For many people, the new year is a time to reset goals and priorities. But what do the public think the government’s priorities should be for 2026?
To find out, we asked Britons what they think the government’s biggest priority for the year should be in their own words, with the results then categorised by YouGov’s AI-powered Topic Quantifier model.
Immigration is the most commonly given issue for Britons, with almost one in four (23%) saying that tackling this should be the government’s top priority this year. This is particularly driven by 2024 Reform voters (56%) and Conservatives (37%) – by far the most frequent answer in both cases.
The cost of living is top of mind for 16% of Britons, the second most common highest priority that people give. While this is the most common answer among Labour, Lib Dem, and Green voters, it is far less dominant within their priority choices, at 17-23%.
The economy ranks third overall among the public, at 10%, followed by the NHS in fourth, on 5%. Climate change comes in next, on 3%, rising to 12% among Green voters, for whom it is the second most common answer given.
Few Britons listed foreign policy as a key focus, with very few naming world peace (2%) or relations with Europe (1%) or the US (1%) as the biggest priority for the next 12 months.
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