Soaring utility bills push Britain down European quality of life index

By MoneyhighStreet Staff. Published on July 16, 2008 This post currently has no comments.

Finance
Despite the fact people in the UK typically earn more than their counterparts on the continent, the soaring prices of utilities, food and fuel in the Britain mean the country came nearly bottom of a new European quality of life index.

Research from uSwitch assessed quality of life across ten European nations, based on factors like net income, taxes and the cost of essential goods.

While the UK was shown to have the highest net annual income after taxes (£35,730), it was pushed into ninth place because of high fuel and utility costs.

In fact, the figures indicated that Brits have to pay 49 per cent more than average for gas and five per cent more for electricity than their European counterparts. They also face the highest price on the continent for diesel and the second highest for petrol.

"We may earn substantially more than our European neighbours but, when it comes to quality of life, we remain the ''sick man of Europe''," Ann Robinson, the director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, commented.

"British households are facing huge financial pressure as take home pay stagnates, inflation continues to rise, and economic growth and house prices fall."

Recently, MoneyExpert.com revealed that people who rent property in the UK pay significantly more than those who own their own property for their utilities.