The NHS has been the biggest issue for Britain over the past 50 years

• Across 50 years of data collection, the NHS has been most likely to be identified as a big issue for Britain, followed by unemployment
• Immigration is the biggest issue this month, although inflation remains the biggest issue facing Britons personally 
• The public see immigration and climate change as the likely biggest issues for Britain over the next 50 years

September 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the Ipsos Issues Index, which has covered the top concerns of the British people since 1974.

It reveals that across the past half-century, the biggest concern for the public has been the NHS, with a third (32%) of the public selecting this as an important issue for Britain across that time. Over the past 50 years the level of public concern about the health service has ranged from just two per cent in October 1974, to 72% in February 2002

Unemployment is the second-largest worry historically, scoring 30% across the period, compared with just 6% in September 2024. The historic high for concern about unemployment came in September 1982, when 82% saw it as an issue. Its lowest scores have come more recently; reaching two per cent in March 2023.

Education is third, scoring 20% across the half-century (ranging between 54% in April 1997 and 5% in October 1974) followed by crime (19% overall, with a high of 55% in August 2007 and a low of 3% in December 2020, during the pandemic)

Immigration is the fifth-most mentioned issue over the past 50 years, on 19%. Concern with this topic reached its highest level of 56% in September 2015, and hit a low of one per cent in November 1990.

But when asked directly, the British public say that Brexit, immigration and the economy have been the biggest issues for the country over the past 50 years. Only ten per cent say the NHS has been the biggest concern, and six per cent mention unemployment.

Looking forward, Britons say immigration and climate change will be the most important issues for the coming 50 years, followed by the economy. While the NHS and Defence are far more likely to be seen as an issue for the future than the past, Brexit and pandemic diseases are the opposite, with the public being much more likely to mention these as big issues for the past 50 years, rather than the coming decades.

Mike Clemence at Ipsos said:

“Fifty years on from the beginning of the Ipsos Issues Index some of the key issues for the country – particularly the NHS and immigration – would be familiar to the British public across much of the past half-century. But others, such as the absence of concern about unemployment, would feel very different.
Looking forward, the British public expect immigration and the NHS to be important issues for the coming decades. Climate change and defence, issues that are less of a concern today, are also higher on the list of expected concerns over the next 50 years.”

Ipsos' Issues Index is conducted monthly and provides an overview of the key issues concerning the country. Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of c.1,000 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 4-10 September 2024. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.