Latest news with #HappinessPovertyLine
The Herald Scotland
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Government needs to call in this disastrous plan for O2 site
It was also clear to me that some members of the committee could not read the drawings provided. Questions asked included if there would be a separation between the public and student entrances? Where would the bins be emptied? Was it stone and what colour was it? Is that arches at the front on Sauchiehall Street? (To which the DRS leader answered yes, when it is not.) Another stated that despite what was proposed not being the most "edifying" design he would support the application. However, the most bizarre was asking for confirmation that the now-demolished ABC portico and other artifacts would be included within the interior of the proposed food hall. In contrast, Councillor Eva Bolander raised the point that 'dereliction of duty' led to the committee being "bounced" into approving the demolition of the ABC and they were now being "bounced" into approving the student accommodation. Accordingly, Cllr Bolander rightly voted against the plans. It is clear that this approval has to be referred to the First Minister and that there should be a proper hearing to give Historic Environment Scotland, The Glasgow School of Art, and particularly the residents of Garnethill, among the many of the 130 who objected, an opportunity to respond to a development which in the short term will be damaging for them and in the long term a disaster for the School of Art and the city. Professor Alan Dunlop FRIAS, Aberfoyle. Read more letters Scots are not so grumpy We read that a report based on annual life satisfaction data found that 13 per cent of Scots live below a "Happiness Poverty Line" ("Scots 'happier than those in England and Wales but still dissatisfied with life'", The Herald, June 19). We are also advised from that report that more than one in 10 Scots are dissatisfied with life in the UK, but people are happier there than those in England and Wales with regard to staying in the UK. I suspect that there will be many who find that comparison with England and Wales difficult to take on board, particularly those who are of the same mind once expressed by PG Wodehouse, writer and humorist : "It is never difficult to distinguish between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine". Ian W Thomson, Lenzie. Why are folk so lazy? Some years ago my mother's neighbour phoned me to say she was concerned for her safety as my mother, who was in her mid-nineties, was up on a pair of steps cutting her hedge. I was by that time helping her a bit and had obviously not got there quick enough. Recently I passed her house and she would be turning in her grave to see the once-neat hedge sadly left to grow too high and too wide and overhanging and obstructing the pavement. Around our city hedges and trees are often unkempt and a disgrace. Surely some legislation should be passed to ensure owners, landlords and tenants are obliged to keep hedges next to pavements neat and tidy. We need to care more for our dear green city. Where is our pride and respect? Jim Barbour, Glasgow. Literary prophets Now in my ninth decade I decided to re-read the short stories written by Ray Bradbury. When I was in my teens these were plausible fantasies about science fiction and other possibilities. What still gets to me is the way that Bradbury painted with words, making my mind see scenes that were amazing and distressing. I am only a short way into a collection by Bantam Books named "Classic Stories Volume 1" and realise that this writer was a prophet in the truest sense of the word. These stories are from his original collection, The Golden Apples of the Sun, and while they were enjoyable to read as a teenager the two that so far stand out are "I See You Never" about a Mexican immigrant being deported from the USA back to Mexico. This was written in 1947. The other, from 1953, is "The Murderer" and concerns the imposition of mass and social media on society. We are there right now. My other go-to author is Issac Asimov, who predicted hand-held computers, flat-screen televisions and AI among lots of other things that we now have and take for granted. Anyone interested in considering what might happen next should read these authors if they haven't already done so and just enjoy great writing at the very least that stretches the imagination. Ian Gray, Croftamie. Keith Lasley, St Mirren's COO (Image: SNS) A very Scottish coo I can face the day with a smile, imagining St Mirren Football Club's Chief Operating Officer ("Scottish football clubs have to think smarter", Agenda, The Herald, June 20) being asked at party what he does for a living. " I'm a COO". "Upon a hill I saw a coo, if it wis there, it's no there noo" (source uncertain). David Miller, Milngavie.
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Wellbeing Report: Scots 'happier than those in England and Wales'
The 2025 UK Wellbeing Report estimates that seven million adults across the UK are living in happiness poverty. The report, compiled by the World Wellbeing Movement, defines the Happiness Poverty Line as those who rate their satisfaction with life at 5 or below on the 0-10 scale reported by the ONS. This proportion is roughly equivalent to those who live in absolute income poverty in the UK, which led the movment to coin the term last year. At 13%, Scots were more satisfied with their lot than those in Wales, where 15% were said to be below the line, but not as happy as people in Northern Ireland, where the cut-off point was 12%. Dissatisfaction with life is growing in the UK (Image: David Cheskin) In England, 13.2% were described as being below the Happiness Poverty Line, a similar figure to the UK as a whole. The number of UK people living below the line is rising, according to the latest findings. The 2025 report estimates that an additional 650,000 UK adults – enough to fill Wembley Stadium more than seven times – have fallen below the Happiness Poverty Line compared to the previous 12 months. The gradual improvements in average UK wellbeing levels observed before the Covid-19 pandemic have been erased. Prior to 2020, the proportion of people living below the Happiness Poverty Line was falling year on year – despite an initial recovery in 2022, that trend has since reversed. And the latest quarterly figures released by the ONS in May confirm that this stagnation extends into at least the last quarter of 2024. The World Wellbeing Movement is working alongside a cross-party group of Parliamentarians and other policy experts to better understand and address the conditions required to build better lives, and is calling for the UK Government to put the wellbeing of people at the heart of decision-making. Prof Lord Richard Layard, co-founder of the World Wellbeing Movement and Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said: 'People are still less satisfied with their lives than before the pandemic. 'These concerning findings are a sign that too many people are struggling in their day-to-day lives. The reality of these figures, and the human faces and stories they represent, should act as a wake-up call. If we are serious about improving lives and reducing inequality, we need to put wellbeing at the heart of decision-making in public policy.' Dr Maria Cotofan, Lecturer in Economics and Policy at King's College London and author of the 2025 UK Wellbeing Report, said: 'There are already substantial differences in happiness across areas in the UK, and happiness appears to be stagnating below pre-pandemic levels, regardless of how we measure it. 'What we don't yet understand well enough is why this is the case, but this is a crucial question for these communities.
