If head teachers say morale is high I ask them how they know - they say they ask their deputy!

He also said morale was very low among the people of Atiu.

Eighty-six per cent of respondents said morale was either low or very low.

James Spicer from Explore Whitsundays said morale was very important to the town.

E Tū's Kelvin Ellis said morale was the lowest it had ever been.

Bolland last week said morale was at an all-time high during the company's latest set of results.

Blanchflower said morale among staff at the Bank was the lowest of any place he had worked.

Soldiers who patrolled the streets said morale was high after a string of military successes against the Islamist group.

But he said morale in the training sessions remained strong, with everyone keen to put their new skills to use.

The institute's rural spokesman Brian Peacocke said morale in the rural sector had rebounded following drought-breaking rainfall in northern regions.

Some analysts have said morale in the army, trained to face external aggressors, was suffering because of the focus on fighting within the country.

Addressing more than 600 doctors gathered in Belfast's Waterfront Hall for the BMA's annual conference, Dr Ian Bogle said morale had never been so low.

Assistant Chief Constable Adrian Leppard, of Kent police, said morale was "very high" about what he described as "clearly significant developments" in the fast-moving investigation.

The Rural Support Trust's Cheviot representative, Liz Ensor, said morale was already low even before the setback of the November's 7.8 earthquake.