'UK shamed again...' |
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We're not as smart as we'd like to think we are - Dean Freidman
* * * Joining the dots...
Gordon Brown and basket-case Britain
'Gordon Brown helped fuel Britain's banking crisis by pressurising the City regulator not to intervene and stop reckless lending, the head of the Financial Services Authority said yesterday'"
Forget education, pupils just want to be famous
Media studies overtakes physics
'The steady fall in library usage in Britain is one of many examples of the growing mental sloth of the population'
'The new poverty'
Children’s enthusiasm for competitive sport is at an all time low..
Child obesity 'doubles in decade'
Children eat themselves ill
Grab-it-and-go culture
Health a food policy afterthought
We need change to the way we plan
Overweight, obesity, and cancer risk
Lazy Brits rely on their cars
More time in cars, less time on their feet
Dependency on cars too great to avoid gridlock
Cappuccino society it ain't
Britain suffering a drink problem
Bog standards
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Sunday, August 16, 2009
Society: British homes have smallest rooms in Western Euorpe' / The Guardian 10/8/09 'Welcome to 'rabbit hutch Britain'. Homes in Britain have the smallest rooms in western Europe, with the average floor space almost a quarter smaller than in Denmark, which boasts western Europe's most spacious living accommodation. The rooms in newly built private housing are so small that close to half of buyers find their kitchens are so cramped they cannot cook properly for their families, according to the survey by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.' (more) Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Society: 'British tourists named the worst behaved in Europe' / Expedia 10/7/09 'British tourists have been named as the worst behaved in Europe, according to new research out today. For the third year running, Europeans have also voted the Brits messy, bad tippers and very likely to complain. The Expedia Best Tourist Index, running annually since 2002, gauges the opinions of over 4,500 hoteliers worldwide to rank different nationalities on their behaviour abroad - everything from spending habits to their willingness to try and speak the local language.' (more) Society: 'UK is the violent crime capital of Europe' / Daily Telegraph 2/7/09 'The United Kingdom is the violent crime capital of Europe and has one of the highest rates of violence in the world according to new research. The total number of violent offences recorded compared to population is higher than any other country in Europe, as well as America, Canada, Australia and South Africa. The UK had a greater number of murders in 2007 than any other EU country – 927 - and the highest absolute number of burglaries, with double the number of offences recorded in Germany and France. (more) Society: 'Britain is UN's 'cocaine capital of Europe'' / The Independent 25/6/09 'Britain is the cocaine capital of Europe with more than one million regular users of the drug, according to a United Nations report. The report states that the UK "continues to be – in absolute numbers – Europe's largest cocaine market, with its second-highest cocaine use prevalence rate."' (more) Economy: 'UK leads Europe on food price rises' / Daily Mail 4/6/09 'Food price inflation in the UK is almost four times higher than in the rest of Europe. Figures from the OECD show that UK food inflation las year was 8.6%, compared to an average of 2.2% for the EU. In Germany there was a fall of 0.7%, while in France prices rose just 0.8%.' (more) Sunday, May 17, 2009
Society: 'Britain has the lowest rape conviction rate in Europe' / The Times 14/5/09 'Rape victims are to be asked why they feel that they are being failed by the criminal justice system as new research suggests that Britain has the lowest conviction rates in Europe. Britain came bottom of 33 countries in the study, which is based on 1,100 case files and takes account of varying official definitions of rape, as well as the different legal processes. The first Europe-wide study of rape conviction rates found that the conviction rate in England & Wales has fallen to 6.5% (from 19% two decades ago); France, by contrast, had a conviction rate of 25% in 2006.' (more) Saturday, March 28, 2009
Health: 'UK has worst cancer survival rate in Western Europe' / Daily Mail 24/3/09 'Britain has the worst cancer survival record in Western Europe. Survival rates are on a par with Poland and the Czech Republic, even though they spend two-thirds less on cancer. A damning league table shows that Britain is 16th out of 19 countries surveyed. Patients in some European countries are 15% more likely to be alive 5 years after diagnosis. The figures come from the hugely respected Eurocare-4 study, which compared the five-year survival rates of 2.7million adult patients up to 2004.' (more) Society: 'Britons least likely to intervene' / The Independent 21/3/09 'Research by the think-tank Reform [The Lawful Society report] found that British people are the least likely of all Europeans to step in if they witness a crime. Three-quarters of Britons – as opposed to 45% of French or Germans – think it's the responsibility of the police and courts to confront anti-social behaviour. The idea that intervention is an individual's responsibility seems to be falling away in the UK.' (more) Environment: 'UK tops league for toxic traffic funes' / Sunday Times 1/3/09 'Britain suffers from the most widespread levels of dangerous traffic fumes in Europe, posing a serious risk to health, according to a government report. Hundreds of local authorities breach EU limits for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which has been linked to asthma, stunted lung growth in children and premature death. The fumes on certain stretches of roads breach safety levels in 95% of cities and regions in the UK, compared with 82% in Austria, 52% in Germany and 21% in France.' (more) Sunday, February 22, 2009
Society: 'British children worst in Europe for cannabis use' / Daily Telegraph 19/2/09 'Children in Britain are the worst in Europe for cannabis abuse, after UN [International Narcotics Control Board] researchers found that almost half of youngsters admitted having used the drug. Some 44% of 15-16 year-olds said they had tried the drug. In comparison countries such as Norway, Sweden and Greece found less than 10 per cent of their youngsters used the drug. Its use by adults in Britain was also among the highest in Europe.' (more) Transport: 'British rail prices highest in Europe / AFP 19/2/09 'Rail fares are on average at least 50% higher in Britain than in the rest of Europe, a study by customer watchdog Passenger Focus for the government showed. The report found that in Britain, long-distance turn-up-and-go fully flexible return fares to the principal city (London) were 1.87 times more expensive than in Germany, the next most-expensive country surveyed, and 3.31 times more expensive than in the cheapest country, the Netherlands. British annual season tickets for journeys of up to 25 miles were 1.88 times pricier than the next most-expensive country, France, and 4.19 times more expensive than Italy, the cheapest country.' (more) Sunday, January 25, 2009
Society: 'British youths are most alienated in Europe' / Daily Telegraph 23/01/08 'British youths feel more alienated than those in any other European country, according to a new happiness league table. Interviews with more than 40,000 people across the continent found that 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK have the lowest levels of trust and belonging. Among adults, only those in Slovakia and Bulgaria felt more isolated and distrustful of others. Britons are also less likely to be close to their neighbours than anyone else in Europe, with just 42 per cent claiming to feel community spirit. Among young people this figure falls to less than a third.' (more) See also: 'New research commissioned by the BBC suggests life in UK 'has become lonelier', with traditional community life fading away.' BBC News 1/12/08 See also: 'Britain tops DNA log league' / The Scotsman 6/2/09 'The proportion of British citizens whose details are logged on a DNA database whether or not they have been convicted of a crime is the highest in the world, a House of Lords report reveals today.' (more) '[The cross-party report also records that] Britain is the world's biggest user of CCTV with an estimated 4 million cameras in operation' / Bloomberg 6/2/09 (more) View: 'Our safety-first culture [isn't] building a good society but a sick one. This government clings to the fantasy that rules can eliminate risk. They can't, but they can destroy our faith in one another. European countries haven't chosen this path of endless suspicion. Why have we?' / Jenni Russell, The Guardian 4/2/09 Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Society: 'Britain on top in casual sex league / Sunday Times 30/11/08 'A new study has found the British are the most promiscuous western nation. In an international index measuring one-night stands, total numbers of partners and attitudes to casual sex, Britain comes out ahead of Australia, the US, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.' (more) [See also: 'The number of women having an abortion in England and Wales exceeded 200,000 for the first time last year. Britain's termination rate is already the highest in Western Europe.' / Daily Mail 28/11/2008 (more)] Thursday, November 27, 2008
Economy: 'Free-spending Brits have highest credit card debt' / Forbes 26/11/08 'Free-spending Britons have the highest credit card debt of 14 European countries studied by the Datamonitor research group. [Their] propensity to pay for everything from washing machines to weddings on their credit cards has led to the average person having 1,349 euros worth of outstanding credit card debt as of the end of last year. That compares to an average outstanding credit card debt level of just 156 euros in Germany, France, Italy and Spain.' (more) Thursday, November 06, 2008
Society: UK retains EU cocaine abuse title / Guardian 6/11/08 'The UK remains at the top of the European "league table" for cocaine abuse for the fifth consecutive year, according to the annual report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Britain's continuing position at top of the table of 27 EU countries is based on the fact that 12.7% of young adults aged 15 to 34 have used the drug.' (more) Economy: 'UK energy bills rise twice as fast as EU average' / BBC 5/11/08 'Energy prices in the UK have increased twice as fast as the European Union average, according to latest figures. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development statistics showed gas and electricity bills rose 29.7% in the past year compared with 15% in the EU. Government watchdog Consumer Focus said UK customers were being hit "faster and harder" than those in Europe' (more) Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Education: 'British primary schools offer least PE in EU' / Independent on Sunday 17/08/08 'In a league table of time spent on physical education in primary and secondary schools, Britain came 15th out of 27 EU nations. In primary schools, some pupils aged between five and 11 are offered just 30 minutes of PE a week – which, together with Ireland, is the lowest in the EU. Schoolchildren in France have four hours a week of PE.' (more) Transport: 'UK motorists pay more than European neighbours for fuel' / uSwitch 7/8/08 'An in-depth study of petrol and diesel prices in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK over the past 8 years shows that every time a British driver fills up, they are paying an average of 12% more than their European neighbours. In fact, since the year 2000, UK motorists have consistently paid 20% more for their petrol and diesel compared to drivers from the other four largest European countries. In contrast, the Spanish pay 16% less for petrol than anyone else at just 96p per litre.' (more) Health: 'Britain has highest rates of gullet (oesophageal) cancer in Europe' / Daily Telegraph 18/07/08 'Britain now has the highest rates of gullet (oesophageal) cancer in Europe, leading Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer, to issue a "public alert" [in his annual report] urging doctors to look out for the condition, which is declining in other parts of Europe. In Britain cases of oesophageal cancer have risen by 87% in men and 40% in women causing more than 6,000 deaths a year, twice the European average.' (more) Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Economy: 'Britain has worst and most expensive fruit and veg in Europe' / Belfast Telegraph 7/7/08 'Britain has the worst supply of fruit and vegetables in the EU, a new Eurostat report [pdf] claims, putting the UK on a par with Lithuania when it comes to the availability of fresh produce. The findings – which also demonstrate that British fruit and vegetables are among the most expensive in Europe – point to the failure of a series of government initiatives to increase our consumption of fruit and vegetables.' See also: 'UK food prices rising faster than most of the rest of Europe' / Guardian 7/7/08 Monday, June 09, 2008
Society: 'Britain detains more children than any other country in Western Europe' / The Times 09/06/08 'Britain detains more children than any other country in Western Europe, with 2,900 under18s locked up in the past year. The four Children’s Commissioners for England, Scotland, Wales and N.Ireland have issued a report for the United Nations condemning the punitive youth justice system and the vilification of teenagers as yobs. The report also questioned whether enough was being done to end child poverty. Poor families pay out a bigger proportion of their income in tax than richer families and punitive prepay tariffs often mean that they pay much higher prices for gas and electricity.' (more) See also: '"It's a moral disgrace that we still have one of the worst child poverty records in Europe," said Kate Green, Child Poverty Action Group's chief executive. "Other countries do better, so why should British children suffer? We can end our child poverty shame and we must." The Independent 09/06/08 (more) Education: 'English school pupils are amongst the most tested in the world' / HoC May 2008 'Many witnesses argue that..repeated testing has a negative effect on children, leading to demotivation. Teaching to the test and narrowing of the curriculum are also thought to have a negative effect on children. The resulting lack of creativity in teaching impacts on children’s enjoyment of a subject and their motivation to learn.' House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee report Testing and assessment [pdf] May 2008 See also: 'Truancy rate 'highest since 1997' / BBC News 26/02/08 (more) View: 'A fear of paedophilia as morphed into a general panic about adult-child relations. [In schools] the priority isn't pupils' wellbeing but to protect teachers from any accustations' / Jenni Russell, The Guardian 4/2/09 Sunday, March 02, 2008
Education: 'UK schools worst in Europe for bullying' / The Guardian 29/2/08 'Bullying in secondary schools is worse in the UK than the rest of Europe, a new British Council survey has found. The study, published today, found that nearly half of UK secondary school pupils (46%) think that bullying is a problem in their school. The situation is perceived to be worse in England, where 48% of pupils think bullying is a problem in school, compared to 43% of pupils in Scotland and 32% in Wales. But more UK students (42%) said they were happier in school most of the time than on average in the rest of Europe (33%).' (more) Health: 'UK's teenagers most likely to be heavy drinkers' / BMA Feb08 "The British Medical Association is very worried about alcohol consumption among young people, particularly young girls. It is shocking that, in Europe, the UK's teenagers are most likely to be heavy drinkers," Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's head of science and ethics, said. The BMA report called for a raft of measures to be introduced and pointed to alarming statistics on how much youngsters, particularly teenage girls, drink. It said UK teenagers are among the most likely in Europe to admit heavy drinking and being intoxicated.' (more) See also: 'Britons drink more heavily that Russians' / Sunday Times 2/3/08 'Britons are heavier drinkers than the Russians, according to official data from the World Health Organisation. Alcohol consumption per head is greater in the UK, and England on its own tops the European table for child and teenage drunkenness.' (more) See also: Swimming with Crocodiles - The Culture of Extreme Drinking / Ed. by Marjana Martinic, Fiona Measham. Routledge 31 May 08 (more) Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Transport: 'UK roads more congested than any major EU country' / Policy Exchange Jan08 'In no other major European country are roads as congested as in the UK. On every kilometre of Britain’s road network more than 1.6 million passenger kilometres are travelled every year – more than twice the European average.* It has been estimated that traffic congestion costs the UK economy as much as £21 billion per year.' (more) * Calculated using data from Panorama of Transport, Eurostat, 2007 [See also:'Huge rise in traffic choking the roads' / The Times 17/01/08 'Motorists are using cars more and more despite record fuel prices, higher vehicle taxes, and entreaties by the Government for greater use of public transport. Traffic has risen sharply in the past decade in almost every part of England except Inner London.The figures, published in a written parliamentary answer yesterday, show that across England road traffic rose by 12 per cent between 1997 and 2006.' (more)] Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Society: 'Britain rated worst in Europe for protecting privacy' / Guardian 31/12/07 'Britain, the country with the world's biggest network of surveillance cameras, has the worst record in Europe for the protection of privacy, according to a report from a London-based international watchdog. The UK is billed as "an endemic surveillance society" alongside Russia, the US, Singapore and China in the survey of 47 countries by Privacy International (PI). Britain is bottom in Europe because of its cameras, ID card plans and lack of government accountability.' (more) Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Society: 'Britain stuck at bottom of social mobility league' / Reuters 13/12/07 'Social mobility has not improved in Britain in 30 years with bright children from poor families being overtaken by less able youngsters from rich homes by the age of seven, a report [says]. The findings show that the academic progress of children is still overwhelmingly linked to parental income, providing few opportunities to close the wealth gap, said the Sutton Trust charity which commissioned the study [pdf]. "Shamefully, Britain remains stuck at the bottom of the international league tables when it comes to social mobility," said Peter Lampl, the trust's chairman. "It is appalling that young people's life chances are still so tied to the fortunes of their parents, and that this situation has not improved over the last three decades." (more) [See also: How equal are educational opportunities? Family background and student achievement in Europe and the US / Ludger Woessmann, CESIFO Working Paper No. 1162 [pdf] March 2004: 'The results of this paper are generally in line with the broad pattern of the existing crosscountry evidence on intergenerational earnings mobility, which found that the United States and the United Kingdom appear to be relatively immobile societies'] Economy: UK still setting the pace on personal debt / Financial Markets 7/12/07 'The UK is now responsible for a third of all unsecured debt in Western Europe - average consumer debt in the UK: £3,008 - average consumer debt for Western Europe: £1,558' (more) Thursday, November 22, 2007
