The good news story that people in England have felt happier since the Brexit vote, at least according to ONS figures, has been widely reported today.
You can find articles about it everywhere, from the FT's Rise and shine: English happier since Brexit vote to the Daily Mail's How we've becomes more cheery since Brexit: Happiness and confidence levels rose in the months after the vote, via the Times's It’s official: we’re happier since Brexit vote and the Independent's Brits happier than they've been in years, claims ONS.
They've all reported it, even the Guardian - though, naturally, the folk at the Graun felt the need to contort themselves into various improbable body positions in order to conjure up a headline which manages to admit the fact whilst simultaneously making it sound as it it's 'a very bad thing': Are we happier after the Brexit vote? Only in England, official figures claim.
The BBC reported it too but, to borrow a phrase used in another context by our old blogging pal DB, their report is nothing if not passive-aggressive about it.
The BBC's headline, for starters, pops the news into inverted commas:
And then we get this, the report's opening pair of paragraphs (echoing the Guardian's angle):
The phrase 'through gritted teeth' springs to mind.
In fact, the BBC's teeth sound so 'gritted' here that I fear they're going to have to book an emergency appointment to see the dentist tomorrow, poor things.
In fact, the BBC's teeth sound so 'gritted' here that I fear they're going to have to book an emergency appointment to see the dentist tomorrow, poor things.
