robert-A-R

5 ай бұрын

@@nmart1n apparently that 745,000 figure is NET migration into Britain - they have taken into account the number of people who have left

I was born in the East End (Forrest Gate), and lived in London until the age of eight. Many happy memories from feeding the ducks in Hide Park, going to the museums with Dad, and feeding the pigeons in Trafalgar Square. I returned to live and work in South Kensington in 97, moved back home to Cornwall thereafter, but have tried to visit every summer. I've always loved London, the vibe, the hustle and bustle, the many businesses! But I have to say that the city I loved has slowly disappeared to the point I don't now recognise it. It seems that one of the oldest and greatest cities in the world is slowing dying! Let's hope that this can be turned around!

@goldwhitedragon

5 ай бұрын

Diversity says nope.

@Emppu_T.

5 ай бұрын

Khan!!

@xc43t

5 ай бұрын

@@goldwhitedragon Is this about diversity though? You could blame your average Pole or an immigrant from some African country but in reality a lot of properties are owned by some international management institutions that are owned by the top 1% percent. In case of UK there is always a factor of the old money. Other parts of Europe got rid of nobility at least partially. UK is still majorly silly in this regard.

@ottohashmi

5 ай бұрын

​@@goldwhitedragonhas fuck all to do with diversity

@goldwhitedragon

5 ай бұрын

@@xc43t races are not interchangeable

Great series from the town of my birth. Reminds me of another good series from where I call home now-San Francisco Bay Area and a dude named Metal Leo. Your tour makes some of the places I used to know appear almost unrecognizable.

I went back in 2008 with friends and relatives as soon as we got off at Victoria Station. We saw the shops and pub areas were vibrant and full of tourists streets were bustling. Then to see it now is very depressing. My friend who is a barrister in that area told me he misses it dearly dining and recreational activities has downgraded sharply.

Also the icing on the cake for shops is the insane levels of shoplifting.

Moved to London in 2004. Felt like a big city. Exciting. Glamorous people. Opportunities galore. New shops popping up. Now the demographics have changed massively and I think it’s reflected in the city. Moved back north a year ago. It’s great up here. Lots of independent local businesses. Butchers selling local meet. Farm shops. Antique shops. Welcoming pubs. Friendly people you can relate to. Wouldn’t want to move to London now. Hasn’t the same feeling as before. Virgin megastore. Border book shop. All gone.

@neurocidesakiwi

5 ай бұрын

Not enough English people, thats the real issue.

@freedomisslavery6840

5 ай бұрын

Import the third world, become the third world. It's a universal fact.

@jamesmason8436

5 ай бұрын

It's still all of those things ffs

@VestaJ17

5 ай бұрын

@@jamesmason8436its nothing like 2004 what are you talking about

@chrissafe3342

5 ай бұрын

Let's get real there are too many blacks and Muslims. London is Londonstan , islamic capital of Europe

There is secondary property market behind these business properties , the investment market which buys up properties for rental income. This is additional reason why business property prices are so inflated, as almost no business owner has capital to buy their own premises. There should be lower business rates, but also commercial property is hugely inflated and close to operating like a cartel with almost zero oversight. There needs to be some constructive steps made towards both lowering business operating costs and improving local the economics, which would mean jobs and prosperity. Rental caps would also indirectly reduce business rates, as they are calculated on the basis of market rate for rent. Rental caps and lowering business rates should both be a priority for councils and central government but they are just too hooked on the money flow and don't see the bigger picture and the damage it is inflicting. I cant imagine these properties sitting empty is any good for council income isnt it better to have more businesses operating with lower rates.

Wow what an eye opener. Well done. You have to feel sad for the lost business and ruined communities. At least the guitar shops on Denmark Street are trading. I will take Pete Thousand's guitar for 50k please.

Ex Londoner here. My family had stalls in Leather Lane Market, near where the Old Holborn tobacco warehouse was, Gamages Department store, Hatton Garden, Fleet Street. That market used to be heaving in the 1960s, as were all London markets. As soon as a place gets gentrified or corporate, authenticity dies.

@richmaniow

3 ай бұрын

Yep, lots of nice smart looking shops nobody can afford to rent.

@demographicsisdestiny

2 ай бұрын

And mass immigration right?

@Quincycle

16 күн бұрын

London has been irriversibly changed by mass immigration

It is not only crushing business owners, but consumers as well. Visited a friend in London a couple weeks back and paying nearly 8 pound a pint. Who has the money for a night out? Not the rare night out, but what we used to do in the 2000s. Finish work, meet at the local with friends, grab a bite to eat. We did this multiple times a week without breaking the bank. I earn considerably more now than back then, but I would never be able to afford that social life today. Kills business, kills consumers, and most importantly kills communities.