Economy: Britain retains European shoplifting supremacy / Times 20/11/07 'Britain is the shoplifting capital of Europe, with more than £1.5 billion worth of products a year being stolen by customers. The annual Global Retail Theft Barometer [compiled by the Centre for Retail Research in Nottingham and Checkpoint Systems] looked at more than 800 retail giants, covering 32 countries, and responsible for £447 billion worth of sales every year and found that Britain had the worst record for what it refers to as “shrinkage”. It has topped the table for the past three years in Europe.' (more) Monday, November 19, 2007
Environment: 'UK still top of the rubbish heap' / EDIE 13/11/07 'The UK is the "dustbin of Europe" and dumps more household waste into landfill than any other EU country, the Local Government Association has said. More than 22.6m tonnes of UK rubbish was buried in landfill in 2005 - the same amount of rubbish as the 18 EU countries with the lowest landfill rates combined, although together they have almost twice the population of the UK.' (more) Transport: 'UK motorway network bottom of the European league' / Road Users' Alliance 15/12/07 'Decades of under-investment have placed the UK motorway network at the bottom of the EU–25. Road File 2007/08, the annual compilation of road statistics published today by the Road Users’ Alliance (RUA), reveals that Britain has more cars per motorway mile than any EU-25 nation. Far from competing with Germany or France, Britain’s roads languish on a par with Lithuania, Slovakia and Hungary.' (more) Society: 'Britons have worst state pension in EU' / Daily Mail 12/11/07 'Millions of Britons are being condemned to poverty in old age by the worst state pension in the EU, a study shows. The basic state pension of £87.30 a week is equivalent to just 17 per cent of the average wage, it found. This figure rises to 30 per cent once pension payments related to earnings are taken into account. But this is still only half the EU average of 60 per cent, the financial firm Aon Consulting said. Its study concluded: "The inadequacy of the state system is beyond question." (more) Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Health: 'British are the fattest in Europe, says Government' / The Independent 23/10/07 'British people are the fattest in Europe, drink more alcohol, eat less fruit and vegetables and are more likely to die from smoking than the average across the European Union. Despite declining teenage pregnancy rates, the UK still has the highest proportion of births to under-20s compared with other western European countries. The figures are set out in the Health Profile for England 2007, published by the Department of Health yesterday.' (more) Monday, October 22, 2007
Society: Britain still top for teenage pregnancies / Daily Telegraph 18/10/07 'Britain has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in western Europe, according to a worldwide report into sexual and reproductive health risks to women. The authors of the report A Measure of Survival: Calculating Women's Sexual and Reproductive Risk [released by Population Action International] warned that teenagers, whose pregnancies were often unplanned, run a higher risk of complications in pregnancy and childbirth.' (more) Thursday, August 30, 2007
Health: 'Britain the worst for deaths from strokes' / The Times 24/8/07 'Patients who suffer strokes receive worse treatment in Britain than anywhere else in Western Europe. More die and more are left disabled, a leading expert says in this week’s British Medical Journal, even though Britain spends [at least as much as] other countries on stroke care. The gap is wide, according to Hugh Markus, of St George’s University of London medical school. One study showed that 15 to 30% more stroke patients were left dead or disabled in Britain than in other countries'. In many countries in Europe, and in North America and Australia, 20 to 30% of patients get [clot-busting] drugs. In Britain the figure is less than 1%. Britain also treats fewer patients in dedicated stroke units than other countries, though setting up such units costs nothing and there is abundant evidence that they improve outcomes.' (more) Monday, August 13, 2007
Economy: 'UK bottom of the league for holiday entitlement' / BBC News 13/8/07 'The UK is set to stay at the bottom of the league for holiday entitlement in the EU even after a rise to 28 days in April 2009, a survey warns. A change in EU rules means the UK will have to stop counting its eight public holidays towards the EU 20-day minimum. But Incomes Data Services says the UK will still lag entitlement elsewhere, which ranges from 28-29 days in the Netherlands to 39.5 days in Denmark. (more) Monday, July 30, 2007
Society: 'British teens the worst behaved in Europe' / Daily Mail 26/7/07 'British teenagers are the worst behaved in Europe, a report has revealed. They are more likely to binge-drink, take drugs, have sex at a young age and start fights. The IPPR report found that 44% of British youngsters had been involved in a physical fight in the previous year against 28% in Germany, 36% in France and 38% in Italy. 38% confessed to under-age sex, almost double the French figure. The same percentage had tried cannabis, more than five times the rate in Sweden. Our teenagers are also bigger drinkers, with 27 per cent admitting to getting drunk regularly. In Italy, the figure is five per cent and in France it is just three per cent. The researchers found that UK children rarely talk in any depth to their parents or sit down to family meals. The IPPR also says British adults areless likely than our European counterparts to confront teenagers about antisocial behaviour and vandalism.' (more) Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Education: 'British students are laziest in Europe' / The Times 30/6/07 'British students are the laziest in Europe, according to a survey of how much time they devote to their course. Undergraduates across the UK confessed to putting in an average 32-hour week during term-time, including lectures, seminars, library time and working at home. The British performance was some way below the European average of 39 hours, and ten hours a week behind the French, according the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market at Maastricht University. The survey [also] indicated that British students were the least likely to carry on with their studies at a higher level. Only 5 per cent of British students took up postgraduate study compared with the European level of 18 per cent.' (more) Monday, April 02, 2007
Society: 'British more dependent on cars than any other European nation' / The Times 31.3.07 'Despite being less likely to own a car, Britons rely on them more heavily. They are reluctant to catch buses and will leave their cars behind only if there is a convenient train. Only the Portuguese walk less, a survey has found. The Government's Commission for Integrated Transport (CfIT) studied travel patterns in major European countries to learn how to reduce congestion and improve quality of life. The starkest difference between Britain and the rest of Europe was in the level of cycling. The CfIT study found that the average Briton cycled 75km (46 miles) a year, while the average European cycled almost three times as far, covering 18km.' (more) See also: 'Britons rely on their cars for 80% of travel' / Guardian 31/8/07 "UK citizens know the transport system lags behind those in Europe. The UK's congested network would do better with a dose of European medicine, showing how to run a truly joined-up transport system." (more) Economy: 'British hotel prices the highest in Europe' / The Times 28.3.07 'Hotels in Britain are the costliest in Europe, with the price of an overnight stay in London rising by 22 per cent last year. The overall average cost of a night in a British hotel is £98. Bath, at an average of £114 per night, offers the nation’s most expensive lodging. The figures are compiled from data gathered from millions of travellers who book accommodation via the website hotels.com, which lists 20,000 hotels in more than a thousand locations worldwide.' (more) Thursday, March 01, 2007
Society: 'UK jobless households highest in Europe' / The Times 21/02/07 'Britain has the highest number of children in Europe with no working parent, a European Commission report says. Two million live in “jobless households” on state benefits. The 16.2% of under-18s with no working parent at home is far higher than both the EU average of 9.5% and the general unemployment rate of 4.8%. The figure reflects the concentration of poverty in parts of Britain as well as the high level of one-parent families, experts say.' (more) Health: 'UK women officially the fattest in Europe' / Daily Mail 21/2/07 'The scale of the obesity crisis was laid bare last night when an alarming report revealed Britons are the fattest people in Europe. The authoritative Eurostat yearbook places Britain at the top of a chart of obesity of the EU's 27 member countries. Second and third place are taken by Germany and Malta. British women head the EU league, with 23 per cent clinically obese, and men fare little better, with 22.3 per cent classified as obese -behind only Malta.' (more) Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Society: 'Britain's children unhappiest in Western world' / The Times 14/02/07 'Britain’s children are the unhappiest in the West, according to a Unicef study of 21 industrialised countries. Not only do they drink the most, smoke more and have more sex than their peers, they rate their health as the poorest, dislike school more and are among the least satisfied with life. Their relative poverty, the lack of time spent eating meals with their parents and mistrust of classmates mean that Britain languishes at the bottom of the wellbeing league table.' (more) [see also: loads of stuff below] Friday, February 09, 2007
Society: UK comfortably retains 'least keen EU member' title / Eurobarometer 66 Bi-annual polling of every member nation reveals that the UK again finishes plum bottom of every broad index of trust in / support and regard for the European Union. 'The United Kingdom is the only Member State where fewer than 4 out of 10 citizens trust the European Parliament.' [Eurobarometer 66 pdf] Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Society: 'UK is Euro No1.. for burglary' / The Sun 6/2/07 'Britain has more burglaries and assaults than any of the other 26 Euro states. And we have the second highest crime rate in Europe, a Brussels report revealed yesterday. The only country worse is Ireland, according to The European Crime and Safety Survey. Home Office minister Tony McNulty said: "The survey is three years out of date and we have concerns about its quality and the comparisons".' Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Society: 'Britain the lock-up capital of Europe' / Daily Telegraph 29/1/07 'Prisons in England and Wales lock up more people per head of the population than any other major country in Europe. The 7th World Prisons list pdf [from the International Centre for Prison Studies,King's College, London] published today shows an incarceration rate of 148 per 100,000, higher than any western EU member apart from Luxembourg. While England and Wales's incarceration rate is 148 per 100,000, today's figures show rates of 95 in Germany, 85 in France, 104 in Italy and 128 in Holland. Only Spain among the larger EU countries rivals Britain, with 145.' (more) Health: 'UK kids spend more on sweets than EU counterparts' / Guardian 26/1/07 'British children as young as five spend more than £100 a year on fizzy drinks and sweets, far more than their European counterparts, according to research from Datamonitor. Author Nick Beevors said:"Kids in the UK continue to top a number of unhealthy eating food consumption charts."' (more) [See also: 'UK youth Europe’s biggest snackers' / Just-food 6/10/06] [See also: 'Children’s enthusiasm for competitive sport at an all time low' / Tesco Sport Report 2006] [See also: Child obesity 'doubles in decade' / BBC News 21/4/06] Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Transport: 'UK transport costs higher than any in Europe' / Daily Telegraph 10/1/07 'Transport costs are higher in the UK than anywhere else in Europe, according to a new report [from the Centre for Business and Economic Research]. Britons spend 15 per cent of their disposable income on travel and pay almost twice as much for bus and train tickets as people on the continent, the study found, while journey times for commuters have increased over the past decade. A recent survey of train prices across Europe found the cost of a typical long-distance rail journey in Britain worked out at 55p a mile, compared with 17p a mile in France and Germany, 16p a mile in Spain and just 11p a mile in Italy.' (more) Economy: 'UK pensions are Europe's worst' / Daily Mail 9/1/07 'The state pension is worse in Britain than in any other European country, according to a report yesterday. Countries such as Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia were all said to give their pensioners a better deal. The research, European Pensions Barometer [pdf], which was published by pension consultants Aon, compared the "adequacy" of state pension in all 25 members of the European Union in 2006.' (more) Environment: 'Britain worst in Europe for landfill use' / Scotsman 8/1/07 'Britain was branded the "dustbin of Europe" yesterday as new figures showed it dumps more household waste into landfill than any other EU country. Analysis by the Local Government Association revealed that Britain sends seven million tonnes more rubbish into landfill than any other country in Europe. Germany, with a population 25% larger than the UK, puts less than half that amount of rubbish in the ground. The report estimates that, on current trends, the country will run out of landfill space in less than nine years' (more) Monday, October 23, 2006
Environment:'British are Europe's worst energy wasters' / BBC News 23/10/06 'British people are Europe's worst energy wasters, with bad habits such as leaving appliances on stand-by likely to waste £11bn by 2010, a study claims. The Energy Saving Trust's Habits of a Lifetime report said 71% of UK consumers admit to leaving stand-by buttons on once a week. The comparison with German consumers, who top the energy efficiency league, reveals major differences. Britons leave chargers on three times as much as Germans, they leave stand-by buttons on twice as much and forget to switch off lights four times as much. Almost half (48%) of Britons admit to using the car for short journeys rather than public transport, walking or cycling.' (more) Society: 'British teens most sexually active in Europe' / IPPR 23/10/06 'New research from the Institute for Public Policy Research shows that British teenagers are the most sexual active in Europe and are third least likely to use a condom during underage sex. Britain has the highest rate of births to teenagers in Europe, with an average of 26 live births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 – nearly a fifth higher than Latvia, the country with the next highest rate, and more than four times the rate of Cyprus, Slovenia, Sweden and Denmark.' (more) Society: 'British adults less likely than Europeans to challenge anti-social teens' / BBC News 22/10/06 'Britain is in danger of becoming a nation fearful of its young people, a report has claimed. It says British adults are less likely than those in Europe to intervene when teenagers commit anti-social behaviour, were more likely than their European counterparts to say that young people were predominantly responsible for anti-social behaviour, and cite "lack of discipline as the root cause of anti-social behaviour". The Britons who were unwilling to get involved claimed they feared being physically attacked or verbally abused - or that they would be the victim of subsequent reprisals. The Institute for Public Policy Research blamed changes in the family, communities and the economy for the "increased risk of youth crime". (more) Health: 'Britons have worst diets in Europe' / Which? 11/10/06 'British people have the worst diets in Europe according to the head of the nation’s food watchdog. Food Standards Agency (FSA) Chairman Dame Deirdre Hutton says all parts of society are eating badly and 'although other countries in Europe are catching us up or at least showing a trend growing the same way, we nonetheless remain right at the bottom in terms of poor nutrition and obesity.’ (more) [See also: 'UK youth Europe’s biggest snackers' / Just-food 6/10/06] Health: 'Britain becomes the fat man of Europe' / Telegraph 11/10/06 'Britain is the fattest country in Europe, the Government said yesterday as it published the most comprehensive picture yet of the nation's health. Figures [from The Health Profile of England] report show that 23 per cent of adults are classified as obese, ahead of Spain (13.1 per cent), Germany (12.9), France (9.4) and Italy (8.5).The problem is growing among children, with the percentage up from 9.9 per cent in 1995 to 14.3 in 2004. Caroline Flint, the public health minister, said that too many people saw fruit and vegetables as "scary food".' (more) Economy: 'Brits pile up Europe's worst debts' / Metro 27/9/06 'Over-spending Britons are responsible for a third of all unsecured debt in Western Europe, a study reveals today. The average 'plastic-happy' British consumer owes £3,008 in unsecured debts – almost twice as much as his continental cousin, the report shows. The latest figures show that Britain's personal debt mountain, including mortgage debt, has spiralled to £1.2trillion. The consumer credit market alone hit £215billion last year, making us the most indebted country in Western Europe, according to analyst group Datamonitor.' (more) Economy: 'Britain scores lowest in Europe-wide shopping IQ test' / Visa 27/9/06 'Surely not? Britain has come last again! This time it's for everyday shopping in a Europe-wide study by Visa UK to compare our Shopping IQ scores against old rivals France and Germany and traditional big spenders, Italy and Spain. Of the nine countries researched by Visa UK, shoppers in Britain scored the lowest overall in the Shopping IQ tests. The study focused on five main areas: thriftiness, self-control, openness to trying new products, comparison shopping (in store and online), and researching items prior to purchasing.' (more) See also: 'Britain becomes 'never, never land' as personal debt runs out of control' / The Independent 26/9/06 Friday, May 12, 2006
