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How British moral attitudes have changed in the last 30 years

This analysis by the Policy Institute at King’s College London, based on polling by Ipsos MORI reveals how the British public’s views on moral issues have become increasingly liberal over the last 30 years, with society today far more tolerant of illegal drug use, homosexuality, abortion, depictions of violence and many aspects of sex in popular culture, and many other issues and activities. However, views on some behaviours haven’t changed or have even hardened, including on extra-marital affairs and rejection of capital punishment. The 1989 survey was published in the book We British, by Eric Jacobs and Sir Robert Worcester.

The wordings of the statements have been kept consistent to ensure comparable trends, even where concepts and language have moved on. Most of the 2019 survey results here have been conducted using the same design as the original study: face to face interviews in respondents’ own homes, to be representative of the whole population aged 15 and above. Two of the 2019 questions were asked on an online study, of a representative sample of the population aged 16 75: these comparisons should therefore be seen as indicative but still useful, given the very large changes in attitudes seen.

How British moral attitudes have changed in the last 30 years | King's College London
How British moral attitudes have changed in the last 30 years | King's College London | PDF Booklet