National Centre for Social Research appoints former BBC Home Editor, Mark Easton, as new Senior Fellow
Press release
Event
UK and US attitudes: Two sides of the same coin?
Join us at this event to hear the latest research, comparing UK and US attitudes, on a variety of social and political issues.
Register
A new report, published from the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) on 3 November, presents a comparative analysis of public attitudes in the UK and the US across a range of social, cultural, and political issues. Drawing on robust, nationally representative survey data from the British Social Attitudes survey and US data from the Pew Research Center, this research analyses US and UK views on immigration, economic issues, gender, family, religion, crime, and the role of government.
This research examines political polarisation, revealing ideological divisions between the left and right on cultural, economic and policy issues.
Join us for this webinar on 19 November, to hear a short presentation of the key findings, and a panel discussion, providing commentary, reflections and insights on what this means for UK and US politics, the impact on the countries' special relationship, and where the dividing lines are between voters.
Speakers
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Curtis JessopDirector of Attitudinal Surveys and the NatCen Panel National Centre for Social Research
Curtis Jessop is the Director of Attitudinal Surveys and the NatCen Panel, where he oversees the development and delivery of the British Social Attitudes study and the NatCen Panel, the UK’s first open mixed-mode random probability research panel.
Curtis is an expert in survey research and has conducted research in a wide range of substantive and methodological areas. Prior to this role he has worked on large, mixed-mode longitudinal projects such as Understanding Society and Next Steps. He has also conducted research into combining survey data with digital trace data and was the lead for the ‘New social media, new social science’ collaborative network.
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Mark EastonSenior Fellow National Centre for Social Research
Mark Easton joined the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) in 2025 as a Senior Fellow. Before joining NatCen, he was the Home Editor for BBC News, broadcasting on national television and radio.
His writing and presenting credits include The Happiness Formula on BBC Two in 2006 and The Crime of Our Lives for BBC Radio 4 in 2007. Mark's first book, Britain etc., was published in 2012. His second book Islands: Searching for truth on the shoreline was published in October 2022. In previous roles, he has been the social affairs editor at Channel 4 News and political editor at Channel 5 News.
Chair
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Michael DavisChief Executive National Centre for Social Research
Michael Davis joined the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) as its Chief Executive in August 2024.
Before joining NatCen, he worked at marketing data and analytics business, Kantar. From 2017, Michael was the Global Chief Operating Officer for Kantar Public, and then became the Chief Business Performance Officer at Kantar, responsible for their business performance cycle and driving executional focus.
In previous roles, he has been the UK Managing Director of research consultancy Ecorys and CEO of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills – a non-departmental public body.
Michael's leadership experience spans the private, public and third sector but has always centred around the potential of research to positively shape social and economic success.
