Cameron regime to ask Britons how happy they are

By IANS
Tuesday, November 16, 2010

LONDON - British government officials would visit the public four times a year in a bid to measure the country’s “happiness”, after Prime Minister David Cameron called for defining success not by money but by “general well-being”.

Britain’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) will devise questionnaires so they can quantify how happy or sad the country is, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

The questions include “Did you get on with your neighbours?”, “How much purpose does your life have?”, “Are you satisfied with your work?”, “Do you find your job interesting?” and “Do you spend enough time with your family?”.

Cameron had earlier said there was “more to life than money”.

MPs, however, questioned the move, terming it as “voodoo sociology”.

Tory MP Peter Bone said the exercise was a waste of public money. “At a time when the Eurozone is about to collapse… it seems strange we’ll be spending money on gauging people’s happiness.”

Godfrey Bloom, member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), said: “I can guarantee that the only results will be greater spending, greater bossing around and a decrease in happiness across the board.”

“Let us live our lives in peace without your interference.”

Filed under: Economy

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