Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: January 2026

The following information is from data collected from 7 January to 1 February 2026, based on adults in Great Britain.

• The most commonly reported important issues facing the UK today were the cost of living (88%), the NHS (82%), and the economy (69%).

• Almost a quarter (23%) of adults reported feeling lonely often, always or some of the time.

• Younger adults were more likely to report feeling lonely often, always or some of the time (27% of those aged 16 to 29 years and 28% of those aged 30 to 49 years), compared with older adults (19% of those aged 50 to 69 years and 16% of those aged 70 years and over).

• Around 7 in 10 (69%) adults reported high levels of hope for the future; women were more likely to report this (73%) than men (65%).

In the same period, we asked people's opinions on opportunities in life.

• 6 in 10 (60%) adults disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement "children of today will have a better future than the current generation of adults", while 12% agreed or strongly agreed, and 28% neither agreed nor disagreed.

• Almost half (48%) of adults disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement "everyone has a fair chance to go as far as their talent and hard work will take them", while 30% agreed or strongly agreed, and 22% neither agreed nor disagreed.

In the latest period (7 January to 1 February 2026), the cost of living (88%) and the NHS (82%) continued to be the most commonly reported important issues facing the UK (Figure 1).

The proportion of adults identifying the NHS as an important issue has remained relatively stable since October 2022, when it was 82%.

The proportion reporting the cost of living as an important issue declined over the same period, from 93% in October 2022, but has been relatively stable since around August 2023.

The proportions of adults reporting immigration (56%) and crime (55%) as important issues have increased since October 2022, when these proportions were 43% and 49%, respectively.

Figure 1: The cost of living, the NHS, and the economy have been the most commonly reported important issues facing the UK since October 2022

Proportion of adults reporting each important issue, Great Britain, October 2022 to January 2026

Notes:

1. Respondents could select more than one option.
2. The length of each data collection period presented in this time series may differ.

In the latest period (7 January to 1 February 2026), younger adults (age groups under 50 years) were more likely to report the cost of living as an important issue, compared with older adults:

• 95% of those aged 16 to 29 years

• 92% of those aged 30 to 49 years

• 84% of those aged 50 to 69 years

• 80% of those aged 70 years and over

Older adults (age groups over 50 years) were more likely to report the NHS as an important issue, compared with younger adults:

• 88% of those aged 70 years and over

• 86% of those aged 50 to 69 years

• 79% of those aged 30 to 49 years

• 77% of those aged 16 to 29 years

Women were more likely than men to report the cost of living and the NHS as important issues:

• 91% of women reported the cost of living, compared with 85% of men

• 86% of women reported the NHS, compared with 78% of men

We publish a range of data on well-being in the UK on an individual, community and national level, as part of our Measuring progress, well-being and beyond GDP statistics. Our next update to our Quarterly personal well-being statistics, using the Annual Population Survey, will be published on 27 February.

We also ask respondents about personal well-being, loneliness, and hope for the future in the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN).

Loneliness

In the latest period, almost one in four adults (23%) reported feeling lonely often, always or some of the time.

A further quarter (27%) of adults reported feeling lonely occasionally and just under half (48%) reported feeling lonely hardly ever or never.

The proportion of adults who reported feeling lonely often, always or some of the time appeared to increase between March 2020 and February 2021, but has been relatively stable since early March 2021, when it was 25%.

In the latest period, younger adults (age groups under 50 years) were more likely to report feeling lonely often, always or some of the time, compared with older adults:

• 27% of adults aged 16 to 29 years

• 28% of adults aged 30 to 49 years

• 19% of adults aged 50 to 69 years

• 16% of adults aged 70 years and over

Since we first started reporting loneliness by age group from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, younger adults have generally been more likely to report feeling lonely often, always or some of the time, compared with older adults.

The proportion of adults who reported feeling lonely often, always or some of the time was similar for women (24%) and men (22%) in the latest period.

Hopefulness for the future

Respondents were asked to rate their level of hopefulness on a scale from 0 to 10 when asked "Overall, how hopeful do you feel about your future?".

In the latest period, almost 7 in 10 adults (69%) reported high levels of hope for the future (score of 6 or higher). This proportion has remained relatively stable since we started publishing this measure in the period 5 to 28 July 2024, when it was 68%.

In the latest period, women were more likely to report high levels of hope for the future (73%) compared with men (65%).

The average rating of hope for the future was 6.5 out of 10. This has also remained consistent since we started publishing this measure in the period 5 to 28 July 2024, when it was 6.6 out of 10. Average ratings of hope for the future were higher for women (6.7) compared with men (6.3).

In the latest period, we asked respondents a set of questions about their opinions of a person's opportunities and outcomes in life.

Opinions on the future for the children of today

Respondents were asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed that children of today will have a better future than the current generation of adults. In the latest period, 6 in 10 (60%) adults disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement, while 12% agreed or strongly agreed, and 28% neither agreed nor disagreed. Those that strongly disagreed or disagreed included:

• 65% of those aged 16 to 29 years

• 64% of those aged 30 to 49 years

• 57% of those aged 50 to 69 years

• 52% of those aged 70 years and over

Having a fair chance in life

Respondents were also asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed that everyone has a fair chance to go as far as their talent and hard work will take them.

In the latest period, almost half (48%) of adults disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement, while 30% agreed or strongly agreed, and 22% neither agreed nor disagreed. Younger adults (age groups under 50 years) were more likely than older adults (age groups 50 years and over) to report strongly disagreeing or disagreeing with this statement, including:

• 59% of those aged 16 to 29 years
• 55% of those aged 30 to 49 years
• 43% of those aged 50 to 69 years
• 31% of those aged 70 years and over

Influence of a person's background

In the latest period, when we asked adults the extent to which they agreed or disagreed that a person's background has the biggest influence on their outcomes in life:

• 62% agreed or strongly agreed

• 24% neither agreed nor disagreed

• 14% disagreed or strongly disagreed

The analysis in this bulletin is based on adults aged 16 years and over in Great Britain.

In the latest period, 7 January to 1 February 2026, we sampled 7,906 households. This sample was randomly selected from people who had previously completed the Labour Market Survey (LMS) or Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN). The responding sample for the latest period contained 3,090 individuals, representing a 39% response rate.

Survey weights were applied to make estimates representative of the population, based on our population estimates. Estimates for some groups of the population may be subject to greater uncertainty because of smaller sample sizes for these groups (for example, younger adults).

From the 2 to 27 July 2025 data collection period onwards, the population totals used in weighting OPN estimates are based on 2022 mid-year estimates using updated population projections. For England and Wales, they are projected forward using scaling factors from 2021-based national population projections. For Scotland, they are projected forward using scaling factors from 2020-based national population projections.

For all estimates in the datasets, confidence intervals are provided. Where comparisons between estimates are made, associated confidence intervals should be used to assess the statistical significance of the differences. In some cases, additional statistical hypothesis testing was performed to identify differences between groups.

Further information on the survey design and quality can be found in our Opinions and Lifestyle Survey quality and methodology information (QMI).