HIGH retirement age, too few public holidays, miserable weather and the soaring cost of living have combined to leave the UK trailing its European counterparts in a survey measuring quality of life.
The poll of ten countries placed the UK ninth, behind Spain, France and Poland and ahead only of Ireland.
Despite earning the highest net incomes with the average household paid £35,730 – roughly £10,000 a year more than their continental compatr
iots – the survey concluded the rising cost of living in the UK is having a serious impact on disposable income and quality of life.
The study, which also includes the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Italy and Germany, reveals Britain is now the most expensive place to buy diesel at £1.32 per litre, 20p more on average than on the continent.
Researchers said UK food prices have increased by 12.6 per cent over the past year and claimed we are the third-highest spenders on gas and electricity.
The number of hours of sunshine enjoyed in the UK falls 17 per cent below the European average of 74 days a year.
Our spend on health also dips below the average, with only 2.5 doctors for every 1,000 residents compared to 3.4 in France and 3.5 in Germany.
Life expectancy is the third- lowest at 78.9 compared to 80.9 in France or 80.7 in Sweden.
The UK also has the third- highest average retirement age at 63, compared to 58 in Poland.
Workers also suffer the shortest holiday entitlement – British workers get on average 28 days off a year, including bank holidays.
By contrast, people living in Spain have the best lifestyle, with the most sunshine, lower taxation, cheaper essential goods, higher than average life expectancy and a generous holiday allowance. France came second, boasting the second-highest spend on healthcare and the top holiday allowance, 40 days.
The findings pile on the misery faced by consumers in the wake of recent warnings by the British Chambers of Commerce of a pending recession.
Ann Robinson, the director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, which conducted the survey, said: "We may earn substantially more than our European neighbours, but when it comes to quality of life we remain the sick man of Europe.
"Soaring food prices and inflation, not to mention high property costs, are placing the biggest squeeze on disposable incomes in well over a decade.
"No wonder 41,026 Brits fled UK in 2006, the highest number in Europe, with total emigration increasing by 30 per cent in the UK since 2001."
Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said: "It is depressing, but unsurprising, that as so many families struggle to make ends meet we have one of the lowest qualities of life in Europe.
"There is now a real danger that as the economic downturn takes hold in the UK we will once again become the sick man of Europe."
The full article contains 503 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
