Present tense: the brightness was borrowed – sun and football lent us five points, and Wednesday's defeat called the first of them back

27% net optimism

↑1pt on this week ↓2pts on last year

24 Jul 2026

Present tense: one good day at a time

The last week of term is Britain at full tilt – teacher gifts, leavers' dos, everything at once – then the book bags get shoved in a cupboard and six weeks open up. The childcare Jenga begins. The saving stops as the spending starts. Family life is poised on the edge of a long, expensive, looked-forward-to exhale.

Into that exhale came a fortnight of real lift. Wimbledon finals in the sunshine. An England run that pulled us back together through late nights, group chats and memes – for once, the big story included us. Since mid-June, "the World Cup will create a bit of national pride" has climbed from 39% to 63%, and "it will bring people together" from 52% to 65%. Sport gave the country something it has been starved of: shared emotion.

Sun and football lifted optimism five points in a month. It was brightness we always knew was borrowed – nothing underneath has changed – and Wednesday's semi-final defeat called the first of it back.

Here's what matters: people aren't waiting for the mood to be taken from them. They've stopped looking past today altogether. "Taking it one day at a time" has climbed to the top of its range. Dread of winter sits at 41% against a four-year norm of 47% – not because winter looks kinder, because we've decided not to look. Heating bills and back-to-school costs are off the radar. Call it emotional deferral: protecting today's mood by postponing tomorrow's worries.

Four signals tell you how this summer is different:

1. The annual urge to slow down has become a full takeover. The heatwave turned Britain into somewhere abroad, and filled gardens and parks with the kind of joy that costs nothing. The weather now beats a tidy house, exercise and the to-do list as a source of happiness. As one respondent told us: "We spent the whole day in the garden with the kids playing in the pool – I even finished a book!"
2. Holidays used to top us up with fun and newness. This year they're an escape hatch. "Leave troubles behind" is five points above its all-time average as a holiday hope; switching the phone off is up too, while soaking up the weather and trying new things are down. "This year has felt a slog," one holidaymaker told us. "Next Saturday we go away and I intend to completely switch off for a week."
3. Autumn planning would normally be starting. Autumn can wait. Recovery is the priority, not preparation.
4. 57% now feel worn out by everything – four points above the five-year norm. People are still finding ways to stretch the food budget, yet the balanced diet has hit its deepest dent in our tracking. When effort no longer feels rewarded, the good habit is the first thing to go.

All of this played out alongside politics at its strangest – and Burnham's arrival in No. 10 has produced no bounce at all. Trust in government is still bumping along around –40%. "It's all just… whatever," as one respondent put it. This month's lift owes nothing to Westminster. Worth remembering when you forecast how long it lasts.

What brands should do

1. Help people enjoy now. Guilt is the barrier, so remove it – show customers what they've saved on last July, make casual plans effortless (walk-ins, outdoor space, food made for sharing) and reward small steps with payback they get straight away, not points for later.
2. Switch on holiday mode. Take the organising off their hands: simple booking, flexible plans, everything sorted. Mute what can wait. Keep what protects them – fraud alerts stay on.
3. Get ready for late August, quietly. Reality lands in the first fortnight of August – results, costs and choices. Have cost-spreading and back-to-school help ready before the bills hit, and don't push it yet. When the nation has deferred autumn, the brand that arrives early with it becomes the bad news.

Keep the tone light, warm and calm. No pressure, no fuss, no hard sell.

The nation is making memories on borrowed brightness, and everyone knows the terms – rain or results will stop play eventually. Until then the strategy, theirs and yours, is the same: bank the good days, one at a time.

Source: Konfidant Mood of the Nation, week ending 17 July 2026. Base: 2,000 UK adults per week, plus qualitative interviews.