Our new report, our most comprehensive study of British attitudes and opinion, finds that in the wake of a pandemic, a decade of political chaos and public anxiety about the cost of living and national security, Britons are yearning for change, but have a range of different answers to how they want to fix Britain. Those answers don’t fit neatly onto a left/right spectrum, nor is there one single area of divergence.
Instead, we have to look at the deeper values which act as dividing lines in 2020s Britain. Do you think the issues confronting the country have simple fixes, or are more complex? Are you more likely to trust streamers and online influencers, or experts and professional broadcasters? Should we preserve our political institutions, or burn them all down? Would you rather roll the dice, or play it safe?
These fault lines cut across party lines and reshape how we understand the electorate. Alongside them, we’re introducing seven new segments: the new tribes of Shattered Britain, each with distinct values, identities and outlooks on the future.
Through More in Common’s extensive research into Britons’ core beliefs, we have identified seven distinct population segments.
The British Seven segments were developed to move beyond traditional left-right or party-based analysis by exploring the deeper psychological, cultural, and value-driven foundations that shape public opinion.
Many of our readers will be familiar with our existing British Seven; this new segmentation updates the segments for 2025 and introduces some new dynamics that help explain how the map of British attitudes has changed since the Covid pandemic.
Using the segments, we can see how traditional political loyalties have fractured and the lens offers a more nuanced understanding of what drives attitudes on the big issues of our day, whether it be immigration, climate, or the economy - enabling more effective engagement with the public across a fragmented political and social landscape.
Progressive Activists (12% of the population): Progressive Activists are politically engaged, and highly motivated by social justice issues and international affairs - particularly the conflict in Gaza. They tend to be outliers in how socially liberal they are on issues like immigration and gender identity, and how left-wing they are in their economic views. They overwhelmingly voted for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour, but have moved away from the party under Starmer toward the Greens and other left-wing alternatives.
Incrementalist Left (21% of the population): This group is left-leaning on most economic and social issues but are not as radical as the Progressive Activists. They prefer gradual change, avoid conflict, and don’t like talking about politics. They would much rather leave things to experts and involve themselves in their community. The Incremental Left has been the core of Labour’s vote since 2010, though many lent their vote to the Conservatives or abstained because of their aversion to Jeremy Corbyn or exhaustion with Brexit.
Established Liberals (9% of the population):This segment is socially liberal, economically conservative, and highly trusting of democratic institutions. Established Liberals are prosperous, optimistic about the future, and strongly believe in individual agency. They resemble Cameronite Conservatives, long aligning with the socially liberal wing of the Conservative Party or the Liberal Democrats, though many voted Labour in 2024.
Sceptical Scrollers (10% of the population): This group’s worldview has been heavily shaped by the pandemic and use of online media. They have low faith in traditional political institutions and mainstream media and are drawn to conspiratorial content. Many can’t remember a time when the country worked ‘properly’, and they want radical change as a result. While this group is the least likely to vote, they are increasingly attracted to Reform UK.
Rooted Patriots (20% of the population): This segment has been key to recent UK elections. Often found in the ‘Red Wall’, Rooted Patriots are patriotic, concerned about the decline of their community and the impacts of migration, and feel ignored by political elites. They are socially conservative but favour an interventionist state and more funding for public services. This group voted overwhelmingly Conservative in 2019 but also helped Labour win back the Red Wall in 2024. This group are tempted by Reform but some are put off by the risk they may pose.
Traditional Conservatives (8% of the population):This segment is economically and socially conservative, they value authority and tradition, and are sceptical of forces of change, like migration or energy transition. They make up the base of the Conservative Party’s support, being the only segment to back the Tories in 2024 but are now narrowly more likely to support Reform UK. However, some are concerned about Reform’s positions on democratic institutions, as well as its stance on Ukraine.
