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- Slow UK economy 'predated euro crisis', says OECD
- Only 18% want to bail out Europe to prevent recession
Last updated at 4:07 PM on 15th November 2011
Two thirds of the British public fear that the UK is heading for another recession, a survey showed today.
The news came as it was revealed that Britain has been rated the second worst country in Europe to live in.
And while 85 per cent of people say that the eurozone crisis has endangered the UK economy, a new report suggests that Britain's economic slowdown predated the recent turmoil.
Closed for business: Two thirds of people think Britain is heading for another recession
More than half - 59 per cent - of Britons are cutting back on spending in anticipation of another recession, according to a ComRes poll.
Almost three quarters said they were worried that another recession would have a severe impact on them and their family, while just 13 per cent said they would not expect to be affected.
But fewer than one in five - 18 per cent - believe Britain should contribute more money to help solve the eurozone's financial crisis, if it would help avoid another recession.
The survey of more than 2,000 people showed that 77 per cent believe the crisis proved the UK was right to stay out of the eurozone, and about the same number think the eurozone debt crisis has been badly managed by Europe's political leaders.
Another study, a report by think-tank Demos entitled 'Good Growth', suggests that Britain is one of the worst places to live in Europe.
Judging by factors such as health, housing and the job market, the report said that only Spain was a less desirable home than the UK.
The best places to live are Norway, Germany and the Netherlands, said the study.
Fears of another British recession will be reinforced by findings from the OECD, a respected think-tank, which say that the UK economy has been slowing for at least seven months.
Britain is not the only country facing a worse economic outlook, as all of the other G7 industrial nations are suffering from a similar slowdown.
But the fact that the UK's economy has been sluggish since before Greece started heading for default undermines the Government's argument that Britain's poor performance is the fault of the eurozone.
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna told the Guardian that the economy had 'faltered'.
He added: 'In a marked change of tone, the Government is now predicting the worst and seeking to attribute blame, wholesale, to the eurozone crisis. But our economy was faltering long before.'
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