Is Britain becoming a Third World country?

Mark O'Neill June 26, 2026 19:08

Miriam Davis spent eight years studying law in London and working as a pupil in a law firm. She wanted to be a barrister and had to borrow money. Then she started taking cases.

“It was a nightmare,” said her father Andrew, a retired professor. “She found a huge backlog of cases, up to three years for rape. Many of the better court buildings had been sold to raise money. Those still in use were in poor condition, not fit for purpose.

“The solicitors gave her too little time to prepare her cases, and she had to race from one court to another,” he said.

As of the end of March, the backlog of outstanding cases in the UK reached 80,061, up five per cent on a year earlier and more than double the 2019 level. The average waiting time for a case was 196 days.

Miriam became so disgusted with her conditions of work and the likelihood that they would deteriorate in future that she took the very difficult decision to give up her legal career. Now she works in a large bookshop, in design and marketing.

Another astonishing statistic is the number of working age people (16-64) who are not working – 10.9 million people. The Office for National Statistics divides them into two groups –9.14 million are students, those caring for family and long-term sick. The other 1.76 million are looking for jobs but cannot find one. The total is 21 per cent of the working population.

British people say that the “long-term sick” includes many who are not clinically ill but have found ways to be designated as such, enabling them to collect state benefits on a long-term basis. They say that there are not enough inspectors or doctors to verify who is really ill.

“I fear that, in 10 years, we may become a Third World country,” said Eric Walsh, a business consultant. “By many measures, we are behind our European neighbours – the railway system, shortages of doctors, nurses, police and other essential services, collection of rubbish and maintenance of the roads.

“Everything is endlessly debated and studied, public consultations are held – but nothing is built,” he said.

“Everyone feels this sense of decline. What the country needs is a charismatic leader who can inspire and motivate people to work again,” he said. “But I do not see one among our political leaders.”

Britain’s seventh Prime Minister in 10 years is about to take office. He is Labour politician Andy Burnham, a popular and successful Mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 until this year.

On Monday the current Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, announced that he would step down soon, to make way for a new person. Burnham is the hot favourite.

His best points are that he is a strong speaker and has a good personal touch. He will be better able than Starmer to motivate people and present his political programme.

But he will face the same daunting economic challenges and shortage of money as his predecessor.

The business community has greeted his likely appointment with caution and uncertainty. This was expressed in an editorial by the Financial Times on Thursday.

“Burnham must be prepared to make unpopular choices. For more than 15 years, Britain has endured weak productivity growth and stagnant living standards. Economic shocks — including Brexit, the Covid pandemic and successive surges in energy prices — have forced the governments to confront the tough decisions needed to make the country more prosperous. Spending cuts have been shirked.

“Substantive pro-growth reforms, which often benefit one group at the expense of another, have also been ducked. If Britain is to break out of its economic malaise, Burnham will have to be different,” it said.

His left-wing electoral base demands taxes on the wealthy and business to raise money. The business community wants cuts in welfare spending and a reduction in the national debt, to satisfy the bond market and keep it from raising the interest on this debt.

Burnham has little room to manoeuvre between these many and conflicting demands.

John Donald, a Protestant church minister, said that Britain had accumulated great wealth through its empire.

“We have been living off this money. Now it is running out. We have to change,” he said.

Mark O'Neill

A Hong Kong-based writer, teacher and speaker.