Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: May 2025

The following information is from data collected from 7 May to 1 June 2025, based on adults in Great Britain.

• When asked about the important issues facing the UK today, the most commonly reported issues were the cost of living (86%), the NHS (85%) and the economy (70%).

• Around 6 in 10 adults (62%) said that their cost of living has increased in the last month; this proportion has decreased from 72% in the previous period (2 to 27 April 2025).

• Among adults who reported an increase in their cost of living in the past month, 92% said that the cost of their food shop went up, making it the most commonly reported reason.

• Just under half (48%) of adults believed that they would be able to save money in the next 12 months; a higher proportion of adults below the age of 50 believed they would be able to save money, compared with adults over 50.

With World Environment Day on 5 June 2025, we include further analysis on those reporting climate change as an important issue:

• Over half (53%) of adults selected climate change and the environment as an important issue facing the UK today; this proportion has been decreasing since 69% in the period 26 July to 6 August 2023.

• In the latest period, 57% of women selected climate change and the environment as an important issue facing the UK today compared with 50% of men.

In the latest period (7 May to 1 June 2025), the cost of living (86%) and the NHS (85%) remain the two most reported important issues facing the UK (Figure 1).

The proportion of adults reporting the NHS as an important issue has generally remained stable since October 2022 (82%). The proportion of adults reporting the cost of living as an important issue gradually decreased to 87% in December 2023 and has remained relatively stable since.

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 May 2025

Notes:

1. Respondents could select more than one option.

Download the data

Climate change and the environment

With World Environment Day on 5 June 2025, we include further analysis on those reporting climate change as an important issue:

In May 2025, over half (53%) of adults selected climate change and the environment as an important issue facing the UK today. Although there has been a slight increase from April 2025 (49%), there has been a noticeable decrease over time, from the period 26 July to 6 August 2023 (69%).

There was a difference between men and women selecting environment and climate change as an important issue, with half (50%) of men reporting this compared with just under 6 in 10 (57%) of women (Figure 2). The proportion of adults reporting climate change and the environment as an important issue appeared to vary with age, with a lower proportion of younger people reporting this (49% for those aged 16 to 29 years) than those aged 30 to 49 and 50 to 69 years (both at 54%), and adults aged 70 years or over (55%); however, these differences were not significant.

Our UK Environmental Accounts: 2025 release was published on 5 June 2025, providing more information on measuring the contribution of the environment to the economy, the impact of economic activity on the environment, and responses to environmental issues.

In May 2025, around 6 in 10 adults (62%) reported that their cost of living had increased in the last month (Figure 2). This proportion had risen from 45% between 5 and 28 July 2024 to 72% between 2 to 27 April 2025, but has now dropped to a level similar to that seen from 14 to 25 June 2023 (62%). Seasonal patterns can partly explain falls in those reporting increases in their cost of living, as people use less energy in their home, particularly with the recent dry weather.

While the proportion of those reporting an increase in their cost of living has fallen, more people are reporting that it has stayed the same; a rise from 27% in April 2025 to 36% in the current period. The proportion of adults reporting a decrease in the cost of living was 1% for May 2025 and has remained consistent since we first asked the question in November 2021.

Reasons for cost-of-living increases

Respondents who said that their cost of living increased from the previous month were asked a follow-up question: "Over the last month, in which ways has your cost of living increased?"

The price of food remains the most common reason for cost-of-living increases, chosen by 92% of adults answering this question. Those reporting increases in their gas and electricity prices fell from 80% in April to 69% in June, which could partly be explained by seasonal changes.

Savings

In May 2025, just under half (48%) of adults thought that they would be able to save money in the next 12 months, based on the general economic situation. This has increased from 46% in the previous period (2 to 27 April 2025).

Over half (54%) of those aged 16 to 29 years reported that they thought they would be able to save money, and this decreased with age; 51% for 30- to 49-year olds, 45% for 50- to 69-year-olds  and 41% for adults aged 70 years and over (Figure 5).

The proportion of adults reporting that they thought they would be able to save money in the next 12 months was also higher among men (53%) than among women (44%) for this period.

Recent releases from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey

Last week we also published data on Hybrid Working, reporting that 28% of working adults in Great Britain hybrid worked between January and March 2025.

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

In the latest period, 7 May to 1 June 2025, we sampled 9,520 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 4,610 individuals, representing a 48% 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 7 May to 27 July 2025, there is an incentives trial being conducted, offering conditional incentives to some groups. The aim of the trial is to assess its impact on response rates among under-represented groups.

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).