National pride has declined drastically
A new study has found that pride in Britain and its history is at an all-time low.
The British Social Attitude report, carried out by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), revealed there’s been a sharp decline in national pride amongst Brits in the last decade.
National pride has also declined since the survey first started in 1995.
Less than half (49 per cent) of the 1,600 people asked in 2023 said they would rather be a British citizen than any other country.
This was down from 69 per cent in 1995.
Meanwhile, Britons are becoming less and less proud of their nation’s history. When asked, 64 per cent said they felt pride in Britain’s history, down from 83 per cent in 1995.
And 53 per cent of those asked said they felt proud of the way democracy works, down from 60 per cent in 1995.
In categories such as Britain’s arts, sports and economic achievements, national pride remained the same or had increase compared to 1995. However, these were still all down compared to the 2013 findings.
The report reads: “After increasing between the 1990s and the 2010s, pride in Britain’s achievements has fallen during the last decade, and especially so in respect of the country’s history,
“At the same time, nationalist sentiment appears to have waned. Despite Brexit and the debate about immigration, Britain has become less exclusive in its attitude towards Britishness, less likely to feel a sense of superiority as compared with the rest of the world, and somewhat more critical about its politics and its past.
“It is perhaps a picture of a country that to some degree at least becomes more reflective about itself and about its relationship with the rest of the world.”
But the report did find that Brits had become more inclusive in their attitudes. For example, the amount of people who agree it is important someone was born in the UK in order to describe themselves as “truly British” fell from 74 per cent in 2013 to 55 per cent last year.
And less than half (39 per cent) of respondents said it is important to have British ancestry, compared to 55 per cent in 2013.
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 survey participants were from England, Scotland and Wales.
