Four in 10 Britons did not read a book in the past year - survey

Four in 10 Britons did not read or listen to a book in the past year, a survey has found.

- Ella Creamer

The median British adult read or listened to three books in the past year, according to a YouGov survey published yesterday to coincide with World Book Day.

It found women were bigger readers than men, with 66% having read at least one book in the last year compared with 53% of men.

There was also a political split: while 72% of Remain voters said they had picked up a book in the past 12 months; 54% of Leave voters reported doing so. Labour voters were most likely to have read a book in the last year (70%) compared with Lib Dem (64%), Conservative (63%) and Reform UK (51%) voters.

A class divide also emerged, with 66% of respondents in middle-class households having recently read a book compared with 52% of those in working-class households.