Pointers for Burnham on what Britain really wants

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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

The writer is chief executive of Ipsos UK and Ireland

As Britain turns the page on another prime minister, many have asked: is the country ungovernable? Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Ipsos polling we conducted last month suggested that on this point, like so much else, the public is almost evenly divided, with half saying we are (50 per cent) and four in 10 saying we aren’t (42 per cent).

I count myself firmly as one of those keeping the faith. Because if you look beneath the fatigue and the frustration, the public has not given up. Rather, this country is ready to embrace change across nearly all policy areas — people just aren’t quite sure where to look for it, with around three in five Britons saying they aren’t confident that any of the leading political parties have a good plan for change. However, this open attitude of the electorate could provide an opportunity for new prime minister Andy Burnham.

As one of Britain’s longest-running pollsters, we are able to track the generational shifts in the national outlook over the past 40 years. The attitudes are, in many ways, more aspirational than ever, but people are trapped in unprecedented economic pessimism.

Despite the malaise that has settled over the country in the past 10 years, and the record-low economic optimism, there are several green shoots of hope that Burnham can nurture. We’ll start with what might be the most surprising: despite the doom and gloom, two-thirds (67 per cent) of British adults say they are happy or very happy with life at present. This carries over at work, with a similar majority (69 per cent) saying they are satisfied with their current job. And despite the relative difficulty of getting a GP appointment compared with the 1980s, we’re making healthier choices all on our own: exercising more, drinking and smoking less.

At the collective level, top British values are refreshingly practical: a focus on the NHS, safety, our countryside and crucially on family, friends and community. And the share of those who describe Britain as “tolerant” has increased by 36 per cent since 1988. The British public has neither given up on the future nor on each other.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, UK politicians have majored on “fiscal responsibility”. With a background in economics, I can’t in good conscience tell you financial prudence is unimportant. But a balanced spreadsheet isn’t going to convince the public their lives are better. For our incoming government to keep the public on side, change must be something they can see — and feel will help fulfil their frustrated aspirations.

Perhaps most notably, the share of Britons who now aspire to own their home has risen to 67 per cent, up from 37 per cent in 1991. Improving housing would be perhaps the most obvious visual cue to signal progress, but it’s far from the only one: overflowing casualty units and unending infrastructure challenges have become other signals that the government isn’t fulfilling its end of the social contract.

Another area that has grown demonstrably since 1991 is the desire for human connection, with the share of Britons aspiring to fall in love reaching 57 per cent (up 26 percentage points).

Rather than a lack of desire for familial connection, the “relationship recession” seen here and throughout the world may be a joint artefact of an isolation that some simply don’t know how to overcome, in addition to cost of living concerns that make some think twice before adding children to the mix. Polling we did last year found that half (49 per cent) of British adult women aged 18-50 have delayed or decided against having a child in the future, with cost being the main concern.

Legislation can’t manufacture romance or guarantee a family, but policy profoundly shapes the environments where these connections happen.

By thinking about how to relieve relentless cost of living pressures, reforming inflexible childcare frameworks and protecting public spaces, the state could provide a vital safety net to give people back the time, energy and emotional bandwidth to foster strong community cohesion. These changes are not radical but practical everyday areas of focus “closer to home”.

In a political landscape heavy with grim economic forecasts and uninspiring managerialism, the public is starving for a narrative that feels expansive rather than restrictive. There are green shoots of hope, yes, but they are sprouting in a national environment that is heavy, fearful and pessimistic.

For Burnham to succeed, he will have to give all these facts equal weight as he charts his first 100 days and beyond. Pessimism may be louder, but it is no match for the power of someone making tangible the idea that a better life is possible.