Previous Reports
The Union Survey is the UK's longest-running study of public attitudes to constitutional questions conducted in each of the UK's component nations. It draws on work conducted across the four territories of the UK since 2011 and we are grateful to the many funders and collaborators who have supported this work in the years since then. The Union Survey includes work previously conducted under the names of the State of the Union Survey and the Future of England Survey. Reports published under all of these names are included below.
Public attitudes towards the constitutional future of the UK: Analysis from the 2023 State of the Union Survey (2023)
A report for: The Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Authors: Ailsa Henderson & Richard Wyn Jones
"...Wales remains the part of the state that is most supportive of the maintenance of a union with some if not necessarily all of its current constituent units. While developments elsewhere may yet see the union brought to an end, our survey of public attitudes suggests that the Welsh are unlikely to be the instigators of such a development."
England and its Two Unions (2013)
Publisher: Institute of Public Policy Research
Authors: Richard Wyn Jones, Guy Lodge, Charlie Jeffery, Glenn Gottfried, Roger Scully, Ailsa Henderson & Daniel Wincott
"For some, Englishness seems to be regarded as a dark and chauvinistic force, best kept under wraps. The evident association of English discontentment with the right-wing populism of Ukip may well reinforce that concern. In particular, progressives may be reluctant to engage with the emerging English agenda for fear of legitimising what they see as the grievances of ‘little Englanders’."
The Ambivalent Union (2023)
Publisher: Institute of Public Policy Research
Authors: Ailsa Henderson & Richard Wyn Jones
"[T]he findings underscore the potential implications of an ambivalent union. We highlight the potential challenges for unionist parties arising from the presence of territorially-distinct attitudes towards the union even within their own ranks. We also point out that, given the plurality of unionism, to champion a single understanding of and vision for the union is to risk alienating many of those who regard themselves as unionists as well as those who are already less convinced of the union’s benefits."
Taking England Seriously (2014)
Publisher: Centre on Constitutional Change
Authors: Charlie Jeffery, Richard Wyn Jones, Ailsa Henderson, Roger Scully & Guy Lodge
"[I]t is not clear that any of the main political parties in England has yet fully recognised the potential opportunities that that could arise from positioning themselves as advocates of an English territorial interest; or, indeed, the potential pitfalls that could arise from surrendering ‘England’ to their rivals. It will, however, be clear from the preceding analysis that UKIP and the Conservatives are currently best placed to capitalise."
The Dog that Finally Barked (2012)
Publisher: Institute of Public Policy Research
Authors: Richard Wyn Jones, Guy Lodge, Ailsa Henderson & Daniel Wincott
"Ignoring the developments highlighted in this paper – growing popular dissatisfaction with the territorial status quo and support for an English dimension to the institutions of government – will not make them disappear. Especially given that they are buttressed, not only by the workings of a system of asymmetric devolution that ensures that a de facto English polity is emerging ever more clearly into view, but also by changes in patterns of national identity."
Public attitudes on the state of the state