Public attitudes to elections and democracy: 2026 findings
Key findings
- Most people think elections are well run in the UK and are confident they know how to vote.
- Dissatisfaction with politics remains high, with around half the public wanting major structural change.
- Knowledge of how government works is limited. This makes it difficult for many to judge performance and accountability.
- Concerns about misinformation, foreign interference and deepfakes are rising whilst trust in political information continues to fall.
- Social media may be normalising abuse towards politicians, though the public remains divided between tackling abuse and protecting free speech.
- Most people still support the requirement to show voter ID.
We have tracked public attitudes towards elections and democracy in the UK since 2007. Our latest study was conducted online in December 2025, with a representative sample of just under 6,000 respondents across the UK.
Unless otherwise stated, comparisons are with our 2025 public attitudes report.
This year we changed our approach because we identified that previous survey samples included a higher proportion of people who were more politically engaged than average within the general public. This year, we changed the sampling and weighting approach to reflect the fallout of political attention from a face-to-face survey (the British Election Study).
Data provided in this release is the 2026 data using the new approach. When drawing comparisons with previous years, we have looked at data weighted back to the previous levels of political engagement in order to be sure that any change mentioned in this analysis is not just a result of the change in sampling.
Democratic health in the UK
Satisfaction with how elections are run and satisfied with the process of voting remains broadly in line with the long-term average.
Satisfaction and confidence in the electoral process
| Satisfied with the process of voting at elections | Confident that elections are well run | Satisfied with registering to vote | Ease of voting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 73% | |||
| 2011 | 74% | 82% | ||
| 2012 | 67% | 72% | 82% | |
| 2013 | 64% | 61% | 85% | |
| 2014 | 72% | 75% | 79% | |
| 2015 | 70% | 65% | 76% | |
| 2016 | 68% | 66% | 82% | |
| 2017 | 77% | 76% | 78% | |
| 2018 | 77% | 71% | 85% | |
| 2019 | 76% | 69% | 83% | |
| 2020 | 80% | 71% | 86% | |
| 2021 | 86% | 80% | 86% | |
| 2022 | 82% | 74% | 82% | 82% |
| 2023 | 79% | 73% | 79% | 82% |
| 2024 | 80% | 73% | 82% | 77% |
| 2025 | 84% | 79% | 86% | 82% |
Satisfaction with the way democracy works in the UK
| Satisfied | Dissatisfied | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 32% | 39% |
| 2024 | 38% | 36% |
| 2025 | 47% | 28% |
| 2026 | 40% | 33% |
Confidence in political institutions remains low. Only:
- 10% have a lot of confidence in the UK Government
- 9% think politicians are trustworthy
There is a strong appetite for change:
- 51% say that large or structural changes are needed in how the UK is governed
- 16% think no changes are needed
Views on whether the UK government system needs to change
| Large/structural changes are needed | 51% |
|---|---|
| Small changes/adjustments are needed | 29% |
| No changes are needed | 16% |
| Don't know | 4% |
Many people think the country is deeply divided, with disagreements extending beyond politics and policies to basic facts.
- 51% think people cannot agree on basic facts, not just plans and policies
- 30% think people can agree on basic facts
Perceptions of how well elections reflect voters’ preferences are mixed:
- 52% say general election results reflect voters’ preferences only to a limited extent or not at all.
When asked to choose an option of what would increase their satisfaction with voting in the UK:
- 33% chose using a proportional voting system
- 19% chose introducing online voting
What would be most likely to increase satisfaction with the process of voting in the UK
| More/better information on the parties and candidates standing and their policies | Increased security against electoral fraud | Being able to vote online | A proportional voting system | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 17% | 20% | 25% | 16% |
| 2020 | 11% | 20% | 20% | 20% |
| 2021 | 13% | 13% | 17% | 26% |
| 2022 | 13% | 16% | 17% | 26% |
| 2023 | 16% | 13% | 20% | 37% |
| 2024 | 15% | 14% | 21% | 36% |
| 2025 | 14% | 14% | 18% | 27% |
| 2026 | 15% | 14% | 16% | 39% |
Many people also struggle to understand how government works in practice. Only 38% feel confident identifying which part of government is responsible for issues in their area.
Confidence in knowing which government authority is responsible for problems in your area
| Very confident | 7% |
|---|---|
| Fairly confident | 31% |
| Not very confident | 34% |
| Not at all confident | 20% |
| Don't know | 7% |
Confidence in judging whether elected representatives are doing a good job is limited:
- 40% feel confident assessing their MP
- 32% feel confident assessing their local councillors
Misinformation and AI
The impact of misinformation and disinformation is now seen as one of the biggest problems facing elections. 72% say it is a problem in 2026, up from 69% in 2025. Concern about media bias has also risen over time, from 62% in 2019 to 72% in 2026.
