Tag Archives: future society

LibLink: Siobhan Benita: We can’t afford to let today’s acts of kindness become tomorrow’s memories

Lib Dem London Mayoral Candidate Siobhan Benita writes for Mental Health Awareness Week on her website.

As we went into lockdown in March, the UN released its World Happiness Report. It ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be.  As in previous years, Nordic countries dominate the top slots, scoring strongly across all six measures: GDP per capita, social support, life expectancy, autonomy, generosity and absence of corruption.

Reflecting on the success of the Nordic countries, the report concludes that there is no “secret sauce” to their happiness. Instead, there is a “general recipe” that everyone can follow:  non-corrupt, high-quality state institutions able to deliver what is promised and generous in taking care of citizens.

The Covid19 pandemic is a tragedy.  Families and communities have lost loved ones to the virus and fear of contamination, financial uncertainty and social distancing are having a serious impact on the mental health of the nation. At the same time, the pandemic also creates a unique opportunity for us Brits to consider how we can create a better “recipe” for our citizens in the future.

The togetherness and community spirit we’ve seen during the pandemic must become permanent, she argues:

Posted in News | Also tagged , , , and | 1 Comment
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Chloe
    Exactly Jason ; It needs to be called out on all sides. Numerous videos of Young Bob online being attacked by students who've little in the way of any coherent ...
  • Jack Meredith
    @Jason Connnor It's funny, usually I'm the one pointing out the issues of both extremes! My piece is more focused on domestic issues, using an international ...
  • Jana
    “ The normalisation of fascism is becoming a common occurrence” I disagree. What I think we have is too many people shouting ‘fascism’ whenever they ...
  • Jason Connor
    Yes agree with both above. And I'm far more persuaded by the leader of the Unite Union, Sharon Graham. As a trade union leader she recognises that ordinary pens...
  • Jason Connor
    The case for social care yes but not at the expense of diminishing pensions considering the UK state pension is lower than that of most other European countries...