‘Why is everything in Britain so s***?’

It’s not the most pleasant of post-holiday questions, but it was at the forefront of my mind when I returned from a recent weekend spent in the land of my grandmother – Copenhagen, Denmark.

Regular readers will already know that I’m not always the most positive about the economic and social realities of the UK, but it was only due to being in the Nordic city that I realised how terribly broken Britain has become.

I live in London, a capital where it seems like almost everything is on the rise. Transport costs, rent, knife crime, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

Yet in Copenhagen, society as whole just felt, at least to me, safer and more respectful. 

Maybe it’s down to their belief in ‘hygge’, a cultural concept that encourages cosiness, comfort and conviviality and appreciating the small comforts in life.

But my trip showed how important simple things like not dropping litter, being polite to people and taking pride in their surroundings were to local residents, and how the apparent lack of such things show a Britain that is on the decline.

There’s no groups of balaclava clad teens looting high street stores, as we saw during grim scenes in Oxford Street earlier this month, and there’s no sign of empty nitrous oxide canisters strewn across pavements.

It was quite the contrast to Copenhagen, where hire bikes are all kept in great condition and aren’t ridden by people who haven’t paid for them. The streets were impeccably clean and free of litter with locals taking advantage of the many recycling bins about town.

And the public transport not only ran on time, but it was incredibly cost-effective too. The city made me feel at complete ease.

And it’s not just the day-to-day walking through the streets that makes you realise how far the Danes are streets ahead of our not-so-great leaders, not least when it comes to energy and big projects. 

It’s not just criminality that makes me think Britain is a dumpster fire – our general way of life has become a daily struggle

For example, I was taken aback by the striking view of an artificial ski slope in Copenhagen, which has been built on the roof of a massive incinerator that burns waste to produce heat and electricity, with leftover energy used to provide warmth for 72,000 homes, a common form of heating in the country. 

I couldn’t believe it, they turned a waste dump into an attraction that also helps locals. It’s this kind of dynamic outside-the-box thinking that is missing with our politicians here, who can’t even seem to decide whether or not it is worth having a high speed rail line between our two biggest cities. 

At home, on a day-to-day basis, instead of finding ways to help our citizens with the cost-of-living crisis, the Tory government, led by Rishi Sunak, has basically sat with their arms crossed. 

As Sunak (and Keir Starmer) back the two-child cap on benefits, in Denmark, family benefits have increased. 

With so many of our fellow Brits in poverty, it is no surprise that shoplifting has risen by 24% and police are finding it hard to cope.

It’s not just criminality that makes me think Britain is a dumpster fire – our general way of life has become a daily struggle.

Strike action has been crippling the nation with teachers, university staff, ambulance drivers and nurses all walking out over pay. 

It’s not just me moaning about the state of the country – three quarters of people in Britain agree that our island is becoming a worse place to live, according to a recent Ipsos survey. 

The longest NHS waiting list in history has just hit 7.6million, and rising taxes, high inflation and so much else have all contributed to the unmistakable feeling of a country in terminal decline.

As much as I love Britain it is clearly falling apart and the people at the wheel have lost control.

In case you think comparing with Copenhagen is just recency bias on my part, it isn’t the only European city with a progressive way of doing things. 

Almost two-thirds of people in Vienna live in social housing – while we are lacking homes here in Blighty. 

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I could blame Brexit for the way our country is – and I’ve no doubt that has had an effect on some of what is happening – but we can’t use the B-word as the sole excuse for the sense we are going backwards. 

Frankly, we need a fundamental and radical shift in the culture and attitude here, so that we are as proud of our locale as the people I met in Copenhagen. 

The tension and frustration in Britain is mixed with a deep sense of impending doom and helplessness. I see it every day from talking to young people to looking at how things have declined where I live and work. 

Perhaps we are just too miserable – according to the World Happiness Index, Danes are the second most contented people in the world, second only to Nordic neighbours Finland. 

The people I met on my travels knew their taxes were higher than the global average, but with such a strong welfare state and social safety net, they are happy to do so, and happier overall. 

I had an amazing team in my Grandmother’s home city – seeing the power of government action, community spirit, and national pride. 

Sadly, the same cannot be said for Britain – and it doesn’t look like getting better any time soon.

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