Sky News poll finds 35% of Brits think nuclear war likely within 30 years
An exclusive Sky News poll suggests 35% of Brits think nuclear war is likely within 30 years, with 70% of those expecting UK involvement.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A new war game has simulated a Russian attack on the UK escalating to the brink of a potential nuclear strike. The scenario was broadcast amid rising tensions with Vladimir Putin, and it reflects a threat that is rarely discussed in Britain even though Russia is open about its nuclear arsenal and the UK is a nuclear power.
A YouGov poll has found that 35% of Brits think nuclear war is likely within the next 30 years. Of those, 70% believe the UK will be involved. That means roughly one in four people think the UK will likely be part of a nuclear war by 2056. The poll also found 40% do not think a nuclear war is likely, while 24% do not know. 22% said they think about the chances of nuclear war very often or fairly often, compared with 72% who do not.
Public knowledge
The survey also highlighted gaps in public knowledge. 21% of British people do not know that Britain has nuclear weapons. These warheads are carried by four submarines, with one vessel permanently at sea, armed and ready to fire.
Nuclear retaliation
When asked about using nuclear weapons, 63% would back a nuclear retaliation if Britain came under nuclear attack, 19% said the UK should not fire back and 20% did not know. If the UK were targeted by conventional weapons, 68% said it should not resort to a nuclear strike. 17% said the UK should not use its nuclear arsenal under any circumstance.
Defence and emergency readiness
On wider defence questions, 43% supported compulsory military service for young people. Support was sharply split by age: only 15% of 18 to 24 year olds backed national service, while 66% of over-65s were in favour. A form of national service that included work for emergency services, the voluntary sector or critical national infrastructure was more popular, with 61% in favour and 30% against.
The government is preparing a campaign to encourage households to stock emergency supplies for at least 72 hours in case of a crisis. More than half of those polled, 54%, said they would run out of supplies within three days if a national emergency knocked out water, power and access to medicine.
The poll follows warnings about the devastating effect of even one nuclear warhead detonating, let alone a nuclear exchange. Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev once said a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Sky News |
|---|---|
| A survey found 35% of Britons think nuclear war is likely within 30 years, with 70% of those believing the UK would be involved. | |
| A survey found 54% said they would run out of supplies within three days in a national emergency. | |
| A survey found 63% would support nuclear retaliation if Britain came under nuclear attack. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News led with its exclusive YouGov poll on nuclear war, using a broadcast war game that simulated a Russian attack on the UK as the hook. The tone was sober and security-focused, with most airtime given to stark public attitudes on retaliation, national service and emergency readiness. It did not include reaction from the government, military figures or anti-nuclear groups, and later turned to a separate story about US diesel exports.
- “more than a third of Brits believe a nuclear war is likely within the next three decades”
- “35% think nuclear war is likely within the next 30 years and the vast majority of that number 70% believe it will involve the UK”
- “One in five British people 21% do not even know that Britain has nuclear weapons”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.