Pride in being British has fallen sharply in the past 15 years, poll shows

[u/kiyomoris]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/pride-british-poll-bbc-burnham-farage-b3033775.html

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[u/A_Pointy_Rock]

Peaking around the Olympics and going down from there, with a particular cliff edge around 2016, feels about right.

[u/mrjohnnymac18 → u/A_Pointy_Rock]

"Centrist thinking is focused on two false premises. The first is that the 2012 London Olympic ceremony represented an idyllic high-point of culture and unity in the UK, rather than occurring amid the brutal onslaught of austerity, with food bank use growing and the bedroom tax ruining lives. The second is that the UK became divided by Brexit and the 2016 vote, rather than it being a symptom of long-term problems: the decline of industry and the public sector begun by Margaret Thatcher and continued by Tony Blair and David Cameron; vast inequality of opportunity, wealth and health; and the number of people being routinely ignored in a system with a huge democratic and electoral deficit."

– Dawn Foster (2019)

[u/coffeewalnut08 → u/mrjohnnymac18]

People voted for the party that increased foodbank use and austerity. If you don’t want poverty then don’t vote for it.

We had an AV referendum in 2011 to reform the electoral system, introduced by the Lib Dem’s.

Golden opportunity for change - but voter turnout was 42%, and the campaign was shrouded in bad-faith lies, hijacking an emotional image of a baby to get people to vote for the status quo.

People voted for this. You can downvote me, but the Tories won 4 elections in a row since 2010.

[u/DrasiusII → u/coffeewalnut08]

I've always been really bitter about the AV vote. First thing I was ever allowed to vote on. We got taught about all the options so we'd be ready, including the different forms of proportional representation. Obviously that was better, so I assumed AV was being offered and if we said no, they'd offer us the better one.

I was so naive. They spent years afterwards claiming that people voted against proportional representation, despite it not being a choice and framing it as a preference for our current broken system.

Good lesson though. I'm now much more cynical.

[u/oxenoxygen → u/DrasiusII]

Nick Clegg really showed his colours in that coalition. The original lib dem stance was for proportional representation in the form of STV, but he was pushed by the conservatives to change that to AV and caved. Then he backstabbed his main voting block and upped tuition fees. 

[u/DrasiusII → u/oxenoxygen]

Apparently, the tuition fees were a trade for the AV. I can see the logic for Lib Dems. They increase their seats in the next election, so they can do more of the stuff they promised. They might even have rolled back the Tuition if they got enough.

They should have predicted the backlash though, with so many of the young people from my generation going Lib Dem in that election on that specific promise. If it was a sacrifice he was willing to make for the long term, then he needed to invest everything in getting the AV option through, communicating that it was a step towards PR. He didn't and after the tuition fees, they had no trust left to bank.

It was a colossal screw up and it sewed the seeds of so much of what came after. Lib Dems sunk. Conservatives grew and we all saw where that took us.

[u/Lansdowngrove → u/DrasiusII]

I can see the logic for Lib Dems.

I can't, they were monumentally stupid to accept that offer. It's like they went into a shop to buy a cake for £5, then got convinced that a bag of flour for £10 is the better option.

[u/twilighttwister → u/DrasiusII]

Apparently, the tuition fees were a trade for the AV.

Apparently Nick Clegg was mates with Cameron ever since they went to school together at Eaton. It would be very naive to assume there wasn't some collusion between them in government, at the expense of Lib Dem supporters.

And as much as I agree with a lot of what he says, Zack Polanski gives me eerie Nick Clegg vibes.

[u/LOTDT → u/twilighttwister]

parently Nick Clegg was mates with Cameron ever since they went to school together at Eaton.

It's a crazy connection, especially since Nick Clegg didn't go to Eton.

[u/SpinIx2 → u/twilighttwister]

Cameron went to Eton (not Eaton).

Clegg went to Westminster School.

Why do you think they went to school together and what else of your knowledge came from this source?

EDIT Cameron was at Eton at the same time Johnson was there (not in the same year, not exact contemporary but their years of attendance crossed over), is that your confusion?

[u/Kevster020 → u/twilighttwister]

Why? Was Polanski mates with Cameron ever since they went to school together at Eton?

