Number of people who say Britons must be born in UK is rising, study shows | British identity and society

The number of people who believe “Britishness” is something they are born with has almost doubled in two years, according to research that warns of a growing wave of ethno-nationalism in Britain.

While the majority of people still believe that being British is based on shared values, an increasing proportion see it as a product of ethnicity, place of birth and ancestry, according to analysis carried out by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and shared with the Guardian.

According to a YouGov poll carried out for the think tank this month, nearly a third (36%) of people thought a person had to be born in Britain to be truly British; this rate was one in five (19%) in 2023.

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK supporters had the most extreme views among party supporters; 71% said having British ancestry was a prerequisite for someone to be truly British, while 59% said they believed the nation was an ethnic community rather than a civic one.

Strikingly, the findings show that a significant proportion of Farage’s supporters believe that being white is an important national characteristic and that Britain has become more ethnically diverse. Reform More than a third (37%) of UK voters said they would be more proud of Britain if there were fewer people from minority ethnic backgrounds in a decade, and 10% said it was important to have white skin to be a good British citizen.

The results are evidence that far-right narratives are having some success in reshaping the public’s understanding of national identity; But the general public still supports a progressive vision of Britishness based on shared values, not ethnicity or origin.

IPPR deputy director Parth Patel said: “Politicians and activists on the right are trying to change the way we think about ourselves and each other. They believe that belonging to this nation is defined by ancient rights and historical claims, and they want the rest of us to believe that too. “Worryingly, they are beginning to change the hearts and minds of some people in Britain.

“Progressives, accustomed to opponents who challenge them primarily on the basis of economic equality, now find themselves in conflict with those who reject much more fundamental principles of human equality. We must meet this challenge with confidence and conviction.”

According to IPPR analysis, the majority of supporters of all major parties except Reform, including the Conservatives, thought that the nation was a civic community defined by shared values, not an ethnic community defined by common ancestors.

When asked what makes a good British citizen, the most popular answers were obeying the law, raising children to be kind (62%) and working hard (48%), given by 64% of those surveyed. Just 8 per cent said it involved defending British-born people rather than other groups, while 3 per cent said it involved being white-skinned.

When asked what would make them proud of the country in ten years’ time, people prioritized good public services and quality of life: 69% mentioned a well-functioning NHS, 53% mentioned affordability and 36% mentioned housing. Significantly fewer priority reductions on immigration (28%) or ethnic diversity (13%).

IPPR called on Keir Starmer to improve the content of his speech to the Labor Party conference, in which he opposed ethno-nationalist views, and develop a program of national renewal based on a clear vision of what kind of country Britain should be and what will bind it together.

In his speech, the Prime Minister said that he was “fighting for the soul of our country” with the far right. “If you say or imply that people cannot be British or English because of the color of their skin, that families of mixed heritage owe you an explanation, that people who have lived here for generations should now be deported, mark my words, we will fight you with everything we have because you are the enemy of national renewal,” he said.

The reform has faced criticism for threatening to deport hundreds of thousands of people legally resident in Britain by canceling the main route to settlement. Conservative shadow minister Katie Lam was also criticized for backing mass deportations to make Britain “culturally consistent”, words later denied by the party’s leader, Kemi Badenoch.

In recent months, senior politicians have warned of a rise in ethno-nationalist ideas, many of which are spreading online. The Guardian recently reported that far-right political content was among the top five most circulated stories on social media in most weeks, according to weekly summaries commissioned by ministers.

Between 110,000 and 150,000 people attended Tommy Robinson’s far-right march in Westminster in September.

Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood, a practicing Muslim who was born in the UK to Pakistani parents, said this month that she was “very proud to be a citizen of a diverse country like ours”.

Responding to the US government’s national security strategy, which criticizes the immigration policies of European countries and calls for the restoration of “western identity”, Mahmood said Britain is a “multi-religious, multi-ethnic country” that “allows people to have the call of their own conscience to live their own lives freely, but also has common rules that we all follow so that we can live together in peace”.

Badenoch, who was born in Britain to Nigerian parents, said in an interview this summer that she had faced a wave of online “ethno-nationalism” that included “a lot about my race and my ethnicity.”

“They’ll try to use tropes about black people: They’re lazy, they’re corrupt, or they’re all DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] hiring — and that’s something I find extraordinary because I take everyone at face value,” he said.

Nick Garland, an associate member of the IPPR and former political speechwriter for chancellor Rachel Reeves, emphasized that “the vast majority of people still believe in a nation built on common values ​​and common interests, not on place of birth or past”.

“The urgent task for the government – and progressives more generally – is to give voice to this belief by putting forward a compelling alternative vision of the nation: a story of who we are that looks forward, not backward. The struggle over what it means to be British must be met by rejecting division and reclaiming a common, inclusive national project.”