This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Rejected petition Replace GDP with a measure that includes human health, happiness and wellbeing
The government should consult on alternative measures of national welfare taking into account non-economic factors including human health and happiness, as well as the health of the environment. A firm commitment should be made to replacing GDP as the sole or main measure of national prosperity.
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Increasing GDP has been the holy grail of governments for centuries but an ever-expanding economy is incompatible with the challenges we face in the 21st century. Policies aimed at increasing GDP have given us the climate emergency, plastic pollution and mass extinctions. We've suffered recessions which have cost livelihoods and lives and seen whole regions passed by in the spoils of growth.
We need a new yardstick to aim for which leads to a more sustainable and happy future for us all.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action.
We're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do, in particular we don't know what you mean by replacing GDP. There is not a single, official measure that the Government use to assess policy impact or the health of the country.
The Office for National Statistics already collects data on a range of areas, you can find more information here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing
You could start a new petition explaining clearly what you would like the Government or Parliament to do, such as changes to specific policies. For example, you could start a petition requesting a specific strategy for increasing human health, happiness and wellbeing.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.