National Pride is Falling as Britain ‘Redefines Itself’, Survey Finds

Researchers say findings of the British Social Attitudes survey suggests ‘civic’ nationalism is becoming more important than an ‘ethnic’ sense of identity.

Pedestrians walk past Union Jack flags at Oxford Circus in London on May 25, 2023. Daniel Leal/ AFP/Getty Images

A new survey has revealed a sharp fall in national pride, with fewer people believing you must have been born in or have UK ancestry to be British.

The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) said its survey aimed to assess whether people’s conception of who is “truly British” is primarily “ethnic” or “civic” in character, and how much this has changed over the last thirty years.

Researchers said the findings suggest Britain has become more “inclusive” in its attitudes, and that “civic” qualities, such as having British citizenship, respecting the laws of the land and “feeling” British were more important than having been born in the UK.

NatCen, which published the latest chapter of the British Social Attitudes (BSA) report on Tuesday, said the apparent change in views over a decade could reflect increased diversity and “shared citizenship.”

The survey of around 1,600 people in England, Scotland and Wales, found that the proportion who think it is important someone was born in the UK in order to describe themselves as “truly British” has fallen from 74 percent in 2013 to 55 percent in 2023.

‘Ancestry’ Less Import

Those who believe it is important to have British ancestry has also dropped to 39 percent from 51 percent a decade ago.

The majority (86 percent) say it is important that someone respects British political institutions and laws, but just 19 percent now think that it is impotant to be a Christian in order to be British—down from 24 percent in 2013.

The BSA report noted that “British” is not the only national identity in the UK, given that it is a “multinational country” consisting of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Pointing to nationalism in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, it stated: “Each of the UK’s component parts has its own sense of national identity, or in the case of Northern Ireland, contested identities. In the three nations other than England there are political parties with significant support that advocate leaving the UK.”

While not drawing any firm conclusions, the researchers said this caused them to question how the nationalism present in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland might be “different” to the presumed nationalism of those who voted for Brexit.

Scottish Nationalism Versus Brexit Sentiment

“Given that in Scotland the principal nationalist party advocates rejoining the European Union and believes that Scotland would benefit from a relatively liberal immigration regime, we might wonder whether the nationalism of those who back leaving the UK, an option for which 45% voted in the 2014 independence referendum, necessarily has the same character as the nationalism of those who backed Brexit,” the report said.

The research revealed that 65 percent of Brexiteers believe British ancestry matters to being British, whereas only 42 percent of Scottish independence supporters feel ancestry is important for being Scottish.

The NatCen survey showed that overall there had been a steep decline in the proportion of people who take pride in the country’s achievements.

The report said there is evidence that the “culture wars” debate around empire and slavery have had an impact on the public’s “pride in the past.”

While 86 percent stated that they were proud of Britain’s history in 2013, this fell to less than two thirds (64 percent) 10 years on.

Just over half (53 percent) professed pride in how Britain’s democracy works, down from 69 percent in 2013, and just over four in 10 (44 percent) said they are proud of Britain’s economic achievements—down from 57 percent in 2013.

Just under half of those asked (49 percent) now say they would rather be a citizen of Britain than of anywhere else, compared with 62 percent in 2013.

‘Pride in Sporting and Cultural Achievements’

Gillian Prior, deputy chief executive at NatCen, said: “Our latest report finds Britain has become more inclusive in its attitudes towards what it means to be British.

“These research findings show that whilst we are less likely to take pride in British history and more critical about its politics, there is still a great deal of national pride in the country’s cultural and sporting achievements.

“This change in attitudes may have been influenced by the increased diversity and shared citizenship within Britain, presenting a portrait of a nation redefining itself.”

The findings come just a week after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, in his first major speech since taking office, referred to the summer riots stemming from anti-immigration protests as having “revealed a deeply unhealthy society” which “exposed the state of our nation.”

Starmer said the violent disorder had revealed, “The cracks in our foundation ... weakened by a decade of division and decline, infected by a spiral of populism.”