Public support for founding principles of NHS is falling across UK population

Rise in economic hardship and changes in attitudes towards migration could explain drop in support, experts say

Public support for the NHS’s founding principles – that it is free to use, available to everyone and tax-funded – has fallen over the last five years, research has shown.

Backing for all three pillars dropped between 2021 and 2025 across the UK population, except for a small rise in millennials’ support for the NHS being funded from taxation.