UK civic space: what is happening? 2024-2025

In 2024, the UK saw a change in government, but little has changed for our civic space, which we define as the political, legal and regulatory environment in which civil society exists. UK civic space remains ‘obstructed’ according to the CIVICUS Monitor, after it was downgraded in 2023.

Bond has continued to track and analyse changes to civic space in the UK over the last 12 months. We have identified nine new trends which we believe are shaping the environment for civil society in the UK, from growing concerns over protest rights, to the rollout of new technologies such as facial recognition and artificial intelligence (AI), and a change in tone from the government towards some in civil society but not others.

Find out more about these trends in our UK Civic Space Annual Report.