More than half of British public will miss elements of covid restrictions

Le confinement manque-t-il aux Britanniques ?

THE INDEPENDENT

Beaucoup d'entre nous n'ont de cesse de regretter la vie « d'avant » la pandémie. Et si la nouvelle normalité avait en fait du bon ? De l'autre côté de la Manche, nos voisins britanniques avouent vouloir conserver certains aspects de leurs modes de vie confinés. Lesquels ? Ce point de vue est-il unanime ? Décryptage avec The Independent.

Research by Policy Institute at King’s College London and Ipsos Mori revealed that around 54 per cent of British people will miss some parts of lockdown, including family time, quieter roads, and being at home.

2. Nineteen per cent of the 2,442 adults polled said the last year had been better than they expected it to be when the first lockdown was announced. The research, part of a wider study with BBC News, also found that 32 per cent of people felt the past year has been similar to or better than average for them personally.

3. People have enjoyed being closer to their family, friends and neighbours throughout the pandemic, with 28 per cent feeling closer to their immediate family, 19 per cent to their neighbours and 31 per cent to their friends.

4. Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, said: “There is no doubt that the public would rather the pandemic hadn’t happened at all - but that doesn’t mean it’s been all bad for everyone, or that people see it deeply affecting their future.

5. “What’s striking from the findings are the significant minorities for whom the last year turned out better than expected, or even better than a normal year.” 6. He added: “Of course, many have been severely negatively affected, and the findings reinforce a key theme of the pandemic, that while the measures to control the virus have applied to everyone, their impact depends hugely on your own circumstances.”

7. Almost half of the public felt the last year had been worse than expected and 43 per cent expect their mental health to worsen due to the pandemic.

NEW HABITS

8. The research found that some people plan to continue with some habits they formed in lockdown, with 30 per cent saying they will shop locally more and 38 per cent saying they plan to walk more post-pandemic. Gideon Skinner, research director at Ipsos Mori, said British people expect the pandemic will lead to longterm changes but there is less consensus on what these changes could be.

9. He added: “Nevertheless, there are areas that stand out as potential priorities for the recovery: the impact on young people, on physical and mental health, and on careers and finances and while there is more optimism that we can recover from the immediate hit of the pandemic, people still need convincing that Britain will become a much better country than it was before.”