@frankiesayrelax100

4 ай бұрын

the Globalists have destroyed "Nights Out" and Bar Culture Everywhere. Even when you can afford it, everyone else is hesitating to just go out spontaneously and socialize.

@PORRRIDGE_GUN

4 ай бұрын

Yet the pub trade publicity is telling us the average price of a pint in London is £4.30. If that's true, then JD Wethespoons is doing a lot of heavy lifting. But even their pubs are only as half as busy as they were before the pandemic.

Great video thanks.

Wow. That's insane. Thanks for reporting.

My hometown in Wiltshire is suffering too. There used to be 3 large factories, 16 pubs in walking distance, 4 nightclubs, 4 restaurants. All gone in the last 15 years. Shuttered shops, giant supermarkets and some charity shops are all there is. They've been building more and more houses though! The town went from 30,000 to 56,000 in that time. But there is nothing there. It's a zombie, the weekend used to be a blast in the centre , but it's just empty now.

@monicakristy4590

5 ай бұрын

Lived in Salisbury 2002 to 2004 was wanting to go back, Did pass in 2007. I can only imagine how it feels now walking round the main shops. I remember many talks in the late 90s early 2000s about the impact the online shopping was starting to have for the next decade to social life in general, then COVID was a final nail in the coffin some 20 years later for township communities. 😢 The end of a generation of the last 20years.

@KingBarnaDuke

5 ай бұрын

@@TheRandomSlogger Wiltshire is still lovely! Just not many towns are anymore.

@KingBarnaDuke

5 ай бұрын

@@monicakristy4590 @TheRandomSlogger I consider myself very lucky that experienced a time when town centres were busy with families out shopping, pubs were packed with people having lunch and chatting, and the nights were dancing, drinking, and taxi from 1 club to the next!! And we could AFFORD it!! Good times!

@martinhale242

5 ай бұрын

I live close to Salisbury it's going down hill very time I have to go in more shops are boarded up very time

@monicakristy4590

5 ай бұрын

@@KingBarnaDuke my god yes!!! Pubs clubs pubs, shops and travel. I had almost no money and I travel the world for 3 years. There was always a job on the ready, with or without experience. Now some 18 years later my daughter is the same age I was then, wants to do these things but can't find a job that can even pay enough to cover rent with some left over savings to be had. Robbing these young adults if their independence. I'm so happy I got to live it. I can only wish we could offer that to others in the future.

it's all about concentration of capital, big players don't want the average person to have significant financial resources because it gives them independence. The concentration of capital takes place in many fields and does not only apply to real estate, it also applies to the food sector, large food concerns buy small companies or factories in order to stop prosperous businesses from growing.

@johncharleson8733

5 ай бұрын

Top comment.

@FutureEngine

5 ай бұрын

It occurs in all fields but profits concentrate on the real estate because rent seeking is just so much easier than setting up new businesses or even opening up new locations for an existing business, and it's also the easier way for foreigners to invest in a country with regulations they are not familiar with. And profit and appreciation is more certain especially when the government doesn't put no counterbalances to put brakes to it.

@alanyosores5642

5 ай бұрын

When the doctraines of colonizers pass to a wrong hand, then self destruction is next..because why they want to go other countries that hard to steal while they have easy to steal to their own soil😂😂😂😂

I remember The Tea House. It was very impressive.

I worked in Whitehall for several years just over 10 years ago and back then on my 2 mile walk to work I might see one or two shops closed for refurbishment but none were boarded up. They are obviously pricing shops out of the market and running London down in the eyes of the world. Sad to see what the UK has become in those last 10 years. So so sad. Gov needs to reduce costs and get people back into those empty shops.

@patbuckley4039

3 ай бұрын

Is that khan's instruction, to close down London.

I am so pleased that I had the best of London, living and working there for 50 yrs. It was safe, exciting, full of energy, character, with an historic soul. Real London will always be a part of me.

@nebod1556

3 ай бұрын

Real London is now ...real is what is current ...

@noahhyde8769

3 ай бұрын

I wasn't even watching the boarded-up shops in this video so much as I was noticing the people, in London. So many, many non-indigenous living there, now. And don't think that that doesn't have a LOT to do with the MAJOR issues the UK is facing, now. It needs to be said, faced and addressed, folks.

@lexxlars5762

3 ай бұрын

The biggest lie is if you’re tired of London, your tired of life . Absolute crock of Shiite . I hate the place .

@raywilson3166

3 ай бұрын

@@nebod1556 no it has been taken over by too many people who don't share British values

@nebod1556

3 ай бұрын

@@raywilson3166 Tell me some British values? (real is what is now agree or not agree and it is not going to change in future ...)...So British values?

This might be the saddest video I’ve EVER seen. I love London and although I haven’t been able to spend as much time there since 2019, I had no idea it was that bad! My heart breaks for the City and this country that it is this bad.