Economy: 'UK has lowest maternity pay in Western Europe' / FinFacts 11/5/06 'The UK has the lowest level of statutory maternity pay in Western Europe, according to a new study by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. The study covered 13 European countries and the comparisons are based on statutory pay built up over six months’ maternity leave. For women earning €22,000 a year, the total pay accumulated after six months’ maternity leave would be just €5,300 in the UK and €5,850 in Ireland. Entitlements in Germany would also be relatively low, at €5,900, along with those in France, Spain and the Netherlands, all at €6,750. At the other end of the scale, pay received after six months’ leave in Italy would be €9,150 while in Denmark and Norway it would be as much as €11,000.' (more) Society: 'Britain tops European yobs league' / Telegraph.co.uk 9/5/06 'Britain has the worst reputation for yobbish behaviour in Europe, researchers have found. A survey published today blames drunkenness and a breakdown of discipline in homes and schools for levels of anti-social behaviour greater than anything seen elsewhere in the EU. The study, devised with help from the Jill Dando Institute, found that almost three-quarters of people questioned across six of the biggest member states believed the problem was worse here than anywhere else, with France next worst. Almost 70 per cent thought the "booze culture" caused anti-social behaviour.' (more) Monday, April 17, 2006
Health: 'Britons are biggest chocoholics in Europe' / Independent 13/4/06 'Britons are the biggest chocoholics in Europe, munching through an average 10kg (220lb) per year. In 2005, the UK accounted for one quarter of the total European spend on chocolate. The national sweet tooth cost an average £72 per person last year, compared to the Italians, who spent £18, market analysts Datamonitor said. (more) Health: 'Britain tops European league for cocaine use' / Independent 13/4/06 'Britain is now top of the European league table for cocaine use and is fast approaching levels seen in America, according to the main EU drug agency. Alarmingly, this trend includes the use of the class-A drug among children of secondary school-age, which has doubled in a year.' (more) [See Nov 29 2005 below] Economy: 'UK lags behind in finance planning' / Find.co.uk 10/4/06 'UK residents are lagging behind their European counterparts in the amount of time we spend planning our finances. Brits don't spend as much time as the French, the Germans, the Italians and the Spanish when it comes to managing their money and also seem to lack rationality in the little time they do spend planning. People in the UK are spending a disproportionate amount of time planning their car insurance, for example, instead of their pensions which should provide income for years rather than last for just 12 months, according to Scottish Widows.' (more) Health: 'UK 'tops binge drinking league'' / BBC News 7/4/06 'People in the UK top the western European binge drinking league, a study shows. Drinkers in the UK consume 6.3 units of alcohol - equivalent of 2.2 pints of strong lager - on a night out, market analysts Datamonitor found. This compared to an average European drinking rate of 5.1 units - 1.8 pints. Average UK nightly drinking levels fell by 0.5 of a unit since 2000. But the rate of 6.3 units was still higher than in Germany at 5.5 units, Spain, 5.3 units and France, 4.9 units. The Netherlands and Sweden were at the bottom of the drinking league, consuming 3.9 and 3.1 units per night out.' (more) Society: 'Self-harm in UK highest in Europe' / Observer 26/3/06 'A hidden epidemic of self-harm is affecting teenagers across Britain, with one adolescent in 12 deliberately injuring themselves on a regular basis. The most comprehensive report into the issue, Truth hurts [available here], will say that there are likely to be two children in every classroom who self-harm. 'We have the highest rate of self-harm in Europe,' said Catherine McLoughin, inquiry chairwoman.' (more) Sunday, March 05, 2006
Environment: 'Britain worst in Europe for power station pollution' / Independent on Sunday 5/3/06 'Britain is Europe's worst polluter, with 18 of the continent's 50 filthiest power stations, which are responsible for killing more than 7,600 people a year, a new report concludes. The report [via the Swedish Secretariat on Acid Rain] says Britain has nearly three times as many of the worst air polluters as its nearest rival. Poland has seven, the Czech Republic six, Spain five and Germany four. (more)
Economy: 'Gender pay gap in UK worst in Europe' / The Times 27/2/06 'A Government commission recommended the wholesale reform of Britain's career education system today to try to close the country's gender pay gap, which is the worst in Europe. Thirty years after the Equal Pay Act came into force, the Women and Work Commission found that the average full-time pay gap between men and women remains 13%. The gap between the average part-time woman's wage and a full-time men's wage is 41%. (more) Sunday, February 05, 2006
Health: 'British are fattest in Europe despite diet boom' / The Independent 3/2/06 'Britons have the thickest waistlines in Europe despite being one of the biggest spenders on diet products, a survey has revealed. The Datamonitor report, partly based on medical and government figures for 2004, found 40% of the UK's population was overweight. John Band, author of the survey, said "It is a reflection of the way Britain does not have the same tradition of cooking as people in mainland Europe. Lives in Britain are more 'on the go', with people working longer hours, having to maximise leisure time with higher drinking".' (more) Thursday, January 19, 2006
Society: 'Prison population 'highest in Western Europe'' / politics.co.uk 18/1/06 'England and Wales have the highest prison rates in western Europe, new figures show. The latest international imprisonment league table - based on statistics compiled by the Council of Europe - shows these countries have imprisonment rates 50 per cent higher than France, Germany and Italy, and almost twice that of their Scandinavian counterparts. "Not only do we send a higher proportion of our own citizens to prison than any other western European country, we also trump Turkey, Armenia and Bulgaria in the imprisonment stakes," said Frances Cook, director of the Howard League of Penal Reform, which published the figures [pdf]. "Is this really where we want to be?' Saturday, January 07, 2006
Health: 'Increase in liver cirrhosis deaths largest in Western Europe' / MedicalNewsToday 7/1/06 'Britain has had the steepest increase in death rates from liver cirrhosis in western Europe since the 1950s, according to a study in this week's issue of The Lancet. The authors blame increases in alcohol consumption, particularly wine and spirits, as the main reason for the rise in liver cirrhosis mortality. 'The UK Government has turned a determined blind eye to the problem and has failed to make the reduction of the population's alcohol intake a policy goal.'' (more) Economy: 'British banks bottom of the league for processing payments' / Forum for Private Business Dec05 'British banks are bottom of the European league when it comes to processing consumer payments. In Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Finland and the Netherlands, electronic payments are cleared on the same day. In Sweden, the clearance process can take just a couple of hours, with payments made in the morning appearing in customers’ bank accounts that afternoon. The fact that British businesses have to wait up to five days for a cheque to clear puts them at a competitive disadvantage to businesses in other European countries.' (more) Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Society: 'Britain tops EU league for cocaine abuse' / Guardian 25/11/05 'Britain is now top of the European "league table" for cocaine abuse and is fast approaching levels seen in America, according to the annual report of EU's drug agency, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction . Nearly 12% of all young adults under the age of 35 in Britain have tried the drug at least once.' (more) Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Environment: 'Britain leads EU in illegal timber imports' / Independent 22/12/05 'According to research from the conservation group WWF 28% of timber arriving in the UK comes from trees that should still be standing and Britain's imports of illegal wood are higher than any other country in the EU. Illegal logging causes manifold social and environmental problems, including climate change, lower public revenue, increased corruption, removal of indigenous people from tribal land and habitat loss for endangered animals.' (more) Monday, November 14, 2005
Economy: 'Brain drain from UK is 'worst in the world'' / Independent 25/10/05 'Britain has lost more skilled workers to the global "brain drain" than any other country, according to a report by the World Bank. More than 1.44 million graduates have left the UK to look for more highly paid jobs in countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia. That far outweighs 1.26 million immigrant graduates in the UK, leaving a net "brain loss" of some 200,000 people.' (more) Economy: UK retains retail theft 'crown' / Centre for Retail Research Oct05 'Britain's stores still have the highest shrinkage (stock loss from crime or wastage) rate in Western Europe, but, if current trends continue, next year UK retailers will lose this unwanted 'crown.' (more) Saturday, October 01, 2005
Health: 'UK worst major European country at dealing with hepatitis C' / Hepatitis C Trust 30/9/05 'A shocking new report [pdf] confirms that the UK is facing a hepatitis C time bomb. The report compared France, Germany, Italy and Spain to the UK. The study demonstrates that we are at the bottom of each league table in every aspect of dealing with the virus. This is largely due to failure to identify and treat a sufficient number of people infected with the disease.' (more) Thursday, August 25, 2005
Society: UK retains 'least keen Europeans' title / Eurobarometer July 05 Despite the expansion of the EU to 25 member states latest survey data from Eurobarometer shows the UK continuing to hold off all-comers as it's least enthusiastic, most sceptical member nation. UK citizens indicated: -the most negative image of EU -least support for common foreign policy -least support for greater political union -least satisfaction with EU democracy -least support for single currency -least trust in EU institutions generally See: Eurobarometer 63 July05 [pdf] Society: 'Britain shooting up European drinking league' / Daily Telegraph 25/8/05 Trebles all round! Saturday, July 09, 2005
Economy: 'UK temps fare worst in Europe' / Personnel Today 23/6/05 'UK agency workers are the least protected in Europe, according to a new report. Even agency workers in Poland and Slovenia have more rights than UK temps, a TUC report out today claims. The EU Temp Trade shows that the UK is one of only three European countries where temporary workers are paid less than people doing similar jobs full-time. It is also one of only four other countries which do not operate a licensing scheme to protect temps from cowboy agencies. The TUC claims that negotiations about the Temporary Agency Workers Directive have deprived UK temps of decent pay and basic rights while almost all EU countries have already acted to protect their temps, with no adverse economic effects.' (more) Monday, June 20, 2005
Society: 'Britons watching most TV in Europe' / Daily Telegraph 16/6/05 'People in Britain watch more television and read fewer books than in any other European country, a study reveals. A poll of 30,000 people found that the typical Briton spends 18 hours slumped in front of the television set every week. He or she spends only 5.3hrs reading books, magazines or newspapers. The French watch just over 17hrs of television but read for nearly seven hours a week, while Swedes watch for 12hrs and read for 6.9hrs. The Spanish watch 15.9hrs of television, the Germans 15.2hrs and Italians 14.9hrs, according to the survey of 30 countries by the research company NOP World. (more) Friday, May 27, 2005
Health: 'Britain has highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Western Europe' / BBC News 26/5/05 'Britain has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Western Europe. In urban areas, which account for the majority of the hot spots, as many as one in 10 young girls become pregnant. Around 20% of conceptions among under 18s are second pregnancies.' (more) Economy: 'UK employee protection weakest in Europe' / Clearlybusiness 16/5/05 'UK employee protection is the weakest in Europe, trade union Amicus claims. Established information and consultation rights and stronger redundancy protection in the rest of Europe are making UK workers more vulnerable to job cuts by multinational companies, the union claims. "Unless we have employment protection parity with other European countries, UK workers will continue to be the soft touch when it comes to slashing jobs," said Derek Simpson, Amicus gen. secretary. In the last qtr of 2004 the European Restructuring Monitor for the UK recorded 69 restructuring cases, 57 of which involved job losses in excess of 100, the highest rate in all of the 18 EU countries monitored. Britain also has the highest number of redundancies [over that period]' (more) Economy: 'British pensions 'worst in Western world' / Management Issues 3/5/05 'British pensions are among the most miserly in the Western world, and will mean UK workers retiring on incomes below almost all other developed nations. A study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has called how the UK funds retirement one of the "least generous" pensions systems in the world", ranking Britain 26th out of 30 developed countries. A person earning an average salary of £22,000 would collect a state pension equivalent to 48 per cent of their after-tax earnings, it calculated.' By comparison, state pension schemes in most other developed nations – including Austria, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Turkey – provided 75 per cent of an employee's after-tax earnings. (more) Economy: 'UK managers worst in Europe for staff communication' / Personnel Today 4/4/05 'ISR research among 40,000 workers, including 10,000 in the UK, found that managers in Britain were ranked the poorest in Europe for informing employees about any important business developments. The research was released ahead of the Information and Consultation Regulations which come into force on Wednesday 6 April 2005.' Saturday, January 08, 2005
Education: 'Britain is Europe's foreign languages dunce' / Independent 24/12/04
'Research to be published in the new year [by CILT, the National Centre for Languages] will show that fewer people in Britain can speak a second language than anywhere else in the continent. Only one in three Britons can speak a second language - compared with 98 per cent in Luxembourg, which tops the table.' (more) Health: 'British are biggest consumers of chocolate in Europe' / Comment Wire 17/12/04 'Chocoholic Brits each eat over 10kg of chocolate a year. Not only are they keener than people in much of the rest of Europe on snacking between meals; they are also less willing to switch to healthier alternatives. The UK is by far the largest European chocolate market in value terms, spending £3.7 billion on chocolate in 2003, nearly a third of the total European market.' (more) Sunday, December 05, 2004
Society: 'British top Euro league of cocaine abusers' / The Guardian 26/11/04 'Britain now tops the European table for cocaine abuse, according to a study by the EU's drugs monitoring centre. The report says 5% to 7% of Britons aged 15 to 24 have used the class A drug recently, with levels in towns and cities likely to be "substantially higher". On cannabis, the report reveals that English boys are more likely than other European teenagers to have smoked a joint. England also has the highest proportion of heavy users, with 10% of 15- and 16-year-old boys having smoked it more than 40 times in the previous year.' (more) See also: Flash Eurobarometer No.158 Young people and drugs [pdf] 'The poll shows that the British and Irish are more likely than other Europeans to think occasional ecstasy use is harmless.' Indy on Sunday 7/11/04 Economy: 'UK's "part-time pay penalty" for women is worst in Europe' / Employersnews.co.uk Nov04 'The UK has the worst part-time pay penalty anywhere in Europe, according to new research published today by the Department of Trade and Industry, and one of the worst records in allowing women to shift from full-time to part-time work without a demotion or job-change.' (more) Friday, October 15, 2004
Economy: 'Britain biggest tax rules offender among European states' / The Times14/10/04
'Britain is the biggest offender among European states in tax rules that breach EU law, according to a leading accountancy firm, potentially costing the Treasury billions of pounds in lost tax revenues. Britain emerges top of the list in research conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Breaches of the EU treaties expose Britain to a potential flood of litigation.' (more)
Monday, June 28, 2004
Transport: 'Motorway services 'worst in Europe'' / BBC News 23/6/04
'The Uk has the worst motorway service stations in Europe, a survey says. The UK finished bottom for the third year running in the survey of stations in 10 countries carried out by the AA Motoring Trust. The UK fared especially badly in terms of the cost and quality of food, and hygiene standards.' (more) Society: 'British teenagers lag behind world's young' / The Independent 4/6/04 'They drink too much, smoke too much, feel under massive work pressure and don't even really like each other - British children are among the unhealthiest and unhappiest in the world, according to World Health Organisation report. English and Welsh youngsters have the highest rates of drinking and get drunk at a younger age than children from most other countries.' (more) Monday, May 10, 2004
