Nearly half of British students back the return of the death penalty, according to a new survey by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) that polled 1,018 undergraduates aged 18 to 21. The poll found that 47 per cent support reintroducing capital punishment for serious crimes, while 46 per cent oppose it. That places student opinion almost exactly in line with the wider public, where 50 per cent of adults favour the death penalty and 45 per cent are against it, the survey indicated.
The death penalty for murder was abolished in 1965 under the Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act, which was made permanent in 1969. The last two men executed in Britain, Peter Anthony Allen and Gwynne Owen Evans, were hanged on 13 August 1964 for the murder of John Alan West. All forms of the death penalty were formally abolished in UK law in 1998. Recent polling suggests public support for its return has risen. A survey by More in Common in January 2025 recorded 55 per cent support, up from 50 per cent in autumn 2023, with Millennials showing the strongest backing at 58 per cent. Generation Z, by contrast, is more divided: 45 per cent in favour and 45 per cent against. A YouGov poll in November 2025 found 50 per cent of Britons supported bringing back capital punishment for some crimes, with most believing it would be an effective deterrent. However, an Ipsos poll in 2007 had shown support falling below 50 per cent for the first time, with the same 50 per cent figure for favour and opposition.
Hamas and the Gaza conflict
Student opinions on the October 7 attacks and the subsequent Israeli military campaign diverge sharply from those of the broader public, particularly on the question of whether the attacks were defensible. HEPI’s survey found that 28 per cent of students felt the Hamas attacks were “defensible”, while 34 per cent described them as “indefensible” and 37 per cent were unsure. By contrast, a 2024 YouGov poll of the general public found only 5 per cent of adults thought the attacks were justified, with 69 per cent saying they were not. Nick Hillman, HEPI’s chief executive and author of the report, noted that students are “more sympathetic to the proscribed terrorist group Hamas” than the wider population. A separate UnHerd poll in June 2024 indicated that 54 per cent of Britons aged 18 to 24 believe Israel should not exist, a finding that helps explain the gap.
Students were also more critical of Israel’s military response. Half described the country’s actions as “indefensible”, while only 18 per cent said they were defensible. This position is closer to wider public opinion: 45 per cent of adults previously said Israel’s response was not justified, according to earlier polling cited in the HEPI report.
Nuclear disarmament and wealth tax
On unilateral nuclear disarmament, student opinion is overwhelmingly in favour. HEPI found that 72 per cent of undergraduates support the UK giving up its nuclear weapons unilaterally, compared with just 11 per cent of adults nationally. A 2021 Survation poll, by contrast, found that 59 per cent of the general public thought the UK should join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a less absolute position than outright unilateral disarmament.
Six in ten students backed a wealth tax, though support varied sharply by voting intention. Fewer than half of students intending to vote Conservative or Reform UK favoured the tax, while a majority of Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green, SNP and Plaid Cymru supporters did. Interestingly, wider public opinion on a wealth tax appears stronger: a YouGov poll found that 78 per cent of the general public supported a wealth tax, compared with 60 per cent of students. Discussions around annual and one-off wealth taxes remain ongoing in policy circles.
Reparations and transgender rights
Nearly half of undergraduates (47 per cent) favoured historical reparations for the slave trade, versus just 24 per cent of adults nationally. The generation gap reflects a broader trend: younger people, particularly Gen Z, are more likely to feel ashamed of Britain’s involvement in the slave trade, and some elite schools have acknowledged their historical links and removed benefactors’ names. On transgender rights, one third of students supported transgender people using changing facilities corresponding to their gender identity. Research indicates that trans and non-binary students often face anxiety and transphobic abuse around such facilities, and there are ongoing debates about government guidance for schools on gender-questioning children.
Hillman said the survey was designed to test assumptions about a “culture war” on campuses and to inform debates about free speech. “On a small number of issues, students’ opinions are strikingly different,” he said. “They are more sympathetic to the proscribed terrorist group Hamas, more supportive of reparations for the slave trade and more in favour of unilateral nuclear disarmament. Comparing the views of students with those of all adults is revealing because today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders.”
