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New research shows that the British public hold particularly harsh attitudes towards immigration and are less inclined to believe that diversity strengthens society than their American counterparts.
These findings from the National Center for Social Research challenge the widely held belief that Britain is inherently more socially liberal than the United States.
The study particularly highlighted that Reform UK voters in Britain were more willing to advocate the expulsion of immigrants living in their country without permission than supporters of President Donald Trump in the US.
While seven in 10 of Mr. Trump’s supporters felt this way, among reform followers the figure was nearly eight in 10 (79 percent).
The researchers said they wanted to “better understand how public attitudes in the UK compare to the US, and what the extent of polarization is in the two countries”.
Their survey found that 42 percent of people in Britain think there should be legal efforts to deport immigrants living here without permission, while only a third (33 percent) of people in the US think so.
While almost two-thirds (64 percent) of respondents in the US felt that diversity strengthens society, only half (49 percent) of the UK public agreed.
When it comes to how open their country is to people from around the world, the proportions were similar, with 63 per cent of people in the US feeling it is essential to national identity, but only 49 per cent of people in the UK feeling the same.
Alex Scoles, research director at NatCen, said: “The idea that the UK is more socially liberal than the US does not hold true on all counts.
“While Britain is clearly more liberal on questions related to family, sexuality and religion, attitudes towards immigration and diversity show the opposite pattern.
“British people are less likely than Americans to see diversity as a strength or to think that openness to people from other countries is essential to who we are as a nation. Our findings show that polarization looks very different in the two countries.
“In Britain, the sharpest divisions are around immigration and national identity, in the US they are around social issues and the role of government. These differences will shape the political debate on both sides for years to come.”
When it comes to issues such as abortion, contraception and gay marriage, public attitudes in the UK have been found to be more liberal.
A majority of people in Britain (92 percent) said that contraception being widely available is good for society, compared to 78 percent in the US, and while six in 10 (59 percent) of people in Britain think gay marriage being legal is good for society, only a third (34 percent) in the US said the same.
While 86 percent of people in Britain think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, less than two-thirds (63 percent) in the US feel the same way.
UK reform voters had a more liberal view on abortion, with 82 per cent believing it should be legal in all or most cases, compared with 35 per cent who were supportive of Mr Trump.
– More than 2,000 UK residents aged 16 and over were surveyed in June 2025, asking the same questions as more than 8,000 people aged 18 and over in the US, who were surveyed in April 2024. Both were valued as representative of their respective country’s population.