Divisions in society holding back progress on poverty & climate change, say UK public
Melanie May | 22 July 2024 | News
The UK is more divided than 10 years ago, and this is holding back progress on key issues such as poverty and climate change, say the UK public in a poll for Oxfam.
Over 72% of the 2,111 people surveyed say the UK is more divided than a decade ago and more than two thirds (69%) believe more should be done to improve relations between people across the country.
78% believe divisions in society are impacting progress on UK poverty, while over half (51%) agree divisions are affecting progress on climate change.
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Almost half (45%) of those polled said they believe progress around tackling global poverty is impacted by divisions in society. At the same time, more than two-thirds (71%) said divisions are impacting on progress on racial equality in the UK.
Nearly half of Brits (47%) feel ‘concerned’ about how divided or united society is, while 42% feel ‘disheartened’ and 31% ‘frustrated’, with just 7% feeling optimistic.
The poll also asked people to identify three of the best ways to unite the country. The top three answers from those surveyed were believing politicians and public figures should limit the divisive language they use in order to best unite the country (32%), believing the nation should be “more open and tolerant towards everyone in society” (43%) and having less divisive media organisations (35%).
Halima Begum, Oxfam Chief Executive, said:
“For some time now, people across the country have seen the damage done when divisions and discord are played up in society, while issues like poverty, inequality and climate change loom large.
“Oxfam’s survey shows that individuals and communities want to come together, to unite in rejecting the contrived rhetoric of ‘them and us” that’s been used to divide society for far too long.
“We hope this poll will invigorate the new government to heal those divisions that exist in our communities by focusing their efforts on the substantive issue of tackling poverty, inequality and the climate crisis.”
Oxfam is launching a drive to promote a more united society to help create a fairer world. It is calling on the new Government to act on its calls to unite the country so they can deliver on poverty and climate change.
Begum added:
“Following the election, the new culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, vowed that the “era of culture wars is over” and that the Government will work to create a less divisive society.
“Oxfam calls on the government to deliver on its promise to unite our country by tackling poverty and inequality, and move our communities away from the contrived era of ‘them and us’. Let’s be clear: there is no them, just us.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.