Exploring today’s attitudes for tomorrow’s election

On 27^th June, the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) publishes 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 has experienced unprecedented levels of change and disruption since the last General Election in 2019. The UK has withdrawn from the European Union, suffered a global pandemic, witnessed the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, endured the highest level of inflation since the 1970s,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 will analyse the impact of these developments on public opinion, assess whether the contours of public opinion have been fundamentally reshaped, and consider the implications of its findings for the challenge facing the parties at the next election. Has the public’s faith in how they are governed been shaken? Have voters’ expectations of what government should do changed? What now divides Conservative and Labour supporters? Are attitudes to immigration changing and does it remain a polarising issue? And do voters’ perceptions of what it means to be British now look different from in the past?

Join us at this online event to hear what researchers working on British Social Attitudes have to say about the latest findings and participate in an engaging and topical discussion.