2024 Annual Survey of UK Public Opinion on Foreign Policy
Think tank: British Foreign Policy Group
Author(s): Evie Aspinall; Eliza Keogh
September 19, 2024
This report from UK think tank the British Foreign Policy Group explores the British public’s support for the new Government’s ambitions for a ‘reconnected’ Britain.
As the new Government settles in, this year’s BFPG Annual Survey of UK Public Opinion on Foreign Policy, the sixth edition of the survey, explores the British public’s support for the new Government’s ambitions for a ‘reconnected’ Britain.
Against the backdrop of growing global insecurity, it finds that Britons are deeply cautious of engagement with nations whose values may not always align with their own, and particularly of engagement with the UK’s strategic rivals Russia and China. Britons’ caution about the world around them does not translate into significant support for increased spending on national security or international development though, with Britons very concerned about the financial costs of any such uplift.
Britons do, however, place significant emphasis on partnerships with the UK’s traditional allies, with Britons now overwhelmingly supporting a wide range of potential cooperation with the EU.
Meanwhile, Britons are very concerned about the impact a second Trump term could have on the bilateral relationship, a relationship they value deeply.
