Noel's Not Wrong.

Noel Gallagher this week slated England as a fucking dump. But oddly enough, the flag waving lunatics haven't lurched from their seats in Middle England to defend good old Blighty.

You could argue that perhaps people don't care what Noel Gallagher has to say anymore. You could argue that. You'd be wrong however. What's actually going on, is that the Oasis star has once again hit the nail firmly on the head.

A quick click on the Google News page for the UK a moment ago, led me to wade through the first twelve stories of people being killed, maimed, punished, hit in the pockets, or our institutions failing, before I found one headline that didn't seem to relate to something depressing. And that was the appointment of the Bishop of Bangor, which I'm sure some could argue is hardly "good" news.

It's not just that I clicked on the news at a bad time. It's that every time is a bad time in this country at the moment.

Take the old nemesis of British life - the weather. Rubbish. We get people harping on about global warming, and yet we get soggier and soggier summers. We really are getting the raw end of the deal there. Surely the EU can quota up some sunshine for us from the Spanish, after all, they get a good chunk of our fish.

Speaking of Europe, it's interesting to note how our currency is slowly but surely falling against the Euro. In just under ten years the Euro has pulled back 10p on the Sterling. Bargain hunting abroad is no longer the bargain it once was. True in part that's to do with the development of other nations, but also the failings of this one.

Then there's crime. We have the sixth highest crime rate per person in the world. With three quarters of us believing that the police do a good job, then that can only point to one thing. We're a nation over run by scumbags.

Violent youth crime is up 37%, total youth crime overall is up 21%. Yet over half of these criminals, and that's what they are, regardless of age, are getting let off with a caution. And that's it. I got a caution for being drunk on the way out of a nightclub once. That seemed fair. Kids getting cautions for thieving and fighting however? There is no comparison.

It's crowded too. Britain has a population density of 246 people per km2. That's more than double that of our neighbours France (110). And that is a bit misleading as well, as It takes into account Scotland which is extremely sparse at 65. England's density is 383 people per km2. That is damn crowded.

We charge over a hundred pound more a year than our nearest neighbours just for the privilege of having power, and in 2007, we had the fourth highest rates for prices in the EU for electricity. I'm not exactly sure how much it's gone up since then, but it certainly has. We also make our motorists pay more for diesel than anyother EU nation.

It's easy to paint a bleak picture of British life. I originally wanted to write this article with a balanced opinion, but I found that I couldn't. Like Noel stating "I miss my girlfriend and my little boy and my daughter. I miss watching the football, I miss getting a decent cup of tea," I found that all I would miss about this country were silly little things.

I'd also miss the football. I'd miss my favourite pub. I'd miss my friends and family. Other than that however, this country has little going for it. I've often said to the girlfriend that I've no intention of seeing out my days in the UK, and for me, the sooner that day comes, the better.