This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/feb/06/britons-brexit-wellbeing-tumbles

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Britain hit by serious case of the Brexit blues as wellbeing tumbles Britain hit by serious case of the Brexit blues as wellbeing tumbles
(32 minutes later)
It is seldom good news for governing parties when people start to feel gloomyIt is seldom good news for governing parties when people start to feel gloomy
Britain was an anxious place as last year’s general election loomed. Despite the lowest unemployment since the mid-1970s, people were worried about the possibility of losing their jobs. For the first time since it started publishing surveys of wellbeing in 2011, the Office for National Statistics reported significant annual falls in both life satisfaction and the feeling that things done in life are worthwhile.Britain was an anxious place as last year’s general election loomed. Despite the lowest unemployment since the mid-1970s, people were worried about the possibility of losing their jobs. For the first time since it started publishing surveys of wellbeing in 2011, the Office for National Statistics reported significant annual falls in both life satisfaction and the feeling that things done in life are worthwhile.
To put the ONS data into a bit more perspective, it’s worth pointing out that levels of wellbeing remain relatively high, even after the declines between the third quarter of 2018 and the same three months last year.To put the ONS data into a bit more perspective, it’s worth pointing out that levels of wellbeing remain relatively high, even after the declines between the third quarter of 2018 and the same three months last year.
But even so, the findings are significant because they mark a break with the past. Life satisfaction steadily picked up between 2011 and 2015 as the economy recovered – albeit slowly – from the deep recession that accompanied the global financial crisis and then remained steady in the second half of the 2010s.But even so, the findings are significant because they mark a break with the past. Life satisfaction steadily picked up between 2011 and 2015 as the economy recovered – albeit slowly – from the deep recession that accompanied the global financial crisis and then remained steady in the second half of the 2010s.
One possible explanation for the drop in wellbeing is that the economy was going through a sticky patch. The economy had contracted in the second quarter of 2019 and there was an increase in the number of redundancies from 3.1 to 4.3 per 1,000 employees in the year to the third quarter. Academic studies show unemployment is an especially potent cause of unhappiness.One possible explanation for the drop in wellbeing is that the economy was going through a sticky patch. The economy had contracted in the second quarter of 2019 and there was an increase in the number of redundancies from 3.1 to 4.3 per 1,000 employees in the year to the third quarter. Academic studies show unemployment is an especially potent cause of unhappiness.
Another explanation is that by the late summer and early autumn of 2019 Britain had a serious case of the Brexit blues. It was a period during which there was a change of prime minister and parliamentary gridlock. Millions of voters – regardless of how they voted in the EU referendum – were sick of Brexit and wanted the subject to go away.Another explanation is that by the late summer and early autumn of 2019 Britain had a serious case of the Brexit blues. It was a period during which there was a change of prime minister and parliamentary gridlock. Millions of voters – regardless of how they voted in the EU referendum – were sick of Brexit and wanted the subject to go away.
Either way, calling a general election was a big gamble for Boris Johnson. It is not usually good news for governing parties when people start to feel more miserable. What’s more, there was a strong argument that after calling the referendum in the first place and then making a complete horlicks of the subsequent withdrawal negotiations, the Conservatives owned Brexit.Either way, calling a general election was a big gamble for Boris Johnson. It is not usually good news for governing parties when people start to feel more miserable. What’s more, there was a strong argument that after calling the referendum in the first place and then making a complete horlicks of the subsequent withdrawal negotiations, the Conservatives owned Brexit.
So if people were fed up how come the Tories won by a landslide? In part because Johnson marketed himself as a clean break who would get Britain out of the EU. But also because Jeremy Corbyn failed to convince an uneasy country that it would be any happier under a Labour government.So if people were fed up how come the Tories won by a landslide? In part because Johnson marketed himself as a clean break who would get Britain out of the EU. But also because Jeremy Corbyn failed to convince an uneasy country that it would be any happier under a Labour government.
Is a capitalist utopia possible? Piketty appears to think soIs a capitalist utopia possible? Piketty appears to think so
The past decade has produced two unexpected publishing success stories. One was Fifty Shades of Grey, the EL James story of how a loaded businessman satisfies his desire for kinky sex. The other was Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century, an account of the other thing that turns on the rich and powerful: money.The past decade has produced two unexpected publishing success stories. One was Fifty Shades of Grey, the EL James story of how a loaded businessman satisfies his desire for kinky sex. The other was Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century, an account of the other thing that turns on the rich and powerful: money.
If anything, Piketty’s book was the greater surprise, since 800-page tomes that call for a global wealth tax do not often fly off the shelves. That, though, was back in 2013 and now the French economist is in London to publicise the English language edition of the follow up, Capital and Ideology. If anything, Piketty’s book was the greater surprise, since 800-page tomes that call for a global wealth tax do not often fly off the shelves. That, though, was back in 2013 and now the French economist is in London to publicise the English language edition of his follow-up, Capital and Ideology.
The premise of the new book is that modern capitalism is dysfunctional because it has led to much higher levels of inequality than existed 40 years ago. This has led to the rise of social tensions everywhere, but the lack of an egalitarian and universal political outlet has meant discontent with the status quo has manifested itself in rightwing nationalism.The premise of the new book is that modern capitalism is dysfunctional because it has led to much higher levels of inequality than existed 40 years ago. This has led to the rise of social tensions everywhere, but the lack of an egalitarian and universal political outlet has meant discontent with the status quo has manifested itself in rightwing nationalism.
Piketty says it should be possible to construct a different sort of global economy – one that would redistribute the proceeds of a wealth tax through a universal capital endowment, be more inclined to restrict free movement of money rather than people, and which would have social, fiscal and environmental justice at its heart.Piketty says it should be possible to construct a different sort of global economy – one that would redistribute the proceeds of a wealth tax through a universal capital endowment, be more inclined to restrict free movement of money rather than people, and which would have social, fiscal and environmental justice at its heart.
All of which sounds a tad utopian. What the book never makes clear – despite running to more than 1,000 pages – is how this kinder, gentler capitalism is going to come about.All of which sounds a tad utopian. What the book never makes clear – despite running to more than 1,000 pages – is how this kinder, gentler capitalism is going to come about.