Dissenting Disruptors (20% of the population): This segment is frustrated by both levels of migration and cultural change.They are angry about the state of the country, convinced the system is rigged against people like them, crave radical solutions and are more likely to believe a ‘strong’ leader is needed to sort things out. Dissenting Disruptors have tended not to vote in elections but will vote when they spot an opportunity to change the system, such as in the EU referendum of 2016. This group is the core of Reform UK’s base.
Find out more about the segments here. You can take our five-minute quiz to find out which of the British Seven Segments you belong to:
Traditional political binaries along left-right or party lines no longer fully explain the country's divides and areas of convergence. Understanding public attitudes in the UK today and how they shape our politics requires grasping the emerging fault lines that are replacing them.
Our report found eight new fault lines that better help us understand division in Britain:
Appetite for change and risk Some Britons want sweeping radical change and think we should let our institutions burn, while others prefer careful reform that preserves them. This isn’t a left-ring split; it reflects how willing people are to ‘roll the dice’ and support untested parties or solutions.
Simple or complex solutions While there’s broad agreement that Britain needs to be fixed, people differ in how they see the solutions. Many believe that we need expert-led solutions to challenges like immigration and the cost of living; others think these problems are simple and we just need the political will and common sense to fix them. This view shapes Britons’ views on democracy and pace of change.
Individual agency While Britons tend to believe that people are largely responsible for their own outcomes in life, some segments are more likely to think people’s life chances are more shaped by structural factors outside of their control. Groups with a higher belief in individual agency are less likely to support redistributive economic measures.
Information diffusion and ‘finding my own truth’ Britons now get their news from very different sources. Some trust professionally-produced mainstream news reports; others prefer independent voices online. Britons’ fracturing media environments mean that we are increasingly divided according to which truth we trust and some are more attracted to conspiracy thinking.
Diversity and national identity Britain is split on whether ethnic diversity strengthens or weakens British identity. Those in the more locally-rooted, nostalgic and socially conservative segments are concerned that British identity is disappearing, while the reverse is true for more mobile, globally-orientated liberal segments.
Free speech For some segments, protecting vulnerable groups from harm is more important than maximum freedom of expression, and political correctness is a good thing. For others freedom to voice controversial views is important, even if they cause offense; these Britons tend to believe that one of Britons problems is that people are forced to speak a certain way about issues like immigration.
Social disconnection
Despite most Britons trusting their immediate neighbours, for many this does not extend far beyond their doorsteps. Some segments are far more likely to believe that most people can be trusted, but in others a majority think you cannot be too careful - social (dis)connection is a key driver of social (dis)trust.
The importance of identity
Brexit isn’t making headlines anymore, but whether someone was a ‘Leaver’ or ‘Remainer’ has remained as an important identity divide: two in five members of the public say this is important to them. Party identity is important to just over a third of Britons (36 per cent) and particularly supporters of Reform UK (64 per cent). Sixty seven per cent say that being British is important to their identity, Progressive Activists stand out in being less likely to say this. Gender is the dimension people are most likely to say is important to their identity
Find out more
Join our webinar
Once again, if you'd like to find out more, feel free to join our webinar, where we’ll be sharing the findings of our report in more detail. This Wednesday at 11:30, we’ll be talking through Shattered Britain, and answering your questions. Hope to see you there! Sign up below:
If you want to know more about the choices we made in building this segmentation model, we'd recommend this thread from our colleague Ed. However, be warned - it's worth doing the quiz before reading about the ideas behind it. You can read Ed's threat here.
In the media
You can find a great writeup of the segmentation - featuring additional interviews with specific segments - in the Sunday Times here.
We also had a great segment on Channel 4 delving into the political context of the research.
On top of this, we joined Times Radio to talk about some of the faultlines across which Britons come together and diverge.
And this morning, we also made front page on the Metro, with a great article about the findings and the lack of trust in politicians that defines public opinion.
Share your segment!
We've loved hearing from people on social media about which segment they belong to - and what they think of the findings!
If you'd like to get involved in the conversation, please share this thread on X, or this one on Bluesky along with your quiz results. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
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