In May 2024 CharityTracker looked at the progressive attitudes of people in the UK by focussing on a number of statements relating to gender, cultural and racial diversity, immigration, environment, inequality and taxation. Findings showed that people in the UK were more progressive in their personal attitudes and beliefs than they perceive the rest of the UK to be.

This research was revisited in June 2025 to see whether, a year on, given the backdrop of increasing polarisation in our political and cultural world, anything had changed.  Is this gap widening, or narrowing? And are people becoming more or less progressive in their attitudes?

A mixed picture

A year on, the gap between personal beliefs and perceptions of the UK overall has remained generally similar. People are still more progressive in their personal attitudes and beliefs than they perceive the rest of the UK to be. However, the data reveals that more progressive attitudes have declined over the last 12 months, with a small decrease across each of the statements tested. There are also significant variances, with the rate of decline differing by issue.

The biggest declines in personal agreement were for the statements relating to the value of encountering differing opinions (63% agreed in 2024, falling to 59% in 2025), income equality (a decline from 65% to 60%), and cultural and racial diversity in the UK (from 60% to 55%).

Chart showing agreement of the statement "It is important to encounter ideas and beliefs that differ from my own, even if they might offend me"

Chart showing percentage agreement with the statement "The government should act to ensure people's incomes are more equal"

Chart showing percentage agreement with the statement "Cultural and racial diversity is an essential part of the UK's identity"

The largest perception gaps however were on women’s equality, transgender issues, and immigration – unsurprising, given these are among the most high-profile topics being shaped and leveraged by media, social media, and political discourse today. No doubt influenced by the high-profile Stop the Boats rhetoric, the perception gap on immigration has widened the most, with 2024’s respondents thinking that 34% of the population would agree with the statement, dropping to 31% in 2025.

Chart showing percentage agreement with the statement "We should actively work towards achieving greater equality for women"

Chart showing percentage agreement with the statement "Transgender individuals should be officially recognised as the gender they identify with"

Chart showing percentage agreement with the statement "Immigration is a good thing as it improves the economy"

Digging deeper

Digging a little deeper to look at the results by people’s political affiliations (or voting intentions) indicated a stark difference in attitudes with left leaning voters (Labour, LibDem, Green) showing less of decline by statement year on year than right-leaning voters (Conservative and Reform). In fact, left wing voters seem to have become more progressive on the issues of transgender, immigration and diversity, while right wing voters show big drops in attitudes around cultural and racial diversity.

Ultimately, the findings highlight both the fragility and resilience of progressive attitudes in the UK. Our progressive attitudes are generally holding up and people still feel that they hold more progressive personal attitudes than the general population. However, we are becoming more polarised, with political rhetoric pulling people in different directions along political lines.

Methodology

These questions were added to the CharityTracker survey in June 2025. The survey sample is 4,000 UK adults (aged 18+), with nationally representative quotas on age/gender (interlocking), ethnicity, region and socioeconomic group.