Shadowing Practice: Why do Britons feel the country is broken? - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Why do Britons feel the country is broken?
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Why do Britons feel the country is broken?
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Well, I just think the way that people are leading our country,
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I just don't think it's right.
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They've got their priorities all wrong.
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Why is the electorate so fractured and impatient?
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I don't think we could be any more patient without politicians, to be honest.
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Over the years, look who we've had for God knows how long and look what they've done.
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Is the UK simply ungovernable?
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Of course it's ungovernable.
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We just need someone with a pair to get back in involved and actually be in control.
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That we believe is credible.
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We start our exploration into British discontent in London.
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A weekend of two protests, characterised as rivals.
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A symptom of polarisation.
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But are the people on these rival marches so different?
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First, the pro-Palestinian protesters.
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The biggest issue in this country is severe wealth inequality.
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Do you think there are people on the other march who have the same problem about wealth inequality that you have?
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100% and they've been tricked to think that it's people coming in boats,
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brown and black people, who are the problem.
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People just tend to blame a lot of problems in government and with this country on immigration.
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Well, it's not.
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I think it's the competency of the government that people need to focus on a bit more.
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Yeah.
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What do you think are the problems within the country?
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Inflation, cost of living, things like that,
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you know what I mean?
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I think also that there is a massive gap between the people in the government body
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and the actual people that are supposed to govern.
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Ali from Chingford in Essex worries his daughter will inherit a less tolerant Britain with growing inequality.
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There used to be a time when post-Second World War there was investment in infrastructure,
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in creation of jobs, in creation of wealth for the everyday person.
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Today the mantra seems to be you'll own nothing,
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be happy with it and that's the end.
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Do you think there'll be people on the other march who will list all those same issues that you've just raised?
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Completely agree, they will be.
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If we're referring to the hate march and they'll refer to us as the hate march,
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this is the part of the problem, right?
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So how have we got this stage where we've got two hate marches with two opposing views on each other,
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but having essentially the same...
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We don't have opposing views.
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Our views are that the everyday man deserves a chance.
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Half a mile away, the Unite the Kingdom march is reaching Parliament Square.
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My son back there, he's a bricklayer.
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He's got no work.
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He has no work.
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It is all Lithuanians in there.
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And, you know, he's got his own little children.
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He's out of work half the time.
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I'm on the bidding for the council.
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How long have you been waiting for?
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Five years.
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Five years.
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Five years.
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So I'm in a house and a subsidence.
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I can show you pictures of my subsidence house.
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And I've got my five children living with me And the council don't want to help me,
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but yeah, you've got these coming over into England They're getting housing benefits everything Like this You're feeling forgotten.
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You're feeling left out.
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Yes Exactly that.
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Yeah left out sounds like the biggest issue for you personally It's housing.
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So why not go on a housing march?
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Where's the help?
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Chelsea is from Sandwell in the West Midlands,
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where a quarter of the population was born outside of the UK.
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And demand for social housing has doubled in three years.
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Nationally, available stock is in decline
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and the average waiting time for council homes with three or more bedrooms is now nearly eight years.
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Of course this is an anti-migrant gathering but would as many people be here if we didn't have a chronic housing shortage?
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Our contract with the government was we'll pay in social contract that we'll look after our own people.
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That's gone now.
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Whatever we're spending money on is not being put back into the communities,
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It's been booted into something else.
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People here will tell you it's immigration,
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that's a small part of it, but everything's went downhill.
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You go to NEN, it's yes,
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N-E, it's a war zone.
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It is, and it wasn't like that when I was a kid.
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On the face of it,
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these two marches couldn't be more different.
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But if you scratch beneath the surface, there are similar themes.
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Disillusionment with government, a sense of injustice,
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a feeling that the country and people's lives are getting worse.
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Whatever flag they march under,
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they feel the government is walking blind.
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Two years ago, I took a parliamentary bench across Britain,
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asking people what mattered in the upcoming election.
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The cost of rent tripled in the last few years.
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Going to a shop and doing like a weekly shop is just so expensive.
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I kind of feel like in a lot of ways I was better off 10 years ago.
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From Cornish beaches to Scottish hills to the waterways of Wales,
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Labour offered a glimmer of hope.
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Very comfy.
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I can see why they nod off in Parliament.
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Probably going to vote Labour and just go for the safe option.
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What makes you think they're safe?
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Safer than Conservatives, I think.
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For decades, the Labour vote in Wales has been as solid
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and dependable as this aqueduct but we've come back here because in just two years the political landscape has changed dramatically.
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The May Welsh Assembly elections were a revolution.
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Plaid Cymru first, reform second, Labour crushed.
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Two years on, returning to the Telford Inn in Clamglochland,
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we find takings are down 30%,
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even though the next nearest pub has closed.
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Punters drive here for days out,
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less so now with high fuel prices.
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Hello you two.
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Good to see you.
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How are you?
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How are you?
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I'm very well.
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Good to see you.
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What, two years?
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It has been two years, yes.
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Yeah.
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I mean, Labour's been here for, what, 27 years?
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Yeah and all of a sudden you go around the farmers are even putting up these things
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for either Plaid Cymru or reform and it's something
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that we've never seen the whole fact of the insurances going up national insurance who having to pay more for
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that the minimum wage crazy the way we've got to pay a 14 year old the same as a 17
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and a half year old but then the problem also knocks on to the fact
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that 17 year old who's just about to turn 18 says
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wait a minute i've been working for three years why am i earning the same as a 14 year old
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so they're now asking for more money
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so you're now having to put them up to the 18 to 21 bracket
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but then the 21 year old says well wait a minute
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if the 18 year old
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and it's true i've had this this year already i've had
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staff say basically you've got wage inflation yeah we've done our own business
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and that's just one business look at all the businesses we're
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all everyone wants more money all of a sudden yeah
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that doesn't work that way but that's exactly what robert and sarah's staff want.
