A complex picture How Covid altered the way Britain thinks

Five years from the start of the UK’s first lockdown, the Guardian considers how the pandemic changed attitudes to society, government and democracy

- Esther Addley Matthew Pearce Pamela Duncan

In the strange, scary days of early 2020, with the world suddenly upended by the outbreak of a terrifying new virus, there were times when it seemed certain every aspect of society would be hugely altered by the experience.

Five years on, the physical impact has been profound. More than 220,000 people have died in the UK, out of 7 million worldwide. Many more have been left with a devastating post-viral illness.

But how did it change the way we think? Did it alter how we see ourselves, and our relationships with others and the wider world?

Amid the fear, social isolation and politicisation of the pandemic, conspiracy theories were born and polarisation appeared to grow. Yet experts trying to piece together the lasting impact that Covid has had on social norms believe it may have merely accelerated existing trends of distrust and disillusionment, while some of the potentially unifying forces the virus spawned have proved more fleeting.

While the evidence for how Covid has shaped social attitudes requires careful interpretation, research data offers some insights.

Comparing attitudes in the five-year period from 2019 to 2024 - before the pandemic and after it - the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey published last year found levels of trust in government in the UK were as low as they had ever been. A record 45% told the survey they would "almost never" trust a government of any party to place the country above their party.