7 August 2025

Survey: 7 in 10 Britons fear potential political violence

Against a backdrop of asylum hotel protests, a new survey finds a majority of the public concerned about serious further disorder.

By New Statesman

A large majority of the British public are concerned about the potential for political violence according to new polling conducted by Looking for Growth and Merlin Strategy. A survey of 2000 adults between 25 and 27 July found that 7 in 10 (70 per cent) are concerned about the potential for political violence.

A further 1 in 5 (21 per cent) say that political violence in the UK is acceptable in some conditions. A similar number (18 per cent) say they would consider participating in violent protests as the state of Britain declines.

Broken down by party affilation, the survey found that 1 in 3 (32 per cent) of Reform UK voters say political violence is acceptable in some conditions. The Green Party had the second highest number saying violence was acceptable in some conditions (24 per cent).

The findings come a year after the murder of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, at a Taylor Swift dance class in Southport sparked days of violent rioting across England and Northern Ireland. Riots in Aldershot, Tamworth and Rotherham targeted so-called ‘asylum hotels’.

The hotels have become a flashpoint once again this summer. Protests around asylum hotels have taken place in Epping, Diss and Canary Wharf in recent weeks. On Saturday clashes took place between anti-racism demonstrators and anti-asylum hotel protestors outside the Thistle Hotel in central London. The Home Office says fewer than 210 hotels are now being used to house asylum seekers, down from more than 400 in the summer of 2023. Meanwhile the number of asylum seekers crossing the Channel has surpassed 25,000 this year, the earliest the figure has been reached.

Britons are split on whether it is acceptable to protest outside an asylum hotel, with 47 per cent saying it is acceptable, and 44 per cent saying it is unacceptable. Only 14 per cent say it is acceptable to riot outside an asylum hotel, and only 1 in 5 (19 per cent) of Reform UK voters say it is acceptable to riot outside an asylum hotel.