Tony wants to know why we don't smile as much as him

Tony Blair is worried about us. We are not happy enough - and now he wants to find out why. So tomorrow, the Government will unveil proposals to measure the nation's happiness for the first time.

Tony Blair is worried about us. We are not happy enough - and now he wants to find out why. So tomorrow, the Government will unveil proposals to measure the nation's happiness for the first time.

The Whitehall mandarins will suggest that this "well-being indicator" could evaluate a range of factors which influence our lives. These include relationship success, mental health, community, as well as job satisfaction and access to parks and leisure. The proposal will be outlined in a strategy paper from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which is its blueprint for the environment and the economy over the next 15 years and will be adopted across all Government departments.

Despite unparalleled economic growth over the past 50 years, ministers are concerned that the nation's happiness levels do not appear to be increasing. Work stress and relationship breakdown has escalated despite the fact most people have better homes, holidays and health. Other countries have already carried out similar happiness surveys. The Danes are pretty happy, but the Belgians are becoming progressively more miserable.

A Whitehall source confirmed that the Government was looking at introducing a well-being indicator to see what benefits there may be for policy-making.