‘Gloomy’ Poll Reveals Most Brits Think We're ‘Moving In The Wrong Direction’ | IPSOS

[00:00:00]Polling out this morning says most of us believe this country is quote going in the wrong direction and it's time for change. The post Ipsos has a new state of the nation report which suggests we may also be giving up on the idea of social mobility. The senior director of UK politics at Ipsos, Gideon Skinner, joins now. Gideon, morning to you.

[00:00:16]>> Good morning.

[00:00:16]>> As polls go, this is on the gloomy side, isn't it?

[00:00:21]>> Uh I'm afraid it is, yes.

[00:00:23]Um it's not all gloomy. There is some There is some hope still out there. Most people still say that they're happy with their lives and so on. Um we definitely uh we we've tracked our trends going over the last 40 years to see how much society has changed. We're much more tolerant, for example, than we once were. But one of the clear findings is just how much more uh gloomy, how much more pessimistic we are, particularly about uh the state of the country and the direction it's moving in. As you said, eight in 10 uh now think that we're in the wrong direction. And if we look at views towards um the system of government and how much improvement it needs, back in 1973, 49% of people said that it needed a lot of improvement. In 1991, um 63% said it needed a lot of improvement. But now in 2026, 82% say it needs a lot of improvement. And there is just that sense that the country isn't working anymore. And also people are feeling a bit more overwhelmed by the pace of life. Back in 1989, 16% said that they were overwhelmed by the pace of life.

[00:01:26]Now that's gone up to 37%.

[00:01:28]>> I'm surprised this is low as 37%.

[00:01:30]>> I mean, there's an interesting question here. Are people pessimistic while they write?

[00:01:33]Is the world I mean, one thing we try and cuz it's very easy to look back at the '80s or '70s as the new Prime Minister does with with rose-tinted spectacles. But equally, there are challenges now that didn't exist then.

[00:01:44]But equally, there are challenges then that don't exist now. It's hard to work out what's realism and what's pessimism.

[00:01:51]>> Yeah, I absolutely. And um certainly we can see the impact of kind of the difficult uh years that we've had. You know, this is not a sudden new change.

[00:02:00]This is This pessimism hasn't come out of nowhere. This We know that Britons have been concerned about the economy, about the cost of living, um about the state of public services, about other issues such as immigration, and so on, for a long time. And I think that's what what helps explain this.

[00:02:15]What's also worrying is, as you say, talking about that sense of pessimism, it's not just that we are more frustrated, it's just that we think we're more pessimistic, as well. So, back in uh 1988, we were as equally likely to describe the British character as pessimistic as optimistic. Um but now we're more likely to think of ourselves as pessimistic and less likely to think of ourselves as optimistic. So, there's a concern that that pessimism is becoming a bit embedded in our sense of ourselves, our sense of our national identity, too.

[00:02:45]>> I'm the wrong person to be having this conversation with in lots of respects, Gideon, so I I can see that I I I would I'm embrace that myself. There's a cynicism about politics which feeds into this, as well. Again, it's it's all pointing in the same direction, which is that things are bad, and we don't really trust the people we elect to make them better.

[00:03:02]>> Yes, I mean, we have to be careful not to fall into the trap, as you said, of thinking that everything was always perfect in the past, a sort of sense of rosy retrospection, you know, that's another trap that we have to avoid. And attitudes to politicians have never been particularly positive, but it does feel like they've fallen even further. So, back in 1989, um 35% of people said that in general, politicians are good people, but that has again, that's fallen even further. Now, it's just one in five, 20%, who have kind of general faith in politics. So, we're definitely seeing a bit of a loss of trust. We're again seeing that uh people maybe aren't as likely to take some of those promises on trust anymore. They want to see kind of real delivery, um and that's going to be one of the challenges facing uh the new Prime Minister.

[00:03:47]>> I'm really interested in social mobility, as well, because if you You at the cabinet uh on the front of the times I was moaning about that, typically pessimistic. But, if you look at say the cabinet today in 2026, compare it to the cabinet in 1989, you'll definitely see more women, you'll definitely see more people of color. So, there's a you made the point that we were a more tolerant nation than we were in 1989. So, there's clearly aspects of life where opportunity is a bit extended away from the from the straightforward franchise that used to exist.

[00:04:17]And yet, there's a sensation that in it comes to social mobility, people don't think we can prosper whatever our background.

[00:04:25]>> Yes, and I think this this plays into the idea of people's expectations changing. And clearly in lots of objective facts, um you know, we'll be better off than we were in the '80s, but people's perceptions are different. People's expectations change and and you have to constantly improve to meet those changing expectations. So, as you say, uh perceptions of social mobility that the best people have in life get to the top regardless of the start they've had, and have halved uh since 1989 from 52% to 26%. And we sort of see that elsewhere. So, uh for example, perceptions of people's standard of living, you know, we know that uh um we know that uh GDP per head we we know will be higher than it was in the '80s, but you know, then 72% were what uh satisfied with their standard of living, and now it's 52%. So, I think it's a question of people's aspirations and expectations are broadening perhaps, but what they're doing is they're feeling frustrated that the state in particular, but also sort of the the state of the world is in general is not delivering on those wider uh aspirations that >> Well, we were we were probably content with less in the '80s. Well, I mean, I'm I'm a child child of the '80s. And and you didn't know the rest of the world very well because there was a limit to the amount you could travel. There was no internet. There were four channels on the television. So, where you came from you was pretty much what you saw predominantly. Now, of course, if you were if you were a 20-year-old, you can see what everyone is doing, how everyone is lying about what they're doing on social media, pretending to be living the greatest life in the world. So, I wonder that, you know, in terms of the quality of the food you eat now, you know, the quality of uh of of you know, the gear that you can get, you know, the car you drive is all probably better, but we see everyone else doing better than us in a way that we wouldn't have seen in the 1980s.

