Jonathan Pie: Welcome to Britain. Everything is Terrible. | NYT Opinion

So Liz Truss will be Britain’s next prime minister — the nation’s fourth in seven years. And she’s inheriting a nation falling apart at the seams.

Ms. Truss’s victory on Monday followed a long summer of overlapping and escalating crises in the country: Inflation soared to double-digit figures and continues to rise; nationwide strikes have crippled the train networks, the postal service and trash collections; a heat wave brought the first drought in 20 years; and Brexit and the pandemic conspired to ruin many families’ first overseas vacations in three years.

We turned once again to the fictional broadcast journalist Jonathan Pie, performed by Tom Walker. In the satirical Opinion video above, he takes viewers on a tour of a broken Britain and argues that Ms. Truss is not well equipped to fix it.

The video contains some strong language and adult humor you don’t normally see in The Times, but we think Mr. Pie is the perfect conduit for the frustration and desperation of millions of Britons.

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[KashouWannabe]

To our American friends, this is not parody or exaggerated; this is true and accurate.

[imagination]

He started out as satire, but now he's just the voice of common sense

[danielabbott]

As a Brit this is depressingly spot on. Even our legendary love of satire is pushed to the limit when Pie hits it this much on the nose

[TheGohan]

Four doctors are talking. "The Indian doctor says, medicine is so advanced in India that we cut off a man's liver, put it in another man, and in 6 weeks, he was looking for a job."
The German doctor replies: "That's nothing. In Germany, we took part of a brain, put it in another man, and in 4 weeks he was looking for a job."
The Russian doctor replies: "Well, we took half a heart from a man, put it in another's chest, and in 2 weeks he was looking for a job."
The Britain doctor laughs: "You are all behind us. A few years ago, we took a human with no brain, no heart, and no liver, and made a Prime Minister. Now, the whole country is looking for a job!"😂🤣😂

[mrmonkeyman]

In case any of you Americans were wondering, no he's not exaggerating.

[Claudia-gvlf]

Omg... You know something is terribly wrong, when satire has turned to a man screaming facts into a camera, and instead of laughing you just start screaming too...

Nailed it...

[devanman]

The most sickening thing about this (its the same here in Ireland) is the energy companies keep making record profits every 3 months. Every 3 months is the most successful 3 months in the companies history while they are telling us they are doing their best to help people.

[Highland_Moo]

I’m from Scotland and he’s right. Our mortgage doubled in less than a year. Britain sucks.

[mdog]

Explainer for anyone watching this from outside the UK. This is NOT satire. It's just a statement of fact.

[cmyk]

I’m Japanese. Our country has been ruled by neoliberals for who knows how long. This hit close to home. Fortunately our leaders don’t outwardly display this level of flagrant disregard for average citizens, but their fiscal policy always seemed to prioritize bottom lines of banks and investment firms over quality of life.

[Goutenberg]

As a Brazilian, I can absolutely say “I know this feeling, Brits”.

[visiongroove]

Lived in the UK for 14 years the decline I saw in those years was astonishing.

[neelubird]

Why are you calling this 'satire'? Literally everything he said is true!

[nightshadegaming]

The Tories are desperate to return to the days of the aristocracy, and they are mindlessly cheered on by those they despise most because they say the things they wanna hear.

Trees voting for the axe because it's handle is made of wood.

[Hundeputzmunter]

In the two weeks since this video was published, things have actually gotten worse...
Tax cuts that only benefit rich people, the value of our currency tanking, and inflation to rise ever higher

[elliewuzzup]

"Ruled by a government that is ruled by corporations." Perfectly summed up. True in the UK and America. This is why *company* regulation is needed, because when they say "deregulate" they aren't talking about us, the people, they're talking about billion-pound/dollar companies that want to do whatever it takes to make more money.

[garyburchgb]

Watched this numerous times, as a Brit this is absolutely spot on. It's not even bloody satire it's the truth!

[oliknowles]

“It’s called petrol. It’s not even a gas, it’s a liquid”. After 40 years of living I finally get it. 😂

[Watchmegrow]

“Wipe off any residual charisma with a damp cloth.”
Brilliantly put. 😂

[glory_]

It's sad to see what's happening in Britain, the UK has all my heart. I really hope better times will come soon for the strong British people