Government & constitution

Looking at whether key political attitudes and values have changed following the pandemic.

The What Scotland Thinks website provides impartial, up-to-date information on public attitudes towards how the constituent parts of the UK should and are being governed.

The What UK Thinks: EU website provides impartial, up-to-date information on public attitudes to the European Union before and since the EU Referendum.

The British Social Attitudes survey has been carried out annually since 1983 and is our longest running survey. Over 90,000 people have taken part in the study so far.

The Scottish Social Attitudes (SSA) Survey is an annual survey that has been run since 1999 – this year marked its twentieth anniversary. It is a face-to-face survey that uses a random sample of all those aged over 16 and living anywhere in Scotland, so it provides a robust and reliable picture of changing attitudes over time.

Levels of trust in ONS and the statistics it produces remain high, having not changed significantly since 2016.

At 69%, voter turnout in the 2017 General Election was higher than at any such election since 1997. In the latest release of our initial British Social Attitudes (BSA) findings, we examine the increase in more depth.

The nature of the UK’s post-Brexit trade agreements with both the European Union and the rest of the world are likely to have a considerable impact on public life.

With 15 months before the official date, the National Centre for Social Research has conducted new research that examines Scottish attitudes towards Brexit.

People on low incomes have attitudes to politics broadly in line with the wider population, but feel less in control of their lives.