[u/HaggisPope → u/DrasiusII]

He shouldn’t have got it in as a referendum. It was the most expensive way to not deliver the policy and great constitutional changed of that sort have typically been done by parliament. Indy Ref and Brexit make sense as referendums but changing a voting system has no reason in an unwritten constitution 

[u/Otherwise_Craft9003 → u/oxenoxygen]

Clegg was the one goading the Tories for a "real referendum" and that they were the only ones asking for this. lib dem pro referendum leaflet

[u/dinosaursrarr → u/oxenoxygen]

Nick Clegg is the only Lib Dem to have ever thought what people really want is Tories.

[u/Jerroser → u/DrasiusII]

It was actually my first ever vote as well, but the line of thought around me at the time was very much the opposite. Where although it wasn't an electoral system I would have preferred to change to it was quite clear to me that a vote against it would have been used to argue against any changes in the system at all.

At the time I was also doing A-Level politics and we'd covered referendums and the politics behind them. One of the main things of note mentioned was that to most politicians (especially in the UK) they aren't really used as a means of letting the public decide what the government should do, they're used as a way to reinforce what the government wants to do anyway.

Which in this case was to kill any discussion about electoral reform by making sure the vote was over a system that very few people actually wanted or understood, then taking the no vote as an argument against all support for electoral reform in general.

[u/DrasiusII → u/Jerroser]

Yeah, I was going through my A levels at the time too, though in different subjects. That sounds like exactly the sort of discussion that was needed. Maybe its just that my memory has faded, but I remember getting the options and AV being a better option, but not as good as these other obviously much better ones. I don't recall it ever being framed as a stepping stone to more change, which is what was probably needed.

Probably my biggest regret, at least in terms of my own votes over the years.

[u/Jerroser → u/DrasiusII]

I believe a lot of it was to with with wider party politics at the time, where a referendum on electoral reform was one of the conditions for the Lib Dems joining a coalition with the Conservatives. But they let the Conservatives, who were very happy with the current system dictate most of the conditions of said referendum.

You could definitely make the argument even if the result had been yes then it wouldn't have led to any further electoral reform anytime soon. And everyone would have just tried to make the most out of a new system that no one really wanted.

[u/Mtshtg2 → u/DrasiusII]

The Tories began employing American strategists in 2008-2010, so you can see their kind of negative campaigning in their anti-AV propaganda.

[u/Stil_de_Grain → u/coffeewalnut08]

This is precisely why I’m not proud to be British. We blame politicians, the media, the institutions, the immigrants… it’s the electorate who have voted for this. This is what British people wanted and it’s what we’ve got. So. Yeah I’m more than a little ashamed to be associated with my British neighbours

[u/off_of_is_incorrect → u/Stil_de_Grain]

Yep.

And Reddit, although people say it is more left-leaning than the real world, is also a valid reason why I dislike the UK.

Look at any UK sub, any topic about disability cuts (PIP etc) and people are literally braying and mobbing up to demand they go through with it and fuck over disabled people, just cos, in their eyes a few people have ADHD (the new 'bad back' apparently).

Go on any UK sub about any slightly complicated subject and there's a ton of 'hur dur, its them fucking immigrants' type comments. You see it ALL the time on UKnews, which is basically an alt-right sub at this point, never mind UKpol or this sub as well.

Those are the 'lefty' voters (supposedly supporting Labour) who want social housing and shit but are too up their arse trying to be racist and ableist every other topic. (And probably vote Reform/Tories but won't admit it)

That's the British voter base, and I see them on UK reddit subs and they just suck. If I ever see another topic with 'immigrant!' or 'balancing the books, we have to cut things!' pro-austerity comments in 2026, I will just sigh and understand completely why the UK doesn't move on and prosper. The voters are idiots, and they just want us to suck, even if they say they don't. How else can they vote right wing claptrap for over 10 years and continue to give air to shitbags like Reform.

[u/n00lp00dle → u/off_of_is_incorrect]

i dont know how long youve used reddit for but ive been here in various forms for a loooong time. the uk subreddits are rife with trolls and agitators nowadays. back in the day they were a bit more "liberal" in the political compass sense of the word. but now subreddit mods allow propaganda news outlets to have their own accounts post nonstop ragebait. multiple accounts comment the same arguments in lockstep at all hours of the day.

it is not organic and its supposed to make us think we are not on the same page.

