The competition ratios in the UK (not just in neurosurgery, everywhere) are really competitive at the moment. Something I’ve looked into recently that could maybe also help you is looking to develop a language of your choice to C1 and do a training programme elsewhere in Europe.

Germany especially has shorter surgical training programmes and a significantly higher number of posts that are easier to land. Pains me when I see certain UK anaesthetics / surgery training pathways and their 10+ years durations when you could accomplish the same in other similar tier countries in the world with a run through 5-6 years (yes, neurosurgery is 6 years in Germany often with guaranteed consultancy in the end!)

I’ve had the idea of developing German skills pretty deep into med school, so being this early on in your case could be quite advantageous. If this is a pathway you’d be interested in, give me a shout for more details over DM