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Scots ‘have better quality of life than English’ says Brussels as they’re more tolerant and the schools are better

But they still don't live as long because of a bad diet and 'basic' medical care

SCOTTISH people enjoy a much better quality of everyday life than the English - EU officials claim in a shock new report.

Brussels said Scotland is more tolerant of minorities, has better schooling and a better environment to live in.

Scotland has a 'better environment' to live in, says the report. The Isle of Skye above.
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Scotland has a 'better environment' to live in, says the report. The Isle of Skye above.Credit: Getty Images
The happy Scots are also said to be 'more tolerant' than the English
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The happy Scots are also said to be 'more tolerant' than the EnglishCredit: Getty Images
English people are said to suffer from a 'lack of personal freedoms'
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English people are said to suffer from a 'lack of personal freedoms'Credit: Getty Images

The post-Brexit study also claims those living in England have fewer personal freedoms.

However, the league table of the social progress of 272 EU regions also reveals life expectancy in Scotland is much lower than south of the border.

And the Scots have the LOWEST score for ‘nutrition and basic medical care’.

The European Commission’s report is aimed at giving European leaders ‘a roadmap that can be used to navigate the pressures and opportunities facing Europe’.

Its researchers used EU regional statistics to assess ‘measures of health, safety, and access to education and personal rights’.

They found overall ‘England trails behind both Scotland and Northern Ireland, beating only Wales among the home nations’.

The report - the first of its kind - gives England an overall quality-of-life score of 72.68 out of 100.

That compares with 73.18 for Northern Ireland, 74.01 for Scotland and 72.04 for Wales, reveals the .

The best quality of life in Europe was said to be found in Finland, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, while the worst was in Romania and Bulgaria.

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The report - funded by US charity the Social Progress Imperative - said when comparing the English and the Scots attitudes to ‘tolerance towards minorities and homosexuals, attitudes towards people with disabilities and the extent of the gender gap, Scotland comes out on top’.

It rated education in Scotland as better than in England, giving Scotland higher scores for the number of students in higher education and the likelihood of people continuing to learn after finishing formal schooling.

Scotland also gained higher scores for opportunity, access to basic knowledge, and health and wellness - despite its poor life-expectancy levels.

Environmental quality – including air pollution levels and the protection of natural habitats – and personal freedom and choice were also reported to be better in Scotland.

But it is not all bad new for the English.

The report acknowledged: 'On access to communications, which looks at things like whether people have home internet and broadband, England fares better than Scotland.'

It also accepted that Scotland performed badly on measures of personal safety- particularly road deaths.

The best quality of life in Europe was to be found in Finland. Helsinki above
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 The best quality of life in Europe was to be found in Finland. Helsinki aboveCredit: Getty Images
Scotland also gained higher scores for educational opportunities
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Scotland also gained higher scores for educational opportunitiesCredit: Getty Images
The Scot's poor diet - including the deep-fried Mars bar - does hit health
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The Scot's poor diet - including the deep-fried Mars bar - does hit healthCredit: Reuters

Within England, London only gained average results for social progress, according to the report.

It ranked inner London as 22nd out of 37 UK regions, and 81st among the 272 regions in the EU.

Michael Green, of the Social Progress Imperative, said: "Perhaps the most surprising finding is that the Brexit narrative of a divided United Kingdom, split between the privileged London bubble and more deprived regions, is not evident in terms of quality of life. Wealth in Cornwall and west Wales may be much lower but their social progress is on a par with inner London."

The index was compiled so the EU could use measures of well being alongside the current economic statistics.

British official statistics began to include such measures in 2011 after David Cameron said it was necessary to base policies on research that went deeper than economic performance.

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