Barely a year ago, our greatest concerns centred on issues such as crime and immigration but now - thanks to the crisis in the economy - anxiety over financial insecurity has become our biggest fear.

Just in case confirmation was required, the findings of a survey by market analysts Mintel underline that the credit crunch and lengthening dole queues have been accompanied by a realignment in people's priorities.

In February, the "broad societal problems" of immigration and crime topped a list of concerns, with 48% and 44% of respondents telling Mintel that these were the issues that worried them most.

Only one-quarter of those polled mentioned the economy.

Skip forward eight months and 54% of people say they are worried about the state of the economy and 44% about "my own financial situation", while crime and immigration have slipped to third and fourth place in the worry league.

Mintel, which gives advice on market trends, said that companies needed to send a strong message that they were putting consumers' direct interests first.

"For 2009, the message appears to be that in the short term, at least, the majority of people will be looking for companies that make their money go further first and that help society second," Mintel noted.

"Companies seen to prioritise the struggles of customers above all else, and adapting their offering accordingly, should be best placed to win customer loyalty."

Its report came after the Archbishop of Canterbury claimed yesterday that the credit crunch was a welcome "reality check" for a society that has become driven by unsustainable greed.

Rowan Williams also hit out at Prime Minister Gordon Brown's plans to combat recession by boosting spending, likening them to an "addict returning to the drug".

The head of the Church of England's outspoken comments came as he delivered a scathing assessment of "moral" failings in Britain's economy.

Interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he insisted the country had been "going in the wrong direction" for decades by relying on financial speculation to generate wealth quickly rather than "making things".

Questioned on whether increased spending was the right way to tackle the downturn, he said: "It seems a little bit like the addict returning to the drug.

"When the Bible uses the word repentance', it doesn't just mean beating your breast, it means getting a new perspective, and that is perhaps what we are shrinking away from."

The archbishop added: "It is about what is sustainable in the long term and if this is going to drive us back into the same spin, I do not think that is going to help us."

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