The United Kingdom has become one of the world’s most socially liberal nations, according to the latest wave of the World Values Survey. The survey found that significant increases in the past five years in the acceptance of practices like divorce and abortion have mirrored sharp increases in acceptance of homosexuality, casual sex, and prostitution. The UK now ranks in the top four countries for considering divorce, abortion, euthanasia, suicide, and casual sex justifiable.
Experts say the findings reveal how much more liberal the UK has become over a relatively short period of time and show how politicians may face public pressure in the near future to consider reform on sensitive topics such as assisted dying. Since 2009, the proportion of people across all UK generations considering casual sex justifiable has at least doubled. While the youngest people are the most accepting of divorce, over half of the pre-war generation agrees, up from about 20% in 2009.
The increasing acceptability of divorce does not appear to have increased its prevalence. However, abortion providers have reported being “busier than ever,” and NHS England has reported increased demand. Amid the banning of abortion in some US states, pro-choice campaigners have warned that people should not assume abortion rights will remain protected in the UK. One issue on which the UK remains mid-table is the death penalty, with 55% of people considering it justifiable or potentially justifiable.
The number of people considering suicide justifiable also increased in the UK at the highest rate seen since the global study began in 1981. It appears to have been driven up in part by generation Z, a third of whom think suicide is justifiable – far higher than all other UK generations and double the number among baby boomers. All generations, including those born before the second world war, are becoming increasingly likely to consider suicide justifiable, although across the whole population most do not.
The growth in acceptance of euthanasia continues in the UK despite its continued criminalization. Over the last 25 years, acceptance has risen above attitudes in Canada, where some medically assisted dying has been legal since 2016. In the UK, 47% of people now think it is justifiable, up from 20% in 1981. But acceptance remains lower than in Germany and Australia.
In conclusion, the latest wave of the World Values Survey has shown that the UK has become one of the world’s most socially liberal nations towards divorce, abortion, and homosexuality. While the acceptance of euthanasia and suicide has also grown, the UK remains mid-table in terms of the death penalty. The findings reveal how much more liberal the UK has become over a relatively short period of time and how politicians may face public pressure to consider reform on sensitive topics such as assisted dying.