People are less ‘nimby’ than they think they are

Ipsos in the UK has conducted a new poll exploring public opinion on housing, planning reform and the politics of housing in Britain. The survey, conducted online between May 9th and 12th 2025, finds that people over-estimate opposition to local housebuilding. Those opposed to building are more out of touch with public opinion than those who support it.

‘Nimbyism’ and housebuilding

• Levels of support for building new homes locally are higher than those for opposition - but three in ten people are undecided: 46% of Britons support building more homes in their local area, while 25% oppose it. However, a substantial 24% are neither supportive nor opposed.
• Support varies over time and across the population. Support has decreased since Autumn 2024. Supporters are most likely to be younger age groups, Labour voters, and renters while older people, women, and homeowners make up a higher proportion of opponents.
• People are more likely to think public opinion is anti- new building than pro it: 26% expect that more people support building new homes than oppose it, 42% think that more oppose than support it and 20% think support and opposition are matched (12% say they don’t know). 
• Opponents are particularly out of touch: While 28% of those who support building new homes wrongly believe opponents outnumber supporters, 72% of opponents are wrong.

• Perceived reasons for building shortfall: The top three factors contributing to Britain's housing shortage in the public’s eyes are the financial position of local councils preventing them from building new homes (67% think this has contributed a great deal/a fair amount), local opposition to new homes (62%), and the planning system limiting where it is possible to build new homes (61%). 
  • Change since 2023: Local opposition to new homes and the planning system limiting where it is possible to build, have become more salient than they were in 2023, the lack of interest from politicians less so.
  • Differences among supporters and opponents: While supporters are more likely to consider the financial position of local councils (78%) and the planning system (72%) than local opposition (68%) as contributing to the deficit in new building, local opposition is seen as most responsible by opponents of new building (62%).
• People are more positive than negative about the quality of new housing: 48% of people describe the quality of new housing in their local area as good, compared to 22% who view it as poor. Opponents of new building are more critical of new housing quality.

Support for several planning policies

• Environmental protection a priority: Six in ten (61%) say that higher priority should be given to protecting and improving the environment even if it means fewer homes are built, versus 19% who say that priority should be given to building homes quickly, even if it comes at the expense of environmental concerns. 
• As is local engagement: Similarly, 61% of the public prioritise the views of local councils and residents versus 19% who prioritise volumes and speed of construction of new homes. This preference is particularly strong among opponents of new building.
• Knowledge of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is low: While self-reported knowledge of the planning system is shallow, far fewer are aware of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill (24% have never heard of it).
• The public support several of the government’s planning policies: Support is highest for requiring house builders to have plans for how they will protect and improve nature, and for the mandatory installation of solar panels. Conversely, extending compulsory purchase is much less popular than other policies.

Government performance 

• Labour's performance on housing: While 21% of Britons believe the Labour government is doing a good job improving housing, almost half (46%) feel they are doing a bad job. A quarter (25%) are unsure. Perceptions of the Labour government’s performance on housing are marginally better than those of the Conservative government before the 2024 General Election.
  • When split by 2024 General Election vote, Labour voters are most positive (35% good job vs. 30% bad job) about the government’s performance, while Conservative (18% positive, 58% negative) and Reform UK voters (78% bad job, 7% good job) are considerably more negative. 
  • When split by current housing status, social renters (13% positive, 48% negative), private renters (22% positive, 48% negative) and mortgage holders (17%positive, 45% negative) are least positive, while owners (26% positive, 45% negative) are slightly less critical. 
  • Comparison with previous government: Public opinion is divided on whether Labour is performing better or worse on housing than the previous Conservative government, with 28% saying better, 27% saying worse, and 35% saying about the same. Labour currently isn’t yet living up to expectations of how it would perform on housing ahead of last year’s General Election.

Commenting on the findings, Ben Marshall, Research Director at Ipsos, said:

There is good news and bad news for ‘the builders’ (who in the words of the Prime Minister should be backed ahead of ‘the blockers’). According to our poll, in principle support for building more homes has been consistently ahead of opposition for some time now, and several of the Government’s proposed planning policies are popular with the public. On the other hand, the public is steadfast in its preference for local engagement over the scale and speed of building while also prioritising environmental protection. The message is that they think that the ‘means’ of housebuilding matter as much, if not more, than the ‘ends’. The poll also underlines the power of the narrative about nimbyism. People are out of touch with public opinion. They perceive it to be more nimby than it is in reality – and this is especially true among those opposing local house building.

Technical note: 

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,100 online British adults aged 18-75. Polling was conducted between the 9th and 12th May 2025. 
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.