The United Kingdom has been singled out as the worst place to live in Europe in a recently-published uSwitch Quality of Life Index, raising concerns that further austerity cuts could mean August’s riots were only a taste of things to come.An opinion poll which accompanied the index found that only five per cent of respondents were still happy to live in a country that even Prime Minister David Cameron admitted had a “broken society.” In fact, the deteriorating situation in the country has led some 46 per cent of those questioned to consider emigrating.
Perhaps more surprisingly, life in Italy and Ireland measured better in comparison despite their economic woes, while France topped the list.
The index, which weighs 16 different indicators ranging from the cost of essential goods and services to government spending on education and healthcare, compares and contrasts the overall quality of life in 10 developed European countries.
Despite higher-than-average wages in the UK, uSwitch concluded that the poor work-life balance, late retirement age and rising energy and petrol prices contributed to the dismal showing.
While the UK had been hovering on the lower rungs of the index for several years, this is the first time it has hit bottom. (Source)