It's being so cheerful as keeps me going

This was the catch phrase of Mrs Mop in the wartime radio show It's That Man Again and it seems that it could apply to British voters who are very gloomy about the state of the country: Broken Britain

I find it difficult to recognise the country represented in the survey as the one I live in. I suppose it's reflective of people who complain that Britain is like a third world country without ever having been to one. For example, Chile may be only a few years off developed status (at least its new president thinks so) but the standard of living enjoyed there is well below that in the UK.

Britain enjoys reasonably good public services. It has world class football (and top events in many other sports). The standard of theatre, opera and other arts is generally good and a wide range of music events to suit all tastes is available. The countryside has a diversity in a small space that is found in few other countries and there are plenty of historic sites to visit if that's what interests you. And if shopping is your life, you are spoilt for choice. The one downside is the winter weather and lack of light.

42 per cent of those interviewed say they would emigrate if they could, perhaps to Australia where they might be greeted with some justification as 'whingeing Poms'.

The survey will be mood music for Dave Cameron and his 'broken Britain' thesis. However, he has to be careful. If Britain is broken, can he put it back together again? Moreover, gloom and pessimism can actually disempower people from working towards effective solutions.