The NatCen Blog

Here we’ll be talking about our research in the context of the latest news, opinion and
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Posted on 16 December 2020 by Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow

Has COVID-19 shifted public attitudes?

Now that the prospect of an end to the pandemic is in sight, the question of what post-pandemic Britain should look like will soon become a pressing one. Should everyday life and public policy return to ‘normal’ – or does COVID-19 represent an opportunity to reshape the country’s social and economic life and the role that government plays in facilitating it?
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Tags: British Social Attitudes, COVID-19, income and welfare, social and political attitudes
Posted on 29 October 2020 by Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow ScotCen

Is Scotland More Egalitarian than England?

It is often argued that Scotland is more left-wing than England. After all, the relative weakness of the Conservative party north of the border would seem a clear testament to that being the case. And the claim, which has often been made by SNP spokespersons, fits one of the key arguments that the party presents in favour of independence, that is, that for so long as it is part of the Union, Scotland is always at risk of having the realisation of its preferences stymied by the less progressive views of those living south of the border.
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Tags: BSA37, British Social Attitudes, ISSP, International Social Survey Programme, Scottish Social Attitudes, inequality
Posted on 08 October 2020 by Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow ScotCen

The Legacy and Future of Brexit

Today sees the publication of two chapters on Brexit as part of the latest British Social Attitudes report. One examines the legacy of Brexit, that is, the impact that the process of leaving has had on our attitudes towards how we are governed. The other looks at what people hope Brexit will bring in future, that is, what they think the UK government should do with the new powers and responsibilities that it will acquire at the end of the transition period in December.
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Tags: BSA 37, Brexit, British Social Attitudes, political attitudes, public trust
Posted on 14 November 2019 by Nancy Kelley, Deputy Chief Executive

Higher or lower? The country is divided on changing the voting age

The Labour Party’s attempt to amend the Parliamentary General Election Act of 2019 and extend the franchise just weeks before an election caused a resurgence of interest in whether 16 and 17 year olds should be allowed to vote.
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Tags: British Social Attitudes, voting age
Posted on 15 August 2019 by Miranda Phillips, Research Director

With growing waiting times for GP appointments, are AandE services under pressure?

While most people who go to A&E have an urgent medical problem, NHS data suggests that 15% of A&E use is not medically urgent. The issue of ‘over-use’ of emergency health services is an ongoing concern for both NHS providers and policymakers - and is also shared by the public.
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Tags: British Social Attitudes, GPs, healthcare
Posted on 11 July 2019 by Nancy Kelley, Deputy Chief Executive

Over the rainbow?

It’s Pride month, our timelines are full of rainbows, and this week Westminster voted to extend same sex marriage rights to Northern Ireland. So are we really getting less tolerant of lesbian and gay relationships?
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Tags: British Social Attitudes, LGBT, diversity, relationships
Posted on 28 September 2018 by Guy Goodwin, Chief Executive

The fall and rise of Britishness and Englishness

Following the creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, UK politicians were quick to warn of the threat of English nationalism. Jack Straw, the former Labour MP, went as far as describing the English as “potentially very aggressive, very violent… and will increasingly articulate their Englishness following devolution”. Almost twenty years on, were they right? And is Brexit one of the consequences?
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Tags: BSA, British Social Attitudes
Posted on 13 March 2018 by Luca Tiratelli, Research Assistant

The Personal is Statistical: Why do you drink?

Why do you drink? It’s a personal question, and yet data from the 2015 British Social Attitudes survey suggests that the answer might not be that personal at all. In fact, it seems that quite a large part of the answers can be explained by simply by looking at the broad categories that you fall into as a person.
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Tags: drinking, health, British Social Attitudes, Health Survey for England, alcohol, binge-drinking
Posted on 19 January 2018 by Kirby Swales, Director of Survey Research Centre

The BBC still dominates when it comes to news online - here's why it matters

Despite accusations of bias from both sides of the political spectrum, the BBC still dominates online news. Based on data from the British Social Attitudes survey, we analyse why that's important.
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Tags: media, News, BBC, BSA, British Social Attitudes
Posted on 04 December 2017 by Emily Tanner, Head of Children, Families & Work

What do people think about early education for two year olds?

Four years since the government introduced free early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds in England, around 67,000 children are still missing out. Are the public's attitudes a barrier?
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Tags: BSA, British Social Attitudes, children, education