Public support for the founding principles of the UK's National Health Service (NHS) decreased between 2021 and 2025 across all age groups, according to an analysis of British Social Attitudes survey data by The King's Fund. Ciarán Devane, Chief Executive of NHS Alliance, acknowledged that while a majority, even in Generation Z, still support the current funding model, any erosion of that support is a concern.

This shift in public opinion could challenge future government decisions regarding NHS funding and its long-term operational model, as the service relies on broad public consensus for its core values.

What the Records Show

The King's Fund analysis, based on British Social Attitudes survey data from 2021 to 2025, examined public attitudes towards three key NHS principles: being free of charge when needed, primarily funded through taxes, and available to everyone. In 2025, a majority of respondents still agreed with these principles: 89% supported free care, 81% supported tax funding, and 74% believed it should be available to everyone. However, these figures represent a decrease compared to 2021. The most significant decline was in the belief that the NHS should be available to everyone. Public satisfaction with the NHS overall did see a statistically significant increase in 2025, with 26% of British adults reporting satisfaction, up 6 percentage points from 2024, marking the first rise since 2019. Despite this, only 16% of respondents expected the standard of NHS care to improve in the next five years.

What Changed and For Whom

Support for the NHS being available to everyone saw notable drops across older generations. Among those born before World War II, backing for this principle fell from 87.1% in 2021 to 73.2% in 2024, a 13.9 percentage point decrease. Baby boomers showed a similar trend, with support dropping from 83.1% to 71.2%, a decline of 11.9 percentage points.

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