@luvcakes2069

5 ай бұрын

All by design.

@andrewfiles4184

5 ай бұрын

Thank Brexit for most of this issue…

Really interesting and informative video, whilst at the same time, sad and depressing. I lived (inner) and worked (central) in London from 83 to 93 (19yo to 29yo), we could afford our rent and bills, an active social life, shopping and travel. They were good times, we were so lucky to have lived our youth in that era.

The last time i was in London was December 2022 and the units at Covenant Garden where open , it's getting bad everywhere now , i think its gonna get worse. If you go back to Blackpool check out Bond street and Lytham road you will be shocked at what its like now😮 😮😮

I've lived my whole life in Central London and have watched it dying for years, it's so sad. A newsagents near me rents a 16ft x 12ft shop, about 5 years ago he told me his rent was £55000 a year and rates around £20k. He sells, sweets, tobacco, newspapers and now alcohol. He has to make around £1500 of a week profit to just pay that. Put that in perspective - he'd have to sell around 3750 Snickers to cover that cost. He doesn't have staff and works 7 days a week from early hours to midnight (Sunday half day).

@opalfishsparklequasar8663

5 ай бұрын

And where's the guy even supposed to store those thousands of Snickers bars!?

@MarkHebblewhite

5 ай бұрын

@@opalfishsparklequasar8663 He doesn't, he doesn't sell that many, that's just an example of what he needs to sell. I could have created a shopping list, but that doesn't give a greater understanding on how severe the situation is.

@teachweb69

4 ай бұрын

I had no idea before this of the economic serfdom of corner store owners. So they are really just conduits to line of pockets of the landlords and councils. Thats just not sustsainable

@MarkHebblewhite

4 ай бұрын

@@teachweb69 indeed it's not. The problem actually started when chain cafe's moved into the area, they paid big bucks for rent, which other landlords saw and thought they could just raise the rents for everyone. That's when all the local shops (even charity shops) started to close down. Then the Russians and Chinese started buying property, or renting which raised the rents (Cheap Studio Flat £450pw), which started to kill the community. I had a photography studio, which went from £35k to £75k annually. I serviced local small fashion companies, they started to move out due to rents and the rent and rates we had really killed us.

@wolvesrcomin

3 ай бұрын

​@MarkHebblewhite I rent my house , 3 bedrooms and it's gone from £550 pm to 1115 pm in 4 years , council tax from 78 pm to 137 pm. The landlord has done no updating of the house since I've lived here 10+ years. Why the extra? Greed? My wages have gone up in that time period by about 3k p.a . This is happening all over the UK and is completely unsustainable.

I’m an ex Londoner. Was given a 40 year waiting list on a council property. I grew up in the run down, then affluent, now heading downhill area of Crouch End. Moved away from friends and family to live in the Midlands. The original cost of my parents house was £4000 in the 60’s Covid was bad. 2 decades of a sorry excuse for government hasn’t helped.

@freedomisslavery6840

5 ай бұрын

Mass immigration is your answer. 10 million people added to the population in just over 20 years, 700k net immigration this year, 600k last year. That is the sole cause for the huge increase in demand for housing which has caused house prices and rent to explode and priced you out.

@billysequins

5 ай бұрын

Anything else you want to moan about?

@billysequins

5 ай бұрын

@@freedomisslavery6840 or that fact that Maggie flogged all the council houses in the Eighties and never bothered to build new ones

@stellayates4227

5 ай бұрын

It is worth remembering that £4000 was a lot when you consider what earnings were in the 1960's. I owned homes in London some decades ago and they were only affordable on two full time salaries and a deposit as 100% mortgages were not available.

@MariaLopez-hc2nm

5 ай бұрын

I bought my first flat in London SW19 for £12,000 near the tennis grounds in the 80's. Sold it for 40,000 in the 90's. Yes, huge changes have happened

Excellent. Thank you.

As a Canadian, I'm proud to call myself a Londoner as I've been living here for the last 4 years. I've seen the decline live, and fast, and it truly is sad to see this living, buzzing city fall into oblivion, not slowly, but at a heart stopping pace... Renting has become all but impossible, of course people have much less disposable income, that affect the economy tremendously... I'm a freelance artist and been doing well enough to afford rent in London, however that leaves me with almost nothing to enjoy an evening at the pub or even some shopping once in a while. It's all about making rent and bills... Even though I really acknowledge I am one of the lucky few artist that didn't have to re profile during the pandemic, it is still a dire way of life...

@bambubombon

5 ай бұрын

rent and bills is the sad reality in Spain too. luckily our main cities are still alive abd bustling

@captainharlock3998

5 ай бұрын

@@bambubombon I had a month long contract in Seville and I absolutely LOVED it! Spain is such a great country!

@kkkkjjjj8113

5 ай бұрын

am spanish and live here is desaster, enslaved people that has so low salary its only going for payback government and rent house, government isnot doing anything for solve those problems, spanish people going outside to find new life

@GingerPeacenik

5 ай бұрын

"You will own nothing and (we will) be happy"- tha Davos parasites warned us of their plans and are carrying them out, but the masses refuse to see it or care. They won't see what's right in front of them, or care about it, unless their TV shows it to them and tells them that they should care about it. Blackrock is the reason why you don't have funds for the pub. Unless we unite and push back, it'll only get worse.

@bambubombon

5 ай бұрын

@@captainharlock3998 seville would be too hot for me... but most Spanish cities are still lively and uplifting

Welcome to the future. It is not just London, San Francisco, and other cities around the country are suffering the same issue, closed shops, the homeless moving in, graffiti in the windows, well, you all know the rest.

@we8608

5 ай бұрын

The homeless moving in is an oxymoron. Wtf are you talking about?

@davianoinglesias5030

5 ай бұрын

The homeless ain't moving in, they've been our neighbours and relatives, they just couldn't afford their rent anymore

@huskyboi9847

5 ай бұрын

In India it's opposite 😂

@huskyboi9847

5 ай бұрын

Many new futuristic cities are being built in india

@IsmaelCRUZ-oy4ph

4 ай бұрын

its the big reset they want and need. This isnt a conspiracy, private central banks borrowed money at crazy interest rates and wants all these business and mortgages to fall through. so when the bubble bursts the bankers that get new money first will buy up all the assests cheap.

Some of those businesses mutate in e-commerce format. Whilst the "cube" (whatever the real shape is) in urban area is empty, warehouse are simply busy with the on-line orders.

Before covid I worked in the Strand and almost all those shops were full there and in Covent Garden. Covid has certainly finished some off but the rates are a ridiculous amount to pay before even paying rent, staff etc

A lot of closures are due to online shopping and working from home. We don't order cups of coffee online but if people don't go to shops and office staff don't come into the office, the coffee shops in those areas will get significantly fewer customers, which might force them to close. The knock-on effect is massive. I live in a small block of six flats and every day there are several online shopping deliveries. The courier companies and the Royal Mail are the ones who benefit; not only do they deliver the goods to people's homes but the next day those same people are queuing at the post office returning some of what they've ordered online.

@miltonmiles6324

5 ай бұрын

While online shopping and deliveries do contribute to the demise of these shops, I don’t think that’s the whole story. In Kuala Lumpur where I live, online shopping and deliveries are massive yet shops are alive and well. It’s your rates that are killing you. VAT on Rent? That’s a first as a Malaysian.

@FarerynielIthilwen

5 ай бұрын

Honestly this is understandable, where I live it's cheaper to order online than to get a bus into town and back. I know what I'm getting is at the best price and I know it's getting sent to me for certain. There's no incentive to go into town anymore, although one thing I do miss is food, something exotic like a Japanese meal that I can't do properly myself, but if I look at the cost compared to a pair of discounted leggings I need for dance class, well I'm fine with home cooking. Even if I had more money to throw about, food quality has gone down hill to the point I don't really trust food I haven't cooked myself due to the fact there's little footfall. Unfortunately even if I were to come by more money, I don't see myself exiting this mindset any time soon.

@wulfsorenson8859

5 ай бұрын

Yeah but online shopping has been around for years. This massive wave of closures has been caused by lockdowns and crazy rent increases.

When I was a boy, my Grandpa told me London was his favorite place he ever visited. This saddens me to see

@capri2673

4 ай бұрын

It's still great to visit but not to live there.

Having just watched (yesterday) your Manchester video, this one is even more of a shock to the system! It is hard to believe that the city center has lost a load of it's stores on many main streets. The rates on those properties are utterly beyond belief, and are they ever going to be filled again. People will see that the area is lacking business, so they may never go back there even if any do open up again. I reckon on-line shopping is one of the primary causes of this decline. Not many years ago 'on-line' was never heard of, and I (myself), call it lazy shopping. Well presented, and so, many thanks.

@henriikkak2091

5 күн бұрын

It's the compounding effect of online retail, business rates, COVID-19, and Brexit.

I worked in Covent Garden just a year ago and I am shocked at the state of it now… Those shops were not empty just a year ago.

Did anyone else (who knew the area as it was last century) get the eerie sensation that the buildings have changed beyond belief? All the old warehouses in Covent Garden made over to look the same, flat-fronted rows of plate glass and RSJ framing that could be literally inside the metaverse. For a second I wondered if you were playing around with an AI background or something because it all looked so samey, unreal, even on Oxford Street- a digital construction. We're being pulled into a disaster and not enough of us seem to care.

