The share of Britons who consider the United States a major threat to global security has doubled since Donald Trump returned to the presidency in January, reaching what researchers call an “all-time high,” according to the latest British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey.

Even before Trump authorized airstrikes on Iran over the weekend, 72% of UK respondents said they believed the US poses a danger to world peace within the next decade, up sharply from 36% in autumn 2024. The spike reflects rising alarm over Trump’s foreign policy decisions and rhetoric in his first 100 days back in office.

The United States now ranks among the top perceived threats to global security, trailing only Russia (90%) and closely followed by "Israel" (73%), China (69%), and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (77%).

Trump’s recent Oval Office confrontation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and ambiguous remarks regarding the US commitment to NATO have further stoked fears in the UK and beyond, contributing to an erosion of trust in Washington’s global leadership.

Political divide shapes threat perception

The BSA survey, conducted by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), found stark political divides in perceptions of the US threat. Among Labour Party supporters, 81% view the US as a major risk to global peace, compared to 96% of Green Party supporters. In contrast, 68% of Conservatives and just 41% of Reform UK voters share that view.

“These figures reflect a growing consensus among progressive voters, and increasing discomfort even among the centre-right,” said Gianfranco Addario, research director at NatCen.

The data also reveal a significant shift in public opinion on defense spending. For the first time in the four-decade history of the BSA survey, 9% of respondents named defense as the government’s top spending priority. This marks a sharp increase in support for military investment, particularly among Conservative and Reform UK voters.

Supporters of Labour and the Green Party, while more critical of the US role in international wars, were less likely to back increased defense spending.

Escalation of wars shaping public opinion

Addario noted that the survey did not ask participants why they considered the US a threat, but said the findings clearly reflect heightened global tensions.

“The escalation of recent international conflicts is clearly reflected in the attitudes of the British population, who have never been so supportive of military spending and so concerned about serious security threats since the survey first addressed the subject in 1985,” he told The Independent.

He added that public concern over US foreign policy has intensified since the 2024 election and is reshaping debates within the UK’s ruling Labour government, which is attempting to reconcile party divisions with mounting public anxiety over national security.

The British Social Attitudes survey, conducted annually since 1983, is one of the UK’s most authoritative measures of public opinion. This year’s results suggest a marked shift in how Britons view traditional allies and global threats, placing the United States, for the first time, on par with historical adversaries in the public imagination.

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