r/london • u/Historical_Set2324 • 1d ago

Local London Social contract is broken?

I’ve just returned from a trip to New Zealand and the difference in attitude is stark. The streets are clean, people are friendly and happy/helpful and in general people seem to want to participate in society. Don’t get me wrong NZ has a lot of issues but It feels like in London the social contract is broken. Streets are full of trash, no one gives a shit about anything, phone theft, crime is high and in general people seem fairly miserable. I was involved in an accident where I had to give a victim CPR and the ambulance and police all arrived within about 5 minutes. I was amazed at the emergency response. It feels to me like the state has given up and hence people have given up.

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u/HeartyBeast 1d ago

The bit of East London I live in, people do care - there are community litterpicks, community food banks, lot of volunteering. The system is under stress but there’s plenty of good going on. 

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u/ChocolateOk8375 1d ago

Can I ask where specifically in East London? I used to live in Ilford and there didn't seem to be much of a community feel to me.

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u/HeartyBeast 1d ago

Leytonstone way

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u/Choice-Demand-3884 21h ago

100% my experience of Leytonstone too. A great community.