Environmentalism is the most well-received ideology – or ideas system – among Britons across all age groups and demographics, a new YouGov study has found.
Two-thirds of Britons (64%) have a favourable opinion of environmentalism compared to one in six (18%) who see it unfavourably.
This headline finding was highlighted by James Murray, the editor-in-chief of Business Green, during the latest episode of the BBC Rare Earth programme. He said: “This survey shows that environmentalism is by far the most popular ideology in Britain. You see this over and again, with levels of climate scepticism down in the country to 5 or under 10%. And yet if you pick up the papers or listen to broadcast media, you would think that this is a niche, marginal issue that most people aren’t interested in, or are even hostile towards. But that’s not what this poll shows”.
“This survey shows that environmentalism is by far the most popular ideology in Britain…And yet if you pick up the papers or listen to broadcast media, you would think that this is a niche, marginal issue that most people aren’t interested in, or are even hostile towards”
Feminism is the only other ideology seen positively by a majority of Britons, with twice as many seeing it positively (56%) as negatively (28%).
Of the more traditional ideologies polled, liberalism is the only one which Britons have a clear net positive opinion of, with four in ten (41%) seeing it favourably and a quarter (26%) unfavourably. Socialism is more divisive, with the British public splitting 38% to 36%, while for the 32% of Britons with a favourable opinion of conservatism there are 43% with an unfavourable view.
Ideologies considered more extreme appeal to few Britons, the study finds. Just 10% of Britons have a favourable view of communism and 8% of anarchism. By contrast, around two thirds (67-69%) hold an unfavourable opinion of either. Fascism is the least popular overall, with just 2% of Britons having a positive opinion of the far-right ideology.
YouGov polled 2,127 British adults on 12 different ideologies (see below) in August 2024
Liberalism, Conservatism, Communism, Fascism, Nationalism, Feminism, Capitalism, Populism, Anarchism, Environmentalism, Libertarianism
