FORGET Cool Britannia . . . a massive survey of young people across the UK shows that teenagers want a safer Britain and a return to traditional values.
They want a crackdown on crime and drugs and they want a country that cares about them.
Perhaps surprisingly, the majority of youngsters quizzed are strongly patriotic with 86 per cent saying they are proud to be British - but they want big changes.
Reassuringly for mums, 40 per cent of teenagers said their greatest role model was their mother.
Helen Johnston, editor of teen magazine Bliss which commissioned The Young People's Survey of Great Britain, said: "Teenagers like boundaries. They make them feel safe, but over the years they have been torn down.
"They want to walk the streets in safety, they want their schools to be free from drug pushers and they don't want to be rushed into sex too young.
"This survey is a damning indictment of the damage caused by the lax attitudes of adults inflicted on children. Young people have passionate beliefs about the society they want to live in and it's not the one they've got."
The survey involved thousands of youngsters with an average age of 15quizzed on how they feel about themselves and everything else, from the government and education, to Europe, sex, love and faith.
Celebrities
On a lighter note, teenagers also voted on their favourite celebrities, books and films, with Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, pop band Busted, singer Christine Aguilera and actors Orlando Bloom andJennifer Aniston all winning plaudits.
A huge 82 per cent say they don't trust Prime Minister Tony Blair and 76 cent per cent said Britain should not have gone to war with Iraq. The monarchy was backed by 66 per cent of youngsters, but almost 75 per cent don't think Prince Charles would make a good King although Prince William comes out as the top royal.
Seventy per cent say they believe Britain's identity will be lost if it goes further down the European path and 87 per cent reject the Euro.
In the north west, 41 per cent admitted they had been offered drugs, in 30 per cent of cases at school. But three-quarters of those questioned said they had never taken them.
Nine out of 10 young people said "bogus asylum seekers" should be sent home, almost half think Britain should bring back the death penalty and 92 per cent want university tuition fees scrapped.
Youngsters say they want a better education for all, but 76 per cent say they don't have faith in the government to improve standards in state schools and only 24 per cent think they are getting a "very good" state education.
Criminals
A third of youngsters in the region admit to having broken the law and 84 per cent say they believe Britain is too soft on sentencing adult criminals.
More than 60 per cent of teenagers say they believe in God, 66 per cent think people regard the issue of abortion too lightly and 91 per cent say they hope to marry one day.
Only 22 per cent of youngsters in the region admit to having had sex - almost half the national figure. A third of them said they regretted it.
Nationally, only 21 per cent of youngsters said they were "very happy" and one in 10 said they were unhappy or "deeply miserable".
Their six biggest worries in their lives are: not succeeding/failing (21 per cent), dying (15 per cent), exams (14 per cent), their body and looks (11 per cent), loneliness and feeling unloved (8 per cent) and losing family members (4 per cent).
What is your biggest worry in life?
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Feeling lonely and unloved.
Extremely interesting and insightful article!
The world is becoming too liberal ! and my right to self protection is being attacked.
Right on L.P.! Americans better wake up to the fact that our Second Amendment Rights are being stripped even further. What part of "Shall not be Infringed" don't they understand. Watch it USA, or you'll end up like Britain...unarmed and unable to defend yourselves against the enemy. Say NO to gun control.
Good for the kids! I wish our young people were as astute. They are too busy worrying about nose rings, tongue splitting and why gas is $2.00 a gallon. (still too cheap, but what motivates a $50,000 SUV) God save the Queen, but I don't know about George Bush.
D.W of CA, do me a favour and look at the number of people killed via gun crime in YOUR country and compare it to the double figure a year number of OUR country. Please don't spout your gun right poison on here. Guns do no good. You are so gun ho over there, its scary. Americans kids are one in a million, they act so immature yet are made to grow up so quick, and letting them drive at 15/16. ARE U NUTS??
Our youth apparently want a safer Britain with a return to traditional values. Could this be a first? Do the young want the same as the old? Well, almost. The article demands schools free from pushers. Shouldn't everywhere be free from this vermin? As for pushers, they would not be there if you were not buying. Put peer pressure on your friends and colleagues to desist. Sex too young? Say 'no'. It's your generation asking you. If they are inspired to ask by example from TV, magazines et al, stop using these media: they will either change or go out of business. Stop giving respect and prestige to those who brag about their conquests: they are probably liars anyway. While you are at it, ignore those advertisers who say you are a total failure if you don't use their products. Be individuals: stop letting others control you in this way and society can only benefit. You might even find that you are happy.
Do not blame adults. It is true that they are the ones who brought you up and set you in your ways, but their parents did not bring them up like that. They brought your parents up to a set of standards and in the old-fashioned ways that you yearn for. Your parents rebelled and, believe me, the papers were full of how youth was unruly, lacking morals; worthless, useless and fit only to slash cinema seat with cut-throat razors. The 'kids' were also full of how their parents were 'square' and old-fogies with no wish to be modern. SO REBEL! Your parents did. Live in a moral society with decency and high standards of behaviour where you can walk safely along the street, leave your door open and your bike unlocked on the pavement. Where you could count your money outside without having your purse snatched and park your car without it disappearing. The answer to your wishes lies in your own hands. It is not about rights but about change. Your parents changed for the worse so you change for the better. As for rights? Get rid of them. They do not exist. There are only obligations, which you must respect and stick with if you want your wishes to come true. Others do not have a right to walk safely down the street, but you do have an obligation to let others walk unhindered and unmolested along that street: (for our US brethren, 'where do guns and self-protection come into it?'). Most holy writings say something to the effect of, "do unto others..." Observe those obligations and you will have no need of rights. As for the bits about the PM (and Bush), war and Europe, I don't blame you. You youngsters are not as stupid as some would make out.
Dear T. Hawkins of Swinton,
I indeed did you a favor and researched the statistics you asked for and as of April to July 2003, crimes in which the criminal used a firearm were a third higher than during the same period last year, and continues to rise. As reported by the Ealing Police Inspector Gordon Beasley, "Yes there has been a rise in gun crime".It is clear that disarmed England's skyrocketing crime rate has continued to rise at astronomical levels and seems clear that disarming law-abiding citizens leaves them easy prey for criminals who don't follow the law anyway. You see T. Hawkins, our freedoms over her in the USA is what makes us People, not Subjects. Consider the word KINGdom vs FREEdom. Everyone has GOD given rights to protect themselves and their families. Furthermore, in England if you decide to defend yourself with fist or knife, YOU will go to jail, not the bad guy. Some country, eh old chap?
Mr. T. Hawkins, Swinton,
Here are some further statistics for you to review and consider. As a result of the gun ban Act of 1997...
...robberies rose 81 percent in England and Wales, they fell 28 percent in the United States. Likewise, assaults increased 53 percent in England and Wales but declined 27 percent in the United States. Burglaries doubled in England but fell by half in the United States. And while motor vehicle theft rose 51 percent in England, it remained the same in America.
The rising tide of thievery and burglaries in England has dubbed Britain "a nation of thieves," wrote the London Sunday Times, which noted: "More than one in three British men has a criminal record by the age of 40. While America has cut its crime rate dramatically Britain remains the crime capital of the West. Where have we gone wrong?"(2) Perhaps England should look introspectively
Miguel A. Faria Jr., M.D.