Health: 'Britain bottom of the league for dentists' / Daily Mail 10/5/04
'Research ranks Britain last in terms of dentists per head of population. Greece has nearly three times as many, while in France and Germany it is almost double. The study shows that there are 3.7 NHS dentists per 10,000 people in England and 3.6 in Wales. There are ten in Greece and Sweden. (more) Sunday, May 09, 2004
Education: 'Performance gap between private and state schools biggest in world' / Ind on Sunday 2/5/04
'The gap in performance between independent and state schools is higher in the UK than anywhere else in the world, according to a report by Prof. Alan Smithers of Liverpool University's Centre for Education and Employment.' (more) See also: 'Demand grows for private education' 28/4/04 'More parents are choosing to send their children to independent schools despite record rises in fees. The number of pupils in the fee-paying sector has grown for a record ninth successive year as wealthier parents turn their backs on state education.' (more) Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Health: 'Euro shame for UK on lung deaths' / Evening News 27/4/04
'The UK is languishing at the bottom of the European league table for lung health, a report revealed today. More people die from respiratory diseases such as asthma and pneumonia in the UK than in any other European Union country apart from Ireland, according to the European Respiratory Society. The ERS’s European Lung White Book showed the death rate from respiratory diseases in the UK was 105 per 100,000 people - twice the EU average. The only countries where there was a higher death rate were the former Soviet Union countries Kyrgzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and Ireland.' (more) Health: 'Britain worst in Europe as self-harm increases' / The Times 31/4/04 'Britain has the highest rates of recorded self-harm in Europe. It leads to 150,000 attendances at accident and emergency units a year. More than half of self-harmers are discharged without psychiatric assessment.' (more) www.selfharmuk.org Society: 'UK teen birth rates highest in western Europe' / Daily Telegraph 5/4/04 'Teenage birth rates in Britain remain the highest in western Europe. One in every 10 babies born in England is to a teenage mother.' See: Teenage Pregnancy Unit, 'Latest progress report' Monday, February 09, 2004
Environment: 'Britain's environment record lower than Bangladesh' / Independent 6/2/04
'An international study places Britain's record on the environment below that of Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea. The global index of environmental sustainability, measuring water quality, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and nuclear-reactor safety, ranked the UK 91st in the world. After Britain's economic position was factored in, it came out worse than every other European country except Belgium.' (more) Society: 'England&Wales leads EU in jailing people' / Guardian 2/2/04 'England and Wales jail more offenders per capita than any other European Union country, according to new figures. The imprisonment rate of 141 per 100,000 makes the countries the prison capital of Europe for the second year running. The data, published by the World Prison Population List [pdf], shows that the courts jail proportionately more people than Libya, Burma and Turkey. France imprisons 93 per 100,000 of its citizens while Germany jails 98. On January 4, the English and Welsh prison population stood at 73,688 inmates, a rise of 2,729 in the past year. (more) Health: 'UK spend on food consumed on the move highest in Europe' / BBC News 23/1/04 'UK residents spend an average £229 a year on food consumed in transit, the highest in Europe, Datamonitor says. In contrast, Spanish people spend only £56 a year, while Italians spend £128 a year on average. The report's author says the difference is due to the greater amount of time Britons spend at work and commuting. Britons have the longest commuting times in Europe, spending on average 48 minutes a day travelling to and from work.' (more) Society: 'UK has the highest level of surveillance in world' / The Independent 12/1/04 'More than four million surveillance cameras monitor our every move, making Britain the most-watched nation in the world, research has revealed. (more) Health: 'Child asthma rates are highest in Europe' / Daily Telegraph 23/21/03 'Twice as many British children suffer from asthma as children in other European countries, a survey has shown. The European Commission said that the asthma rate for the UK was 13.8% compared with the European average of 7.2%. Poor diets may contribute to the high asthma figures as British children do not tend to eat as much foods containing vitamin E as many European children.' Health: 'The Health of Adults in the European Union' / EC Dec 03 'Interesting patterns emerge. The UK population appears to have the lowest levels of health on many variables, being particularly limited in physical function.' Source: Eurobarometer report Dec 03 [pdf] Friday, November 21, 2003
Economy: 'Britain tops Euro league for cost of raising child' / The Independent 21/11/03
'Raising a child costs more in Britain than anywhere else in Europe, researchers claimed yesterday. The Centre for Economics and Business Research found that expenses, including child care, holidays and university funding, have reached £140,000 for every son and daughter. Bringing up a child in a typical two-parent working household from infancy to the age of 21, amounted to £129 a week, or £6,686 a year. The cost in the UK is about 33 per cent more than in Spain, 30 per cent more than in France and 26 per cent more than in Sweden. Continental Europeans tend not to pamper their children with luxury items in the same way as people in the UK. British parents are estimated to spend 71% more than their Spanish counterparts and 62 per cent more than the French.' (more) Friday, October 31, 2003
Society: 'Britain most violent country in western Europe' / Daily Telegraph 25/10/03
'Britain has the worst record in western Europe for killings, violence and burglary, a Home Office study [International Comparisons of Criminal Justice Statistics 2001 pdf] has shown. Britain has the highest level of homicides in western Europe and offences of violence in the UK have been running at three times the level of the next worst country.' (more) Friday, October 24, 2003
Society: 'Britain has highest amphetamine use in EU' / The Independent 23/10/03
'The annual report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction shows that Britain has the highest rate of amphetamine use of the 15 EU countries. Cannabis use is also highest in the UK, with more than a third of 15 and 16-year-olds saying they have tried the drug at least once. Ecstasy use among 15 to 34-year-olds is more than twice that of countries such as Germany and France, and cocaine abuse in the UK has quadrupled in the past eight years. Campaigners warned that a culture of binge drinking and recreational drug use was threatening a generation of young people in Britain.' (more) Monday, October 13, 2003
Employment: ''Shameful' pay makes British women worst off in Europe' / Observer 12/10/03
'A survey shows that the average British woman's pay packet is less than two-thirds that of the average British man. The disparity is by far the widest in the European Union and shatters claims that gender inequalities in Britain are disappearing. The survey, based on statistics produced by EU member states, shows that the average British woman is paid 63 per cent that of the average man, compared with an EU average of 82 per cent and a US average of 90 per cent.' (more) Society: 'Britons are Europe's worst binge drinkers' / Reuters 19/9/03 'Britons are the worst binge drinkers in Europe and women are catching up with men in the heavy drinking stakes, the government has said, urging a "more civilised" late-night culture. A report by Downing Street's strategy unit found that while Britons drink less than most of the continental neighbours, they drink more intensively: "In the UK, binge drinking accounts for 40% of all drinking occasions by men and 22% by women." That put Britain at the top of the binge league table, ahead of Sweden and Denmark, and way ahead of Germany, Italy and France, where binge drinking accounted for less than 15% of all consumption' See also: 'British rates of teenage drinking are appalling compared to the rest of Europe. [An EU study Oct 2003] shows that almost eight out of ten 15 to 16-year-olds have already been drunk. Only Denmark has a worse record and only 40% of French and Italian youngsters have been intoxicated. Drunkenness among teenagers in Britain has increased year on year since the report began in 1995. A spokesman for the charity Alcohol Concern said: "Our binge-drinking culture means that somehow being completely drunk is clever and something to boast about, in a way which is alien to other countries."' The Independent 23/10/03 (more) Wednesday, August 13, 2003
Transport: 'Britons are the world's angriest drivers' / Sky News 13/8/03
'Britons are officially the world's angriest drivers according to a new poll which names the UK as road rage capital of the world. Nearly nine in 10 UK drivers said they had been road rage victims at least once, a survey by motoring magazine Max Power found. And more than 70% admitting to causing trouble themselves. The latest statistics backed up a recent Gallup [international] survey ['Aggressive behaviour behind the wheel!'] which showed Britain was the leading country in the world for road rage, with 80.4% of UK drivers being victims of it. Of those in the Max Power poll who admitted committing road rage, three in five said they felt "fine" about it, adding that victims "deserved it". (more) Employment: 'Workers in Britain have least holiday time in EU' / The Independent 11/8/03 'Britons have less paid holiday than employees in any other country in the EU, according to a survey published [by Mercer Human Resource Consulting] yesterday. Workers in the UK are entitled to a minimum of 28 days off, including statutory annual leave and public holidays, putting them at the bottom of an EU league table. The Netherlands also offers only 28 days off a year, Irish workers 29 days, while the average leave and holiday entitlement across all EU states was 34 days. Finland topped the table with 39 days. The study also revealed that the UK had the fewest public holidays within the EU, with only eight a year.' (more) Saturday, August 02, 2003
Society: 'Britain once again bottom of the European class' / Guardian 26/7/03
'Britain has once again come bottom of the European class - this time in knowledge of the EU's controversial new constitution. Eurobarometer, the European commission's polling unit, found that 75% of Britons have not even heard of the convention drawing up the document, which was finalised in Brussels earlier this month. The survey, released yesterday, showed that UK citizens were less well informed than any others in the current 15 and 10 future members of the union. Latvians and Hungarians, who will join next May with eight other countries, knew more about the convention than people in Britain, a member state since 1973.' (more) Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Transport: 'UK commute 'longest in Europe'' / BBC News 22/7/03'
British commuters have the longest journeys to work in Europe with the average trip taking 45 minutes, according to a study. That is almost twice as long as the commute faced by Italians and seven minutes more than the European Union average, the RAC Foundation said. Almost half of the motorists questioned said that if their car journey time doubled, they would simply allow more time for their journey. Only 7% would make the switch to public transport.' (more) Health: : 'Britain the worst place in western Europe for IVF access' / Daily Telegraph 3/7/03 'Britain still languishes at the bottom of the European league table for IVF access, a study published yesterday showed. The postcode lottery of NHS fertility treatment means that couples in Britain are among the least likely to get in-vitro fertilisation in western Europe, the study [presented at the ESHRE conference in Madrid] found. In 2000, there were 585 cycles of IVF treatment per million people in Britain - compared with more than 1,000 cycles per million in most of Scandinavia. In Denmark, the country topping the league table, almost no one has to wait for state-funded fertility treatment. Co-author Prof Karl Nygren, of Sophiahemmet University College, Stockholm, said: "The procedure is well accepted in the UK and the laws are not restrictive. But people cannot afford it." (more) Health: 'Britain has highest obesity levels in EU' / Financial Times 25/6/03 'The UK has the highest obesity levels in the EU, with 20% of the population having a body mass index of over 30, according to a report published yesterday. Analysing the health status of Europe's population as it ages, the report [by Pfizer], also found respiratory diseases killed considerably more people in Britain than any other EU country.' Health: 'UK has highest prevalence of allergy in Europe' / BBC News 24/6/08 'The UK has the highest prevalence of allergy in Europe and ranks among the highest in the world..affecting one in three of the population. Of these up to five million have severe problems..[but] allergy services are "totally inadequate" and cannot meet the sheer number of referrals, according to a Royal College of Physicians report.' (more) Economy: 'British lead Europe when it comes to shoplifting' / AFP 18/6/03 'Britain suffered more losses due to shoplifting over the past year than any other European nation, according to a study by the Centre for Retail Research. British retailers lost 1.69% of their overall turnover for the past year to theft. Portugal and Finland were next on the list, with shopkeepers in both countries reporting losses to theft worth 1.44%of overall turnover.' (more) Employment: 'UK offers worst redundancy pay in Europe' / Accountancy Age 2/6/03 'According to new research by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, France, the Netherlands, and the UK have the worst redundancy pay, while the most generous terms are on offer in Spain, Italy, Belgium and Austria. Based on minimum statutory paid notice and severance pay for a white-collar employee aged 40, made redundant after 10 years on a salary of £20,000, the average redundancy pay across the EU was £11,163. But using the same comparison the redundancy pay would be just £5,000 in France and the Netherlands and £5,128 in the UK. In Spain and Italy the payment would be £25,464 and £18,276 respectively, and £15,000 for both Belgium and Austria.' (more) Employment: 'UK heads European league of skills shortages' / Grant Thornton 28/4/03 'UK businesses are suffering the worst skills shortage in Europe, according to new research published today. Nearly four in ten (38%) of the businesses surveyed in the UK felt that the lack of access to a skilled workforce was a major constraint on their ability to expand their business. This puts the UK's skills shortage as the worst in Europe and third worldwide behind Canada (41%) and South Africa (39%). The Grant Thornton International Business Owners survey gauged the views of 6000 businesses in 19 countries worldwide and nine in Europe, including over 600 in the UK.' Friday, March 14, 2003
Health: 'Britain tops EU league for obesity deaths' / Daily Mail 12/3/03
'Britain is the 'fat capital' of Europe, according to research published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. More people are dying in Britain due to being overweight or obese than anywhere else. Around one in every 11 deaths in the UK is now linked to carrying excess fat - 50% more that the rate in France. The UK also tops the smoking mortality league, with 21% of deaths linked to tobacco.' Economy: 'Britain 'most expensive' for phone calls' / Financial Times 12/3/03 'Britain is the most expensive place in Europe for making telephone calls through the dominant operator, according to new figures from the European Commission. The study, which compared the cost of local, national and long-distance calls in the EU, shows that while most countries have seen a marked drop in the cost of calls over the past five years, UK prices have simply stagnated. The UK is now the second or third most expensive country in all three categories, making it on average the most costly place in Europe to make phone calls.' Monday, March 03, 2003
Transport: 'Britain's air delays [still] worst in Europe' / Daily Telegraph 3/3/03
'Travellers flying to and from Britain suffered the worst delays of any European country last year, new [Eurocontrol] statistics show. Of the 10 region-to-region traffic flows suffering the most delay, all began or ended in Britain. The average hold-up was 25 minutes, more than 10 times the average for all European flights.' Society: 'UK now Europe's jail capital' / Guardian 27/2/03 'Britain is now the prison capital of western Europe, with an average incarceration rate of 139 for every 100,000 of population in England and Wales, and is even outstripping the jailing rate of Libya and Malaysia, according to official figures [pdf] published yesterday. The statistics confirm that its courts are far more punitive than those of Canada and Australia, and beat all those of its closest European neighbours, including courts in France (jailing 85 for every 100,000), Germany (96), and Spain (126).' (more) Thursday, February 27, 2003
Economy: 'UK house price inflation highest in Europe' / Financial Times 26/2/03
'House prices rose during periods of last year at more than twice the rate of those in Spain and Denmark, the two European countries with the next highest house price inflation, according to a new report. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors compared the annual house price inflation rate of 31% recorded in the UK last October to 12% in Spain - the only other European country with double-digit house price inflation - over the first part of 2002. The report argued that one significant reason for the surge in the UK was the shortage of available housing. "No other EU country has such a poor supply record, despite the scale of the price rises in the UK and one of the most market- oriented housing systems in Europe," it said. (more) Society: Brits buy more ready meals than any other major EU country / Ananova 21/2/03 'Consumers in the UK buy more ready-made meals than any other major European country, according to a new Mintel report. Around £1.9 billion was spent on them in the UK last year - double that of France and six times more than in Spain. And while demand for ready-made meals across Europe rose by 29% between 1998 and 2002, in the UK it soared by 44%. 30% of adults in the UK eat a ready-made meal more than once a week compared with just 16% in France. A sign the UK has more of a convenience culture is shown by the fact 80% of the UK population owns a microwave oven while in Italy it is 27%, the report says.' (more) 'On the continent there's not such a cookbook culture - because they know how to cook' - Rosie Kindersley, owner, Books for Cooks (Mail on Sunday 30/9/01) Sunday, January 19, 2003
Transport: 'Rail travel in Britain most expensive in Europe, / Daily Mirror 6/1/03
'An average single fare in Britain costs 28p per mile, nearly twice the rate in Germany, nearly five times the rate in Italy and eight times the rate in Greece.' See also: 'We're on the road to hell' / Daily Mirror 17/1/03 'Britain's love affair with the car has been blamed for creating misery on the roads as a 73% increase in traffic was revealed yesterday. The cost of running a car has not significantly changed since 1980, although petrol has gone up by 12%, said the Government's Transport Trends study. In contrast, the cost of public transport has soared - buses by 31% and trains by 37%. Friends of the Earth said: "Car use is getting cheaper compared to buses and trains. But the Government lacks courage to stand up to the motoring lobby." (more) "Policies that restrict lifestyle choices are electoral suicide" - Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams (Dimbleby lecture, Dec 02) [full-text] Monday, December 02, 2002
Environment: 'UK food tops chemicals league' / Indy on Sunday 2/12/02
'More chemicals are used to grow food in Britain than in any other major industrialised country, according to a new report. The review of British environmental performance by the OECD [see below] suggests that the amount of pesticides and fertilisers used per acre of farmland is greater than in any other country. Britain uses more than twice the OECD pesticide average and more than three times the average for fertilisers.' (more) Saturday, November 23, 2002
Environment: UK top EU environmental villain / Daily Mirror 14/11/02
'Britain faces fines of £8 million a day after topping a poll of Europe's environmental villains. The EU reinforced our "dirty man of Europe" tag by revealing the UK had broken 16 different laws ranging from control of hazardous waste to wildlife conservation. The new league table shows Britain tops the list of 14 countries, way out in front of second place France, which has 12 charges against it, and Spain which is accused of 11 offences.' (more) See also: UK Environmental Performance Review, OECD Nov 02 Conclusions & recommendations [pdf] / full report [pdf] Health: UK extends lead as EU's top sweets eater / Evening Standard 11/11/02 'Britons are increasing their lead as Europe's top chocolate and sweets eaters. Datamonitor reveals that nowhere in Europe does any country even challenge Britain's pre-eminence in chocolate consumption: kg per head (2001) UK 11.2, Belgium 8.4, France 6.7, Denmark 5.5, Germany 4.9, Netherlands 5.1, Italy 1.7, Spain 1.6. We also eat more sugary sweets than any other European country. The new figures support specialists' fears that Britain is becoming a nation of sweet and fast-food junkies.' (more) Thursday, October 17, 2002
Economy: 'Britain is priciest place in EU' / Daily Express 16/10/02
'Britain is the most expensive country in the European Union, according to new research [by Pricerunner]. A survey of 12 popular "shopping basket" items in 13 countries, including milk, petrol and cinema tickets, shows that "rip-off Britain" is booming. Overall, UK prices are 111.1% higher than prices in Portugal, and 36.5% higher than in France. Only Norway - not in the EU - is more costly.' Society: 'UK has lowest level of training for social workers in Europe' / Guardian 15/10/02 'The UK has the lowest level of training for social workers in Europe - the diploma is too short to be recognised as a professional qualification by the European Union. The entry level to practice in most of the EU and Asia is a three-year bachelor degree. Elsewhere the requirements are even higher, with four-year degrees in Canada, Australia and South Africa, and five-year masters degrees in Ireland and the US.' (more) Economy: 'British manufacturing bottom of the profitability league' / Financial Times 15/10/02 'British manufacturers languished at the bottom of the profitability league last year, according to an international survey. Manufacturing profitability more than halved, as companies fared worse than their counterparts in a range of countries as diverse as the US, the Netherlands, Korea and Mexico.' Wednesday, October 09, 2002
Economy: 'Britons owe £800bn, the biggest debt in Europe' / Daily Telegraph 5/10/02
'British households are on course for record-breaking debts of £800 billion, making them the most indebted in Europe, according to Bank of England data to be released this month.' (more) Friday, October 04, 2002
Society: 'Young Britons top EU cocaine league' / Guardian 4/10/02
Cocaine use among young Britons is rising faster than anywhere else in the EU, according to a report from the EU drugs agency. Just over 3% of Britons between the age of 16 and 34 claimed to have tried the drug in a 12-month period. Britain also had the highest number of amphetamine users and topped the ecstasy league. Chairman of the agency's board Mike Trace said that the UK had long been the EU's most drug riddled nation. "More people take drugs of all different kinds in the UK than elsewhere in Europe. One in three Britons [in the survey] said they had tried illegal drugs." (more) Sunday, September 22, 2002
Society: Britain retains European shoplifting title / The Economist 21/2/02
'For the second year running, Britain boasts the worst record in Europe for shoplifting. According to the Centre for Retail Research survey, Britons not only steal more than their continental counterparts, they are also less competent employees on the shop floor, resulting in Britain having the worst overall rate of retail "shrinkage" - a measure of losses by retailers from theft, mispricing and other wastage.' (more) Monday, September 09, 2002
Employment: UK perceived more ageist than EU counterparts / Business Wire 5/9/02
Comparing the lifestyles, attitudes and concerns of over 2500 people in and approaching "third age" (aged 55+) across five European countries (UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain), the Healthy Ageing Survey [by Taylor Nelson Sofres for Pfizer Inc.] shows that two thirds of older people do not believe that society values their skills and wisdom. This perception ranked highest in the UK, where 76 per cent of those polled said they felt undervalued.' (more) See also: 'Now you're over the hill at 42' / Observer 3/3/02 'Fifty per cent of companies now have workforces with fewer than one in ten staff over 50. Ten per cent of firms had no employees over 50.' (more) However: 'Creaking public service staggers along on grey power' / The Times 3/9/02 'The public sector is facing an “imminent staffing crisis” because young people no longer want to work in it and nearly a third of its workforce are over 50, says the Audit Commission. The report shows that only 16 per cent of public-sector workers are aged 29 or younger and that two thirds of workplaces in the public sector [ health service, education, police services and local government] have no employees under the age of 21.' (more) Employment: UK employee commitment lags behind most major rivals / ISR 3/9/02 'Corporate leaders in the UK are rated less favourably by their employees than their counterparts in virtually all of the world's other major economies. Too often in the UK the "bottom" of an organisation is alienated from the "top". Employees see their leaders as lacking both the intellectual capital to craft aspirational goals, and the emotional intelligence necessary to achieve them. As a result, the level of employee commitment in the UK lags behind that of most of its major industrial rivals.' Source: UK plc: Leader?..or follower? [pdf], International Survey Research Sept 02 Monday, August 26, 2002
Transport: 'UK air traffic control worst in Europe' / Sunday Times 25/8/02
'Britain's new £620m air traffic control centre has been branded the worst in Europe. An official report by Eurocontrol, which manages European air space, shows the centre is responsible for more delays than all the other 30 national air traffic agencies put together. The problems are so severe that Eurocontrol has issued bulletins advising pilots to avoid Britain at the worst periods.' "If [a plane's] coming from Heathrow it's just expected to be late, and usually is. The UK is now the only major bottleneck in Europe." - John Byrom, Eurocontrol (Independent on Sunday 4/8/02) Tuesday, August 20, 2002
Society: The EU: UK still most negative, least informed / Eurobarometer Summer 02
In the latest poll of relative attitudes towards the EU among it's 15 member states (Eurobarometer 57), UK respondents registered -least support for membership -least support for enlargement -least support for the euro -least support for common foreign/defence policies -least trust in EU institutions & bodies. Furthermore, in respect of each of these categories, UK respondents also registered the highest proportion of 'Don't knows'. Saturday, August 03, 2002
Employment: 'UK employees have lowest annual leave in EU' / Guardian 29/7/02
'British workers have a right to a minimum of 20 days' paid leave a year - 11 days less than the EU average. At the same time, Britain tops the table when it comes to the no.of hours a week an employee can usually be required to work - up to 48 compared with France's 35. But according to research [by jobs agency Reed] only 44% of workers take all the holiday they are entitled to, [citing] "too much work" or that it might damage [their] careers.' (more) Thursday, July 18, 2002
Society: 'Britons are world's worst holidaymakers' / Reuters 18/7/02
'Germans are the most welcome holidaymakers around the world, according to a survey but Britons are the least wanted. The survey, carried out by online travel agency Expedia at tourist offices in 17 countries ranked Germans top of the list for behaviour and linguistic efforts and second only to the Americans in politeness. By contrast Britons were said to be the worst behaved and the rudest. They make no effort to speak the local language and are tight-fisted tippers.' Society: Britain is now the crime capital of the West' / Indy on Sunday 14/7/02 'England and Wales now top the Western world's crime league, according to United Nations research. The UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute reveals that people in England and Wales experience more crime per head than people in the 17 other developed countries analysed in the survey. Researchers found that nearly 55 crimes are committed per 100 people in England and Wales compared with an average of 35 per 100 in other industrialised countries.' (more) Education: 'Jack of no trades' / The Economist 29/6/02 'Britain has one of the lowest proportions of 17-year-olds in education among industrialised countries.' (Figures) 'This is a national shame and disgrace' - David Miliband, Education minister, Independent 5/9/02 'No society can tolerate under-achievement on this scale' - Estelle Morris, Sec. of State for Education in foreword to 14-19: extending opportunities, raising standards Green Paper Feb 2002 Education: 'The dunces of Europe' / Daily Mail 24/06/02 'According to the results of a continent-wide general knowledge quiz, we lag behind all but one of our neighbours in awareness of the EU and European history, geography and popular culture. Almost 4,000 people in 19 countries were given 20 multiple choice questions on a variety of European themes. The results (in Reader's Digest July ed.) show that Britain came next to bottom. Three-quarters of UK respondents didn't know who wrote Hansel and Gretel, or the home country of mobile phone company Nokia.' Monday, June 10, 2002
Environment: UK has lowest rate of food safety testing in EU / Ind.on Sunday 9/6/02
'Britain's safety authorities - the Food Standards Agency and the Pesticides Safety Directorate - have the lowest annual rate of food testing of any European country. Countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, France, Ireland and Sweden test between 2.743 and 8,320 food samples every year, compared to just 1,575 in the UK.' Saturday, June 08, 2002
Health: 'British cancer survival rates worst in Western Europe' / Evening Standard 6/6/02
'British survival rates for cancer are the worst in Western Europe, according to the largest ever international study of the disease. Our appalling record on treating the most common cancers was laid bare by the [Europreval] survey, which showed survival rates for some forms of the disease are half the European average.' Monday, May 13, 2002
Employment: Britain lags in employment of older people / Observer 12/5/02
'Britain has one of the lowest participation rates of older people in the labour market in the industrialised world. Only 5.2% of over-65s are in paid employment, compared with 12.4% in the US, 10.2%in Sweden and 22.1% in Japan. The EU is to push Britain towards scrapping the compulsory age of retirement at 65; the Confederation of British Industry has said it is against changes in law that will reduce employers' ability to 'refresh' staff numbers.' (more) Health: 'Asthma in British youngsters worst in the world' / The Independent 7/5/02 'British teenagers suffer the highest rate asthma symptoms in the world, [a survey by the National Asthma Campaign reveals]. One in five will develop the illness in childhood; those aged 13 or 14 in Britain have the highest prevalence of severe wheeze out of 56 countries.' (more) Society: UK still foots EU voter turnout league table Despite a 4% increase on 2000, turnout in the May 2002 local elections still kept the UK comfortably at the foot of the EU league table. 'British turnout is dismal compared to that in mainland Europe' - The Economist 4/5/02 (includes chart). See also: Voter turnout at regional and local elections in the European Union 1990-2001 (2nd update Sept 2001) ISBN 92-895-0038-7 Employment: British employees work longest hours in Europe' / Independent 30/4/02 'British employees work the longest hours in Europe, averaging 43.6 a week, three hours more than the European Union mean. France and Germany have a working week of 35 to 38 hours. According to the latest survey [by the Future of Work Programme], only 16% of men in professional or management jobs are happy with the hours they work. [Adds] Damien Grimshaw of the Manchester School of Management, "In Britain, many people work in low-pay sectors and work long hours to improve their pay. The tradition of increasing the hourly rate for the job seems to have been lost in favour of simply increasing the hours worked. That is dangerous for family life and for the productivity of the economy. We do seem to be fairly alone in Europe in this kind of pattern."(more) 'British workers are taxed on mediocre average hourly wages. Workers in Germany top the hourly wage rate, earning £10.42 per hour - over £1 more per hour than the British rate of £9.36. Even French workers receive £0.45 more than the Brits with an average hourly wage rate of £9.81. Previously British households [had] a disposable income slightly higher than our European neighbours. However, higher prices in Britain mean we don’t benefit from increased spending power. When making a like-for-like comparison, the Spanish have almost £2,000 more to spend than the Brits each year. Yet they work less than we do. It comes as no surprise that our European friends save more than we do. The French save three times more than the British.' Source: survey, Bradford & Bingley Building Society 17/4/02 Also: UK bottom of EU league for annual leave/public holidays - see Cash in or carry over? Leave entitlement in the EU / IDS Employment Europe Sunday, April 28, 2002
Society: 'No European country imprisons more children than us' / Channel4 News 16/4/02
'In Finland they hardly ever lock up children. Just seven youngsters are behind bars. That's one child in 163,000. In Denmark they've locked up just 14 young people. Other countries are also reluctant to jail kids. In France its one child in 16,000. In England and Wales we lock up one child in every 4,000. Over the last ten-years the number of young people in England and Wales imprisoned by the courts has almost doubled.' (more) ++From: Social capital - a discussion paper / Performance and Innovation Unit, Cabinet Office April 2002++ ''When a young person is sent to prison, the few relationships that they have to family, nascent partners, teachers or work-mates are disrupted and weakened. At the same time, the young offender is connected into a network of “criminal social capital”, and to gangs and other offenders.' 'We not only lock up more children and young people, we also have a lower age of criminal responsibility. The effect is that at every stage of contact with the criminal justice system, a child is more likely to get a custodial sentence. The cumulative effect of such a policy goes some way to explaining our European record.' Age of criminal responsibility: England and Wales 10 years Turkey, Greece, The Netherlands 12 years France 13 years Romania 14 years Denmark, Finland & Sweden 15 years Portugal and Spain 16 years Belgium & Luxembourg 18 years Source: Tough Justice [pdf] / Children's Society Nov 2000 Look, it's working: From: Youth at risk? Joseph Rowntree Foundation April 2002 'The schools survey [of 14,000 students] found almost half (48.5 per cent) reported committing some kind of criminal offence at some time in their lives. Asked about the past year, a third of 14- and 15-year-olds in Year 10 said they had vandalised property, while more than a quarter said they had shoplifted.' Thursday, April 25, 2002
Society: 'British newspapers 'the least trusted in Europe'' / Guardian 24/4/02
'British newspapers are trusted by their readers far less than any others in the European Union, according to Eurobarometer, the polling arm of the European Commission. Trust in papers in Britain was a dismal 20% - less than half the EU average of 46%, but up by 5% on last year. No less than 75% said they "tended not to trust" the written press.' (more) Society: Britons least proud Europeans / Eurobarometer No56 April02 In the latest Eurobarometer survey of nations' attitudes towards the European Union, Britons expressed: -least pride in being European -least enthusiasm about implementation of the single currency (Euro) -least trust in the European Parliament, Commission, Central Bank, Court of Justice, etc When asked, 'On the whole, are you very satisfied, fairly satisfied, not very or not at all satisfied with the way democracy works in the EU?', 26% of UK respondents, comfortably more than any other nation, 'didn't know'. Public Opinion in the European Union [pdf] Wednesday, April 24, 2002
Environment: UK bottom of municipal waste recycling league / Friends of the Earth 22/4/02
