Here’s the strange shape of being LGBTQ+ in the UK right now: most people say life has got more accepting over the past decade, and half of them think things are about to get worse.

That’s the headline of LGBTQ+ Life in the UK: 2026, a new report from Stonewall built on a YouGov survey of 3,473 LGBTQ+ adults across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It’s the charity’s deepest look at queer life in the UK since its LGBT in Britain series, published between 2018 and 2020. PinkNews first reported the findings on Monday.

The good news first

  • 48% of LGBTQ+ people said acceptance is higher than it was ten years ago. 32% said it’s lower.
  • Bisexual people were the most likely to see progress (51%), especially bi men (58%).
  • When asked for the biggest improvement of the decade, the most common single answer was same-sex marriage, named by 693 people (20% of respondents), even though it mostly arrived before that window. Northern Ireland only got it in 2020.
  • Two-thirds (67%) of LGB+ people are open about their sexuality with family, and 88% with friends. Of those who are, 93% feel accepted by family and 99% by friends.

That last number deserves a moment. The report finds “a clear link between being able to live openly and being happy.” Coming out still carries risk. But for most people who’ve done it, the people closest to them showed up.

Then the mood turns

Asked about the direction of LGBTQ+ equality in the UK, only 24% were optimistic. 50% were pessimistic.

For trans+ people, it’s 80% pessimistic. Fifty-eight percent of trans+ respondents said acceptance is lower than ten years ago, including three-quarters of trans women.

This isn’t just people being gloomy. Stonewall asked the same question in 2017 and got a net optimism score of +40% (and +14% among trans+ people). This year it’s −26%. The report notes the two surveys use slightly different methods, so the comparison is illustrative, but the swing is huge. Stonewall reads it as “a response to current political conditions.”

What do people point to? In open answers, trans+ rights and transphobia came up most, followed by the political right and Reform UK. The report also names the April 2025 For Women Scotland Supreme Court judgment and its adoption by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Trust is thin, too:

  • 23% trust the police, courts and government bodies to protect LGBTQ+ rights; 50% don’t.
  • Just 19% believe politicians take LGBTQ+ rights seriously; 58% disagree.

Gen Z is the most worried

Here’s the part that’ll land for a lot of our readers: 18–24-year-olds were the most pessimistic age group (net −26%). People aged 65 and over were the only group leaning optimistic (net +5%).

The generation that grew up with marriage equality as a given is the one most braced for losing ground. If that’s you, you’re not being dramatic. You’re reading the same room the data is.

Safety, health and money

A few more findings that stood out:

  • One in five trans+ people (21%), including 41% of trans men and 32% of trans women, have been questioned about their sex assigned at birth in single-sex spaces. So have 11% of lesbians.
  • Only 18% of people who experienced a possible hate incident in the past year reported it to police. Of those who did, 54% weren’t happy with the response.
  • 64% of trans+ people saw indirect transphobic abuse online in the previous month, which Stonewall says is around double the figure from its last survey.
  • 30% of LGB+ people hid their sexuality at work in the past year; 46% of trans+ people hid their gender identity.
  • 55% aren’t confident they’ll be financially secure in retirement, and only 33% trust care providers to understand their needs as an LGBTQ+ person.

The report’s mental health findings are hard reading. More than half of LGBTQ+ respondents (54%) said they had considered suicide at some point, and 22% had attempted it, rising to 71% and 32% among trans+ people. If any of this hits close to home, please talk to someone you trust or a support service. Mind, the mental health charity whose chief executive reviewed the findings, is a good place to start.

What Stonewall says

In his foreword, Stonewall chief executive Simon Blake puts it plainly: “progress is not the same as arrival and there is so much more to do.” He adds: “Something has shifted, and many people in our communities are now anxious, even fearful.”

Sandi Toksvig, in a second foreword, argues that “Prejudice thrives on silence and assumption. Data does not leave much room for either.” She also has advice for anyone feeling worn down: stay alert, stay organised, stay connected, and, in her words, “keep having more fun than they do.”

Why it matters beyond the UK

This survey is useful because it shows two things that can be true at once. Daily life (family, friends, shops, bars, even healthcare) has improved for many LGBTQ+ people. And the political weather can still turn, fast, especially for trans people.

When respondents were asked what LGBTQ+ campaigning should focus on over the next decade, the most common answer was trans+ rights (24%). As one bisexual woman aged 25–34 put it in the report: “until all of us are equal & free, none of us are equal & free.”

Method note: YouGov surveyed 3,473 LGBTQ+ adults online from March 25 to April 27, 2026, weighted to Census data. The full report is here.