With Brexit looming and British society facing deep social divides, a new poll suggests there are some things which still unite almost everyone in the UK, such as feelings of fear, dissatisfaction and distrust.
Sky Data’s yearly ‘State of the Nation’ poll, published Tuesday, highlights some troubling trends in British society’s self-perception. Those who conducted the poll hoped to “shed light on the mood of the nation” ahead of the UK’s exit from the European Union, and what they found out was anything but encouraging.
When participants were asked whether they feel their political leaders care about people “like them,” a whopping 87 percent of respondents marked either not very much, or not at all. Interestingly, people across all age groups, political allegiances and regions responded with fairly consistent cynicism regarding their politicians’ motivations for public service.
Respondents were not much more optimistic when asked if they felt they could “make a difference” in how the government operates, with roughly 79 percent answering in the negative. The UK’s youth were particularly jaded on the issue with nearly 44 percent of people between 18-24 answering “not at all,” the highest of any age category.
Also on rt.com Anti-Brexit activists troll May with full-sized billboard in Brussels (PHOTOS)Things didn’t look much better with another scoring system. Asked to mark their trust in the government between zero and ten with zero being the lowest, 22 percent stated that they had no trust in the government whatsoever. Nearly twice as many people chose zero compared to any other option.
Perhaps even more troubling, around half said that they believed that the UK public is racist, while 62 percent described it as Islamophobic. An even higher number saw the nation as being deeply divided in general. Not particularly promising numbers for a nation on the verge of setting off on its own.
As Prime Minister Theresa May floats yet another delay in the country’s leave date, public anxiety and anger are continuing to mount. May has found herself facing criticism from all sides as attempts to negotiate the deeply divisive deal are currently set to conclude on March 13.
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