It’s a bit rubbish right now so Brits have been sharing things that are actually getting better as time goes on – 23 reasons to be cheerful

There is so much doom and gloom in the news at the moment that it can be hard to remain hopeful. From pandemics to a failing NHS to the cossie livs, there’s no doubt things in the UK have been very difficult lately.

However, it’s important to remember that it’s not all bad. Reddit user Traditional-Secret67 is aware of this, asking ‘What is one thing that is improving in the UK as time goes on?’ and following up with this:

‘We often (rightly) focus on all the stuff in the UK that’s going downhill. Whether that be the quality of restaurants, hospital waiting lists, wages, cost/standard of living, railways, water quality, etc – there’s a lot that the UK doesn’t seem to be doing so well with.

‘So what’s one thing we can all agree on that is slowly improving or getting better?’

And it turns out that there is more to be happy about than we generally think.

1.

‘Cancer treatment, both me and my wife have been cured.’
–Forsaken_Practice_98

2.

‘Access to different Government services online. Somewhat linked, the ease of getting a passport. You can now use a suitable camera phone picture etc.’
–ForwardImagination71

3.

‘Red squirrels might be coming back across the country.’
–No_Potato_4341

4.

‘It’s incredibly rare to see young people smoking now. They all vape which isn’t exactly ideal but there seems to be a lot more scope to combat vaping. I worked in a college for a few years and I could probably count the amount of times I saw students smoking actual cigarettes on both hands.’
–puchikoro

5.

‘Food choices, especially if you are gluten/dairy intolerant. My dad used to get a prescription for gluten-free flour from the chemist and just had to learn to bake. I saw the rise of a gluten-free section in larger supermarkets. I could buy pasta and pitta breads.

‘My daughter lives in a UK where we can get a gluten free cake in almost every café we go in and the Free From Range of Easter and Christmas chocolates improves every year. It helps you feel so much more included.’
–fraughtwithperils

6.

‘Price of mobile phone contracts, SIM only deals are crazy cheap nowadays.’
–Muchtenting96

7.

‘The quality of chain restaurants may be dropping but honestly I think the independent food available is increasing in quality and variety constantly in the UK and I love it. Its no longer just London that gets vast diverse and new flavours, or familiar flavours served with pride and care.’
–DickBrownballs

8.

‘Air quality in London. Even in just a few years it’s noticeably better.’
–TescoValueJam

9.

‘Jobs slowly becoming less London/big city centric thanks to WFH. I can now earn a London wage while living in the Welsh valleys. Totally impossible 10 years ago.’
–SickPuppy01

10.

‘Spring in the UK. No-one does it better than us! I know this is hardly ‘improving’ – we’ve always had a wonderful spring, all that gorgeous lime-green foliage, daffs, crocuses, blossom etc – but I think we all need reminding just how great it is.’
–skybluepink77

11.

‘The selection of drinks in pubs is much better than it used to be. It’s rare you walk into a pub these days to be greeted by Fosters, John Smiths, strongbow and Guinness with the usual Bells-Smirnoff-Lambs-Gordons top shelf of despair, even the most basic provincial pubs usually have SOMETHING out of the ordinary.’
–BritishBlitz87