85% say Britain is divided as concern about extremism rises

• 6 in 10 praise police response to riots and unrest, but criticise social media companies
• Concern about crime and anti-social behaviour also rises since June

 New polling by Ipsos, taken August 9-12 (in the wake of the riots and unrest that have occurred in recent weeks), has examined attitudes towards crime, extremism and divisions in society. 

Overall, 85% think that British society is divided these days.  This figure has stood at around 8 in 10 since 2021, though these latest results show a 4 point rise since March.  There has been a steeper increase in concerns about extremism (even though, overall more people remain concerned about the state of Britain’s public services and economy):

• 84% say they are concerned about the state of Britain’s public services, and 83% about Britain’s economy, no change since March.
• 74% are concerned about the rise of religious extremism in Britain, up nine points since March.
• 73% are concerned about the rise of right-wing extremism, and 59% about the rise of left-wing extremism, up 9 and 7 points respectively.
• 70% are concerned about the state of British democracy (up 3).

Half (51%) also now think that the differences in people’s political views are so divisive, that is dangerous for society – up from a third last month.  There is also a lack of sympathy towards people with opposing political views, and less so than in 2018.  62% say people with opposing political views are unlikely to change their opinion regardless of the evidence, and around half think they don’t care about ‘people like me’, that they have been misled, and that their views are politically extreme. Although only a third still feel they are not worth trying to have a conversation with at all, this is also up since 2018 (from 20% to 36%).  

Thinking about the riots specifically, a large majority, 84%, are concerned about the safety of people living in communities where riots and unrest have taken place.  In terms of the response to the unrest, Britons are broadly positive towards the police, split on their views towards politicians, and critical of social media companies. 6 in 10 (60%) believe that social media companies have done a bad job at responding to the riots and unrest. Conversely, there is broad support for the police, with 59% saying they have done a good job. 39% approve of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s response to events, and 29% are critical.  Only 13% think Rishi Sunak has done a good job (and 41% are critical), while 21% are positive towards Nigel Farage’s response to the riots, and 48% are critical. 

When asked about crime more broadly in a separate poll conducted 2-5 August, 86% of Britons believe that it is a big problem in the UK as a whole (+7 ppts from June 2024). 4 in 10 (40%) say that it is a big problem in their area (-1). 7 in 10 (72%) believe that crime has gone up in the UK as a whole over the past year (+11 since June), while 41% say it has increased in their local area (+5). Three quarters (76%) of those who think crime has gone up in the UK as a whole, think that because of things they’ve seen on the news (+3), while 43% believe it is due to things they have seen on social media (+7).

The public is split on whether they are personally worried about becoming the victim of a crime, however levels of concern are up since June. Overall, 49% report being worried about becoming a victim (+6 ppts). Concern is highest among those aged 18-34, with 6 in 10 (63%) saying they are worried. 55% of women are concerned (+4), compared with 42% of men (-1).

Commenting on the findings, Hannah Shrimpton, Research Director, Public Affairs at Ipsos, said: 

The riots and unrest across the UK have clearly been having an impact on public opinion, with rising concern about crime, different types of extremism, and the impact of political divisions on British society.   Our latest poll, taken in the aftermath of these events, found that there has been strong public support for the police response and concern for the local communities most directly affected, while ratings of Keir Starmer’s actions are more moderate, though still more positive than negative. Whether or not this a short-term reaction or if these new levels of concern are sustained, there needs to be a focus on how people from across the spectrum engage with those with differing political views, with the public also asking questions about the response from social media companies.

Technical note

Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,100 adults aged 16-75 across Great Britain. Polling was conducted online between 9-12 August 2024.  The crime questions were carried out 2-5 August 2024, among 1,091 online Britons aged 18-75. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.