Brits are gloomy – and not just about the weather
Writers often agonise over how a column performs. I can see how many people read the online version of the Editor’s Letter and while our analytics don’t yet tell me what people make of my opinions they often spark a lively debate on LinkedIn. That can be satisfying, but that’s a self-selecting crowd of people who have chosen to read one of my pieces.
When it comes to print, I know this piece will have a couple of hundred thousand pairs of eyes on it, and while some of you may be moved to email me your thoughts I have no way of knowing whether you’re rolling those eyes, nodding furiously or just skipping to the crossword.
Imagine my delight, therefore, to discover that our polling partner, Freshwater Strategy, snuck in a question to our most survey of voting-age Brits, asking specifically whether they agreed or disagreed with one of my recent pieces.
“Britain is a poor country that thinks it’s a rich one” performed well online and now the nation has spoken, with 41 per cent saying they agreed with the statement. Just under 30 per cent disagreed, though it’s unclear if that’s because they think we’re a poor country that knows it’s poor. Drilling down, the view is shared by a majority of people aged between 35 and 54 (42 per cent) and just under half of those aged over 55. Encouragingly, a majority of 18 to 34 year olds disagree with me, though 30 per cent share my view.
Time to leave the country?
The original column sparked a few more on a similar theme; Britain’s decline and the growing debate about the next generation’s prospects. Related to this, we’ve carried lots of debate about whether it makes sense to follow the lead of so many non-doms, and emigrate. I said last week that despite my concerns and frustrations, I’m not going anywhere – and it seems that here, too, Brits share my opinion.
While 60 per cent claim the country is a worse place to live than it was 20 years ago (a view shared by a majority of every age group and party affiliation) the same percentage say they’d rather stay and try to change things. That’s the spirit!
Although it should be noted that this stiff-upper-lip attitude masks a grim reality; 52 per cent of voters say they don’t expect to be financially better off than their parents.
It seems ‘muddling through’ is now the national mood.