Defence and terrorism are no longer in the top five issues for the British public, it was revealed on Tuesday 25 July. Ipsos MORI, who surveyed more than 1,000 people between 30 June and 10 July, found that the category had dropped to 19% (-100 and three positions when compared to the June measure.

The figures come after the Finsbury Park attack on 19 June, the London Bridge assault on 3 June and the Manchester Arena Suicide bombing on 22 May.

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The debate around terrorism and security dominated the final days of the 2017 general election campaigning, with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn criticising Prime Minister Theresa May, the former Home Secretary, for cutting police officer numbers.

The Conservatives were able to win the 8 June election, but they lost their majority of MPs in the House of Commons.

The latest Ipsos MORI index for The Economist, meanwhile, found that NHS/hospitals continued to be the top concern for the UK public (50%), with Brexit in second place (41%) and immigration third (28%).

"Concern about the NHS is high among all age and social grade groups, with at least four in ten mentioning it as one of the biggest issues facing Britain," said Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI.

"This contrasts with the distribution of concern about Brexit, which is more often seen as a big issue by those in social grades ABC1; just over half (54%) of this group name it as a concern, compared with one quarter (25%) of those in social grades C2DE."

The pollster also found that the concerns index differed according to gender. The NHS is the biggest issue for women, cited by 58% (compared with 41% of men), whilst the biggest concern for men is Brexit (46%, against 36% of women).

The research also revealed that gender splits also exist in the proportion who see education as one of the biggest issues facing Britain (30% of women, 19% of men), as well as the economy (women: 21%, men: 29%).

The study comes as the two-year-long negotiations between the UK and EU continue. Both parties have promised to prioritise talks around the residency rights of EU nationals in the UK and Britons on the continent.