A new YouGov UK tracker has found that more than three-quarters of UK adults support same-sex couples’ right to marry.
The bimonthly tracker, released on 29 June, found that 76% of UK adults support the change in the law that allowed same-sex couples to marry.
Of those surveyed, 51% said they “strongly support” same-sex marriage, while 25% said they “tend to support” it.
By comparison, just 8% said they “tend to oppose” same-sex marriage and 7% said they “strongly oppose” it. A further 8% answered, “don’t know”.
Support for marriage equality has remained high since YouGov began tracking the question in August 2019, when 45% of respondents said they “strongly support” same-sex marriage.
The number of adults who strongly oppose same-sex marriage has also fallen, dropping from 10% in 2019 to 7% in the latest data.
Same-sex couples have been legally able to marry in parts of the UK since 2014. England and Wales legalised same-sex marriage on 29 March 2014, followed by Scotland on 16 December 2014. Northern Ireland legalised same-sex marriage later, with the law taking effect on 13 January 2020.
US support slips from previous highs
The UK figures stand in contrast to recent polling from the United States, where support for same-sex marriage has dipped from its previous peak.
A Gallup poll released in June found that 65% of US adults believe same-sex marriage should be legal, down from 71% in 2022 and 2023.
Gallup said the decline is largely being driven by falling support among Republicans. In 2021 and 2022, 55% of Republicans said they supported legal same-sex marriage. In the latest poll, that figure had fallen to 37%.
Support among Democrats and independents has remained largely stable, with 87% of Democrats and 67% of independents backing same-sex marriage.
For LGBTQ+ advocates, the latest UK data is a reminder that marriage equality remains strongly supported by the public, even as debates around queer and trans rights continue to intensify in parts of the world.
