National Centre for Social Research

📣 New British Social Attitudes findings published today

Public support for higher taxes and increased public spending has fallen sharply since 2022, while political divisions over the role of the state have widened to levels not previously seen.

Read the full report:
natcen.ac.uk/publications...

British Social Attitudes (BSA): First Look | National Centre for Social Research BSA: First Look draws on data from the BSA survey, running continuously since 1983

📊 British Social Attitudes: First Look | Online
🗓 12 Feb 2026 | 🕐 13:00–14:00 GMT

Explore emerging trends in public attitudes to taxation, public spending, immigration, welfare and assisted dying, with expert analysis and discussion.

🔗 natcen.ac.uk/events/briti...

What really divides Britain on immigration and politics?

Our new report reveals that educational background is the most important driver of attitudes towards immigration and support for right-wing politics in the UK.

natcen.ac.uk/publications...

Season’s greetings from everyone at NatCen🎄

Thank you to our clients, suppliers and colleagues and to the thousands of people who take part in our research and make our work possible.

Is there a religious revival in Britain? | National Centre for Social Research This briefing paper explores religious attitudes in Britain drawing on British Social Attitudes data.

Is Britain seeing a religious revival?

New analysis from Sir John Curtice, using British Social Attitudes data, suggests not. While the long-term decline in religious identity may have paused, regular church attendance remains lower than before the pandemic, especially among younger people. Instead

Today, the Adult Oral Health Survey 2023 has been published providing the first clinical picture of adult oral health in England for more than a decade.

Read the full report here: natcen.ac.uk/publications...

Our latest analysis explores how people in the UK and US understand their country’s role in the world – from taking an active role in global affairs, to balancing national interests with allies, to views on military strength and supporting Ukraine.

📖 Read the full blog:

Can Prince William's 'ordinary Joe' approach win the monarchy more support? Polls suggest public approval for the monarchy has declined, which raises the question of what King Charles and Prince William could do to win back more support for the institution.

Published today, a new BBC piece draws on NatCen’s British Social Attitudes data to illustrate long-term shifts in public views of the monarchy.

🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Our new blog looks at how views on climate change and politics shape support for wind, pylons and nuclear, and what this means for the government’s net-zero plans.

🔗 Read the full blog here: natcen.ac.uk/blog/powerin...

New findings from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey have been published today by NHS England as an official statistic, with data collected and analysed by by NatCen, @uniofleicester.bsky.social, and @citystgeorges.bsky.social

Find out more: natcen.ac.uk/news/new-res...

Gilbert Scott Building with a clear blue sky and some trees in front of the building.

@uofgsps.bsky.social gambling harms experts @gamblingcommission.bsky.social have been awarded a four-year contract by GamRegGB for the Gambling Survey for the UK with @natcen.bsky.social.

They will continue to refine the survey and strive to enhance data quality.

More: tinyurl.com/3hz6t6kt

Following today’s visit from US Trade Representative Jamison Greer, our June 2025 data shows that the UK public is more supportive of free trade agreements than the US .

Around two-thirds of people in the UK (65%) support the UK making trade agreements with other countries, compared with 39% in th

Life at age 17 – latest findings from the Growing Up in Scotland study” will run on 25 Nov, 2–3pm GMT.

Speakers: Eleanor Holman, Line Knudsen, Hele Wilson, Paul Bradshaw, and a Scottish Government response from Donna Easterlow.

natcen.ac.uk/events/life-...

Are you a qualitative researcher looking for inspiration on how to plan your reporting, and display qualitative evidence in informative, interesting, and credible ways? We are hosting an online one-day training course on 'Reporting Qualitative Data' on 10 December natcen.ac.uk/events/repor...

Great session this afternoon with Sir John Curtice and Mark Easton, our new Senior Fellow. Interesting to hear their take on what’s happening in the world right now, and how NatCen’s long-running public opinion data continues to offer insight into the topics that matter most.

New findings from from British Social Attitudes show strong public backing for green energy but not without challenges.

Read our latest blog exploring how attitudes to climate change shape support for Britain’s green infrastructure plans natcen.ac.uk/blog/powerin...

