This year’s opinion polls weren’t just a guide to how we like to vote – they tell us what kind of people we are.
We trust him... but perhaps we shouldn’t trust her
Are we a nation of believers?
For a supposedly secular country, an unexpectedly large number of us profess a religious allegiance. 46% identify themselves as Christians, and a further 8% as belonging to another religion. Only 41% of the Christians say they definitely believe in a Creator, however. More of us believe in the existence of aliens (30%) than we do in Hell – 27% (YouGov/Independent). Unbelief is more widespread among younger people. 56% of the under-40s say they have no religion. Even so, 16.5% of those people still believe there is “definitely” or “probably” a higher power (YouGov/Sunday Times).
How conservative (small “c”) are we?
Hard to say. 77% of us see ourselves as occupying the political centre, though 43% place Theresa May there, too: only 28% consider her right-wing (Opinium/Observer). But we remain stubbornly monarchist – 75% feel the monarch has an important role to play in Britain’s future, and only 17% want us to become a republic (down from 22% in 2005) (Ipsos Mori/Times). We also tend to have a warm view of our past: 44% think that Britain should be proud of its colonial history, and 43% that the British Empire was a force for good. Only 19% think it was a bad thing. And a fair few of us (47%) favour reintroducing National Service. On the other hand, more of us have a favourable view of socialism (36%) than we do of capitalism (33%): that puts us to the right of the Germans (45% pro-socialism, 26% pro-capitalism), but well to the left of the Americans (29% versus 52%) (YouGov/Independent).
Are we liberal in our social attitudes?
It varies with age and with the issue. 47% of us support the legalisation of cannabis, with only 39% against; but those most in favour (55%) are the 35 to 44-year-olds; less enthusiastic (51%) are the 18 to 24-year-olds; and even less so (37%) the over-65s (ORB/Independent). Most of us (50%) do not think that torturing enemy combatants in order to extract information is acceptable – though 26% of us do, as do 46% of Americans (ICRC/Guardian). But a majority of us, 57%, are in favour of banning the burka, and only 25% think it a bad idea (YouGov/Times). As a nation we seem to be growing less liberal-minded. Though fully 83% of millennials (those born between 1980 and 2000) view themselves as “quite” or “very liberal” on issues such as same-sex marriage and transgender rights, 59% of Generation Z-ers (14 and 15-year-olds) declare themselves “broadly conservative” on such matters (The Gild/Times).
Do we seem a contented people?
Not especially. 54% of people in England say that they’re struggling or falling behind with the mortgage, and 16% of them say that they’re losing sleep over it (YouGov for Shelter/Independent). Not that we get a lot of sleep, in any case: 37% of us say we don’t get nearly enough, a higher proportion than in any other of 12 nations surveyed (Aviva/Times). British men often feel lonely: 32% have gone to a nightclub on their own (YouGov/Sun). And only 61% of British girls and women aged between seven and 21 are happy with the way they look (Guides Association/Daily Mail).
What do we really like?
Meat. The British are a nation of carnivores. Only 24% would give up eating it if their long-term partner asked them to. By contrast, 45% would stop drinking alcohol for their partner, and 49% would move abroad for them (YouGov). Young British people are also mad about takeaways. On average, 18 to 34-year-olds order ten takeaways a month; and 9% eat a takeaway or at a fast food restaurant at least once every day. The over-55s, by contrast, only have two takeways a month (Aviva/Daily Mail). Above all, we’re obsessed with our phones and the internet. On average, we spend 39% of our waking hours online. 30% of us check for messages on our mobile at least every half an hour; 25% of us suffer separation anxiety if we spend more than an hour away from it (Innocent/Daily Mail). 59% of us (and 79% of our teenagers) admit to being addicted to our online gadgets (Ofcom/Daily Telegraph).
Are we fundamentally trustworthy?
Depends who you mean by “we”. 69% of people trust their hairdresser to tell the truth – more than those who trust the police (68%) or the clergy (67%). And encouragingly, 68% of us expect “the ordinary person” in the street to be honest, too. But needless to say, few of us (21%) feel politicians are trustworthy (Ipsos Mori/Times). We probably shouldn’t trust British air stewards either. 89% admit to having broken airline rules: 20% have shortchanged passengers; 21% have had sex with a colleague during the flight; 14% have had sex with a passenger (JetCost.co.uk/Daily Telegraph). British parents have honesty issues, too. 46% of those who have children aged four to 16 admit to having raided their child’s piggy bank (Nationwide/Guardian).
Statistics of the year
London drivers spent an average of 101 hours (or 12 working days) stuck in traffic in 2015, up 40% from 72 hours in 2012.
The Sunday Times
One in four British athletes competing at the Rio Olympics was educated at private school, compared with 7% of the general population.
The Times
By the time the average child is five, its parents have posted 1,500 images of him or her on social media.
The Daily Telegraph
HS2 has cost more than £2bn of public money so far – before the legislation to build it has even been passed by Parliament.
The Sunday Times
The average Briton drinks 11.6 litres of alcohol a year – 65% more than in the 1960s.
Daily Mail
The teenage pregnancy rate in England and Wales has fallen by 45% since 2007 (the year social media took off).
The Daily Telegraph
At least 1,782 public lavatories have closed in the past decade. There are now none in all of Newcastle, and only one in Manchester.
Daily Mail/BBC
Britons collectively spent £900m charging smartphones and tablets in 2015 – using enough energy to power Birmingham and Bradford for a year.
The Times
Private school fees have almost doubled in the past 13 years, from an average of £7,308 per year to £13,341.
Daily Mail
British fathers do 24 minutes of childcare, on average, for every hour done by mothers – the lowest ratio in any developed country.
The Sunday Times