Latest government figures on UK waste recycling confirms the country's position at the foot of the European table. Health: More Britons die from cancer than anywhere else in Europe / The Observer 3/3/02 'The result of delays and denials of treatment is that more Britons die from cancer than anywhere else in Europe. Only 7 per cent of men with lung cancer live five years, compared to 12 per cent in France, according to the World Health Organisation Eurocare 2 Study. According to a World Health Organisation report to be published later this year, around 10,000 British people die unnecessarily from cancer each year - three times as many as are killed on our roads.' (more) 'We spend a third of the money on cancer drugs that France and Germany do...constipation is a bigger drug burden here' - Dr Karol Sikora (more) Health: Britain has the highest number of drug deaths in Europe / Ananova 23/4/02 'Of 7,266 deaths from overdoses of illegal substances across the EU in 1999, 39% were in the UK.' (more) Tuesday, February 26, 2002
Transport: 'Britain still most expensive in Europe for new cars' / Independent 26/2/02
'Britain is still the most expensive country in Europe for new cars, with some popular models costing 60 per cent more in the UK than on the Continent, according to a survey by the European Commission. The UK was the dearest place to buy 52 of the 80 models examined by its competition officials. The survey, conducted in November last year, found that a Fiat Seicento cost 62.5 per cent more in the UK than in the cheapest EU member state, Greece, and a Ford Focus, the biggest-selling car in Britain last year, cost 32 per cent more. Even cars produced in the UK were significantly more expensive to buy here. (more) Employment: UK employs more temps than any other EU country / FT 18/2/02 'Over a million people are employed in Britain, many more than in any other EU state' (more) and 'it's rules on temporary labour are by far the most relaxed among the member states. [Temps] cannot claim for unfair dismissal, do not qualify for statutory redundancy and are rarely eligible to join pension schemes.' (more) Tuesday, February 19, 2002
Health: 'UK heart care lagging behind' / BBC News 19/2/02
'Fewer heart bypass operations have been carried out in the UK than in any other developed country. Figures from the OECD showed that in 1998 the US carried out six times as many bypass operations per 100,000 population, and Germany nearly three times as many. They also show that the UK carried out the second fewest artery-widening operations. (more) 'Britain has the highest rate of heart disease in the developed world. The British population is believed to be genetically predisposed to heart disease, but a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet and obesity are also to blame.' (Sunday Times 17 Feb 02) Health: UK tops European asthma league / Independent on Sunday 17/2/02 'Britain suffers from the highest incidence of asthma in Europe. More than one in seven children in the country now suffers the condition.' (more) Britain also 'has the highest rates in Europe for young adults (aged 20-44)' (Totalise) UK Asthma Audit 2001 (pdf format) Friday, February 15, 2002
Society: 'The naughty boy of Europe' / The Economist 14/2/02
'On just about any measure of naughtiness, British teenagers are worse behaved than others in Europe (see charts). Among their other distinctions, they take drugs more than their counterparts, and only Danish youngsters booze as much. [Our]teenage girls are more likely to give birth than any others in Western Europe. A higher proportion of robbery convictions are made against under 18s in England and Wales than anywhere else in Europe. And so on. One way in which the government can make a difference is to keep more children in school: fewer British children stay in education beyond the age of 16 than in most comparable countries, and more leave school with few or no qualifications than in any other EU country except Portugal.' Economy: 'Britons eat more on the move than other Europeans' / Ananova 13/2/02 'People in the UK are eating and drinking more while on the move than any other country in Europe [figures]. Andrew Russell, author of Datamonitor report People on the move, said: "On the move consumption is driven by a number of factors. "Poor infrastructure is a major cause - if commuters can expect delays and cancellations on their journey, they will try and minimise its effect on their day by using the time to eat their breakfast, grab a coffee, or apply last-minute make-up." 'The increase in time-poor Britons dining on the hoof is a cause of irritation to other commuters and street users thanks to the vast amount of litter fast foods can help produce. [And] "nutritionally speaking, you need to be relaxed to eat, it helps digestion, says Dr Nefertiti Sourial, director of the Institute of Optimum Nutrition.' (BBC News) Society: 'Britain has the highest divorce rate in Europe' / Telegraph 11/2/02 'Britain has the highest divorce rate and largest proportion of lone parents in Europe, according to the Broken Hearts report. Britain has 2.7 divorces per 1,000 of the population, compared with a European average of 1.8, according to Government figures in the study. The high divorce rate, combined with the growth of cohabitation and illegitimate births, resulted in Britain recording the highest proportion of children living in one-parent families. More than a quarter of children in Britain now live in single-parent families, compared with a European average of 14 per cent. It is six per cent in Greece, 12 in Austria, 13 in France, 14 in Germany and almost 15 per cent in Belgium.' (more) Education: 'Europe tells UK: improve teaching of our languages' / Independent 11/2/02 Britain is currently the only EU country in which language teaching in primary schools is not compulsory. Figures from an EU education programme [Socrates-Erasmus] aimed at promoting exchanges between teachers and pupils showed that Britain was always bottom of the league of 15 EU states for the number of exchanges it put forward.' (more) From Crossing the Channel - Promoting academic mobility within Europe (FrancoBritish Council Oct 2001): 'Generally, the Erasmus programme is growing in popularity across the European continent. However, in the UK a rather different situation is emerging. For a variety of reasons, there is a decline in the number of UK students choosing to participate in Erasmus. The language barrier is the most frequently quoted reason for the Socrates–Erasmus programme’s unpopularity with UK students. The continuing language deficit for UK students, their nervousness about proficiency in language and a lack of motivation and incentives to remedy the situation have been exacerbated by the decline in the numbers studying European languages in schools and colleges.' Outcry over plans to drop languages / BBC News 8/2/02 'A target for an entitlement to language lessons for every child from the age of seven upwards by 2010 was announced on Tuesday.' (BBC News 11/2/02) 'Schools ditch language teaching' / The Independent 25/5/02 'Almost a third of schools are planning to drop compulsory language lessons for pupils over 14, according to a survey of nearly 300 schools by the Association of Language Learning. (more) Tuesday, February 05, 2002
Employment: UK has 'longest working hours in Europe' / BBC News 5/2/02
'Nearly four million people in the UK are working more than 48 hours a week as Britain ignores European limits, [TUC] figures show. While in the UK workers work an average 43.6 hours the European average is 40.3. In France the average is just 38.9 hours.' (more) 'The long hours culture has been dubbed a "national disgrace" by the TUC...and Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt will argue on Tuesday those hours are not helping [British] industry [which is] less productive than French and German counterparts. ' (more)
Environment: 'Filthy Britain 'a pollution failure'' / Observer 3/2/02
'The UK has the worst record of protecting the environment of any country in Europe apart from Belgium, according to a report published by the World Economic Forum. The 2002 Environmental Sustainability Index ranks the UK 98th out of 142 countries...and deems the UK just about the worst in the world when it comes to reducing waste and encouraging recycling. Environment minister Michael Meacher dismissed the report.' (more) Friday, January 25, 2002
Economy: 'London most expensive EU capital' / Evening Standard 24/1/02
'A survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit shows London to be most expensive capital city in the EU.' (more) Also, 'compared with every other major European capital, London is desperately short of good, reasonably priced hotels. "In London few if any good hotels offer a double room at under £150," said Caroline Raphael, co-editor of The Good Hotel Guide for Continental Europe 2002. "In Paris, Berlin, Athens and Brussels there are dozens of excellent budget hotels, often with more character and run by families who care about their guests." (more) Tuesday, January 15, 2002
Society: Britain has highest retail crime in Europe / Financial Times 14/1/02
'Britain has the worst retail crime problem in Europe - and it is set to get worse, according to a new theft barometer. Retailers last year lost 1.76% of their turnover to "shrinkage" - theft by customers and staff, fraud by suppliers, etc. This compares with a European average of 1.42%. Prof. Joshua Bamfield of the Centre of Retail Research in Nottingham, which carried out the study of over 400 European retail groups, said some of the extra losses in Britain could be put down to better reporting. However, there was simply more crime.' (more) Education: 'UK academics 'among lowest paid' in developed world' / BBC 15/1/02 'Lecturers in the United Kingdom are among in the poorest paid in the developed world, says a British trades union. Academics in the UK earned an average of £21,800, compared to £72,700 in Canada and £72,400 in Italy, according to a survey from the lecturers' union, Nathfhe. The survey compared lecturers' pay in 15 developed countries, based on 1998 figures, and found the UK ranked tenth.' (more) Friday, January 11, 2002
Health: UK has 'most cold weather deaths' in Europe / BBC News 11/1/02
More people die from the cold weather in Britain than in any other European country, including Siberia. Up to 50,000 more people die in the UK during the winter months than in the summer, according to new research. Even in the city of Yakutsk in Siberia, where temperatures plummet to -40C, there are fewer deaths than Britain in winter. "Many people here simply do not take the cold seriously and appreciate the danger it poses," said [co-author] Professor William Keatinge. (Story) "This research highlights once again the scandal of excess winter deaths in Britain.These are not primarily due to flu. They are a consequence of cold weather - and to the poor state of our housing stock compared to other European countries. The Government needs to strengthen its Fuel Poverty Strategy." Friends of the Earth reaction Transport: "We have the worst railways in Europe" - Peter Hain, Minister for Europe, Spectator 10/1/02 'Is UK transport the worst?' European commuters tell it like it is (BBC News 9/1/02) Friday, January 04, 2002
Health: 'Britons have become the fat people of Europe' / The Independent 4/1/02
'After a rapid increase in obesity levels over the past two decades..at least half of all [British] adults are overweight and more than a million children under 16 clinically obese, a new charity says. Prof. Jane Wardle, co-founder of Weight Concern, said: "The problem is worse in Britain than in almost any other European country. We can describe Britons as the fat people of Europe." (more) "The frequency of obesity in the UK means that it should now be considered an epidemic" - Prof. Peter Kopelman, Royal London Hospital (BBC News) Friday, December 21, 2001
Transport: British Christmas rail lags behind Europe / Friends of the Earth 21/12/01
'Britain won't be running trains on Christmas Day again this year - despite the fact that most of our European neighbours will be enjoying a near normal service. A Friends of the Earth survey reveals that out of 10 European countries, Britain is the only country that won't be running any trains on the 25th December. Hardly any trains will run on Boxing Day either. Rail campaigner Richard Dyer said, "It is time the rail industry ended the 40 year Christmas freeze and helped get people out of their cars by running trains on Boxing Day at the very least."' (more) Employment: 'Young Britons begin work before Europe' / The Times 17/12/01 'British youngsters are forced into full-time work much earlier than their European contemporaries because they do not go on to higher education, a survey by the Institute for Social and Economic Research says. Only 27% of 20-year-olds in the UK have any experience of higher education, as against 34% in Greece, 43% in Finland, etc. The report also found that the UK has the largest number of young women under 25 at home looking after children [and that young men in the UK are more likely than anywhere else to work long hours].' Society: 'Britons' high marks for dodging homework' / Daily Mail 10/12/01 'British pupils are less likely to do their homework than most European students, research has found. A Europe-wide survey [by Lexmark] of 600 secondary school pupils revealed that almost 70% admit regularly making excuses for not doing their homework. Only German students behave worse.' Economy: 'Britain's top 500 companies lag world in capital investment' / Independent 10/12/01 'British industry is lagging behind it's international competitors in terms of capital investment and the gap is widening, according the Dept. of Trade and Industry's Capex Scoreboard. The world's 500 biggest companies increased their capital expenditure by 17% last year but spending by the UK's top 500 raised by only 12%. The scoreboard also shows that the UK invests much less in manufacturing than its rivals.' (more) Society: 'Poll highlights Britons' ignorance over Europe' / The Guardian 6/12/01 'Millions of Britons are unaware that Britain is a member of the European Union, and one in 15 of the population believe that America is an EU member state, according to an ICM survey commissioned by the Foreign Office. The survey reveals that one in five of the population admit they know nothing about the European Union.' Friday, November 30, 2001
Transport: 'Britain has the worst transport record in Europe' / Observer 26/11/01
'Britain has the worst transport record in Europe, with the most congested roads, highest prices and neglected networks 'starved of investment', according to a report by the Commission for Integrated Transport. Passengers on public transport and car drivers are ripped off and delayed on a daily basis in Britain more than anywhere else in Europe. Britain has: the most car-dominated economy in Europe, with a record 87.5 per cent of road journeys using cars, and just 12 per cent using public transport; the most congested thoroughfares in Europe, with a quarter of our main roads jammed up for at least an hour a day; the longest commute times at 46 minutes a day - more than twice that of Italians; the EU average is 38 minutes. (more) From the Commission's report (European Best Practice in Delivering Integrated Transport): 'Buses have fared particularly badly in the UK over the last twenty years. Between 1980 and 1998, the average distance travelled by bus per person in the UK declined by more than a fifth. During the same period, most EU countries experienced growth in demand for bus travel – Austria and Sweden were up by more than 20%, Denmark by more than 40%, and Italy by more than one half. Over the same period, car travel per person in the UK rose by 51%.' Wednesday, November 21, 2001
Health: UK lung disease death rate among highest in Europe / BBC 21/11/01
'A report for the British Thoracic Society reveals that lung disease death rates are among the highest in Europe. BTS chairman Dr Martyn Partridge said the findings were surprising and appalling. He added: "We don't know why death rates are so high but it cannot be a coincidence that we have one third of the number of lung specialists compared to Europe. "In this country, an acceptance of lung disease has gone on too long. Look at the figures in France, Germany, Italy. That's what really hurts." (more)
Society: 'UK the 'Druggie of Europe'' / Ananova 20/11/01
'Britain has the biggest drug problem in Europe. Figures from the EU's annual report on the European drugs problem, show the UK has a higher illegal drug usage across a whole range than any other European country. The adult use of ecstasy and amphetamines is more than double the rate in the UK than the rest of Europe. Britain also accounts for most of the amphetamines, ecstasy and LSD seized in the EU and third of all heroin. The UK by far accounts for most seizures of ecstasy tablets, with 6,000 individual seizures netting six million tablets.' (more)
Economy: 'Britain 'worst EU country to trade with'' / Financial Times 20/11/01
'Red tape and heavy-handed customs authorities make Britain the worst European country to trade with, according to a survey by the European Commission. The regulatory burden imposed on companies trying to sell goods and services to Britain is heavier than anywhere else in the European Union.' (more)
Health: UK ovarian cancer survival rate among lowest in Europe / The Times 15/11/01
'Only the poorer European countries of Slovakia and Estonia came out lower than the UK in the survival rate league table, with a rate of 26 per cent.Just 29 per cent of UK women are still alive five years after diagnosis compared with 45 per cent in Sweden and Austria and 41 per cent in Spain, according to the Cancer Research Campaign. (More) Thursday, November 08, 2001
Economy: UK mobile users pay most for calls from abroad / Oftel 7/11/01
'UK mobile phone users are paying twice as much as other European consumers to use their pre-pay mobile abroad a new study by Oftel shows. UK prices for pre-pay international roaming - the service that allows you to use a foreign mobile network when travelling abroad - are much higher than for customers in France, Germany, Sweden and Italy. As well as paying higher prices for outgoing calls, UK consumers can pay up to £1.50 per minute to receive incoming calls whilst travelling in Europe.' (more) Tuesday, October 30, 2001
Society: 'Britons among most unethical travellers in the world' / The Observer 28/10/01
'A new [Mintel] survey shows only one in ten British holidaymakers are 'ethically aware' about their holiday destination. Instead of worrying about the environment and human rights abuses, British tourists...are more concerned with overpriced drinks while 40% said they just wanted to 'relax' and 'not be bothered' by ethical issues.'
