Public attitudes to homosexuality are becoming more liberal, according to a government-backed survey. Some 36% thought homosexual acts were “always” or “mostly” wrong, down from 62% when the British Social Attitudes survey was first carried out, in 1983. But the public is taking a tougher line on cannabis, the survey of 4,486 adults, conducted in 2008, found. More people see themselves as Tory rather than Labour supporters for the first time since the 1980s, it adds. The survey also suggested the number of people who felt a pressing need to vote in general elections was declining. Some 56% of those questioned thought it was “everyone’s duty to vote” – down from 68% in 1991.

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