UK living standards stagnated between 2023-2024

Carnegie UK says a new measure of social progress is needed to aid public policy decision-making and complement GDP, with data relating to people’s overall wellbeing at the heart

Living standards for the average UK citizen stalled between 2023 and 2024, according to the Carnegie Life in the UK Index, which measured the wellbeing of over 6,700 people across social, environmental, economic, and democratic aspects of life.

The survey, conducted with Ipsos, gave a collective score of 61 out of a 100, compared to 62 in 2023. Sarah Davidson, Chief Executive of Carnegie UK said the index “confirms what many people feel: life in the UK did not improve for the average citizen over the last year.”

Emily Gray, Managing Director of Ipsos in Scotland said the Index “provides robust evidence” to track how people’s wellbeing is changing over time: “Unfortunately, these latest results show that wellbeing has been stagnant over the past year across the board – which underlines the scale of the challenge currently facing the UK government,” she added.

Matthew Morgan, Director of the Quality of Life Foundation said: “These findings confirm our own work over the past five years that has seen growing health inequalities and a feeling that people are unable to influence decisions affecting the places where they live. Wellbeing is rooted in where people live: where they call home; the neighbourhoods where they socialise, work or shop; and the sense of belonging that comes from being part of a community.”

The survey suggests disabled people, those on lower incomes, living in social outcomes, or in the most deprived areas had particularly low levels of wellbeing. Davidson said this “shows alarmingly wide differences in the living standards of different groups in UK society. With almost no movement in wellbeing scores between 2023 and 2024, it looks likely that these inequalities are entrenched.”

Carnegie UK said the recent budget was a chance to prioritise policies devised to boost the wellbeing of those that have least. The budget included a 6.7% increase in the minimum wage, a Carers Allowance uplift and additional money for education and the NHS.

There was also extra grant funding for Local Authorities and investment in housebuilding, both designed to improve social and economic wellbeing. But it did little to tackle environmental concerns with announcements in carbon capture technology, a continued freezing of Fuel Duty and only minor tweaks to Air Passenger Duty.

“Growth figures alone won’t tell decision-makers how many families don’t have enough to eat or what people feel about their local neighbourhood.”

Carnegie UK argues that the UK needs a new measure of social progress to aid public policy decision-making and complement Gross Domestic Product. Davidson said: “Growth figures alone won’t tell decision-makers how many families don’t have enough to eat or what people feel about their local neighbourhood. That’s why all spheres of government need to put statistics that measure people’s overall wellbeing at the centre of their decision-making.”

Morgan said: “We need a coordinated approach from government that prioritises not just economic growth but the purpose of that growth, which is also the means to deliver it – healthier, happier, more equitable communities in which everyone can play a more active role.”

Davidson added that the Index “sets a benchmark for the new Labour government. Its success should be measured by how much the lives of the people of this country improve over the parliamentary term.”