The Policy Institute – King’s College London

Do you trust your neighbours? Answers to this question can tell us a lot about the social fabric of our country. The fifth study from the Policy Institute’s World Values Survey project has found the UK now has some of the highest levels of neighbourhood trust internationally.

At the same time, Britons have also become much more comfortable with having neighbours who belong to historically marginalised groups, such as gay people, those of a different race, immigrants, and people who have AIDS.

Out of 24 countries, the UK ranks behind only three – Egypt, Sweden and Norway – for levels of trust in the people in their neighbourhood.

And the share of the British public who trust their neighbours has risen, from 78% in 2005 to 84% in 2022.