Nearly half of Brits feel like ‘strangers in their own country’

The research came out after the Prime Minister warned the UK was becoming an "island of strangers"

More in Common polled over 13,000 people in the UK in partnership with UCL Policy Lab and Citizens UK about people's feelings on community and belonging.

The poll found that half of Britons feel disconnected to society, with 43 per cent reporting that they sometimes feel like a stranger in their own country.

Among Asian Britons, this number rises to 47 per cent.

It comes after Keir Starmer's controversial speech earlier this month, where he said the UK was at risk of becoming an "island of strangers".

Starmer made the comments amid the launch of a white paper about immigration, in which the government has vowed to cut visas for care workers and crack down on industries which rely heavily on foreign labour.

More in Common's research was carried out more than a month before the speech, and it is understood that Starmer had not seen it before making the comments.

However, the researchers argued that the lack of social togetherness is more than just about immigration.

“Some cite the retreat from workplaces to screens; others talk about the loss of shared spaces and rituals that once brought us together. For many, it’s the simple feeling that the cost of living crisis has made a social life feel like a luxury,” Luke Tryl, Director of More in Common UK, said.

Their research also found that 62 per cent of those polled thought the UK was becoming more divided, and 54 per cent said Britain is less trusting and more suspicious than it was five years ago.

The research found that young people were less trusting, with 29 per cent of 18-24 year olds saying most people can be trusted, in comparison to 48 per cent of those over 65.

Those on lower incomes were more likely to feel more disconnected, with 56 per cent of those on under £20k a year saying they felt disconnected from society, in comparison to 42 per cent of those on over £65k.