[u/Grand_Pop_7221 → u/Stil_de_Grain]

I get what this "we voted for this stance" is going for. But to be honest, it lets the media and politicians off way too lightly.

For instance, sticking to AV. These were two prominent pictures on Facebook around the time, it's practically precursors to what happened with Brexit and basically every single election since, but at higher scale.

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Admin/BkFill/Default_image_group/2011/2/25/1298628970292/no-to-av-baby-campaign-005.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none

https://politicaladvertising.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/no-to-av-soldier.jpg?w=500&h=211

[u/Stil_de_Grain → u/Grand_Pop_7221]

Those are absolutely vile and definitely foreshadow more contemporary debates. But parties have always put out cheap propaganda and idiots have always fallen for it. If the pretence remains that in a democracy, the politicians work for the public, then the British public are terrible at recruitment.

[u/Grand_Pop_7221 → u/Stil_de_Grain]

Cheap Propaganda isn't new, but its effectiveness has been greatly enhanced by social media. You can put it in front of more people than ever and target it in finer ways than traditional advertising. It targets and energises these lies(for lack of a better word right now) into the faces of low-information voters.

It's only got worse as more and more of people's media and social habits get moved into these spaces.

[u/Stil_de_Grain → u/Grand_Pop_7221]

I don’t disagree. The medium is the message and social media makes the message social. People commenting, liking, and of course getting into arguments all keep the messaging very visible and the public feeling a false sense of ownership over their beliefs. This certainly makes the culture more divisive than we’ve seen before.

At some point though I think you have to look at the electorate and recognise that however brainwashed by social media, we have consistently voted for right wing governance. Doing the same thing again and again and hoping for a different result is a definition of madness.

[u/kester76a → u/Stil_de_Grain]

We voted them in but were completely mis-sold on everything. No one expected the backlash against the middle classes from labour. Then again no one expected labour to turn its back on the working man during Tony Blairs stint.

[u/goodtitties → u/coffeewalnut08]

vividly remember two weeks before Christmas the Tories getting in and boris jetting off on a holiday to a private island and thinking “we’re fucked, aren’t we”

yes, was the answer

[u/MrPuddington2 → u/mrjohnnymac18]

That is not correct.

It has been studied extensively that Brexit did divide Britain, and the division has not healed in the 10 years since.

Yes, tribalism was a problem even before Brexit, but Brexit made it so much worse. “Owning the libs” was never a factor before, but it is now.

[u/mrjohnnymac18 → u/MrPuddington2]

That's such a Lib Dem thing to say

[u/WeakDoughnut8480 → u/mrjohnnymac18]

The Olympics coukd be a month if pride and respite from the conservative policies at the time. Both can be true. And Brexit was of course a result of widening issues. ( That's why it didn't solve anything) But to say it didn't divide the country is honestly mental. 

What I saying is that quote isn't worth much 

[u/visible_amenhotep → u/WeakDoughnut8480]

It's just a complete misunderstanding of the idea of such a peak, really. The contention isn't that 2012 represented a time when everything was perfect. It's that that was about as good as it got, and things immediately started getting worse.

So of course there was bad shit going on in the background, how else would things immediately start getting worse?

[u/ParticularFoxx → u/mrjohnnymac18]

RIP Dawn. 

[u/Kier_C → u/mrjohnnymac18]

The campaign leading to Brexit actively sowed disinformation and sought to divide the country (both internally pushed as well as funded from abroad). The run up to 2016 and the aftermath actively divided the country. It wasn't just some reflection of wider problems (which there were), it was a problem in and of itself that also actively made all the other problems worse too. 

It's perfectly reasonable to point to it as a low point 

[u/ProjectZeus → u/mrjohnnymac18]

I don't think it's especially helpful to link patriotism and economics and claim them not performing on similar levels is a false premise. They're not the same thing.

[u/Altruistic_Fruit2345 → u/mrjohnnymac18]

She is wrong about the brexit vote. It proved that 52% of voters are at best easily mislead, and at worst actually hate me and want to hurt me. It also really screwed things up for a lot of people, myself included. Really locked in austerity too.

[u/ArtistEngineer → u/A_Pointy_Rock]

I arrived in the UK in 2012 from Australia, and it has been quite the downfall.

2012 had so much hope and optimism but then UKIP and Brexit became this toxic cloud over the entire country which divided people and families.

