Is Britain really ‘broken’? Ben Page argues that it isn’t. But it may need some rinse aid
Last September, Tory leader, David Cameron, the man most likely to be the UK’s next prime minister, said: ‘The biggest challenge facing Britain today is mending our broken society...’
But is it really ‘broken’? There is a contradiction in modern Britain, where virtually everyone claims they are satisfied with their lives – only 13% say they are unhappy – yet 71% of people think life is getting worse, up from 40% in 1998. And the public are with Mr Cameron – 63% of us agree that society is indeed broken.
Examining claims about our broken society in more depth, there are three core claims:
l crime and anti-social behaviour are rampant
l the institution of the family is in dangerous decline
l there is a growing underclass of poorly-educated ‘feral’ children.
There is, indeed, a serious problem with violent youth crime in certain parts of the country – teenage killings in London have risen from 15 in 2006 to 27 in 2007, and stood at 21 halfway through 2008.
But even in London, most people report feeling safer in their own areas after dark than they did in 2000, even as we worry that everywhere else crime is rampant.
Next, the broken Britain hypothesis claims we are increasingly a nation of dysfunctional families. However, eight out of 10 of us think family matters more than friends, while 95% say we are close to our families. And while divorce rates are high, our cohabitation rates are similar to other, happier European countries.
As for a teenage underclass, it is true that British teenagers consume more alcohol than most other European young people, although not as much as in Ireland or Denmark, two of the happiest countries in Europe. Yet alcohol consumption among both teenagers and adults is now stable or in decline in Britain – as is drug-taking, and 80% of young people never take drugs.
Are our young people particularly violent? Well, 44% of our 11 to 15-year-olds say they have been involved in fights, but that is not the highest figure in Europe. And when we look at more generalised disorder and disrespect, the trends are again static or falling.
But, there are huge public concerns around our feral young people. The most common issue in the BVPI surveys in 2006 was things for teenagers to do – ahead of the quality of schools and hospitals – is facilities for teenagers.
Yet, while we undoubtedly have problems, it is hard to genuinely describe British society as broken – even some Conservatives doubt it. London mayor, Boris Johnson, famously described the broken Britain theory as ‘piffle’. Perhaps we need to put our own pessimism into perspective.
If Britain is broken, we would expect to see a serious decline in personal wellbeing at a societal level – but British levels of happiness have not changed for 30 years. Either we have always been broken, or the issues are more specific to certain communities.
So, why are we more pessimistic about Britain overall than the facts would seem to justify? Part of the answer is the mass media – sometimes fanned by an aggressively-adversarial party political system.
While most of us seem reasonably content with our own lives, we are ready to go along with the collective pessimism.
Beyond the politics, something else is going on. The future is inherently uncertain and full of potential risks.
When we look back, the past often appears brighter. We rationalise what happened and forget our anxieties of the time. We face far less risk than our grandparents faced in many areas of our lives. But it is human nature to always focus on our latest problems – even as they reduce.
Deference is in decline, so as a result, we grow harder to please politically. Government is regarded as both hapless and overzealous, and we want our leaders both to regulate more and to get off our backs and let us make up our own minds.
When interviewed recently, Mr Johnson denied a split over the issue with Mr Cameron. But, using the metaphor of a washing machine, he said: ‘Britain’s not working well. It’s creaking. It needs more rinse aid. There are things you can do.’
And that is probably about right. A more fine-grained argument between Labour and Conservative about exactly what has failed in the welfare state, and what the ‘welfare society’ advanced by the Conservatives to fix broken Britain would help. n
Ben Page is managing director of Ipsos MORI
But is it really ‘broken’? There is a contradiction in modern Britain, where virtually everyone claims they are satisfied with their lives – only 13% say they are unhappy – yet 71% of people think life is getting worse, up from 40% in 1998. And the public are with Mr Cameron – 63% of us agree that society is indeed broken.
Examining claims about our broken society in more depth, there are three core claims:
l crime and anti-social behaviour are rampant
l the institution of the family is in dangerous decline
l there is a growing underclass of poorly-educated ‘feral’ children.
There is, indeed, a serious problem with violent youth crime in certain parts of the country – teenage killings in London have risen from 15 in 2006 to 27 in 2007, and stood at 21 halfway through 2008.
But even in London, most people report feeling safer in their own areas after dark than they did in 2000, even as we worry that everywhere else crime is rampant.
Next, the broken Britain hypothesis claims we are increasingly a nation of dysfunctional families. However, eight out of 10 of us think family matters more than friends, while 95% say we are close to our families. And while divorce rates are high, our cohabitation rates are similar to other, happier European countries.
As for a teenage underclass, it is true that British teenagers consume more alcohol than most other European young people, although not as much as in Ireland or Denmark, two of the happiest countries in Europe. Yet alcohol consumption among both teenagers and adults is now stable or in decline in Britain – as is drug-taking, and 80% of young people never take drugs.
Are our young people particularly violent? Well, 44% of our 11 to 15-year-olds say they have been involved in fights, but that is not the highest figure in Europe. And when we look at more generalised disorder and disrespect, the trends are again static or falling.
But, there are huge public concerns around our feral young people. The most common issue in the BVPI surveys in 2006 was things for teenagers to do – ahead of the quality of schools and hospitals – is facilities for teenagers.
Yet, while we undoubtedly have problems, it is hard to genuinely describe British society as broken – even some Conservatives doubt it. London mayor, Boris Johnson, famously described the broken Britain theory as ‘piffle’. Perhaps we need to put our own pessimism into perspective.
If Britain is broken, we would expect to see a serious decline in personal wellbeing at a societal level – but British levels of happiness have not changed for 30 years. Either we have always been broken, or the issues are more specific to certain communities.
So, why are we more pessimistic about Britain overall than the facts would seem to justify? Part of the answer is the mass media – sometimes fanned by an aggressively-adversarial party political system.
While most of us seem reasonably content with our own lives, we are ready to go along with the collective pessimism.
Beyond the politics, something else is going on. The future is inherently uncertain and full of potential risks.
When we look back, the past often appears brighter. We rationalise what happened and forget our anxieties of the time. We face far less risk than our grandparents faced in many areas of our lives. But it is human nature to always focus on our latest problems – even as they reduce.
Deference is in decline, so as a result, we grow harder to please politically. Government is regarded as both hapless and overzealous, and we want our leaders both to regulate more and to get off our backs and let us make up our own minds.
When interviewed recently, Mr Johnson denied a split over the issue with Mr Cameron. But, using the metaphor of a washing machine, he said: ‘Britain’s not working well. It’s creaking. It needs more rinse aid. There are things you can do.’
And that is probably about right. A more fine-grained argument between Labour and Conservative about exactly what has failed in the welfare state, and what the ‘welfare society’ advanced by the Conservatives to fix broken Britain would help. n
Ben Page is managing director of Ipsos MORI
