Seagate has been very hit n miss with me. I’ve had one of their drives last near a decade only for a newer model of the same drive to fail within 6 months.

This is called anecdotal evidence and does not serve any purpose.

What’s generally considered more reliable brands for around the same price? preferably ones easy to grab in the UK.

Get the best price/performance/capacity/warrenty drive from any of the 3 major brands and you are good.

Look up the backblaze drive analysis to get an idea.