4 out of 5 people in Wales admit they are ‘too polite for their own good’

Is Wales the most respectful region in the UK? Those living in the ‘land of our fathers’ certainly think so – where 98% of residents consider themselves to be a polite person.

The research also found that the Welsh are the nation most likely to tell you a white lie, with a whopping 45% telling someone they’ve looked good, even if they secretly thought they didn’t. By contrast, Londoners are the most likely to tell you the truth about your appearance – with less than a third (31%) saying they’ve told someone they look good, even though they didn’t

The Welsh are also more likely to hold a door open for a stranger (94%), let shoppers with fewer items go ahead of them in a queue (74%) and are also the most likely to give away their last piece of cake (48%) than any other region in the UK.

Four out of five people in Wales (98%) also admit to being ‘too polite for their own good’– again more than any other area in Britain – while a quarter of residents would rather let a friend keep a £10 loan for good than ask for it back.

Londoners meanwhile emerged as the least polite nationwide from research* conducted by Lottoland UK, as it launches a new game which promises to pay your money back if you don’t win.

The survey found fewer residents in the UK capital considered themselves to be polite than anywhere else, and are also least likely to hold a door open for a stranger or let others with fewer items go ahead of them in a queue.

Across the regions, Lottoland asked 2000 people about “polite” situations and found the following:

• Over 60% of Londoners are likely to say something if you try and push in front of them in a queue, with those in the North East least likely to, with almost half (48%) saying they’ve previously let this go.
• 56% of those in Yorkshire and the Humber will automatically take their shoes off in someone else’s house, but just 12% of those in Northern Ireland will do the same.
• 56% of people in the South East have been caught up in a boring conversation but were too polite to break it off, where just 41% of Londoners have found themselves in the same situation.
• One in five people in Northern Ireland have given their phone to a stranger to use, compared with just 9% of those in the North East.

Nigel Birrell, CEO, at Lottoland, said:

“Wales has set itself apart culturally for centuries as a leading land of song, mythology and sporting prowess – and now, it would seem, as a core area for considerate and caring countryfolk too.

“The British are known for their politeness worldwide and we were keen to see how this tradition spreads itself out across the UK today – what we found is that, by and large, the Welsh are leading the way when it comes to acting politely towards their fellow man.”

The survey also found that people living in Northern Ireland were the least likely in the UK to ask for their money back when lending money to a friend, and the Scottish least likely to ask for a refund where they felt they had received poor standard goods or customer service.

Lottoland’s innovative new EuroMillionaire GO game meanwhile offers players the chance to win huge jackpots based on the underlying Euromillions draw every hour, or – if they don’t match any numbers – their money back. For just £1 players can also bet on the new 6/49 GO game for the chance to match all six numbers and the ‘supernumber’ in exchange for a £10 million jackpot.