Britain

Blighty

The Economist/Ipsos-MORI issues index

A small island with a big problem

Jan 23rd 2012, 13:02 by A.G. | LONDON

Chart showing Britain's concerns about the euroA SUSTAINED gloom has descended on Britain, according to a series of polls conducted for The Economist by Ipsos-MORI. Economic woes may have ebbed slightly over the past month but the economy remains the dominant concern, as it has been for the past three-and-a-half years. Worries about unemployment are also prominent. Now a related source of anguish has surfaced in the polls: the euro crisis.

Although Britain is not part of the euro, some 53% of British exports in 2010 were to Europe, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics. Indeed, Europe bought £230 billion worth of British goods that year. Because much of this trade was done in euros, Britain is exposed to the risk of its failure. As Conservative MP Douglas Carswell so memorably put it, Britain has "shackled [itself] to a corpse". And its people appear to have woken up to the problem: the poll conducted between January 6th and 12th showed that 9% of adults named the European Union or the euro as one of their most pressing concerns, the highest level for six-and-a-half years.

That is squeezing out anxieties about two other concerns that appear to be in long-term decline: crime (mentioned by 21% of people, down from 55% four years ago); and race relations and immigration (cited by 20% of people, down from 46% four years ago). Health, education, transport and the environment have also slipped down the agenda over the past few years.

Readers' comments

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rostbeef

Seems to me the facts quoted don't justify the tone & conclusions of this article?

Let's see: 21% of respondants worried about crime (down from 55%)
20% of respondents worried about immigration (was 46%)
ie 60% fewer responses worried about crime & immigration.

Yet the mere 9% now worried about the EU/ Euro are described as "squeezing out anxieties on crime & immigration . . . health, education, transport & the environment . . . have also" reduced.

No, if most people are less worried about most things (as you state) then what ARE people really worried about? Surely the ECONOMY & UNEMPLOYMENT, & nuts to everything else?

Or am I just having an obtuse monday?

Anthony Z

Hardly surprising, given the way the news has been going. Question is, if the Euro crisis is solved, whether the level of interest will decline again - I suspect it will unless there's some big move towards fiscal union and a debate about whether Britain should be in it.

Konker

"As Conservative MP Douglas Carswell so memorably put it, Britain has "shackled [itself] to a corpse"."

Remember Douglas Carswell is an extreme Right wing ultra nationalist diagonal mouthed twerp who wants Europe to fail and for Britain to be on its own like in the 1800s when there were few competitors in the world. Carswell has no alternatives to offer except for Britain to shift further away from every country. His polices are illogical and incredibly badly Judged. Cameron should reign him and his like in or throw them over to the extreme right wing UKIP.

Trading countries always trade more with countries close to them. There is nothing about 'shackles' it is just common sense. It doesn't prevent British exporters looking for additional markets as well as Europe. Why not build relationships with the BRICS too. Perhaps Carswell can drop his Chinese fear mongering and let British exporters know how to do that?

codefeeze

It's not that obvious what the graph represents. What is the variable on the Y axis? And what are its units - is it a percentage, number of people? If that is people's concerns over the EU it appears to be declining, not increasing as the article implies. Thanks!

Yh8DoAn389

I wonder to what extent those increased concerns reflect the growing national hysteria over the European Court of Human Rights (which is, of course, nothing to do with either the EU or the euro).

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On this blog, our correspondents ponder political, cultural, business and scientific developments in Britain, the spiritual and geographical home of The Economist. It takes its name from a fond but faintly derogatory name for the mother country often used among British expats.

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