United Kingdom predictions for 2025
Read 66 predictions about the United Kingdom in 2025, a year that will see this country experience significant change in its politics, economics, technology, culture, and environment. It’s your future, discover what you’re in for.
Quantumrun Foresight prepared this list; A trend intelligence consulting firm that uses strategic foresight to help companies thrive from future trends in foresight. This is just one of many possible futures society may experience.
International relations predictions for the United Kingdom in 2025
International relations predictions to impact the United Kingdom in 2025 include:
Politics predictions for the United Kingdom in 2025
Politics related predictions to impact the United Kingdom in 2025 include:
Government predictions for the United Kingdom in 2025
Government related predictions to impact the United Kingdom in 2025 include:
- The government introduces a deposit return scheme (DRS) to improve the recycling of plastic bottles and drink cans. Likelihood: 70 percent.1
- The number of children in social care reaches nearly 100,000, a 36% rise in a decade. Likelihood: 70 percent.1
- The UK requires its largest companies to report their business impacts on climate change, the first G20 country to do so. Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- From September, eligible parents get 30 free childcare hours from nine months until their children start school. Likelihood: 70 percent.1
- Electric vehicle owners start paying a car tax to offset the decline of petrol and diesel vehicles ahead of their phaseout by 2030. Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- The government makes a decision on whether to launch the UK central bank digital currency (CBDC). Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) strategy, which adds all of the estimated environmental costs associated with a product throughout the product life cycle to the market price of that product, rolls out. Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- The government sells 15% of its shares of the NatWest bank, formerly known as the Royal Bank of Scotland. Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- The government bans two-for-the-price-of-one ‘junk-food’ offers. Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- The royal family’s grant increases from £86 million to £125 million. Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- Local councils impose double property taxes for second-home owners to help finance the construction of more affordable housing in the country. Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- The government mandates the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Likelihood: 70 percent.1
- The Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) is introduced to empower adults to upskill or retrain throughout their working lives. Likelihood: 70 percent.1
- The government implements an annual refugee cap. Likelihood: 80 percent.1
- The window for UK workers seeking to plug gaps in their national insurance contributions closes. Likelihood: 70 percent.1
- The government launches new apprenticeships and talent programs to support recruitment for in-demand roles, such as cybersecurity technologists and software developers. Likelihood: 80 percent.1
- All travelers (including those who previously did not require a visa to visit the UK (such as those from the US and the EU)) need to apply for digital pre-approval and pay an entry fee. Likelihood: 80 percent.1
- The government reviews its policies on allowing low-skilled migrants from the European Union to look for work in the UK. Likelihood: 80 percent1
- Post-Brexit legislation encourages low-skilled worker migration to the UK amid worker shortages. Likelihood: 30%1
- Keir Starmer prepares for his first Labour conference as prime minister as infighting breaks out among his team.Link
- Sturgeon predicts independence and united Ireland in UK 'shake-up'.Link
- General election 2024 poll tracker: How do the parties compare?.Link
- The United Kingdom, "a country in crisis": Mark Drakeford, or Wales....Link
- Starmer faces investigation over possible breach of parliamentary rules after Labour donor 'pays for wife's clothes'.Link
Economy predictions for the United Kingdom in 2025
Economy related predictions to impact the United Kingdom in 2025 include:
- UK government plans to sell remaining RBS stake by 2025/26.Link
Technology predictions for the United Kingdom in 2025
Technology related predictions to impact the United Kingdom in 2025 include:
- Full-fibre internet access now available in all homes across the UK. Likelihood: 80%1
Defense predictions for in 2025
Defense related predictions to impact the United Kingdom in 2025 include:
- The UK deploys again a carrier strike group (CSG) to the Indo-Pacific in fulfillment of the Hiroshima Accord, a wide-ranging pact with Japan covering economic, defense, security, and technology collaboration. Likelihood: 80 percent.1