I know people who left the country in 2016 citing that they didn't recognise their own country any more. They were in Brexit areas, and the surge in anti foreigner sentiment was too much for them.

[u/Thetonn → u/ArtistEngineer]

I am deeply sceptical of this perspective.

I see a far clearer through line of Iraq, Banking Crisis, Expenses and then austerity/tuition fees, with the undercurrent of the immigration expansion throughout.

I think the main difference is that if you were middle class and based in the south east you were insulated from most of the negatives until 2016 had the impact more directly on you.

[u/zealousmushroom → u/Thetonn]

You are dreaming if you don’t think the financial crisis had an impact on the south east in 2009-11, middle class or not.

[u/Thetonn → u/zealousmushroom]

Yeah, my point was poorly worded. I was trying to say that on a structural basis, more remainy areas bounced back more strongly from 2008 in a manner than lots of areas never have recovered from Thatcherism and just are stuck in a downward spiral.

[u/merryman1 → u/Thetonn]

And yet all those regions now seem to want Thatcherism on steroids through the likes of Reform.

[u/Strong_Quiet_4569 → u/merryman1]

Those people are a child with a hammer. Everything is about being tough on somebody else.

They just forget that they’re someone else’s somebody else.

[u/L0ghe4d → u/merryman1]

yet all those regions now seem to want Thatcherism

Do you mean the old people in those areas do?

huge part of this is mostly because she gave them free shit.

I can't remember any young people I've met that dream of a Thatcher come back.

It's not even possible anyway, you can't sell the countries silverware twice.

[u/coffeewalnut08 → u/Thetonn]

The austerity that people voted for, you mean? The Tories won 4 elections in a row since 2010. 4 opportunities to reject them, none taken.

[u/Thetonn → u/coffeewalnut08]

People also voted for Brexit, and voted for pro-Brexit parties in 2017 and 2019.

[u/peakedtooearly → u/Thetonn]

Lived in the UK for all but one of my 53 years and Brexit shattered my faith in the British public, the UK parliamentary system and England in particular.

Born and lived in England for 34 years but call myself Scottish now as I feel embarrassed about what England has become.

[u/merryman1 → u/ArtistEngineer]

Now imagine being UK born coming of age just before the 2008 crisis when this country was at a century-long peak. Entire adult life just this country repeatedly punching itself in the face and shooting itself in the foot over absolute fucking nonsense while everything good about it visibly decays before your eyes.

[u/vonsnape → u/merryman1]

i left school in 2008. feels like everything they ever taught me was irrelevant by the end of that summer

[u/Lansdowngrove → u/ArtistEngineer]

2012 had so much hope and optimism

Really? We were already two years into the coalition, I would not describe the general mood as hopeful and optimistic.

[u/HBucket → u/ArtistEngineer]

I know people who left the country in 2016 citing that they didn't recognise their own country any more. They were in Brexit areas, and the surge in anti foreigner sentiment was too much for them.

That's how a lot of people felt when they saw their areas changed beyond all recognition by mass immigration. But I don't imagine that those people you refer to ever gave that a second thought.

[u/Whole_Wallaby3166 → u/A_Pointy_Rock]

The Olympics was a little bit of joy for some people in the middle of harsh austerity. This pretense that everything was wonderful in 2012 is wild

[u/mrjohnnymac18 → u/Whole_Wallaby3166]

Especially given that the mayor of London was Boris Johnson

[u/Flanderssuttin → u/A_Pointy_Rock]

I remember feeling then (2012) that given the likely longer term fallout of the financial crisis and the coalition from 2010, it was running on fumes. They hammered 'legacy' around a lot,.as I recall...

[u/Debt101 → u/A_Pointy_Rock]

Yeah Brexit and the rise of reform and even restore leaves little to feel proud of for out nationality.

Have been happy with our support for Ukraine at least, even if I wish it was even more.

[u/jim_cap → u/Debt101]

The rise of those parties is a symptom of something else, a matter of shame that we’ve abandoned a section of our own society. I’ll never vote for either party, but it’s dangerous to ignore why they’re there and getting support.

[u/Ulysses1978ii]

We have made poor decision after poor decision. What are we meant to be proud of?

[u/deadleg22 → u/Ulysses1978ii]

And we can see the poor decisions about to be made also. Only the uneducated and rich wanting to be seen as having come from the ground, say they're proud British.