These findings highlight the difficulty people face in accessing political information they trust. Confidence in the information available online about politics continues to decline:
- in 2026, 52% disagreed that political information is trustworthy
- in 2025, 46% disagreed that political information is trustworthy
Percentage who don’t agree that information available online about politics is trustworthy
| 2021 | 46% |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 49% |
| 2023 | 48% |
| 2024 | 52% |
| 2025 | 46% |
| 2026 | 54% |
Percentage who say that bias in the media is a problem
| 2018 | 66% |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 62% |
| 2020 | 64% |
| 2021 | 68% |
| 2022 | 70% |
| 2023 | 72% |
| 2024 | 74% |
| 2025 | 73% |
| 2026 | 75% |
Exposure to deepfakes is increasing. Two years ago, around 43% of people reported seeing a deepfake video. This has risen to 53% in 2026.
A clear majority (63%) believe not enough is being done to tackle election misinformation.
Transparency of political finance
Views on political finance transparency and regulation
Percentage who agree with the following statements:
| Spending and funding is transparent | Authorities will take appropriate action | I can easily find out how parties are funded | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 37% | ||
| 2012 | 32% | ||
| 2013 | 31% | ||
| 2014 | 30% | ||
| 2015 | 28% | ||
| 2016 | 25% | 51% | |
| 2017 | 27% | 58% | 40% |
| 2018 | 24% | 57% | 32% |
| 2019 | 19% | 51% | 22% |
| 2020 | 20% | 45% | 24% |
| 2021 | 14% | 35% | 20% |
| 2022 | 13% | 32% | 18% |
| 2023 | 13% | 30% | 19% |
| 2024 | 15% | 36% | 20% |
| 2025 | 18% | 40% | 25% |
| 2026 | 17% | 38% | 22% |
Public confidence in the transparency of political funding remains low:
- in 2026, 14% thought that political party and campaign spending is transparent
- in 2023, 13% thought that political party and campaign spending was transparent
This follows a period of long-term decline across a range of measures relating to political finance transparency, with some signs of improvement in recent years.
Knowledge of political finance is also limited. Only 18% think it is easy to find information about how political parties are funded.
Views are more evenly divided on whether the rules are enforced effectively. Around four in ten (35%) think the authorities would take appropriate action if a political party or campaigner broke the rules, while 33% disagree. This represents an improvement since 2023, when 30% agreed and 39% disagreed.
Intimidation of candidates
People’s views about what behaviour towards politicians is acceptable have changed over time. In general, more people now think that certain forms of abuse are acceptable:
- the percentage who say it is acceptable to post offensive content on social media has risen from 13% in 2023 to 17% in 2026
- the percentage who think it is acceptable to use foul language has increased from 11% in 2023 to 12% in 2026
- the percentage who think it is acceptable to mock politicians online has stayed the same at 29%
- the percentage who think it is acceptable to mock politicians in person has increased from 22% to 23%
There has been no change in attitudes towards more serious behaviours such as verbal threats.
Percentage of people who think that bullying behaviours towards politicians are acceptable
| People mocking them on social media | People using 'foul language' to address them | People making offensive posts on social media about politicians | People verbally mocking them in public | People verbally threatening them in public | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 29% | 11% | 13% | 22% | 6% |
| 2024 | 32% | 12% | 16% | 23% | 5% |
| 2025 | 30% | 12% | 15% | 23% | 7% |
| 2026 | 33% | 14% | 18% | 25% | 6% |
Public views on how to balance free speech and protection from abuse are mixed:
- 45% think the balance is about right
- 29% favour more limits
- 20% favour more freedoms
However, when framed in terms of free speech, attitudes shift:
- 43% still say the balance is about right
- 12% favour more limits
- 30% favour more freedoms
This suggests that any policy responses need to carefully balance concerns about harm with concerns about restricting free expression.
People who get their news from social media are more likely to see abusive behaviours as acceptable than those relying on traditional sources such as the television. This trend is the same across all age groups.
Percentage of people who think that it is unacceptable to make offensive posts on social media about politicians based on what news sources they use
| Age group | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-64 | 65-74 | 75+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Television | 54% | 65% | 66% | 77% | 84% | 86% |
| Social media | 48% | 55% | 53% | 62% | 69% | 71% |
| Radio | 62% | 68% | 66% | 77% | 85% | 88% |
| A news website or app | 53% | 62% | 65% | 77% | 81% | 83% |
| A printed copy of a newspaper | 53% | 57% | 43% | 76% | 89% | 86% |
| Podcasts | 54% | 59% | 48% | 71% | 78% | |
| Email newsletters or RSS feeds | 63% | 55% | 46% | 66% | 78% | |
| Blogs not associated with major media organisations | 41% | 48% | 42% | 54% | 68% | |
| Magazines | 52% | 73% |
People who rely on non-traditional media are also more likely to encounter content designed to provoke anger. Among social media users, 69% of people who access traditional news through social media report seeing this type of content, compared with 81% of those using non-traditional sources.
Voter ID and bank cards
Expanding the accepted forms of ID voters could reduce the number of people without valid identification. Currently, 2.2% of people do not have acceptable photo ID. Allowing bank cards to be used as ID would reduce this to 0.3%.
However, public support for photo-only ID remains strong: 68% think that only identification with a photo should be accepted.