Shifting public attitudes to taxation and spending

On 12th June, the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) published the results of its latest British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey. For over 40 years, we have been charting people's social, political, and moral attitudes, reporting on what they feel it is like to live in Britain, and examining how well they think the country is run. Britain had experienced unprecedented levels of change and disruption since the last General Election in 2019. The UK had withdrawn from the European Union, suffered a global pandemic, witnessed the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, endured the highest level of inflation since the 1970s, lost its longest ever reigning monarch, and been led by three different Prime Ministers.
As the country anticipates another General Election, this year’s British Social Attitudes analysed the impact of these developments on public opinion, assessed whether the contours of public opinion had been fundamentally reshaped, and considered the implications of its findings for the challenge facing the parties at the next election. Had the public’s faith in how they were governed been shaken? Had voters’ expectations of what government should do changed? What now divided Conservative and Labour supporters? Were attitudes to immigration changing and did it remain a polarising issue? And did voters’ perceptions of what it meant to be British now look different from in the past?
Natalie is a Research Director at NatCen and currently leads the Survey of Londoners and the European Social Survey. She returned to NatCen in 2021 after working for M&C Saatchi World Services and Plan International. In her previous role at NatCen, she managed a number of large-scale quantitative projects including the National Diet and Nutrition Survey and a study of sodium intake in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
She has a BSc in Psychology from the University of Warwick and a MSc in Social Research Methods from the University of Surrey.
Sir John Curtice is Senior Research Fellow at NatCen, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University, and Chief Commentator on the What UK Thinks: EU and What Scotland Thinks websites.
He has been a regular contributor to the annual British Social Attitudes report since 1986 and an editor since 1994. He has also been a Co-Director of the Scottish Social Attitudes survey since its foundation in 1999, and his analyses of Scottish public opinion in the run up to the independence referendum were frequently featured throughout the campaigns.
In 2018, he received a knighthood in the New Year's Honours list. Sir John is a regular media commentator on both British and Scottish politics.
Gillian is Deputy Chief Executive at the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and Director of NatCen's Social Surveys Department.
Gillian leads a large team of researchers, data specialists and operational staff, including NatCen’s interviewers and biomedical fieldworkers. She oversees the design, management and delivery of NatCen’s portfolio of social surveys in a wide range of policy areas, including housing, finance, health and transport. She also has oversight of the NatCen Opinion Panel.
Gillian has spent her career in applied social research and has over 25 years’ experience of managing design and delivery of social surveys, and leading research teams. She regularly appears in the national press and broadcast media, talking about social trends. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, a member of the board of the Campaign for Social Science and a trustee of the Social Research Association.
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