Brexit uncertainty affected well-being

BRITISH life satisfaction fell in the months leading up to last October’s Brexit deadline, ONS figures show.

Figures by the Office for National Statistics show that in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) of 2019 average life satisfaction decreased by 0.7% from 7.71 out of 10 in 2018 to 7.66, amid mounting Brexit uncertainty.

As they braced for the constitutional change, people even slowed their spending on cars, eating out and trips to the cinema over the summer months, compared with the same period in 2018. It is the first time that both life satisfaction and feeling that things done in life are worthwhile both significantly fell since the ONS started measuring them in 2011.

Anxiety rates also remained elevated over the summer period, with 10.6 million people reporting high anxiety, as they remained concerned about job security, despite unemployment rates being considerably better.

The ONS said it was hard to pinpoint exactly what was getting Britons down.

The summer of 2019 saw holiday makers’ plans sent into disarray as British Airways pilots threatened to strike, as well as the sudden collapse of Thomas Cook in July.

Expectations about the general economy are also the worst on record since 2011, having steadily declined since 2014.

This is despite people having more money per household, with disposable income increasing by around 0.3 per cent per person.

The figures come from the Government’s annual population survey, which captures data from 320,000 people across the nation.