Looking for further training and development to support and grow your career in social research? NatCen Learning delivers a wide-ranging programme of courses, covering ethical considerations, qualitative data, deliberation and much more. Visit natcen.ac.uk/training-courses to find out more

Join us on 19 Nov, 16:00–17:30 GMT, for the NatCen event “UK and US attitudes: Two sides of the same coin?”

Explore how views differ across the Atlantic on immigration, economics, gender, religion and government.

natcen.ac.uk/events/uk-an...

Independent evaluation of under 18s elements of DBI programme – report published - Distress Brief Intervention Scotland Picture: Front cover of the Evaluation of the Under 18s Elements of Distress Brief Intervention Report The Scottish Government has now published the report of the independent evaluation elements of th...

We look forward to working further with partners on the development of DBI for children and young people.

Read the report below (with thanks to @stir.ac.uk, @childreninscotland.bsky.social & @natcen.bsky.social) 👇

A year on since Donald Trump’s election, our latest report highlights some striking differences between UK and US attitudes.

In the UK, people are generally more liberal on social issues but take a tougher approach to immigration.

Research Director Alex Scholes discusses the findings.

Dot plot of share of British adults strongly agreeing that people would learn to stand on their own two feet if welfare benefits were less generous showing the attitudes of young adults and men have shifted the most

Line chart of share of British adults strongly agreeing that people would learn to stand on their own two feet if welfare benefits were less generous showing attitudes towards benefits claimants are hardening

Young Brits' attitudes towards benefits claimants and criminals are hardening, according to @natcen.bsky.social, as discontent with the “broken social contract” drives younger voters towards Reform and the Greens.

More @financialtimes.com from me and @jonathanvincent.bsky.social : on.ft.com/4nBB53E

Today we’re launching our new report UK and US Attitudes: Two sides of the same coin?

In this clip, Alex Scholes breaks down how UK and US attitudes differ and what links Reform UK and Trump voters.

📖 Read the full report: natcen.ac.uk/publications...

#SocialResearch #PublicOpinion #Immigration

UK and US attitudes: Two sides of the same coin? | National Centre for Social Research Join us at this event to hear the latest research, comparing UK and US attitudes, on a variety of social and political issues.

How different or similar are public attitudes in the UK and US on big social & political questions?

Join our webinar “UK and US attitudes: Two sides of the same coin?”

🗓️ 19 Nov | 16:00 GMT | Online

Register here 👉 natcen.ac.uk/events/uk-an...

🏫If you're a secondary school leader, consider taking part in new research study with @natcen.bsky.social.

💸 By taking part in a survey, you'll help to shape the evidence base for understanding postive learning environments and will receive a Love2Shop voucher.

tinyurl.com/2mrxuhk6

Judgement analysis – review of the presumption of parental involvement | National Centre for Social Research NatCen was commissioned to analyse court judgments and written facts and reasons to understand how the presumption is applied in private family law.

The full findings and any limitations of the research can be found here: natcen.ac.uk/publications...

The clearest finding is that, within our sample, ‘no involvement’ is very rarely ordered. Of the 245 cases analysed, there were only three cases. The study also finds inconsistency in the discussion of presumption of parental involvement and detail of harm or risk of harm affecting children.

We conducted a feasibility study to test the sampling approach, data collection methods, and approach to analysis to meet the research objectives. Through this process, qualitative content within the files were transformed into quantitative variables for descriptive analysis.

Our research had three objectives:
➡️ To understand how courts apply the statutory presumption and risk of harm exception in eligible private cases.
➡️ How risk of harm and possible benefits of parental involvement are described.
➡️ What other case facts, circumstances or features are applied.

We were commissioned as part of the Ministry of Justice's review of the presumption of parental involvement to carry out an analysis of judgments and written facts and reasons to explore how the presumption is applied in courts for determining child arrangements.

📢 We’re delighted to welcome @markeaston1.bsky.social to NatCen as our new Senior Fellow.

Mark, former BBC Home Editor, will be working with us to bring fresh insights and public engagement to our flagship British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey.