Cardboard smile: Tony Blair

Britons have become richer over the last half-century but are decidedly less happy, according to the results of a new survey published today.

In 1957, in a poll conducted by Gallup, 52 per cent of people said they were “very happy” and 42 per cent “fairly happy”.

In the recent survey, 36 per cent said they were “very happy” and 56 per cent “fairly happy”. Another 5 per cent said they were “fairly unhappy” and 3 per cent “very unhappy”.

The polls were carried out to coincide with the start today of a six-part BBC television series, The Happiness Formula.

People’s opinions on how happy they are could be said to be a subjective matter but the British results are in line with those found in the US, where happiness levels are also said to be on the decline. When people were asked whether the government’s prime objective should be the “greatest happiness” or the “greatest wealth”, a remarkable 81 per cent desired the former. Only 13 per cent wanted greatest wealth.

Researchers have found that when the average income in a European state reaches about ?10,000 a year ? in India, this would approximate to about Rs 5,000 a month in purchasing power ? extra money does not make a country any happier.

As to what makes people happy, there are no surprises. For nearly half of those interviewed (48 per cent), relationships are the most important factor in finding happiness, with good health (24 per cent) coming second. Traditionalists will be comforted to learn that marriage tends to lead to greater happiness, with nearly half of married couples but only a quarter of single persons saying they felt “very happy”.

However, in modern Britain, the number of young people ? especially Asian women pursuing careers ? who choose to remain single keeps going up year on year.

Close friendships also bring happiness, scientists say. Yet, it seems, most people have a few really close friends. Six out of 10 people spoke to five friends or fewer each week, two out of 10 spoke to only one or two, and one person in 25 talked to no friends at all. Spending even more time in the office does not seem that good an idea. Out of the 1,001 people interviewed for the poll, only 77 said they found fulfilment at work.The idea that politics should be about creating “the greatest happiness of the greatest number” goes back to the end of the 18th century and the philosopher Jeremy Bentham. In 1999, Tony Blair wrote about achieving “A better quality of life”: “We should be thinking not just what is good for putting money in people’s pockets but what is good for putting joy in people’s hearts.”

Leading British psychiatrist Raj Persaud, a frequent visitor to India, told The Telegraph: “People in India are as happy if not happier than people in Britain.”