[00:06:13]>> Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you know, some of that can be a positive. You know, we are more we are more outlooking in our nature. Um more of us are traveling, as you say. Our diet has changed. Back in the '80s, the top two uh or well, in the early '90s, when we actually asked the question in '91, uh the top two meals for Britons were um Sunday roast and fish and chips. Um and now the top two meals for Britons are uh that they they've eaten in the last month are pasta and pizza. So, we can sort of see all those changes.

[00:06:39]Technology, obviously, is having an impact, as well. Uh you know, that's much more embedded in our lives. But, uh these opportunities are bringing new stresses, as well. So, on things like housing, kind of aspirations to own a home uh are higher than they were. More people share that, but we also know that more people are feeling the pressure and the difficulties of owning a home, too.

[00:07:01]>> It's such an interesting poll. It makes you think about all sorts of things uh and it's very relevant to the arrival of Andy Burnham, it strikes me. Good to have spoken to you.

[00:07:09]>> Thanks very much.

[00:07:10]>> That's Gideon Skinner, the director of UK politics at Ipsos. And in many ways, Gideon, a lot of things that you've said about what Andy Burnham's tried to inject in his arrival is this notion of hope.

[00:07:19]>> Mhm.

[00:07:20]>> And that confirmation we just heard from Gideon there is really the context of this, that he's he's coming into a country that feels beaten down, that feels that solutions don't work, that feels that actually you can't prosper.

[00:07:32]Now, whether it's true or not doesn't really matter. It's how if it's it's if it's how people feel, that is a reality that he's kind of got to confront.

[00:07:38]>> I think that to an extent, but I also think and you can tell me if I'm wrong here, isn't it also our responsibility to kick ourselves out of that?

[00:07:46]>> Maybe that's right.

[00:07:47]>> But you cannot just go round constantly saying everything is rubbish and expecting somebody else to sort it out for you. It's also your responsibility to sort it out. And if you think you're not happy cuz you see too many other people on social media with too much money, then come off social media. If your life is too hectic, then try and make it less hectic.

[00:08:06]>> that's so right and yet I also think that the way the country works, the way kids are taught in schools now, that they're taught that they are victims, that they are passive, that they are subject to forces >> I don't have children so it's really hard for me cuz I don't know I I might be speaking from a totally idealistic perspective and you do so you can tell me if I'm wrong, but you wouldn't teach your child if your child came home in a bad mood, you wouldn't indulge that bad mood. You would probably say go and have a bit of time and then come back to me and let's shake it off. Why don't we do something? Let's go out for a walk. Why don't we make some food? What do you want to eat?

[00:08:41]>> that's right, but I think that the way that the the society is structured is if you've got if you're sad, the world has made you sad and you need support, not that you need to kick yourself out of the So I think we are ending up with generations of people, I really believe this, who do not fundamentally believe that it is their responsibility to bring themselves up from their bootstraps >> who it was?

[00:09:01]It was Lindsey Graham, wasn't it, who died recently? And there was an amazing quote from him and I'm going to butcher it, but he basically said when he first came into government, when he first became a public figure, an elected politician, he kept going into rooms and expecting to find the group of people who were in charge and he would walk into a room and he would look around and be like, okay, who are the people in charge here? I can't see them, they must not be in this room. Went into the next room, went into a different committee, went into a different room. Eventually got to the most the sort of most important room in the entire place and still couldn't really identify who was the group of people in charge until he realized that it was him. And actually it is all of us. It is you. There is no group of people in charge. There is no person who's going to come and tell you how to make it better. You've got to figure that out.

[00:09:45]>> And nobody knows anything. That's the Imposter Syndrome is the most misleading thing in the world because everyone is an imposter. No one is good at their job. And the one lesson that I've had from the last 20 years, nobody is good at their job. So, it might as well be you.

[00:09:57]>> Thanks for that.

[00:09:58]>> But nobody is. Nobody in power is.

[00:10:00]You're not in power.

[00:10:01]>> We are in power in some senses. I agree with you. I'm joking. I'm winding you up. I do agree.

[00:10:05]>> But you know what I mean?

[00:10:06]Because so but it's just interesting.

[00:10:07]So, the question there is, has there been a shift in mentality since the '80s where people felt I can get up and get on. Now, all of the pressure, I think every all the pressure, downward pressure is people saying you're probably a victim. It probably won't work. Don't worry about it. It's not your responsibility. Don't worry about it.

[00:10:26]>> It is It's a natural symptom of a society where the inclination is there's always going to be something that's going to make it easier. So, it you people don't want to do the washing up because you can have a dishwasher. I don't really want to make a full lasagna because I can buy one. It's a symptom of society. I understand that. But there were you also have to have a personal sense of duty. And sometimes you do just have to take the bins out or cook a lasagna or wash up. And sometimes you do have to deal with stuff that's that's frictional and it's difficult.

[00:10:53]>> so Chris makes a point. It's It's called resilience. And maybe this is maybe you know, but 4/5 of the Brits feel the country's going in the wrong direction and only a quarter think that they can get on wherever their background. Now, either that's true because there's systemic factors stopping them or there's just this vibe that we've created and technology has created that we're no longer resilient as we used to be. It might be both. Anyway, are you better Are we better off than in 1989?

[00:11:19]Is it an interesting question. Bearing in mind what Burnham says about the '80s, bearing in mind he's coming in promising hope. It all kind of fits together this a little bit, doesn't it?

[00:11:26]Don't you agree?