Recent Ipsos report shows that more than 60% of those living in the UK find democracy has worsened over the past 5 years

The report, published in December 2023, examines the state of democracy in seven countries: Croatia, France, Italy, Poland, Sweden, the UK and the US. Generally, one in two people are dissatisfied with the way democracy is working in their country – Sweden being the exception with only 20% of dissatisfaction. In the UK, only 28% note being very or fairly satisfied. Indeed, 61% feel that democracy in the UK has gotten worse over the past 5 years.

The rate of satisfaction changes depending on which level of politics one looks at. Overall, people feel more involved and satisfied on the local level than on the national level.

This dissatisfaction appears to influence participation in democratic processes. 52% of the UK agree that “there is no point getting involved in politics because nothing ever changes”, and 53% agree that “there is no point voting because it doesn’t change anything”. Less than half of that agree with the opposite statements, with the rest being undecided. These numbers reflect a more overall statement, that 62% of British participants agree with: “radical change is needed to improve the current political system in the UK”.

Notably, this dissatisfaction does expand to views on the economy as well, with 68% agreeing that “The people who run the country put the needs of the rich and powerful first, they don’t care much about everyone else.” and 71% agreeing that “The economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful.”

Explore all the statistics in the official report.

Background

This survey was conducted September 21 to 30, 2023 using KnowledgePanel, Ipsos’ probability-based panels in Croatia, France, Italy, Poland, Sweden, the UK and the US. The survey was based on nationally representative probability samples of 16+ y.o. in Croatia, France, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the UK, and 18+ y.o. in the US.

Ipsos is the third largest market research company in the world with a presence in 90 markets.