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UK: Better education making us nation of liberals
John Carvel, social affairs editor The Guardian
Wednesday 04 Dec 2002 Views soften on race, drugs and sexuality Britain has gone through a liberal revolution since the mid-1980s with dramatic changes in attitudes to drugs, homosexuality and racial prejudice. Rising educational standards have helped to squeeze out intolerance and liberalism looks set to triumph as older generations with more restrictive views die out, according to British Social Attitudes, the 19th annual report from the National Centre for Social Research. It has been measuring people's views since the heyday of Thatcherism in 1983 and said: "We can more than likely look forward to a more and more tolerant British society in the coming decades." A study of changing attitudes to illegal drugs found 12% wanted cannabis to be legalised in 1983, but by last year this had risen to 41% with another 15% undecided. The proportion saying they disagreed with legalisation slumped from more than 75% to less than 46%. In the latest survey 86% backed a change in the law to allow doctors to prescribe cannabis. Support for legalisation was highest among the young, the well educated, Londoners, higher occupational groups, the less religious and Liberal Democrats. The researchers said the change in attitudes to gay and lesbian relationships was dramatic. In 1985, 70% of people thought homosexuality was "always" or "mostly" wrong. By 2001 that fell to 47%, with a third saying it is "not wrong at all". In 1985, 34% of people said they were prejudiced against people of other races, but by 2001 that fell to 25%. "Britain is likely to become increasingly tolerant over time. Older, less tolerant, generations will die out. One of the less obvious pay-offs from higher education seems to be more liberal views on these issues. Tolerance should increase as the numbers of people entering higher education grows," the report said. The research on drugs by Arthur Gould of Loughborough University and Nina Stratford of the National Centre for Social Research found sharp differences in attitudes on cannabis, ecstasy and heroin. Almost nine out of 10 people think taking heroin and ecstasy should remain illegal, compared with 46% saying this about cannabis. Just 7% think ecstasy is "not nearly as damaging as some people think" and 11% say this about heroin, compared with 46% for cannabis. Two thirds think heroin is one of the drugs that causes the most harm to regular users and 46% say this about crack cocaine. But the legal drugs tobacco and alcohol were named by a third, compared with 29% for cocaine and 25% for ecstasy. Just 5% cited cannabis. The proportion who support prosecuting suppliers of cannabis has declined slightly since 1995 from 78% to 70%. But among this group the proportion who strongly support prosecution has dropped steeply from 47% to 29%. Ms Stratford said the government should treat these results with caution. "Taking a lenient line on cannabis might be more acceptable than in the past, but the population is still split down the middle on the subject. And there are other drugs on which the public remain very restrictive indeed - particularly heroin." The research on attitudes to homosexuality and racial prejudice by Geoffrey Evans, professor of the sociology of politics at Oxford University, found sharp differences between age groups. Around 23% of the under 30s think homosexuality is "always wrong", compared with 60% of the 60-plus group. Fewer than one in five (17%) of graduates thought this, compared with 54% of people with no qualifications. Older and less qualified people were also more likely to admit racial prejudice. Professor Evans said young people's tolerance was likely to stay with them as they got older so they would not become more prejudiced with age. British Social Attitudes: 19th report, published by Sage, £37.50
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