PUBLIC perceptions of division in the UK have reached their highest level since 2020, with 84 per cent of people saying the country feels divided, according to new research by the Policy Institute at King’s College London and Ipsos.
The study found that 67 per cent of respondents believe the UK is divided by “culture wars”, up from 46 per cent in 2020 and 54 per cent in 2023.
Half of those surveyed (50 per cent) said the nation’s culture is changing too fast, compared with 35 per cent five years ago, and 48 per cent said they would like the country to be the way it used to be, up from 28 per cent in 2020.
The survey of 4,027 adults conducted in August 2025 also showed that 64 per cent see culture wars as a serious problem for UK society and politics, a rise from 52 per cent in 2023 and 44 per cent in 2020. The proportion who “strongly agree” with that view has doubled in two years, from 10 per cent to 20 per cent.
The study found that 60 per cent believe politicians invent or exaggerate culture wars for political purposes, while 66 per cent think the media often makes the country feel more divided than it really is.
Perceived tension between immigrants and people born in the UK rose to 86 per cent, up from 74 per cent in 2023. However, the share of those who feel tension between Brexit Leavers and Remainers declined to 52 per cent, compared with 78 per cent in 2020.
The proportion of people who say they feel proud of their country has dropped to 46 per cent, from 56 per cent five years ago.
Views also shifted on transgender rights, with 39 per cent saying those rights have gone too far — more than double the 17 per cent recorded in 2020. On the term “woke”, 48 per cent now consider it an insult, up from 24 per cent in 2020.
Professor Bobby Duffy, Director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, said: “This latest study shows a frightening increase in the sense of national division and decline in the UK in just a few years. We’ve seen steep rises in the beliefs that the UK is divided, that 'culture wars' are real and that things were better in the past.”
Gideon Skinner, Senior Director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said: “Continued global and domestic disruption and fragmentation is reflected in our latest study, which illustrates how the narrative around culture wars is intensifying in the UK.”
The findings are based on Ipsos UK’s random probability KnowledgePanel survey conducted between August 21 and 27, 2025.