@aum82

5 ай бұрын

😮

@matthewwilliams3827

5 ай бұрын

People are either oblivious or just don’t give a flying f.

@SparrowHills08

5 ай бұрын

Noticed this on my trips to Amsterdam, LA and Moscow, rapid changes in the last 20 years in the form of removing colour and anything "unnecessary"; minimalism is their aim. If you want a real shock, go to Google Street View, you can compare street images from 2008 to now. We've let it become so soulless.

@Alanwcum

5 ай бұрын

I used to enjoy walking around the flower market in Covent Garden on a Sunday, Sadly , it has long gone.

@mrmrsmarshall9110

5 ай бұрын

I grew up in London, born in the 60s, a kid in the 70s, teenager in the 80s, a mum and wife in the 90s, left and moved to Devon 2000. I feel I was hounded out, I lived in South London. Peckham, Camberwell, Dulwich and Croydon. Worked in the City and Belgravia, then Putney. Glad to see the back of it to be honest.

I moved to London in 1960 and returned to my native Australia in 1998. In the early days the place was still recovering from the war, but during my time there was a huge surge in prosperity. It was vibrant with life and activity. I still hold happy memories of those days. It was profoundly depressing to watch this video. Also it wasn't improved by it being a very grey day.

@RoyilBlue-vp1ut

5 ай бұрын

In Australia boarded up buildings are mostly to prevent vandalism. Poor london is suffering more than cost issues, it looks 3rd world, i wonder why. What's the point of a king if he just allows his country to collapse into a 3rd world grotto.

@QUI_QUI_QUI

5 ай бұрын

Australia is so much better than Uk I feel, but if we Aussies let too many muslims, indians, pakistanis, or blacks.. this is over for us, we should not repeat the same mistake..

@tonyrandall3146

5 ай бұрын

@@QUI_QUI_QUI but think of the competition driving down curry prices.

@glsmokerUSCOOLHIPHOPCHANNELGMG

5 ай бұрын

Damn I wish I can come down under too!

@QUI_QUI_QUI

5 ай бұрын

@@tonyrandall3146 I am all for street pooping saar ,

Regarding your question about that large shop being closed at the "Bedford Street" Bus Stop on The Strand. As far as I remember it has been a Superdrug. I used to drive the 176 Bus Route there between 2016 and 2019. Loads of nice memories strolling in this area, from the Embankment to Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus etc. What I see there now in your video, it's shocking 😮

Here in central England you will see as many shut properties as rough sleepers. And where the latter exists are your tourist or locals likely to want to spend their time and money. Also out of city retail sites have killed the inner city shopping centres. Great video, thank you for showing real life currently.

As an American this level of tax is unseemly. Don’t understand how they expect to keep an economy going when it doesn’t even seem like you can take 50% home as profit. Rent, 50% tax, and VAT? Insanity

@eightsprites

5 ай бұрын

I live in Sweden, payed high taxes all my life. Now I need a smaller operation, the queue for it is over a year. Really question what the tax was/is used for.

@misst.e.a.187

5 ай бұрын

They don't want the economy to thrive, but to grind it down into a globalist mush

@karmatraining

5 ай бұрын

The tax is probably a lot less than the rent you pay. They would have to sell $20 cups of tea to afford it long term.

@poiujnbvcxdswq

5 ай бұрын

As an American you as per usual don`t have a clue what you are on about. Once you take into account federal and state taxes and the various property taxes..and the things covered by the UK taxes that are additional expenses in the US such as even basic medical cover, the US tax rate is about the same. For example I own two properties one in the UK and one in the US.The total taxes on it in the UK is $1,200 a year, roughly the same property in the US is $9,000 just from the state, plus another $500 from various county and city ordinances. Lets not pretend the US is a low tax place. The US property tax alone is roughly the same as the total tax i pay on all my income and assets in the UK.

@starsandnightvision

5 ай бұрын

@@eightsprites Tax is used for leftoid hobbies.

In Wales, Powys County Council offers a 100% discount on business rates for premises under (I think) 6,000 square feet, so small businesses pay nothing. It's kept town centres lively, without the empty premises you see elsewhere. If you have a stroll around Builth Wells, for example, you'll see quite a few quirky little craft shops and second-had shops which have opened up - the town is gradually becoming an arty-crafty-antiquey kind of place, much like Hay On Wye became a bookshop town. That might not be to everyone's taste, of course. An entire town of shops selling twee gifts might end up a bit naff, in a way. But it gives an out-of-the-way town which might otherwise fall into decline a new life. The interesting thing is that the arty-crafty trend is happening naturally, as similar businesses cluster together. But it all started because the 100% business rate discount makes it cheap enough to take a chance on a new idea. I say good luck to them all - and other councils please copy!

