But there was no consensus on the significance of the Magna Carta in modern politics and laws in the UK – 37% said it was significant, 37% said it wasn’t and 25% were don’t knows. Among YouGov’s opinion formers the Magna Carta was deemed significant by 54%.

When asked if the 1998 Human Rights Act has eroded the protections granted to British citizens that were set on the foundation of the Magna Carta, half of the general public ( 49%) and half of opinion formers ( 52%) did not agree.

The general public were split on whether there was a need for a ‘new Magna Carta’ to protect the people from abuse of executive power – 40% thought there should be a new one to reflect modern society’s concerns, 36% didn’t know and 23% thought the precedent of the original, embodied in current laws, is sufficient.