Research analyzing British Social Attitudes survey data has found declining public support for the three core principles underlying the NHS across the United Kingdom population over a five-year period. The King’s Fund thinktank, working with Ipsos, examined attitudes among five generational cohorts and discovered erosion in backing for the health service being free of charge, universally available, and funded through taxation.
Support for the NHS remaining available to everyone fell most sharply, particularly among older demographics. Among those born before the second world war, support for universal availability dropped from 87.1% in 2021 to 73.2% in 2025, representing a 13.9 percentage point decline. Among baby boomers, the figure fell from 83.1% to 71.2%, a decrease of 11.9 percentage points. Support for free NHS care also declined but by smaller margins, remaining backed by between 85% and 92% of the population.
Analysts identified a notable generational divide in attitudes toward tax-funded healthcare. Generation Z showed the largest drop in support for NHS funding through taxation, declining 11.2 percentage points between 2021 and 2025, with fewer than four in five members of this age group holding that belief compared to at least 80% in other generations. Experts attributed this shift partly to economic pressures facing younger adults, including high housing costs, student debt, wage stagnation, and the long-term effects of austerity and the pandemic.
Additional factors cited as potentially influencing the decline included rising economic hardship across the population and changing public attitudes toward migration. Long waiting times for various NHS services, including A&E, surgery, cancer treatment, and mental health support, may also be affecting public perceptions. Despite these declines, majorities across all age groups continue to support the NHS’s founding principles, though healthcare leaders warned against assuming this backing can be taken for granted.
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