@LilyGazou

5 ай бұрын

This is brilliant. A real solution.

@sdrtcacgnrjrc

5 ай бұрын

Sounds good

@davidowen2396

5 ай бұрын

Most towns in Powys are grim. Newtown, Llandrindod Wells, Welshpool...they may have fewer closed shops but still depressing places.

@johncharleson8733

5 ай бұрын

Well, whatever you call this, it shows the city council to be active and practically interested in the welfare of it's people, stopgap measure or not. Great effort and applause from afar.

I lived outside London back in the 1980s. I'd take a train into the city on the weekend. One thing that always struck me was the crowds, people were everywhere. Covent Garden had lots of high-end stores and lots of restaurants to choose from. Watching this video was like seeing a ghost town. So sad...

One thing mentioned which is very important its all the small expenses that really add up, like the toll fares for simply delivering goods

I live in the States, and we have much the same going on here, in cities. Even capital cities, and it looks identical. Thanks for sharing! More people need to do this to let everyone know just what is happening! Thank you, Cheers!

@uo9990

5 ай бұрын

Its a world wide phenomenon. In Greece is the same as well. When a small group of people said. You will own nothing, and you will be happy. We knew what was coming. And off course we were considered as conspiracy theorists. By the majority of people. Greed governance will continue till 2030. Worldwide Things will get worse. Now you know, Believe it or not, being accused as conspiracy theorist i don't even care. Just look around you, its a new era , the empire its collapsing, a new one is reborn Adopt or die. Btw i don't take drugs 😂

@Lyrielonwind

4 ай бұрын

I lived in San Francisco and I have watched videos recordings in Finantial District on Friday at noon and it looked like a ghost city. 😢

@jaspal201

4 ай бұрын

It's the zionists that control you

@richardchiriboga4424

4 ай бұрын

Many cities in the US are the same.

@Praksifey_Sofronin

3 ай бұрын

From Russia with wonderful love ❤

Since the 1990s I've been a customer of The Tea House cos my mom and I are speciality tea lovers. I went to Covent Garden just last week to visit the Tea House only to find it closed. :-( I had last shopped there earlier in 2023. It was a lovely shop with amazing tea, cups, pots and accessories. Feels like the end of an era. The Tea House shall be missed. Thanks for giving them a shout out in this video - an important record of the culture of London past. Cheers! :-)

@neville132bbk

5 ай бұрын

There are a couple of such stores in Wellington 🇳🇿 in Willis St and corner of Manners St...central CBD.

@misst.e.a.187

5 ай бұрын

I once worked for the lady who started it, the late Christina Smith, in the mid-80s

Great video. That Ave Maria song isn't a juxtaposition though. It's from a poem where the protagonist is literally asking Mary for help in the song, very fitting

@wanderingturnip

4 ай бұрын

That’s super interesting I didn’t know that 👍 thanks

You should interview this guy again

WT - you are now the real time English historian . Putting context on the state of the nation . Keep it up please .

I went to visit my daughter in London yesterday. The whole place was run down. We decided to take the tube up to Hampstead which is supposed to be a beautiful and wealthy area. We go out of the tube, wandered around for 10 minutes then left. It was run down, scruffy and nothing to do except charity shops. Headed to Wimbledon which seems to be thriving. Their town centre mall transformed and outdoor christmas markets and fun fair rides. I was very impressed with Wimbledon. For comparison I headed into central London several times over the last few months and it seems soulless.

@nebod1556

3 ай бұрын

I adore charity shops ...

@gauloise6442

3 ай бұрын

I wonder what Camden is like now, that was the place to be when I was a student in the 00s.

@user-dh4lp2hh5b

3 ай бұрын

What exactly is a tube?...

@lymangreen5020

3 ай бұрын

The tube is the subway.

@user-dh4lp2hh5b

3 ай бұрын

@lymangreen5020 thanks...

Thanks for the video. I lived in London for almost 20 years, went to uni there then found a job and eventually left, also because it became too expensive. Went back quickly a few months ago for the first time in around 15 years and was shocked about how different it was, especially the boarded up shops, many of which I use to go to. The Astoria, where I use to watch gigs in the evenings after lectures, and Charing Cross Road are all the same boring and soulless glass buildings now. Even if I had the money I don't think I would go back there.

It isn’t just rates. Commercial property valuation is part based on rental yield. It assumes a certain rent, plus annual growth. If these shops are rented for less than their stated yield, they may lose more in valuation than just having it sit empty for years. The properties are probably not owned by a landlord in the traditional sense. Central London shops are likely owned by investment funds as part of a larger investment portfolio. Those funds in turn are owned in no small part by pension funds. There are mountains of zombie money in these funds that are managed very conservatively, and the lack of appetite for risk results in boarded up shops being sat on, instead of being rented affordably to kick off a cycle of regeneration and economic renewal.

