Britain Today - Is Kindness In Decline?

A Reader's Digest/MORI poll reveals that around two thirds of people think Britain is a less caring place than ten years ago but the indications are that we are not so much hard-hearted as hard-headed.

Ten years on from a similar Reader's Digest/MORI survey, 1,979 adults were interviewed, providing a fascinating snapshot of our country as we enter a new millennium.

A Less Caring Britain

• 63% of British adults think that Britain is less caring than a decade ago.
• Four in ten people believe it will get worse over the next ten years.
• People are more inclined to cite moral and spiritual reasons than ten years ago, including a decline in moral values (up 11 percentage points to 56%), the growth of materialism (also up 11 points to 43%) and the break-up of family life (up 10 points to 50%).
• 12% had gone a full day without speaking to anyone and 14% reported feeling lonely at the weekend.

But British people are less concerned about the political state of the nation - only 15% blame government polices, as opposed to 25% ten years ago, and 26% point the finger at falling standards in schools, as against 36% in 1989.

A More Canny Britain

• The number of people approached by someone begging in a public place has risen dramatically from 25% in 1989 to 59% in 1999. In London the figure was 80%; in Yorkshire and the Humber it was 70%.
• 62% of those who had been approached gave nothing to beggars, but 73% overall say they gave money to charity.
• Half the public now agree that many of those on State benefit do not genuinely need such help, an increase of 16 percentage points on 1989.
• 88% feel that people should be encouraged to stand on their own two feet.
• 63% dreamt about winning the Lottery at least once a month. Such fantasies are most prevalent in the East Midlands - 74% - and least so in London - 55%.

"Our poll paints a realistic picture of life in Britain at the end of the millennium," says Russell Twisk, Editor-in-Chief of Reader's Digest. "We selfishly dream of the Lottery and expect people to look after themselves. But there are encouraging signs for the future. More than a fifth of people questioned did voluntary work and we give generously to charity. Maybe it's simply that we are caring - but we're canny too."

Caring Society 1989 - 1999 Topline Results

• 1,979 Adults Aged 15+
• Interviewed Face-To-Face, In-Home
• Between 10-13 September 1999
• In 160 Sampling Points Throughout Great Britain
• An Asterisk (*) Indicates A Percentage Less Than 0.5% But Greater Than Zero
• Data Have Been Weighted To Reflect The National Profile
• Trends With The 1989 Caring Society Research Are Incorporated
• This Research Was Conducted Among 1,986 Adults 15+, Between 18-22 May 1989, In 146 Sampling Points

I would now like to talk about doing things for other people.

Q1 On this card is a list of things people can do to help others. Which, if any, of these have you done in the past six months? Do not include things you have done for a member of your family?

Q2 Have you done any voluntary work in the past year, or not?

Q3 How many of your neighbours have you spoken to in the last week, if any?

Q4 Thinking about how life in Britain has changed over the past ten years, do you think that people are now …

Q5 Which of these, if any, do you think are the main reasons why people have become less caring?

Q6 And for which other reasons, if any, do you think people have become less caring?

Q7 Which of these, if any, do you think are the main reasons why people have become more caring?

Q8 And for which other reasons, if any, do you think people have become more caring?

Q9 And how do you think life in Britain might change over the next ten years into the new Millennium? Do you think that people will be …

Q10 Please could you tell me to what extent you agree or disagree with the following statements.

Q11 In the last six months, have you been approached by someone begging in a public place?

Q12 Thinking about the last time you were approached by someone begging, how much, if anything, did you give to them?

Q13 Which, if any, of these situations have you experienced in the last year?

Q14 On average, how often, if at all, would you say you daydream about winning the National Lottery jackpot?

Technical details

MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,979 adults aged 15+ in 160 sampling points throughout Great Britain. Interviews were conducted face-to-face, in-home, between 10 and 13 September 1999. Data have been weighted to the national profile.