How European are we? Quite, it seems, as new study finds Brits have more in common with fellow Europeans than with Americans
Everyone knows of the special relationship between the UK and US. For some time now, we have shared a strong bond on everything from intelligence to economics. Prime Minister David Cameron insists that the bond is so close that his presidential counterpart Barack Obama calls him "bro".
But have we been living a lie? Is the US not the one? Is Europe the UK's true soulmate?
A new study suggests this is the case, and that maybe the PM should be spending more time with Angela Merkel. Behaviourally the UK is squarely European and is more similar to Germany than any other nation in the study, including the US, according to consultants at Trajectory.
We use our smartphones at similar times, we have the same stress levels and even do the housecleaning at the same time during the week as our European counterparts.
Meanwhile, our beliefs chime better with those in the Netherlands and France (yes, really – France).
On the other hand, there are some differences between Brits and other Europeans that are hard to get past in a relationship. We are the slowest country in the EU to get out of bed with most of us starting work at 8:30am, and go to bed far earlier than the rest of Europe with an average bedtime of just after 10pm. At this point, only a third of Italians have turned in for the day.
Nonetheless, the results show we're more continental than we think, but that hasn't fazed the folks at Vote Leave. A spokesperson for the pro-Brexit group told The Capitalist that, while it is important to have things in common with a (political) partner, you can't ignore the big issues. "It's perfectly possible to embrace European culture while rejecting the undemocratic EU."