I left London in 2006 for Aus and I cannot believe what I am seeing. We went to Covent Garden often as I had a friend working at the opera and before 2002 I had worked in Dean Street. Feel like crying really. Speechless.

@williamcaldwell-smith3865

5 ай бұрын

same with aus I'm afraid and it's going to get a lot worse

@nyakwarObat

5 ай бұрын

Covid effect

@chico9805

5 ай бұрын

​@@nyakwarObatIt's not just "Covid" (i.e. the criminal lockdowns), it's how the entire economy has been run for the last 50 years.

@nyakwarObat

5 ай бұрын

@@chico9805 capitalism

@damianmarkland8543

5 ай бұрын

Australia is even worse!

I lived in central and east Ldn from 2007 - 2010. Went back in the past year and all my friends are getting pushed out to zone 3 to live. They are high earning young professionals who have degrees from KCL, UCL, and LSE whose professions range from small business owners to government officials to corporate and not a single one can afford to live in central. What you showed of Covent Garden blows me away. Dang shame to see my adoptive home go this direction.

@dave8323

5 ай бұрын

Hardly an adopted home if you lived there for 3 years. I have no sympathy for you or your yuppy friends

@YourLocalGP

5 ай бұрын

​@@dave8323"pushed out to Zone 3" are you insane? Hardly anyone lives in central London. Zone 3 is perfectly normal!

@ayyyzma2937

5 ай бұрын

​@@YourLocalGPbut this has become normal. The point the original commenter was making, I think, is that even people who should be successful enough to live in the centre of the city still can't afford it. The implications of this for the general public, regardless of income, is worrying

@fungus_am0nguz644

5 ай бұрын

​@@ayyyzma2937exactly, thats how i understood it as well, same thing is happening in NYC, were if you are making 120k a year is considered low middle class now , like wtf. If you are making that and want to live in the some of the "nice and cool" neighborhoods, you are barely scrapping by. You have move out of your neighborhood....with that salary, like who is this city for now?? Trust fund kids?? Multimillionaires?? And SoHo, Covent Gardens? Its like they DONT want businesses to open up there.

@constitutionalcarrot3720

5 ай бұрын

@@YourLocalGP my friends grew up anywhere from Kensington to Camden, some clearly better off than others, but that they can’t afford to live where they grew up would annoy anyone. Totally unrelatable to those unable to afford basic necessities like @dave8323, obviously, but the comment’s clearly not for those.

Lived in London for a few years at the turn of the 80s .them places had a fun energy back then It was fun . Plenty work. Shame to see London's demise . God bless

OMG I haven't been to London in eight years... I always loved Covent Garden :( it's so sad seeing it like this.

It's actually so sad seeing Covent Garden like that. I remember being in my teens and visiting it often for all the quirky stores, but now it's a shell of what it used to be. I used to work on Denmark Street too in one of the guitar shops and recently took my partner there after watching a show at the theatre and was shocked that everything was gone.

@666MaRius9991

5 ай бұрын

@@robertwatson9940 Why? Thats fuken weird.

@acw7120

5 ай бұрын

Carnaby was made known as it was a place for poor students British made clothes in boutiques and rag trade shops. There were not just for "fashion" but for rope bags, cork platforms and itchy mohair jumpers. 2nd hand shops and Indian Markets were cheap like in Brighton for the students in the lanes. The whole Point of Covent Garden and Carnaby Street/Petticoat Lane etc was it was not just for rich people but ALL people. The council rates seem almost bloodsucking.

@ZadenZane

5 ай бұрын

I'm fed up of having to buy online sight unseen, no opportunity to examine the merchandise. Even the big e-commerce sites don't photograph products from all angles or show the back of boxes where most of the basic but important product information is given.

@MariaLopez-hc2nm

5 ай бұрын

Same I worked near Neil's yard. So I know exactly what you mean

It's not just happening in London, but it's particularly tragic that it's happening there, in such a special place known for its character.

@piotrwojdelko1150

4 ай бұрын

an effect of degradation middle class

@soavemusica

4 ай бұрын

People in trouble say "OMG", or "Jesus Christ" without meaning it. Things will not get better. EXODUS 20: 7 "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."

