An annual “Life in the UK” survey of 7,000 people carried out by charity Carnegie UK found stagnating wellbeing and persistent economic hardship for millions since 2023.
Sarah Davidson, the charity’s chief executive, said the survey “shows that between May 2024 and May 2025, the average person in the UK saw no meaningful improvement in their life”.
She added: “Public services and systems are barely working for too many households, and our research shows that poorer people, larger families and people in social housing are still getting left behind.”
Ms Davidson acknowledged that there were “some emerging signs of hope”, with people finding it more affordable to heat their homes and “slight improvements” in mental and physical health.
But she warned that these improvements were not evenly distributed, with older, wealthier homeowners reporting much higher wellbeing than younger, poorer people in less secure housing.
She said: “Underlying all these results is the inescapable fact that significant and damaging inequalities persist across all parts of the UK.”
The Life in the UK survey asked a range of questions on economic, social, environmental and democratic topics to come up with an overall “wellbeing score” out of 100.
This year’s survey reported an overall wellbeing score of 62, one point higher than last year and the same score as 2023.
Some 79% said they could afford to heat their homes adequately, two points higher than last year and six points higher than in 2023, while 68% said their general health was good or very good, up three points from 2023.
But there was widespread discontent with local job opportunities, with just 26% saying they were satisfied with those available, down from 31% the year before.
And some 83% said there were problems with litter in their neighbourhood, an increase on previous years.
The survey also found widespread dissatisfaction with British democracy, some 72% saying they felt they could not influence decisions affecting the UK.
But the survey also found a significant increase in faith in the Westminster, with 54% saying they had medium or high trust in the UK Government, up nine points from 2024.
The survey, carried out with pollster Ipsos UK, polled 7,106 UK adults between May 8 and 14 this year.
