The economy remains the most mentioned important issue facing Britain, while concern about inflation drops

• Thirty-five per cent name the economy as an important issue for Britain
• Concern about inflation has fallen ten points, but remains the second-biggest issue facing the country 
• Around a quarter mention the NHS as a big issue, still in third place but down seven points since October. Immigration remains in fourth.
• Concern about housing is at its highest level since 2019, while mentions of defence/foreign affairs also rise

The November 2023 Ipsos Issues Index reveals the top five issues facing the country remain the same, despite a drop in public concern about inflation and the NHS

The economy continues to be seen as an important issue for the country, mentioned by 35% of Britons. Concern remains relatively unchanged since last month, seeing a small decrease of three percentage points. 

As inflation rates fell last month, public concern has dropped significantly. Down ten percentage points since October, concern about inflation is at its lowest level since March 2022. However, it remains the second-biggest issue for the country, mentioned by a quarter (25%) of Britons.

Concern about the NHS has also fallen, down seven points since October, although it remains the third-biggest issue for Britons, mentioned by 24%. 

Immigration remains the fourth-biggest issue facing the country, with 22% mentioning it as an issue. Concern remains uneven between different groups, with Conservative supporters (41%), men (29%) and those aged 55+ (28%) significantly more likely to see immigration as an issue than Labour supporters (11%), women (16%) and 18-34-year-olds (14%).

Almost one in five (18%) see housing as a concern, remining the fifth-biggest issue facing Britain. This is the highest score for this issue since July 2019. 

Elsewhere in the ranking, the proportion who mention defence/foreign affairs as a big issue has risen six points to 11%, its highest figure since September last year.  Meanwhile mentions of Europe/Brexit have fallen to just five per cent. This is the lowest level of concern recorded since December 2015. 

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos, said:

There are signs that the fall in inflation is beginning to feed through to the public, with mentions of the cost of living in the Ipsos Issues Index falling to their lowest level in 20 months. However that doesn’t meant that the impact of price rises on the public mood is over, and overall economic concerns still top the agenda. 
Indeed, the top five issues mentioned by the public are still the same as last month. Meanwhile, just below the top some other issues are becoming more pressing. Mentions of housing are at their highest since before the 2019 general election, while in response to international events mentions of defence/foreign affairs have now entered the top ten.

Technical note

Ipsos' Issues Index is conducted monthly and provides an overview of the key issues concerning the country. Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,008 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. The answers are spontaneous responses, and participants are not prompted with any answers. 

Ipsos’ telephone omnibus was used for this survey. Interviews were conducted between 8 and 14 November 2023. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.