The east London borough that is the unfriendliest place in England, apparently

Here’s a Scilly – sorry, silly – season story for you. The National Conversation, a website and initiative that gathers Britons’ views on the country, has concluded that the Isles of Scilly are the friendliest place in England. No qualms there – you’d struggle to find a lovelier set of islands, after all – but it was a smaller finding lower down in the ranking that really caught our eye.

According to the index, which drew together information on England’s 296 local authority areas, Barking and Dagenham is the least friendly place of them all. The cheek of it! 

To establish this damning verdict, the National Conversation made use of government data about how often people talk to their neighbours and whether they feel lonely or have a sense of belonging in their neighbourhood. It also took into account their level of participation and pride in their environment.

How does that relate to your experience of Barking and Dagenham? Is the data out of whack, or right on the money? 

In any case, that’s not the end of the story. After you enter your postcode into the National Conversation’s report and find out how connected your borough or county is, you’re presented with the following message:

‘Everything above comes from official statistics – researchers measuring the country from the outside. The National Conversation survey is different: only you can say how your community actually feels. Ten minutes, and your answer becomes part of the picture.’

The initiative is gathering its own data to contribute to a report that will be pulled together later this year. Conducted by the Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, the study will respond to what it describes as ‘the converging crises of social disconnection and division’ across the country. It’s being co-chaired by former Conservative MP Sajid Javid and former Labour policy coordinator Jon Cruddas, who was once an MP for – you guessed it – Dagenham.

‘This index is designed to get us talking,’ Cruddas said. ‘And I nearly choked on my cornflakes when my old area came rock bottom. I think government stats miss a lot of what really makes an area tick, including my old town. But that’s why we have developed it, to spark a conversation – because what we really want is your view on your area.’

Poor old Barking and Dagenham also came bottom of the London pile in Rightmove’s happiness index last year. As we pointed out at the time, though, there are actually loads of reasons for residents to be cheerful in B&D – not least the fact that the borough had recently become the first in the capital to be named a ‘Heritage Place’ by the National Lottery. As part of this, it was selected to receive a share of £200m as part of an investment programme across the country.

The five friendliest places in England 2026

1. The Isles of Scilly
2. South Hams, south Devon
3. West Devon
4. The Derbyshire Dales
5. Richmond upon Thames

The five least friendly places in England 2026

1. Barking and Dagenham
2. Stoke-on-Trent
3. Ashfield
4. Mansfield
5. Ipswich

Did you spot that East London borough Waltham Forest could get e-bikes for the first time?

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