New polling shows supporters of different parties have radically different beliefs about the importance of British ancestry
New polling has uncovered a major change in thinking on what it means to be ‘truly British’ (Image: Getty)
The number of people who say you must be “born British to be truly British” has nearly doubled in just two years. New research shows the share of adults in Great Britain who say this has soared from 19% in 2023 to 36% this year.
And seven in 10 (71%) Reform UK supporters think it is important to have British ancestry to be truly British, according to YouGov polling for the Left-leaning IPPR think tank. This was the case for 56% of people planning to vote Conservative at the next election – much higher than among supporters of the Lib Dems (37%), Labour (27%) and the Greens (19%). However, just over half of (51%) of those polled think that being British is something you can become with effort – and only 3% said a person needed to have white skin.
When Britons were asked to name five qualities which make a good British citizen, the top answers were obeying the law (64%), raising children to be kind (62%) and working hard (48%). Only 8% said good citizenship involved sticking up for British-born people above other groups.
When asked what would make them proud of the UK in 10 years’ time, the most popular choices were a well-functioning NHS (69%), daily life becoming more affordable (53%) and more affordable housing (36%). Just under three out of 10 (28%) wanted reductions in the immigrant population (28%), with only 13% desiring a fall in the ethnic minority population (13%).
The researchers found consistent falls in the share of people who are proud of Britain when it came to sports, the arts or literature, its history, the way democracy works or its political influence or economy.
Three in four people (74%) said there are “some things about Britain today that make me feel ashamed”.
Improving the NHS is key to strengthening national pride for many citizens (Image: Getty)
The findings have caused alarm at the IPPR, with associate director Parth Patel warning of “rising ethno-nationalism”. He claimed this is “no longer consigned to the fringes of British politics”.
Nick Garland, an associate fellow at the think tank who is a former speechwriter for Chancellor Rachel Reeves, said: “The fight over what it means to be British must be met by rejecting division and reclaiming a shared, inclusive national project.”
Reform UK was invited to comment.
