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Almost nine in ten Britons support new legal protections
in major nationwide survey of public attitudes to gay people

73% would not mind if their child's teacher was gay
80% would not mind if a relative was gay
88% would not mind if member of royal family was gay

Major new polling commissioned by Stonewall has found that the vast majority of Britons, 85%, support the 2007 Sexual Orientation Regulations, newly-introduced legal protections for gay people. Similar numbers would be happy if a relative, their boss or a footballer in the team they support (92%) was gay, the Living Together survey established. The vast majority believe that further steps should be taken to tackle homophobia by government, workplaces, schools and the media.

YouGov sampled 2,009 respondents from across Britain to gauge public opinion towards gay people. While a significant majority expressed high levels of tolerance, 73 per cent said that anti-gay prejudice needed addressing. Eighty-nine per cent support a new offence of incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation, to match existing protections against incitement to racial hatred.

Eighty-five per cent of adults also support the government's new Sexual Orientation Regulations, fiercely opposed by some religious leaders earlier this year, which make it unlawful to refuse gay people services such as healthcare or hotel rooms. But while religion is identified as a significant cause of anti-gay prejudice, the number of people of faith supporting gay equality is almost as high as the figure in the wider population.

The survey also found that:

More than a third of adults have witnessed homophobic bullying in schools
Almost one in seven people has witnessed homophobic bullying in the workplace
75 per cent of Sun readers think that prejudice against gay people in Britain should be tackled
Liberal Democrat voters are most likely to think that politicians are likely to conceal their sexual orientation

Ben Summerskill, Stonewall Chief Executive, said: "We wanted to establish whether the shrill voices in modern Britain still opposing equality are actually representative. While a significant majority of Britons are clearly not prejudiced, as this polling demonstrates, their voices are often drowned out by a minority who are.

"I'm delighted we now have hard evidence that people don't want to live in a society that allows prejudice against any group of people, including lesbians and gay men, to fester."

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO DOWNLOAD THE REPORT CLICK HERE.

FULL SURVEY OR BREAKDOWN OF RESPONSES TO ANY QUESTIONS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

For further information contact: Vicky Powell, Stonewall Communications Officer, (020 7593 1857 / 07985 439 660) or Ben Summerskill, Chief Executive (020 7593 1853 / 07949 108798). Out of hours media enquiries 07985 439 660.

Notes

1. YouGov sampled 2,009 adults (18 +) between October 3 and October 10 2006. The responding sample was weighted to provide a representative reporting sample. The resulting data was analysed and presented by Stonewall.

2. Stonewall intends to conduct Living Together polling biennially in order to monitor levels of prejudice against lesbian and gay people in Britain on an ongoing basis.

3. Stonewall is the gay equality organisation founded in 1989. Founding members include Sir Ian McKellen. www.stonewall.org.uk.