Health: 'UK caesarean births soar above WHO limits' / The Guardian 26/10/01
'The number of women having their babies delivered by caesarean section has soared to an high of one in five, and in some places nearly one in four, says the largest survey of UK birth practice. The World Health Organisation considers that caesarean rates should not need to rise beyond 10-15%. In London and Wales, the rate is 24.2% while the [UK] average is 21.5%. The UK is now a long way ahead of Denmark (13.7%), Norway (12.6%) and Sweden (12.2%), which have just as good a safety record on the health of mother and baby as the UK.' (more) Tuesday, October 16, 2001
Health: 'NHS spends less than most other European nations on medicines' / ABPI 11/10/01
'Latest figures show that the UK’s medicines spend, measured as a share of GDP, is falling even further behind most other leading countries. Average NHS spend on medicines is £124 per person per year, around 30p per person per day. France spends 50 per cent more on medicines per head of the population. Belgium, Sweden, Germany and Italy also spend more on medicines than the UK in cash terms and as a share of their GDP.' (more) Tuesday, October 02, 2001
Economy: 'Scandinavia shames UK in broadband league' / YahooNews 2/10/01
'The UK is the sick man of Europe when it comes to high-speed Internet access -- the latest figures show that six times more home Internet users enjoy a broadband connection in Scandinavia than in Britain. According to NetValue, Germany, France, Spain and Norway all have a much greater percentage of their Net-connected households using broadband. Of the eight countries measured, only Italy was below Britain. [The] UK figure is a meagre 2.3 percent of Internet-connected households, or just 210,600 homes.' (more)
Health: 'Britons 'most depressed in Europe'' / BBC 1/10/01
'Britons top a European league table for rates of depression, according to a study [from Liverpool University]. The findings, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, show that cities in the UK and Ireland have the highest depression rates and cities in Spain the lowest.' (more) See also: 'Britons second most depressed nation in the world, beaten only by Chile. According to new figures from the World Health Organization, one in seven have experienced depression compared with a global average of about one in 10 people.' / Independent 5/10/01 (WHO report) Thursday, September 27, 2001
Economy: 'British hotels most expensive in Europe at every price level' / Ananova 27/9/01
'British hotels are the most expensive in Europe at every price level, states the Which? Hotel Guide 2002. [They] are overpriced and provide unacceptable levels of service, according to [the] new guide. "Customers' expectations have risen, but British hotel standards have not increased accordingly," said co-editor Kim Winter. "Hoteliers need to take a good hard look at what they are offering"'
Environment: 'UK among worst in Euro food testing league' / Friends of the Earth 26/9/01
'In a new report Friends of the Earth, the environmental campaign group, reveals that the UK lags behind most of Europe in testing food, and that most food types are not tested at all. Most other EU countries test more food samples for pesticide residues than the UK Government. For example, Italy tested more than 8,000 samples of fruit and vegetables in 1998, (the latest figures available for the EU) and Germany tested more than 6,000. The UK tested 732 samples:Only four EU countries tested fewer.' (more) Monday, September 10, 2001
Employment: Recent performance of the UK labour market / Bank of England Aug 2001
'The fundamental problem is that there is a large body of individuals of working age who, because of lack of skills, do not command a high enough wage in the labour market to provide a decent standard of living for themselves and their dependents. And this problem is particularly severe in Britain because the pool of very low skill workers is larger than in the typical European country.' Report (pdf) Monday, September 03, 2001
Society: 'British childcare is worst in Europe' / Independent on Sunday 2/9/01
'Britain has the worst record in Europe for looking after pre-school children, according to a new study by the Daycare Trust. The report says Britain also suffers the highest levels of child poverty in Europe, with fathers working long hours and a "high proportion" of children brought up by lone parents.' Wednesday, August 29, 2001
Health: UK getting fatter faster / World Heart Federation 27/8/01
'Prevalence of obesity has increased by between 10-40% in the majority of European countries in the past 10 years. The most dramatic increase has been in the UK where it has more than doubled between 1980 and 1995; from 6% to 15% among men and from 8% to 17% among women. The prevalence of overweight and obesity amongst English and Scottish school children almost doubled between 1984 and 1994.' (more) Friday, August 24, 2001
Employment: UK workers bottom of EU league on annual holidays / TUC 24/8/01
'Britain’s workers not only get the least statutory annual leave in Europe but the lowest number of bank holidays as well. Combining statutory public holidays (those where workers have the right by law to time off) and statutory annual leave puts the UK 13 days behind the EU average. British workers enjoy only eight bank holidays a year compared to 12 in Italy, 13 in Austria and up to 14 in Spain and Portugal. (more) See also: Budget Report 2001 Chp.3 Meeting the productivity challenge "The UK's output per worker performance has long lagged behind that of its competitors. By this measure, US productivity is 45 per cent higher, and productivity in France and Germany 19 and 71 per cent higher, respectively, than in the UK" Economy: Latest EU year-on-year productivity figures (June 2001): UK records 2nd largest fall in productivity (-2.7%). The EU average was +0.9% (and +1.4% for the Euro-zone). (more) Wednesday, August 22, 2001
Employment: 'UK work the longest hours in Europe' / Industrial Society 21/8/01
'UK workers still work the longest hours in Europe – 43.6 hours a week, compared to 38.4 hours a week for Belgian workers - and despite the introduction of the European Working Time Directive in 1999, four million employees are still regularly working over 48 hours a week. Also, almost half of the country’s employees have no flexible working arrangements in place.' (more) Friday, August 17, 2001
Society: 'UK jail numbers reach EU high' / BBC News 17/8/01
'England and Wales jail the greatest proportion of their citizens of any country in the EU, latest figures show. The prison population reached 67,383 last Friday, or 128 for every 100,000 people, the Home Office said. The average number of prisoners [per 100,00o people] in Europe is 88. The lowest rates are Finland (52), Northern Ireland (60), Denmark (61) and Sweden (64).' Director of the Howard League for Penal Reform Frances Crook said: "The fact that we are the biggest jailer in Europe is ignominious and something the government should be deeply ashamed of.'' (more)
Polemic: 'Where have all the tourists gone?' / New Statesman 20/8/01
'Tourism insiders have been worried about the plummeting numbers of overseas visitors for some time. Britain is simply too expensive. The London Tube is the most costly in the world, with a one-way ticket averaging £2.50, while the cheapest good wine costs more than twice as much as in Germany or France...' See also: "It's a wonder to me that tourists come back, actually." - Dr. Kim Howells, minister for Tourism (Caterer 12/7/01)
Environment: 'UK recycling targets fall below existing rates in other EU countries' / Financial Times 16/8/01
'The UK's recycling targets of 30% by 2010 fall below existing rates achieved in other European countries such as Austria, Germany and the Netherlands, where it stands at about 45 per cent. Landfill dominates waste disposal in the UK [at 80% of waste, the highest in Europe]...there are many reasons why this reliance is problematic.' (more) See also: 'UK bottom of European recycling league' / Edie June 2001 - 'The UK recycles the least container glass and steel packaging in Europe and is near the bottom on aluminium cans, according to a study (pdf) by the European Commission. Recycling of municipal waste in the UK grew from 9% to an average of 11% between 1999 and 2000, but this still leaves the country trailing well behind other European nations...' (more)
Society: 'UK takes longest to publish census results' / Financial Times 16/8/01
'The UK takes longer than any other country to publish results from its 10-yearly population census, according to a Financial Times analysis. Britain will have to wait 16 months to see data from the April census (results due Aug 2002). The norm for Anglo-Saxon countries is six months to one year. In India, which has a population of more than 1bn, the results are published just a month after the census is completed.' (more)
Environment: 'UK Tops EU Illegal Timber League' / Friends of the Earth 10/8/01
'According to an analysis of data on illegal logging, as much as 60% of tropical timber sold in the UK is likely to be from illegal sources, Friends of the Earth reveals today. This makes the UK the largest importer of illegal tropical timber in Europe, ahead of France, Belgium, Germany,Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Portugal.' (more) Saturday, August 11, 2001
Health: 'New health league tables put UK below Jamaica and Chile' / The Independent 10/8/01
'The National Health Service is ranked 24th in a new league table rating health efficiency in 191 countries. The UK comes above Germany and Switzerland [in the World Health Organization report], but is below Italy, France, Jamaica, Morocco and Chile.'
Economy: Britain lags in broadband internet access / The Economist 11/8/01
'Britain has by far the lowest take-up of broadband Internet access of any of the G7 nations, and is 22nd in the OECD - behind Portugal and the Czech Republic.' (See also: 'UK is broadband lagard - OECD' / The Register April 2001) Wednesday, August 08, 2001
Society: 'Britain trails in league of women MPs' / The Times 8/8/01
'Britain's failure to secure more women MPs has left it 33rd in a world league table of women politicians, according to a study published by the Equal Opportunities Commission. [With women making up 18% of its 659 MPs], the UK has a worse record than most of Europe and many Third World countries...even Mozambique now has 30 per cent female representation. (more)
Society: 'British pay extra to holiday at home' / Sunday Times 5/8/01
'British consumers are paying 40% more than their European and American tourists for some services when they holiday in Britain. Premium rates are being demanded by car hire companies, hotels and theme parks, while discounts are quietly being offered to European and American tourists for identical services. The revelation will undermine the reputation of the UK tourist industry. "It is another example of rip-off Britain," said Phil Evans, policy adviser at the Consumers' Association.' Tuesday, July 31, 2001
Society: 'British parents face highest childcare bills in Europe' / Guardian 31/7/01
'As a result, only 13% of parents with dependent children can afford to use formal childcare services all the time, a new report [The price parents pay, published by the Daycare Trust] reveals.' (more) Thursday, July 26, 2001
Employment: 'British manufacturing employees lowest paid in the developed world' / Guardian 26/7/01
'The average UK manufacturing wage is just £20,475 - compared with £36,779 in Japan, £31,603 in the US and £26,124 in Germany. The report [compiled by Management Today magazine] also says that UK workers are the cheapest in the developed world to dismiss and that the UK's top company executives are now paid £100,000 a year more than their European counterparts.' (more)
Health: 'Britain lags behind in cancer care, say doctors' / Independent 25/7/01
'Researchers [from Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge and St. George's, London] found that in Britain, one in three breast cancer patients is given less than 85% of the chemotherapy he or she is supposed to receive. In Europe, the number receiving less than the correct dose is much lower, at between 8 and 17 per cent.' Monday, July 23, 2001
Transport: 'Britain's crowded skies most dangerous in Europe' / Guardian 23/7/01
'Britain now has the most crowded air space in Europe, with seven of the 12 worst traffic control danger spots, according to figures compiled by the airlines. The worsening situation in British airspace will add to pressures on pilots and air traffic controllers, and lead to big delays for passengers.' (more)
Transport: 'UK car prices still much higher than euro zone' / EU report 23/7/01
'The UK market continues to be the most expensive for 52 of the models examined. Since the prices in the United Kingdom are still much higher than elsewhere, many British consumers continue to buy their cars from Continental dealers. The Commission still receives complaints from British consumers who encounter obstacles when purchasing a car in another Member State.' (more) EU car price data Tuesday, July 17, 2001
Health: 'Britain 'poor man' of EU health' / BBC News 17/7/01
'Britain is one of the "poor men of Europe" when it comes to health spending. A report by the Office of Health Economics revealed that the UK spends £970 per person on health - compared to £1,400 in France and £1,700 in Germany. And a review of 30 developed countries revealed that globally only Mexico, Turkey, Korea, Ireland and Luxembourg spends less than we do on health provisions.' (more) Monday, July 02, 2001
Health: 'UK infant death rate near worst in EU' / Guardian 20/6/01
'Britain has the second highest infant mortality rate in the EU, according to figures published yesterday by the office of national statistics suggesting a failure to keep pace with improvements in healthcare in neighbouring countries. In 1999 there were 5.8 infant deaths per 1000 live births in the UK, compared with an average of 5.0 across the 15 EU members states. Only Greece had a poorer record with 5.9 deaths per 1000 live births.'
Society: 'Children in Britain see more TV than any in Europe' / Daily Mail 27/6/01
'British children spend more time glued to the screen and less playing outdoors than youngsters anywhere else in Europe. While continental children watch around two hours' television a day, their counterparts in the UK sit through as many as five hours. The study [Children and their changing media environment, eds. Sonia Livingstone & Moira Bovill of the LSE and produced in association with the Broadcasting Standards Commission] says: 'The UK tends to stand apart as a country where screen entertainment, above all TV viewing, is particularly important for young people and where books are seen as boring and unrewarding.'' Saturday, June 23, 2001
Society: UK trails in well-being of mothers and children / Save the Children May 2001
A study by the charity Save The Children examining the well-being of mothers and children in 94 countries ranks the UK lowest of European nations surveyed. Based on 10 indicators including health, education and political status, State of the World's Mothers 2001 places the UK behind Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland in terms of health care access, mothers dying during labour, political representation and school attendance. Saturday, June 16, 2001
Society: 'Divorce rate falls but UK still tops European league' / The Independent 13/6/01
'Britain has the highest divorce rate in the European Union and one of the highest rates of babies born outside marriage, a survey revealed yesterday. The UK, with Finland, came joint first in a divorce league table, with 2.8 divorces per 1,000 people per year. This compared with an average of 1.8 divorces per 1,000 people across the EU.'
Society: 'Untrue Brits: We're the worst for stealing a lover' / Daily Mail 11/6/01
'An international study reports that 45% of British married men and 42% of British married women have had affairs compared to an average 28% of men and 18% of women in the rest of Europe. Dr David Schmitt of the University of Texas [co-author with Dr David Buss of Bradley Univ] said: "The British stand out as having the greatest tendency to take other people's partners." Britain has the highest divorce rate in Europe, with 2 in 5 marriages ending that way. Studies suggest other nations place greater importance on preserving the family than punishing the infidelity of a spouse.' Friday, June 15, 2001
Society: 'UK the only European country to send minors into battle' / Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers 12/6/01
'The United Kingdom has persistently objected to raising the international minimum age for voluntary recruitment and participation in hostilities to 18. Within Europe the UK has the (equal) lowest minimum age for recruitment, the highest recruitment of under-18s into the regular armed forces and the lowest deployment age. The UK is also the only European country to send minors routinely into battle.' (Report) Friday, June 08, 2001
Society: UK election turnout worst in EU
The 59% turnout in the 2001 UK election is the lowest for any EU nation comparing their most recent general elections. This follows the UK's 23% turnout in the 1999 European elections, again comfortably the lowest in the community. (Turnout figs: Aus 80.42% Bel 90.6% Den 86% Fin 68% Fra 67.9% Ger 82.3% Gre 75% Ire 65.95 Ita 81.2% Lux 86.5% Neth 73% Por 61.87% Spa 69.99% Swe 81%) Tuesday, May 29, 2001
Society: 'UK jail numbers second highest in Europe' / Observer 27 May 2001
'The only western European country with a higher prison population rate than the UK is Portugal...but experts believe the UK will overtake Portugal in the next year. A Home Office report has predicted that Britain will have the second biggest prison population in the western world within six years. (more)
Polemic: 'Rude Britannia' / Prospect May 2001
'Britain has become a society whose standards of civility seem to have collapsed and where much public behaviour has become astonishingly coarse--a place where aggression, vulgarity and drunkenness are commonplace. There is no other country whose people, when they get together abroad, are so well-known for vomit and violence...' (more)
Transport: UK petrol most expensive in Europe / AA Fuel Price Report April 2001
UK average per litre of unleaded 77.9p ... next highest Netherlands 74.47p ... lowest Greece 49.71p (report) Saturday, May 26, 2001
Polemic: 'Why our heritage is no longer enough' / The Observer 20 May 2001
'We are still not giving tourists what they want, [which] might be something as simple as eating lunch when they are hungry, even if that happens to be after 2pm. We need to put some serious funding into promotion, training and tourism infrastructure if we are to catch up with our European neighbours.' (more)
Health: 'Europe holds lessons for our schools and hospitals' / The Times 22 May 2001
'There are only 1.8 doctors per 1000 people in Britain, while the European average is 3.4 per 1000. No continental country reports a figure below 2.7. (more) Thursday, May 24, 2001
Polemic: 'Many visitors travel round the UK in a state of shock.' / The Observer 20 May 2001
' The heady combination of mean portions of food and drink, a strong pound and inflated prices means many visitors travel round the UK in a state of shock. Nobody likes poor value for money. Maybe the Seychelles is worth the cash. But the UK isn't.' (more) Friday, May 04, 2001
Society: 'Britain leads the world on risk of being assaulted' / Daily Telegraph 4 May 2001
'Violent crime is rising faster in England and Wales than anywhere else in Europe, new figures showed yesterday. In 1999, robberies and assaults rose by 16 per cent compared with five per cent across the rest of the EU. Overall levels of violence were far higher in Britain than in countries of comparable size.' (more) Home Office report (pdf)
Health: 'We are the fattest people in Europe...' / Independent 3 May 2001
According to a report carried out by the National Audit Office (Tackling Obesity in England Feb 2001), 'In the majority of European countries, where lifestyles and cultures are essentially comparable, the International Obesity Task Force estimates that prevalence of obesity increased by between 10 to 40 per cent from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. In England, however, prevalence nearly doubled over this period.' Tuesday, May 01, 2001
Society: 'Britons are dunces on Europe' / Guardian 30 April 2001
'In the latest Eurobarometer poll Britain comes bottom of the class in virtually every single category of knowledge about, attachment to and trust in Europe. It is also the country where people are least proud of being European and where the loss of national identity is a prime fear.' (more)
Economy: 'UK shoppers out of pocket on top brands' / Guardian 27 April 2001
'British shoppers are paying up to 44% more than consumers in other western countries for dozens of branded goods, according to a government report published yesterday.' (more)
Environment: 'Dirty rivers of Britain still fail to make the grade' / Daily Mail 24 April 2001
'Some major rivers in Britain are dirtier than many in eastern Europe, a report has claimed. The study by the Worldwide Fund for Nature criticises the standard of rivers, such as the Severn and trent, as well as our wetlands for failing to reach the most stringent European standards.' Thursday, April 19, 2001
Employment: 'UK beats the rest of Europe at one thing: sacking staff' / Guardian 7 April 2001
'Marks & Spencer [following it's decision to close all of its shops in France, cutting 1,700 jobs] has found out the hard way that what is considered the norm when laying off workers in the UK can cause all hell to break loose in France. [The company's surprise at the French reaction] can probably be traced back to the way that companies are able to conduct themselves in the UK, which has some of the most lax labour laws in Europe...' (more)
Society: 'UK 'most racist' in Europe on refugees' / Guardian 3 April 2001
'Racism against asylum seekers and refugees is "particularly acute" in Britian, according to a Council of Europe survey of prejudice across the continent. Today's report, the second in almost as many weeks to single Britain out for its negative attitude towards refugees, blames the media for "xenophobic and intolerant coverage" [and] criticises the government for adopting and enforcing "increasingly restrictive asylum and immigration laws".
