The number of people who say they are proud to be British has fallen sharply over the past 15 years, new research shows.
Fewer than half (47 per cent) of the public now express national pride, down from 74 per cent in 2011, according to polling commissioned by the think tank Demos.
But pride in local communities has actually increased, from 29 to 40 per cent.
The shift appears to echo Andy Burnham’s “place first” philosophy while highlighting the challenges he faces in trying to win back disgruntled Labour voters who are increasingly turning to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Last year, the Reform leader attacked the criminal justice system at a press conference under the banner “Britain is lawless”.
Polly Curtis, chief executive of Demos, said: “Our research shows that Britain hasn’t stopped feeling proud. People still feel deep pride in the places they live and the communities around them. What has eroded is their confidence in Britain as a whole.”
She added that the issue was not “about flag waving or nostalgia”, but about whether people felt they belonged, had “a stake in the country’s future” and believed the institutions underpinning democracy were working for them.
“When people lose that sense of shared ownership over what makes Britain great, trust breaks down and our politics becomes more fragmented,” she said.
“If we want to strengthen democracy, we need to give people more opportunities to shape the places they live, rebuild confidence in our institutions and create a more inclusive national story that people from every part of the country can see themselves in.”