The UK is one of Europe’s most economically unequal countries. In the 2024 World Happiness Report the UK is ranked at number 20, a drop from the previous year where it was at number 19. This year’s ranking places the UK lower than Lithuania and Czechia, with the bleak finding that in the UK, younger people are substantially more likely to be unhappy than older generations.

As a general rule, when income inequality is larger, money becomes more significant, creating an environment of insecurity and fear. Additionally, the UK is also divided along class lines, with the upper classes enjoying private education, better career prospects and a self-serving eco-system of mutual benefit.

If only we had a fairy godmother who could wave her wand and transform this beleaguered isle into the world’s happiest country – Finland! For the 7^th year running Finland ranks number 1 in the world happiness report. We may not have fairy godmothers, but what we do have is the ballot box and the mechanisms of democracy. Electing a centre-left party allows for democracy to crank into gear again, open the hallowed portals of Westminster to a more diverse parliament (in terms of gender, age, race, social background), than we’ve had for the last 14 years where wealth and privilege have dominated, and Thatcher’s dictum “There is no such thing as society,” has prevailed. Let’s never forget, when a pandemic swept the country, how Tory MPs scrambled to monetise it, setting up a VIP lane for their cronies, donors and pub landlords to make hundreds of millions of pounds, mostly for unusable PPE (Personal Protective Equipment for healthcare workers), presumably receiving their share through secret back channels.

“In a well-functioning, fair and equal society, people can worry less and concentrate on living their lives. Poor life decisions or bad luck don’t necessarily have to mean falling too far behind. To feel safe is one of our primal needs and if we’re not safe, we’re not able to relax into co-creation and innovation,” explains Elisabet Lahti, PhD, applied psychology researcher, author of Gentle Power, and founder of Sisu Lab.

I don’t expect any government to be able to deliver everything that’s needed, all the time. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that electing a centre-left party, hopefully Labour and a good clutch of Lib-Dems and Greens, will allow the country’s economic and social progress to take centre stage, for the benefit of everyone in the country, leading to a lessening of fear and a higher level of happiness. Which brings us back to Finland – and what it can teach us and our future government.

Finland’s electoral system is based on Proportional Representation, the country possessing a strong history of multi-party politics. It’s a republic, with a prime minister and a cabinet. A president, whose role is mostly ceremonial, is elected every six years and can serve two terms. Enviably, Finland is the third most prosperous country in the world. Availability of official information is the best in the EU. The healthcare system is publicly funded, decentralised and highly efficient with very low waiting lists. Public transport is reliable and affordable. In 2019 Sanna Marin, at that time the Minister of transport and communications announced a 12-year plan: “We aim at a socially sustainable and regionally balanced transport system plan that will ensure fluent mobility for both people and businesses throughout Finland and mitigate global warming,”

Finland is a country of low hierarchies. Private schools were abolished in 1968 and its state schools are seen to be equitable, offering a good education whichever school it may be, with most Finns going to their nearest school. A housing policy offers a variety of social housing, with homelessness being greatly reduced through Finland’s early adoption of the ‘Housing First’ policy: “The core and very simple principle is that people are better able to move forward with their lives if they are first housed.” 

Finnish society possesses high levels of trust and freedom, both at individual and institutional levels. Research has revealed that trust and freedom contribute to people’s well-being and productivity. Neighbours, public officials, and the government tend to be trusted. Political, civil and press freedom ranks highly in Finland, together with transparency and the perceived lack of corruption.

The essential need for civic honesty and personal honesty was one of the surprising results of The Wallet Experiment, as reported in Science.org. The experiment had started in Finland on a small scale, but its unexpected results impelled the researchers to expand it much further. Ultimately, 17,000 wallets were ‘lost’ in 40 countries. Research assistants, posing as someone in a hurry who’d just found a wallet, dropped them off in public places, such as hotels, banks, post offices etc. The wallets contained either no money or varying amounts, along with a grocery list and business cards with the ‘owner’s’ email and phone number. 51% of the money-less wallets were reported. Intriguingly, the highest reporting, at 72%, was for wallets containing the larger sums of money.

