Public concern about the economy rises, whilst concern about COVID-19 drops

• Public concern about the Coronavirus pandemic falls eight percentage points to the level recorded in May 
• The level of worry about the economy and the NHS rise
• The proportion who see Brexit as an issue falls, making it the fifth-biggest issue

The July 2021 Ipsos issues Index shows a slight drop in the proportion of the British public who are concerned about COVID-19, returning to the level recorded in May. There is a similar pattern for the proportion who say it is the single biggest issue for the country, which has fallen from 42% to 34%.

While the pandemic continues as the biggest issue the proportion mentioning the economy has risen by nine percentage points to 36%, putting it in second place. There has also been a slight increase (by four percentage points) in concern about the NHS, which now stands at 28%.

Meanwhile the proportion of Britons who mention Brexit, environmental issues and poverty/inequality have all dropped this wave. Notably, Brexit is now just the fifth-biggest concern; the first time it has placed this low in over a year.

Economic concerns are more of a priority for older people, those in social grades ABC1 and those who support the Conservative party:

• Younger people are less likely than older groups to be concerned about the economy, with 28% of 18-34 year olds mentioning it as an issue this month, compared with 39% of 35-54 year olds and 40% of the over 55s.
• Four in ten (42%) of those in social grades ABC1 are concerned about the economy compared with three in ten (31%) of those in C2DE social grades.
• Half of Conservative party supporters mention the economy as a big issue for Britain (49%), compared with 28% of Labour party supporters.

Catriona Millar, a researcher at Ipsos, said:

Concern about the pandemic has dropped after a spike last month but it remains a big issue for almost half of the British public. This month's Index also shows that the British public are increasingly concerned about the economy and the NHS, which may reflect a shift in focus from coping with the pandemic to managing a recovery

Technical note

Since May 2020 the Issues Index has been conducted over the phone; lockdown conditions mean face-to-face fieldwork is currently not an option for public opinion polling. Mode effects should be kept in mind when comparing the new data points with previous months.
Ipsos's Issues Index is conducted monthly and provides an overview of the key issues concerning the country. Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,053 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. The answers are spontaneous responses, and participants are not prompted with any answers.
Ipsos's telephone omnibus was used for this survey. Interviews were conducted between 2 and 8 July 2021 across Great Britain. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.