Why are so many places in the U.K. so dirty?

Posted by starwars011@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 818 comments

My partner is from Spain, and it’s just interesting comparing the differences. For example even when first when flying into Madrid, the airport is clean, with polished stone flooring. The streets are also cleaned via pressure washer multiple times a week so it’s rare to find a genuinely dirty part of the city. In comparison when flying into the U.K. the arrivals area of the airport has the same flooring and smell as my old school’s PE changing rooms. It’s functional, but certainly not great aesthetically. Outside the main centre of London, it’s also not uncommon to find litter scattered over the paths, and I’ve even seen mattresses and used nappies just lying on the floor many times. This is just a couple of examples, but why doesn’t the U.K. take a bit more pride in terms of general cleanliness? I never really noticed it before having a foreign partner, but now it’s regularly brought to my attention it really does become noticeable.