Economy: 'UK leads in Europe e-fraud' / Financial Times 29 March 2001
'UK businesses experienced the lighest levels of electronic security fraud in Europe last year, according to fraud specialists at KPMG accountancy group.' “It is vital that breaches are investigated [and] companies need to implement strict response procedures to ensure this occurs,” the report notes...'Many countries reported having incident response procedures that included computer forensics. However, the UK had one of the lowest rates at a mere 13 per cent...'
Society: 'Britain has the worst schools in Europe' / Daily Mail 28 March 2001
'A devastating attack on the state of Britain's schools was launched by [the Organisation for Economic and Co-operation and Development] yesterday. Literacy levels among young Britons are among the worst in the industrialised world with one in three lacking the basic skills to cope with everyday life, it said. The spectre of a complete collapse of the traditional state school system was held up in the annual review of education policies among the OECD's 29 members around the world.'
Society: 'British most hostile to asylum' / Guardian 21 March 2001
'The British are the most hostile to political refugees of all EU people, according to a report from the European monitoring centre on racism and xenophobia. In the UK 23% of those questioned in the survey of more than 16,000 Europeans...said political asylum seekers who had suffered human rights violations in the their own countries should not be accepted.' (Report (pdf))
Environment: 'Britain tops EU's dirty cities chart' / The Times 19 March 2001
'Britain will today be rebuked as one of Europe's worst polluters, with more offending towns and cities than any other EU country. A dozen large British towns and cities feature on the European Commission's list of offenders for pumping untreated sewage and waste water into rivers and the sea years after a deadline imposed by EU law' (more)
Transport: 'UK rail fares 'highest in Europe' / Sunday Times 18 March 2001
'Britain has the highest standard train fares in Europe and by far the most complicated fare structure, according to a study out this week. Researchers compared standard single first and second-class fares and found, for example, that a 133-mile journey from London to Stafford cost £99.50 while a similar journey in France cost £21 and in Spain £7.50. A 24-mile journey from Woking to London cost £13.50, but in almost all other European countries it would cost under £5.'
Transport: UK has 'the highest proportion of journeys made by car in the EU' / European Best Practice in Transport / Commission for Integrated Transport Aug 2000
'The UK fares badly in comparison to all countries in our sample...indeed it is the country with the highest proportion of passenger kms by car in the EU. The share of bus [usage] is also below the EU average, with only France (out of all fifteen EU member states) having a lower share, and rail fares equally badly.' 'Safety is often considered to be a field in which the UK leads Europe. This is true for overall road safety figures, but deaths among pedestrians and cyclists are high ['Child pedestrian deaths: England one of the worst records in Europe' - Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation, Dept. of Health 1999]. The Report of the Urban Task Force, Towards an Urban Renaissance, points out that the UK is among the most densely populated countries in the EU but that land-use for new housing is extravagant. The UK is losing its countryside at a greater proportional rate than any other leading industrialised country, while low density development encourages travel by less sustainable transport modes.' (report) Wednesday, April 18, 2001
Society: 'Britain top league for teen births' / Daily Express 8 March 2001
'Britain has the worst record on teenage pregnancy in Western Europe despite having one of the highest rates of contraceptive use, it was revealed yesterday. Britain's teenage pregnancy rate is more than three times that of France and nearly seven times that of Japan...according to the report by the US-based policy group Population Action.'
Employment: 'UK gender pay gap worst in Europe' / ITN 27 Feb 2001
'A study by the Equal Opportunities Commission shows that the gender wage gap in the UK is the worst in the European Union. Women in full-time work earn only four fifths of men's earnings, more than thirty years after the Equal Pay Act. "When you include part-time workers, the UK's pay gap between men and women is the widest of any state in the European Union," the report, entitled Just Pay, says.' (more)
Society: 'British youth top drugs table' / The Times 20 Feb 2001
'Teenagers in Britain are more likely to have taken illegal drugs than youngsters anywhere else in Europe, according to a survey out today. Nearly 40 per cent of teenagers in the UK said they had tried substances including cannabis and ecstasy, according to the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). UK teenagers are also top of the league for drinking and are among the worst offenders for smoking, the ESPAD survey says.' (more)
Society: 'UK at bottom of class in foreign languages' / Guardian 20 Feb 2001
'Britons' command of languages other than their own is the worst in Europe by a considerable margin. In contrast, more than half of continental Europeans can speak at least one foreign language and sometimes even two. A report, entitled Europeans and Languages [released yesterday to publicise the launch of the European Year of Languages 2001 - a joint initiative by the European commission and the Council] reveals that 66% of the British population have absolutely no knowledge of any language other than English' (more)
Economy: 'Car prices in Britain are still the highest in Europe' / The Independent 20 Feb 2001
'Car prices in Britain remain higher than anywhere else in the EU, according to new research conducted by the European Commission. [It] reveals that the UK is most expensive market for "almost all models examined". (find)
Economy: 'British music lovers worst off' / The Times 27 Jan 2001
'The cost of CDs can vary by as much as 125 per cent across Europe, with British consumers worst hit by high prices, according to a recent survey. The study by fono, a pan-European music weekly, looked at 45 music retailers in 15 European countries. It found that CDs sold in the UK are the most expensive, retailing at an average price of £12.85.' (more)
Environment: 'UK's farmland bird declines the worst in Europe' / Virunga Jan 2001
'A report published in today's Proceedings of the Royal Society of the Protection of Birds shows that across 30 European countries...the UK suffered the worst declines' (more)
Society: 'Britain 'is the most family-unfriendly country in Europe' / Daily Mail 20 Oct 2000
'Britain is the least 'family-friendly' coutnry in Europe, according to a survey. Parents receive less maternity leave and child care provision and face a general intolerance of youngsters on public transport, in restaurants and shops. The National Family and Parenting Institute compared Britain to ten other European countries.'
Society: UK prison population rate second highest in EU / Home Office Research Findings No.116
'Among EU countries the UK's rate of 125 [prisoners] per 100,000 of the national population...is the second highest, after Portugal' (report (pdf)) Tuesday, April 17, 2001
Health: 'Britain 'trails Europe' in treatment of heart disease' / Daily Telegraph 28 Aug 2000
'Britain is lagging behind other European countries in the treatment of heart disease, according to a study published yesterday [by a team from Edinburgh University led by Prof. Keith Fox]. Seriously ill heart patients are far less likely to get potentially life-saving treatments and they spend less time in intensive care than their European counterparts.'
Employment: 'Britain has the lowest 'holiday quotient'' / Guardian 28 August 2000
'As well as working longer each week than other Europeans, the British are now slipping further down the holiday entitlement league table' (more)
Transport: 'Cars 'up to 76% more expensive in UK than Europe' / Independent 13 July 2000
'The gap between the price of new cars in Britain and the rest of Europe has widened dramatically in the past six months with some models up to 76 per cent more expensive in the UK than on the Continent, a report out today will show. The survey by the European Commission ... comes despite attempts by the Government to drive down the price of new cars in the UK following a Competition Commission report that calculated they were on average 10-12 per cent too expensive.'
Transport: 'UK-based ferries have worst safety standards in Europe, study finds' / Independent 25 May 2000
'Ferry passengers were warned yesterday that safety measures on some vessels operating out of Britain were among the worst in Europe. An investigation by independent marine experts [sponsored by motoring organisations including the Automobile Association] of 26 European ferries found that three of the four "worst performers" sail regularly from British ports...' (find)
Society: 'Long hours and lack of help make Britain 'worst place in Europe to bring up children' / Independent 23 May 2000
'Britain is the worst place in Europe to bring up children, according to a leading child psychologist who pleaded yesterday for a better deal for British parents at a conference on protecting babies. Steve Biddulph, one of the world's experts on parenting, addressed the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children conference on protecting babies. He said government policies were not giving parents enough support...' (find)
Society: 'UK is now 'worst place in Europe to be growing up' / Independent 17 March 2000
'Children in Britain are more likely to be born into poverty than anywhere else in the European Union, according to a study published yesterday. The report, by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), shows that nearly one-third of all children in the United Kingdom are living below the breadline compared with 13 per cent in Germany, 12 per cent in France and 24 per cent in Italy. The EU average is 20 per cent' (find)
Health: 'Britain has highest heart disease rate in Europe' / Independent 14 Feb 2000
'Britain has the highest rate of heart disease in Europe and the worst provision of surgery and treatment, according to a study [by the British Heart Foundation] published today. The first European study comparing heart risk factors exposes Britain's poor record compared with its continental neighbours. Although deaths from heart disease are falling across Europe, Britain's rate is three times higher than France's and twice as high as in Italy. Of the 15 EU countries, only Ireland and Finland do worse...(find)
Employment: 'British child care costs are highest in Europe' / Daily Telegraph 10 Feb 2000
'British parents pay the highest child care costs in Europe, a new report [by the Family Policy Studies Centre] reveals. Monday, April 16, 2001
Employment: 'More than one employee in five in the United Kingdom is on low wages' / Official EU report 3 Aug 2000
'Between the 13 EU countries studied, the proportion of low-wage employees varies considerably – differing by a factor of more than 3 between the highest and lowest rates. In Portugal and Denmark, at 6% and 7% respectively, it is appreciably lower than the EU average of 15%. In the United Kingdom (21%), on the other hand, it is much higher than the Community average.' (more)
Transport: 'British motorists, the poor relations of Europe' / Birmingham Post 14 Feb 2000
'Britons spend more time commuting, more money on petrol and suffer more car theft than any other consumers in Europe [according] to a survey published by the Automobile Association in its latest magazine.'
Society: Within Western Europe, the UK now stands out as having the highest rate of teenage births
Cabinet Office briefing document 1999
Society: 'British teenagers have worst sexual health in Europe' / Guardian 14 May 1999
' British teenagers have the worst record for sexual disease, pregnancy and abortions in Europe, says a paper published today which asks whether a 'fundamental malaise' in our culture is responsible. The plight of British teenagers is laid bare in an editorial in the British Medical Journal...(more)
Society: 'British teenagers lead drug league' / Daily Mail 23 November 1999
'Four out of ten British 15 and 16-year-olds have smoked cannabis - more than any other Eu country. The EU's drugs monitoring agency [also] found the UK to have the worst record in Europe on heroin and glue-sniffing among school teenagers.'
Health: 'Europe makes British spending look poorly' / Sunday Times 11 July 1999
'Spending on healthcare in Britain...is the lowest in Europe' |
OBSERVATORY
'This is the greatest nation on earth' 'I think the anti-social behaviour, the vandalism, the graffiti, the lack of respect for people, I think that's all part of a society that has lost its way' 'The invisibility of the conventional family is something that distinguishes Britain .. in Continental Europe you can always see family groups out enjoying their free time together'
'What's crumbling is the civility that is so essential to wellbeing, to trust and to the conviviality of our lives. It's a pathology of individual entitlement..the sheer gratuitousness of aggression over minor driving misdemeanours or the fuck-you indifference of those whose behaviour is affecting others.' 'Somewhere, some time, the soul of the United Kingdom lost its pride in itself. The complicated mix of public and private, foreign and domestic ownership of so many things that we still consider public services, the jumble of foreign workers, temporary contracts and corner-cutting in the drive for productivity..have so muddled the lines of responsibility and removed the traditional British pride and courtesy that no one seems to care who should clean a loo at Gatwick any more.'
'It is no coincidence that the UK has the least-regulated economy in Europe and is the least productive in the industrialised world' 'Before it is too late, someone should ask why Britons, uniquely in the world, want to be controlled by foreign corporations.'
'GrossBritannien'
'The Brits' pride in their public standards, compared with those of other countries, lies in ruins.' 'The truth is that when it comes to developing our cities, design tends to take second place to the more prosaic imperatives of the market. The planning committee simply wants to know that the scheme is trouble-free. The outcome may be mediocre, but it is safe and reliable mediocrity rather than dangerous originality.'
'The experience of walking round French, German or Scandinavian towns and cities is sobering for any Briton. How do they get it right and we get it so wrong? As far as town planning is concerned Britain is still in the Dark Ages.'
'High St Anywhere - Why are all our towns the same?'
Crap UK towns A-Z
'The majority of Northern town centres have now become desperate retail wastelands, pock-marked with pound shops and closing-down sales, because massive, dismal hinterlands of drive-in electrical stores, cinemas and burger-eating malls are attracting the money and turning the North into a soulless car culture' 'The steady fall in library usage in Britain is one of many examples of the growing mental sloth of the population' 'England is a nation of "overweight, alcopop-swilling, sex-and-celebrity obsessed television addicts", according to the latest edition of the Rough Guide to England which also warns potential visitors that the hearts of many towns "consist of identikit retail zones".
'These results are concerning and we can only conclude that Britain certainly is dumbing down,' says Whitaker's Almanack editor as survey reveals 1-in-10 cannot name a single world leader, including their own.'
'The common ground of C21st Britain: a children's book about a little wizard, 24-hour reality TV and novelty ring tones..the most trivial, vacuous, intellectually lightweight generation in history.'
'Shoddy service and high prices are putting foreign visitors off the UK, threatening 1000s of jobs, the Government's tourism boss says'
'Do we expect parents with young families to migrate to Europe until their children are fit to pass muster in British hotels? We found it much easier to compile a list of hotels that welcome dogs than those that positively welcome children.'
'It's a wonder to me that tourists come back, actually'
'The ubiquity of market values came as quite a shock to me after 3 years away. We may live in the age of freedom, but it should more properly be described as the age of selfishness. The combination of marketisation and unrestrained individualism is profoundly corrosive' 'We've become a paranoid and trustless society' 'Study shows "Good Samaritans" face extinction as stranded motorists admit they're 'too scared' to accept help from strangers. 83% of female drivers don't want help even when stranded. "The harsh reality is that British motorists today are not only reluctant to stop and offer assistance themselves, but are also unwilling to accept help from others." 'On the continent there's not such a cookbook culture - because they know how to cook'.
'After a year of eating out across Britain, Monty Don finds that our food is mostly depressingly poor. The standard of food offered in most restaurants and hotels outside London is dire and expensively dire at that.
Crap service is part of our class system. Wind up in a hundred small towns all over Britain and there is an immediate sense of sickly deja vu..the bland uniformity of so many high streets..the idea of local identity seems to be rapidly becoming historical.'
'Other Europeans drink in a civilised way because drunkenness is not socially acceptable; in Britain it is a way of life.'
'There's a bit of a habit in Britain that we don't engage early enough in Europe with directives. Then when we get a
directive, we tend to hold off implementing it until the absolute last moment. We do it at breakneck speed, don't get regulations fit for the purpose, and it's a mess.'
'I was shocked at the state of the [hospital] equipment, and the waste. I can't believe the grubbiness and the acceptance of it. All the girls I've met from NZ and Australia worry about this.'
"You are a modern country, one of the leading countries in the world, and you place your citizens in a situation where they don't receive the healthcare they need. In the 21st century, this is intolerable."
'The flap over A-levels illustrates with painful clarity Britain's pathological inability to learn from other countries.'
"I realise one thing here that is really bad - the young generation doesn't respect the old people."
Dr. Mohammad Wali, Afghan asylum seeker Independent 2/10/01
'[Our] family has been in Britain for five months now, and still we cannot get used to the general lack of discipline among children here. Our daughter..was utterly shocked at the rudeness and behaviour of her schoolmates.'
'With extraordinary acquiesence, the British have accepted the longest working hours, the least job security and the biggest pay differentials in Europe'
'British players should ask themselves, why is it that you never see foreign players getting drunk, abusing their bodies and hogging the headlines for misbehaviour.'
'In France, where chefs have a higher standing, they are more likely to stay put as part of a community. What happens to good newcomers to the restaurant scene in England; almost immediately, people ask them whether they are going to expand, or start a chain.' 'Every English market town seems much the same these days. Dinky-brickwork shopping centres [and] the near-identical trail of Starbucks and Waterstone's, M&S and Dixons, overwhelming any purely local relics.'
'We have become a nation of slobs. It's part of our national pride to dress like we just don't care. We like comfort, we crave it. We like our fabrics to be soft and stretchy.' |
