UK happiness index: Brits grew happier before March Brexit deadline
Britons became happier over the course of the year to March, new figures have shown today, but those in Northern Ireland grew sadder and more anxious as the original Brexit deadline approached.
Read more: UK unemployment fall pushes earnings growth to 11-year high
On mainland Britain, people’s happiness increased – according to the Office for National Statistics’s (ONS) measure – from an average score of 7.52 to 7.56.
Yet in Northern Ireland, happiness dropped from 7.8 to 7.69 in the year to the end of March, the original Brexit date. The country nonetheless remained happier than the rest of the UK.
Northern Ireland’s anxiety levels also rose. By the ONS’s measure, people were significantly more anxious, with the gauge rising from 2.53 to 2.83.
The ONS has measured personal well-being, happiness, anxiety and how worthwhile people think their lives are since 2011. The official stats body carries out the work to look “beyond purely economic measures for how the nation is doing” and to measure “inequalities in society”.
Survey respondents are asked to respond with an answer on a scale of one to ten to questions such as, “Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?”
Since 2013, the UK’s average life satisfaction has improved 3.4 per cent, with the largest improvement recorded in London at 4.6 per cent.
Yet the London boroughs of Lambeth, Hackney, Islington and Camden have been persistently less happy with life than the rest of the country.
The ONS said high levels of air pollution, poor and expensive housing, and higher crime rates could help explain why these boroughs have been on average less happy.
It said some aspects of life “have a significant impact on well-being, such as good health, positive relationships, and employment”.
Samantha Seaton, chief executive of open banking start-up Moneyhub, pointed to the UK’s near-record low rate of unemployment as an explanation for the country’s increased happiness.
Read more: Brexit latest: Brussels edges towards backing 31 January extension
“Our sense of overall well-being is very often aligned with our financial health,” she said. “When there is wage growth, low unemployment and confidence in the UK economy, we typically see a drop in anxiety levels and higher life satisfaction and happiness.”
(Image credit: Getty)