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With how much everything costs being on the wage
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that we're on I don't think is enough
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because you know you get paid and then your bills come out
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and then you've got like a hundred pound or whatever you're on to live off for the rest of the month.
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Me being 19 I want to go out
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and I want to have a good time with my mates
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but I feel a bit restricted from it because of how much everything costs.
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But Erin and Lana know they're lucky to have a job.
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I know a lot of people that are struggling to get jobs themselves and like with all the,
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especially hospitality businesses, like going bankrupt and closing down.
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New figures show youth unemployment has climbed 16 percent with 729,000 16 to 24 year olds currently looking for work.
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There's fear too that AI will do to jobs what the internet's done to the high street.
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From Wales we've come to the Wirral.
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This is Ellesmere Port, where there's an unsettling sense of decay.
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Canvas homes are erected amongst rusted shutters and glass shopfronts offer nothing.
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This used to be Wilco,
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then closed down and turned to Poundlands.
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Poundlands was only there for a month and it just closed down.
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Back when I was a kid we had everything,
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toy shops, clothes shops, the town was booming.
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Retailers that remain open are often ones thriving on desperation,
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such as Wayne's Porn Shop.
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It's definitely a time I see everyone struggling,
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it's not just one type of character,
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you've got people that you wouldn't expect,
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you know, people that are working full-time jobs,
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multiple jobs, and they're still having to come in just to make ends meet,
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pour on a few bits in just to get by.
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People tend to sell the jewellery.
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We send it off, it gets melted.
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Everyone makes a bit of money,
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helps people out in a tough time.
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But just as our fast-paced shopping habits have turned high streets into ghost towns,
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have we become too fickle and impatient to give our politicians a chance.
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The government relies on indicators such as GDP,
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our economic output, which is actually rising faster than expected.
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But people aren't feeling it here.
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Crime is falling.
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But surveys suggest most people think it's going up.
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And hospital waiting lists are dropping fractionally.
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But that still leaves 7 million people waiting.
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One of them is Heather.
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We're now in Lee, Greater Manchester.
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This trip to get her scooter serviced might be her only day out this week.
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A former carer herself, she's lacking in social care
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and has been on a hospital waiting list over a year now for a new diagnosis.
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It does make things harder.
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Just waiting?
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It's the waiting.
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That's the hardest part, the waiting.
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And they're not knowing, but when you know there's something wrong and you can't put your finger on it,
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and they can't put the finger on it,
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it's like, where do you go next?
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You don't know where to go,
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you just know there's something not right.
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No one's listening.
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How are the government doing?
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They're struggling at a minute,
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I'd say for two reasons.
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First reason is because it's still cleaning up after the Conservatives,
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and the second one is because they're dealing with everything that Trump is putting us through,
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dealing with all that in Iran.
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Yeah.
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So they've not had enough time to figure out what they can do for our country.
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The Health Foundation found those in the wealthiest 10% of areas
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can expect 20 more years of good health than those in the poorest.
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More than half of Lee is in the top 20% of most deprived areas in the UK.
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Time may be running out for the Prime Minister.
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So much of it has already been wasted in British politics.
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We've ended up in Downing Street in Lee.
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The Black Door has seen better days and nobody is battling to live here.
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But if you count up the days of leadership challenges,
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snap elections, six prime ministers swapping in and out of the more famous Downing Street,
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over the last decade we have actually lost more than a year just in contests for number 10.
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The centre ground of politics is crumbling through inaction.
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People want leadership, direction, and their shift from traditional parties isn't just punishment.
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It's a cry for help.
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Jason Farrell, Sky News.
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Context & Background
The discussion around why many Britons feel their country is broken centers on feelings of discontent regarding government actions, societal disparities, and cultural tensions. In a recent dialogue, various speakers expressed their frustrations over issues like wealth inequality, inflation, and perceived government incompetence. They highlighted a sense of polarization within society, where emotions run high during protests on opposing sides of social issues. This environment creates opportunities for English learners to engage with real conversational English, as it reflects the dynamics we observe in everyday life.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- "I just think the way that people are leading our country, I just don't think it's right." - A expression reflecting personal opinion on leadership.
- "The biggest issue in this country is severe wealth inequality." - Addressing economic concerns directly relevant today.
- "People just tend to blame a lot of problems in government on immigration." - Highlighting common misconceptions in social debates.
- "There used to be a time when there was investment in infrastructure." - Referring to historical changes in societal priorities.
- "The gap between the people in the government and the actual people that are supposed to govern." - Discussing the disconnect felt by citizens.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
For English learners seeking to improve their speaking skills using the content from this video, a structured approach using the shadowing technique can be particularly effective. Follow these steps:
- Watch the video: Start by watching the video in full to understand the context and emotions conveyed.
- Listen actively: Play the video again, this time focusing on how the speakers express their thoughts. Pay attention to intonation, rhythm, and pitch.
- Repeat phrases: Select the top phrases from the list above. Pause the video briefly after each phrase and attempt to echo what you've just heard. This will help you memorize the phrases and improve your pronunciation.
- Record yourself: Utilize a shadowing app to record your voice while repeating the phrases. Listening to your own recordings will help identify areas for improvement.
- Practice regularly: Regular practice is key. Set aside dedicated time each week to shadow different video segments. The more you practice, the more natural your speech will become, allowing you to learn English with YouTube effectively.
Using these practical steps, learners can work on their conversational skills while exploring important contemporary topics that resonate with a broader audience.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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