I grew up in the 60s in HOUNSLOW London when Hounslow was Pretty COOL for a 6 year old. Hounslow West was the end of the Piccadilly line and the A1 bus took you up to Heathrow airport where we used to listen to the pilots talking and then nip across to the Ambassador lanes bowling alley and then back to Hounslow but in the late 60s early 70s there was a record boutique opposite the bus station where we'd all meet to listen to the latest vibes where they had record booths where you could listen to latest albums free of charge. Used to drink in the Windsor Castle pub with the one hit band Blackfoot Sue who lived opposite the pub and if was pretty cool with 2 families in Clare Road who were from overseas and the rest were all London born. Hounslow Heath fair multiple times a year and it was a pretty safe place to live where kids could go out at night SAFELY. Hampton Court on a Sunday with the family and Mum did all her shopping at the corner shop every week and she worked at the Home Office London. I don't even recognise the place now and it looks like a City from overseas in all honesty. From another country, that's how it looks to me. I was born in Kingston upon Thames but lived in Hounslow. I left mid 70s and never went back. I'm now in New Zealand. I have empathy with ANYONE who grew up in London in the 60s and 70s

Well done sidiq -

This video made me so sad. I live in the US now, but grew up in London and worked in the city of London throughout my twenties. I came home to London for a month in September and damn it was depressing. Indeed, my old hometown has no real high street to speak of, let alone the many 'to let' signs everywhere, even in the heart of London. A few things have happened to kill the High St, including stores in tourist areas of London, but primarily it is the "trifecta" of the pandemic, rising prices c/o inflation, and lower wages. The pandemic was really the final blow to many retailers because London thrives on its tourist industry. No tourists = no income. The Govt. at least made businesses exempt from paying business rates from April 2020 to June 2021 during the height of the pandemic, & then the Govt, despite its empty rhetoric of " backing the high streets,” hiked up the business rate and raised the standard multiplier, leaving these businesses no other option but to raise the prices of their goods and services to cover these inflated costs. The other issue is that when I lived in London, barely a third of my wages went to rent. I had no student debt, and therefore more disposable income to spend in these high street stores. I have to sigh at the salaries today that are not much more than I earned back in the 1990s. Wages have stagnated and not remotely kept up with inflation, while the cost of housing has risen to unsupportable levels. It's all one big vicious circle, and it makes me unspeakably sad because this problem is nationwide, and not just in London. Thanks for your videos on this topic. They're bloody brilliant.

@TomokoMurakami

4 ай бұрын

Not sure where you live in America but have you been to any downtown areas of US cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc. and seen what is happening to ALL downtown areas? The Internet, Covid (ie you can work from home!) and democrat policies have killed all downtown areas. I'm an optimist and know that they'll be back though, albeit in a different form.

@cjay2

4 ай бұрын

No it isn't. It has NOTHING to do with the "plan demik".

@Threadbow

3 ай бұрын

People shopping online from covid days. Killed lot of business. You are right, the wages have stagnated so badly. I earned more in 90s than wages are now. That is a major problem. Thar and Thatcher sell off of housing. With capital going to central government not local. Times change

@mellie9633

3 ай бұрын

Same here I live in Canada now but the first 35 years of my life in London. The 70's to 90's were great but now nothing.

@BorsosGabor2023

3 ай бұрын

Tourists don't want to visit refugee camps.

The boarded up shop on the Strand was a Boots, they've now moved across the street to a smaller shop. And the shop rents are also very high, I was working in a retail business for over a year, one of the shops was on Neal Street so you might have walked past it. Shops around kept opening and closing because the landlords kept putting the rents up. A smart landlord would put his rents down and fill all the shops he owns...

@cjay2

4 ай бұрын

Not if the landlord is the bank or the rich.

@sam-bd2ko

3 ай бұрын

I walked along The Stand recently and saw about 10 rough sleepers.

My God, that is bleak. I remember the song Ghost Town by the Specials but never thought the lyrics would ever apply to the capital. Still, happy to see Rose Morris are still in business. Many fond teen memories of dropping in on Saturdays to have a go on the synths that I couldn’t afford. Loved that place.

Used to install the furniture in these places in Central London. We had to charge them a fortune due to the amount of time travelling the 12 miles into central 1.5 hours + 2.5-3hours on the motorway, then upto 10 parking tickets per day. You can’t take 2 meter cupboards on the bus but traffic wardens have no rational behaviour towards the people trying to keep the show running. I hated London but it paid well, couldn’t ever understand how they pay the bills.

@alexdewar6584

5 ай бұрын

Same here floorlaying and travelling from Manchester, once paid £60 to park and congestion charge etc etc. Did last job in 2010 and couldn't justify the expense, will never go back even to visit.

@pauldavies5655

5 ай бұрын

worked in that SHITEHOLE called london over the years since 1984. i d rather live in a frigging gulag in russia during the 1940 s !

@Acheron666

5 ай бұрын

My dad was a shop-fitter in London in the late 70s to late 80s……..Amazing, clean and beautiful city London was back then. Good money back then as well for working in London.

One of my friends restaurants was forced to close in central london due to the rent increase after covid. The rent was 150k, the landlord increased it to 200k a year. Ridiculous