Free time should replace economic growth as indicator of UK's wellbeing, say Greens
2 min read
Ministers should have to set out how much free time people have every year as a new way of measuring the UK's wellbeing, according to the Greens.
The party - whose annual conference gets underway in Bristol today - is calling for a new 'Free Time Index' to count the number of hours people spend outside of work or commuting.
They want to see the index replace Gross Domestic Product as a key measure of how the economy is doing.
Under the plan, ministers would have to reveal the amount of leisure time people have every year when they set out the Budget.
The proposal is the first policy announcement from the Greens' new team of co-leaders, Sian Berry and Jonathan Bartley.
Ms Berry will tell the party conference: "It’s time to shift away from the culture which sees us work harder and harder for longer and longer, often without reward or satisfaction - and to recognise that true freedom will only be found when people have more control of their time and how it is spent."
Mr Bartley is meanwhile expected to say: "The Free Time Index would count the hours people are not at work - or doing work on a long commute. The time to have a family life, relax, and pursue the things they care about.
"It should be an aim of the Government to see a yearly increase in this Free Time Index, so that the quality of time which is truly our own becomes the real measure of wellbeing."
According to the Office for National Statistics, men in the UK currently spend just over six hours a day on leisure activities, while women spend around five-and-a-half hours.
The Greens' backing for the new index comes after the party sided with plans for a four-day working week. The TUC, which represents trade unions, has also called for a similar curb to working hours, arguing that the rise of new technology should boost the economy and allow companies to release staff for leisure activities.
There have meanwhile been reports that Labour is exploring similar proposals, with the party's 'Alternative Models of Ownership' report floating a "shorter working week to fairly share productivity gains".
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