- The Ministry of Defence scales back army personnel to 73,000 from 82,000 in 2021. Likelihood: 60 percent.1
- The UK’s two squadrons of F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters become fully operational. Likelihood: 70 percent.1
- Hybrid teams of humans and military robots in the UK Army become common. Likelihood: 70 percent1
Infrastructure predictions for the United Kingdom in 2025
Infrastructure related predictions to impact the United Kingdom in 2025 include:
- Work on Centre Port UK, touted as the world’s first tidal powered deep-sea container terminal, starts (with completion planned by 2030). Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- About 94% of the UK is covered by gigabit-speed broadband, up from 85% in 2025. Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- Construction begins for the country's first all-electric prison, located at East Yorkshire. Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- The construction of the first batch of heat network zones, which prioritise the use of district heating across specific parts of England, begins. Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- The last coal power station in the country is shut down. Likelihood: 75 percent.1
- Every school in England has access to high-speed internet. Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- China’s Huawei removes all of its 5G telecoms networks from the country. Likelihood: 70 percent.1
- The number of properties covered by full fiber-based broadband increases from 11 million in September 2022 to 24.8 million by March 2025 (84% of the UK). Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- Businesses are no longer able to use landlines as Openreach by BT moves all UK phone lines from the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to a fully digital network. Likelihood: 70 percent.1
- The average house price breaches the £300,000 marker. Likelihood: 70 percent.1
- Smart electric vehicle charging becomes the norm. Likelihood: 40 percent.1
- New homes are mandated to comply with the Future Homes Standard, which aims to decarbonise the incoming housing stock through efficient heating, waste management, and hot water. Likelihood: 70 percent.1
- VMO2 becomes the last telco to retire 3G in the country, effectively completing the 3G sunset in the UK. Likelihood: 80 percent.1
- The UK builds its largest-ever grid-scale battery storage in Scotland with a storage capacity of 30 megawatts per hour, capable of powering over 2,500 homes for over two hours. Likelihood: 70 percent.1
- General Fusion's sustainable nuclear fusion demonstration plant begins operations in the UK's national fusion research programme Culham campus. Likelihood: 70 percent1
- Half of the UK’s electricity sources are now renewable. Likelihood: 50%1
- The UK’s National Electricity Grid is now generating more than 85% of its energy from zero-carbon sources, such as wind, solar, nuclear, and hydro. In 2019, only 48% were zero-carbon imports. Likelihood: 70%1
- The government’s GBP 1.2 billion investment in cycling infrastructure has doubled the number of cyclists compared to 2016 numbers. Likelihood: 70%1
Environment predictions for the United Kingdom in 2025
Environment related predictions to impact the United Kingdom in 2025 include:
- The UK plants 120 million trees, targeting 30,000 hectares of new planting per year. Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- Zero-emission ferries, cruises, and cargo ships start to sail on UK waters. Likelihood: 60 percent.1
- Britain’s electricity system is powered solely by zero carbon sources of power for periods at a time. Likelihood: 65 percent.1
- Bus operators buy only ultra-low or zero-emission vehicles. Likelihood: 70 percent.1
- All biodegradable waste now banned from landfills. Likelihood: 50%1
- New homes built are now required to have low-carbon heating systems. The use of gas for heating or cooking is no longer permitted due to the government’s efforts to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. Likelihood: 75%1
- All new ships, including ferries and cargo vessels, must be equipped with zero-emission technology as part of the government’s efforts to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Likelihood: 80%1
- Any new buses purchased will be ultra-low or zero-emission vehicles, reducing up to 500,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. This includes private coach buses and public transit buses. Likelihood: 80%1
- The UK no longer has any coal plants in operation. Likelihood: 90%1
Science predictions for the United Kingdom in 2025
Science related predictions to impact the United Kingdom in 2025 include:
More predictions from 2025
Read the top global predictions from 2025 - click here
Next scheduled update for this resource page
January 7, 2022. Last updated January 7, 2020.
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