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riqster

(13,986 posts)
Mon May 12, 2014, 08:34 AM May 2014

British public wrong about nearly everything, survey shows.

Eerily familiar to the USA:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/british-public-wrong-about-nearly-everything-survey-shows-8697821.html

"A new survey for the Royal Statistical Society and King's College London shows public opinion is repeatedly off the mark on issues including crime, benefit fraud and immigration.
The research, carried out by Ipsos Mori from a phone survey of 1,015 people aged 16 to 75, lists ten misconceptions held by the British public. Among the biggest misconceptions are:
- Benefit fraud: the public think that £24 of every £100 of benefits is fraudulently claimed. Official estimates are that just 70 pence in every £100 is fraudulent - so the public conception is out by a factor of 34."


Here is the killer bit: "First, politicians need to be better at talking about the real state of affairs of the country, rather than spinning the numbers. Secondly, the media has to try and genuinely illuminate issues, rather than use statistics to sensationalise."

More at the link.
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British public wrong about nearly everything, survey shows. (Original Post) riqster May 2014 OP
guess being lied to is an international malady dembotoz May 2014 #1
And gullibility as well. riqster May 2014 #4
America can't even be #1 at being stupid and uninformed. Orrex May 2014 #2
Well, bang goes the "exceptionalism" bit. riqster May 2014 #3
And yet they get through life surprisingly well, considering how they are governed. nt bemildred May 2014 #5
Many Americans do, as well. riqster May 2014 #6
Interesting to take the Independent own reporting on pregnancy under 16 before that poll muriel_volestrangler May 2014 #7
Yes, there is a bit of Pot/Kettle going on there. riqster May 2014 #8

muriel_volestrangler

(101,160 posts)
7. Interesting to take the Independent own reporting on pregnancy under 16 before that poll
Mon May 12, 2014, 12:09 PM
May 2014

First - figures up to 2009: http://www.poverty.org.uk/24/index.shtml?2 and an update:

The number of conceptions to girls aged under 16 decreased by 9.3% from 5,991 in 2011 to 5,432 in 2012. A similar decline can also be seen in the conception rate for girls aged under 16. In 2012 there were 5.6 conceptions per thousand girls aged 13-15 compared with 6.1 in 2011, a decrease of 8.2%. This fall in the conception rate consists of an 11% fall in the rate of conceptions leading to abortion and an 8.3% fall in the rate of conceptions leading to a maternity. The percentage of conceptions leading to abortion for this age group has remained at 60% since 2011.

Overall the under 16 conception rate has decreased since 2007 from 8.1 conceptions per thousand girls aged 13-15 to 5.6 in 2012. The under 16 conception rate is the lowest since 1969, the first year for which we have comparable data, when a rate of 6.9 conceptions per thousand girls aged 13-15 was recorded. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of under 16 conceptions in 2012 were to girls aged 15.

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/conception-statistics--england-and-wales/2012/2012-conceptions-statistical-bulletin.html?format=print


Sep 2008: Teen pregnancy epidemic 'a myth'

Feb 2009: Under-16 pregnancy rate soars (refers to rise from 2006 to 2007)

Feb 2012: Dramatic decline in teen pregnancies could be short-lived, campaigners fear (refers to a fall in 2010)

They finally reported it as a steep decline and not just 'short-lived' in 2014: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/teenage-pregnancies-in-england-and-wales-are-at-the-lowest-point-since-records-began-9152760.html

So I'm not entirely surprised that people over-estimate - The Independent, a 'responsible' newspaper, still has a tendency to sensationalise. In 2010, 2011, and 2013, when modest decreases in the rate would have been reported, they appear not to have run a story.
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