Poll finds consensus on what makes people proud to be British but deep divisions on issues such as immigration<\/p>\n
You may think it\u2019s a commitment to buying a round, the ability to chat at length about the weather, or making a proper cup of tea. But when it comes down to what makes people proud to be British, there is a consensus across all ages, demographics and political groups \u2013 and tea, pints and the weather don\u2019t get a look-in.<\/p>\n
Hard work, fair play and community are the values that voters \u2013 no matter which political party, age group, social class or region they come from \u2013 instinctively believe capture what it means to be British, according to a large-scale study of British values by Public First.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you talk to people across Britain it\u2019s clear they have a shared set of values \u2013 if fairness is Britain\u2019s moral compass, hard work is its character and community the thing that binds us,\u201d said Olivia Walsham, the director of social policy at the policy and polling research firm.<\/p>\n
But the research found that while most voters could agree on this core set of values, they were deeply pessimistic about finding common ground: more than 65% of respondents felt that in a post Brexit-era, Britain is more divided than ever.<\/p>\n
As Andy Burnham embarks on a summer \u201clistening\u201d tour of the UK and vows to \u201cbring back hope\u201d, the report suggests he has his work cut out, with fewer than one in three people feeling hopeful about the UK\u2019s future, and seven in 10 feeling that things have become worse in the last five years.<\/p>\n
But three-quarters of the public believed British people shared a common set of values \u2013 ranging from 70% of Reform UK voters to 83% of Labour-leaning voters.<\/p>\n
In the study, which polled 6,000 adults and spoke to 300 people in focus groups, participants were asked to choose which values they thought were the most important \u2013 forcing them to make trade-offs.<\/p>\n
\u201cHard-working\u201d topped the list of qualities the public associated with British people, with 70% describing hard work as a British value. \u201cCommunity\u201d was also key, with 80% of people agreeing Britain was at its best when neighbours looked out for one another. Contributing to society boosted positive views: 62% of those who had volunteered in the last month said they were optimistic about their local area\u2019s future, compared with 25% of those who had never volunteered.<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly for a population that can\u2019t pass a queue without joining it, the notion of \u201cfairness\u201d or waiting one\u2019s turn was the clearest shared value. Asked for examples of what described British life at its best, citizens referenced queueing, the NHS, fair play, taking turns, treating people equally, and the expectation that everyone should play by the rules.<\/p>\n
The report also exposes deep-seated division, especially on immigration. Half of respondents said immigration had had a negative impact on the UK, while only one-fifth said a diversity of people and cultures made them proud to live in the UK.<\/p>\n
Sunder Katwala, the director of British Future, said the report showed that British people had become not only more divided, but more \u201cdiscomfited by how divided we feel\u201d.<\/p>\n
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In a political landscape in which no political party was polling at higher than 25%, politicians were more likely to appeal to their base using divisive language, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolitics should be about articulating how people feel about the world, but also the peaceful resolution of differences,\u201d Katwala said. \u201cThere are some glimmers of hope in this research, people are looking for a unifying sense of what we share, but actually appealing across the board to those people, it\u2019s quite challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n