“Honesty is essential for almost all social and economic relations,” said Michel Maréchal, an economics professor at the University of Zurich who helped lead the study. The introduction to the study expands on the role of trust and honesty, “Without honesty, promises are broken, contracts go unenforced, taxes remain unpaid, and governments become corrupt. Such breaches of honesty are costly to individuals, organizations, and entire societies.”

Most curiously, two particular wallets were never reported: one dropped off at the Vatican and the second one at an anti-corruption bureau. Hmmm….

Finland’s work-life balance is highly valued. Most Finns live within a10 minute walk of a park, green area or a forest. Business understands that productivity, creativity and therefore innovation, best occur when the work-life balance allows for family and recreational time. Perhaps a Finnish proverb best describes this balance “Onnellisuus on se paikka puuttuvaisuuden ja yltäkylläisyyden välillä (Happiness is a place between too little and too much).”

Finnish women were the first in the world, in 1906, to receive the right to vote and the right to stand for parliamentary seats. Finland’s success as a country is significantly linked to improvements in the status of women and gender equality. One of Finland’s four key priorities is the promotion of the rights of women and girls; for example, supporting women’s participation in decision-making, business, industry, and in conflict prevention. The human rights of women are promoted, particularly in cases of violence against women and girls and in sexual and reproductive health. Parental leave is almost a year, and increasingly used by fathers too.

The unique Finnish concept of ‘Sisu’ is often highlighted as an additional contributor to Finns’ experience of living happy lives, combining the attributes of grit, resilience, and determination. Elisabet Lahti, founder of Sisu Lab defines it as more than just character strengths conducive to getting things done, but denoting an aspiration for quality and integrity in how things are done, promoting a striving for best possible outcomes across all undertakings, enabling individuals and businesses alike to succeed.

Finland’s success raises the question, what can we do in the UK, to increase the happiness level of our society? The most important action we can take is to elect a government which will ensure the country becomes more equal by income. A truly momentous task, given the level of existing inequality. The Labour Party is predicted to win, although nothing can be taken for granted till each and every vote has been counted. It is also the party which most reflects the aspirations of the people, ensuring our social services, schools, and healthcare are efficient and properly resourced, who understand the urgency for building new homes and developing green energy.

Equally, if a Labour government is elected, immediate pressure must begin to be applied, for the party to pass legislation changing our electoral system to Proportional Representation (PR). Labour party members have already voted for the party to adopt PR. We can never again allow the First Past The Post (FPTP) system to skew our elections. In the fateful 2019 election, the Conservatives only gained 44% of the vote, the centre-left vote of 56% being split between the different centre-left parties, allowing the Conservatives to form a government with a huge majority, which set out to weaken the country, transferring wealth from the poor to the rich, impoverishing local councils and stealthily selling off great chunks of our National Health Service, and perhaps most dangerously, eroding trust in politics.

Currently, electioneering is in full swing and Nigel Farage of the populist, right-wing Reform Party has just raised the temperature, by announcing he could be a candidate for Prime Minister in 2029, the year of the next election. No doubt delighting his supporters but horrifying the rest of us. Lending even more significance and urgency to the case for Proportional Representation. Only PR could enable the election of candidates from varied political and social backgrounds, thereby mounting a defence of our democracy and society, against a divisive and racist party.

The tactical voting movement is gaining momentum and may help to strengthen centre-left parties. Centre-left voters are being encouraged to give their vote to the centre-left candidate most likely to win in their constituency, thereby consolidating the centre-left vote rather than fragmenting it. Creating a mirror of the FPTP vote where Conservative voters have always voted en bloc for Conservative candidates, thereby delivering Conservative governments, time after time, election after election. However, for serious long-term change, for raising the happiness level of the country, creating a more equitable society and promoting well-being, Finland has shown that PR is the necessary electoral mechanism.

Dear Readers, if anyone can vote tactically please do so. There’s too much at stake not to. Let’s make it a transformative election.