Press coverage

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed everyday life and seen unprecedented government intervention in the economy and society. Yet the public’s views on welfare, public spending and individual freedoms have scarcely changed since the pandemic began, a new post-lockdown survey by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) reveals today. However, the government’s decision to spend money on keeping people in jobs, and on increased welfare benefit for those without one, does match a changed public mood that was already in evidence before the pandemic.

The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) has today published new research from its 37th annual British Social Attitudes report, charting key trends in public attitudes towards welfare, government spending, national identity and immigration, central issues for society and the economy as Britain navigates the COVID-19 pandemic and its departure from the single market and customs union.

New research from NatCen’s latest British Social Attitudes report reveals striking levels of pessimism in both Scotland and England about current levels of social inequality, but finds that people in Scotland are slightly more ‘left wing’ than in England.

As the UK prepares to leave the single market and the customs union at the end of 2020, new research from the British Social Attitudes Survey - carried out by the National Centre for Social Research - reveals a nation that is divided on Brexit, has had its confidence in its politics shaken by Brexit yet is more politically engaged, with clear expectations about what should happen when it finally fully leaves the EU.

New data from the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) reveals significant shifts in attitudes to the government’s handling of the Brexit negotiation process. Only 7% of Brits think that the UK government has been handling the negotiations well. 80% of Leave voters and 85% of Remain voters believe the government is handling Britain’s exit badly.