Most of the public are opposed, but ethnic minority adults, and black adults in particular, are in favour

Yesterday, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans "the gravest crime against humanity" and calling for reparations as "a concrete step towards remedying historical wrongs."

The vote comes after an official visit to the UK last year by a delegation from the body leading the Caribbean’s slavery reparations movement to advocate for payments.

YouGov polling shows that the British public are opposed in principle to the UK paying reparations to countries affected by Britain's transatlantic slave trade between 1662 and 1807.

Six in ten (60%) express their opposition, including 44% who are “strongly opposed”. Only 24% would support reparations.

Attitudes differ markedly by ethnicity. While 66% of white adults are opposed to reparations payments, among black adults 71% are in favour of doing so. Among all ethnic minority adults, 50% support reparations payments, with 32% opposed.

Among voting groups, only the Greens would back reparations payments, with 53% saying so. Sizeable minorities of 34% of Labour and 27% of Lib Dem voters say the same, but they are outnumbered by the 48-57% in each party who are opposed.

By contrast, fully 82% of Tory and 90% of Reform UK voters reject the idea of paying compensation for the transatlantic slave trade.

Support for reparations declines with age. While 18-24 year olds are torn on the subject, with 43% in favour but 41% against, support drops to 32% of 25-49 year olds, and just 8% of the over-65s.

Of course, this survey question only probes the extent of willingness to pay reparations in principle. A UN report in 2023 recommended that the UK pay almost £19 trillion in compensation to 14 countries – a figure which one of the report’s co-authors said was an underestimation of the damage caused.

Such a figure is more than six times the UK’s annual GDP, and it is highly likely that opposition would grow even greater when explicit costs of the scheme are posed.

See the full results here

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