Americans See US-UK Partnership As Critically Important, But Fear Relations Are Getting Worse
Annual survey finds 53% of Americans believe US-UK relations have declined over past year, even as 84% say the partnership is important amid global conflict
BOSTON, September 21, 2026 — As Andy Burnham visits the US for the first time as Prime Minister this week, a new poll finds that a majority of Americans say the strength of the US-UK relationship has declined over the past year. At the same time, 51% of respondents also cited this summer’s World Cup as positively affecting their perception of England and Scotland.
Despite their perception of worsening relations, there was significant support for strong US-UK ties, with an overwhelming majority (84%) of poll respondents saying the US relationship with the UK remains important in light of ongoing warfare in Europe and the Middle East, including 53% who say it is very important.
Americans ranked defense and national security (29%) as the highest priority for transatlantic cooperation followed by trade and economic cooperation (27%). A clear majority of Americans (76%) saw cooperation between the United States and the United Kingdom on issues such as AI governance as somewhat or very important.
For the past five years, Americans have viewed Britain as America’s most valuable ally and strategic partner. However, in 2026, for the first time since this annual survey was launched, Canada tied with Britain as the country Americans felt was the United States’ most important strategic ally.
The survey also shows a significant change in how Americans rank their closest international partners. For the first time since the Association began its annual polling, Canada tied Britain as the country Americans consider to be the United States’ most valuable ally and strategic partner.
Five-year demographic trends reveal that for Americans ages 18 to 29, those naming Britain America’s most valuable ally fell from 37% in 2021 to 21% in 2026. Canada also lost ground among this group, declining from 38% to 27%, while the share choosing China rose sharply from 5% to 19%.
Older Americans remain considerably more likely to choose Britain, but their views are also shifting. In 2021, 52% of respondents over 65 named Britain as America’s most valuable ally, compared with 16% who selected Canada. In 2026, Britain and Canada were effectively tied among respondents ages 70 and older, at 38% each.
“It is reassuring to see that Americans still overwhelmingly support a strong relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.” said Dr. Nell Breyer, Executive Director of the Association of Marshall Scholars. “More troubling however, is a perceived decline in the strength of our alliance over the past year. Cooperation between the US and the UK on national security issues such as the governance of Frontier AI, present opportunities for transatlantic collaboration that are overwhelmingly supported by the American public.”
The annual poll was commissioned by the Association of Marshall Scholars, an American educational 501(c)3, committed to strengthening US-UK ties and the Marshall Scholarship. When told about the British government’s program for American citizens to study at any university in the United Kingdom created in gratitude for the Marshall Plan’s economic assistance package that helped restore the economy of post-war Europe, an overwhelming 87% of Americans saw the Marshall Scholarship as beneficial to both countries.
“With education and transatlantic understanding at the heart of our mission to support lasting ties between our democracies, it is important that a strong majority of Americans see the Marshall scholarship as deeply beneficial to both countries.” said Scott Grinsell (Marshall Scholar 2004), Board President of the Association of Marshall Scholars.
Methodology
Emerson College Polling conducted the national survey on behalf of the Association of Marshall Scholars from August 31 to September 2, 2026. The survey included 1,000 US residents and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points. Data was weighted by U.S. general population parameters. The survey was administered via MMS-to-web text and an online panel.