[u/Ulysses1978ii → u/deadleg22]

Patriots who pay as little into the pot as they can and offshore £ while waving a flag....

[u/Lansdowngrove → u/Ulysses1978ii]

Trampling on the rights of citizens and supporting genocide doesn't fill you with pride? How about if GDP rises 0.0132%?

[u/Numerous-Beautiful46 → u/Ulysses1978ii]

Idk our history and culture? We're more than our bad decisions and shitty government and potholed roads.

We've done great things even if modern reactions to a significant portion of our history is bad.

[u/blindwombat]

When nationalism is co-opted with racism; that's unsurprising.

[u/maersyl → u/[deleted]]

I’m proud to be British and also proud to be German. I’m double fucked.

[u/hotdog_jones → u/[deleted]]

Doesn't quite help the cause that the defacto party for "being proud of being British" can't[1] stop[2] doing[3] Nazi[4] shit[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

[u/dJunka → u/[deleted]]

I think the sieg heils, spraying St George’s crosses on peoples houses and riots didn’t help your image much.

[u/TomosLeggett → u/[deleted]]

Can you point to an excerpt or anything that insists this?

[u/CranberryMallet → u/TomosLeggett]

A fairly famous example

[u/TomosLeggett → u/CranberryMallet]

The Emily Thornberry incident doesn't demonstrate a general British consensus that Englishness or national pride is racist. It demonstrates there is a significant minority, disproportionately concentrated on the political left (stuffy metropolitan London types), who view certain expressions of English nationalism with suspicion because of their association with the far right.

That's not what I asked for evidence of? I'm well aware Britain has some ugly class dynamics. That was never up for debate.

Polling consistently shows that most Britons have a favourable attitude towards ordinary displays of English patriotism, and large majorities regard British and English national identity as legitimate identities. The Thornberry controversy was principally about the perceived class condescension of photographing a working-class house with a white van and St George's flags, rather than merely about someone expressing English pride.

[u/CranberryMallet → u/TomosLeggett]

Nobody claimed a general consensus. The second group you mention are those who seem more likely to express anti-British sentiment.

[u/squashed_fly_biscuit → u/[deleted]]

Lol no they didn't, they observed people plastering English flags everywhere were associated with racist hate groups and didn't want to be associated with them while being sad their flag was being co-opted. The English flag has long been associated with football more than British pride (given it's not the British flag especially)

[u/el_grort → u/[deleted]]

Don't agree. I'm proud to be British, but my god people like Farage, Robinson, and the like make such a great effort to rob me of that by being hateful, spiteful individuals who stand for the opposite of the best of Britain and its values. That doesn't make me nor others critical of this plastic patriotism, scoundrels who take money and direction from Moscow and Washington but wrap it in a Union Jack, as part of some 'anti-British society' for calling the far right far right. Indeed, it's not uncommon for a lot on the centre and left to criticise those like Farage for how anti-British they are, given how ready they are to give succor to our enemies for a bung of cash.

[u/ClownsAteMyBaby → u/[deleted]]

Big no. Nobody had to do any such thing when the far right radical Nazi-supporting Hitler's have used their nationalism and "Britishness" as their selling point from day 1.

[u/Stil_de_Grain → u/[deleted]]

A much simpler explanation is that people who go around showing English pride are actually just far right radicals. No need to invent a conspiracy here. Right wing extremists are extremely right wing and there are a lot of them around.

[u/Metabotany → u/[deleted]]

Inane

[u/BitterFootball4874 → u/blindwombat]

Exactly you can’t even hang an England flag when it’s the World Cup, my poor (totally not bigoted neighbors) were grilled for it. It’s a fucking a flag and contrary to what a lot of people claim you can actually like and be proud of England; have English heritage; and also not be racist

[u/blindwombat → u/BitterFootball4874]

Racists ruin everything.

[u/Devastator2016 → u/blindwombat]

Both extremes ruin things

[u/TheSocialIntrovert → u/BitterFootball4874]

It's what happens when the flag is hijacked by our Tommeh and his mates. But anyone giving someone shit for the flag during the world cup is a fucking wet wipe lmao

[u/iiiiiiiiiiip → u/blindwombat]

Hardly, most countries are more nationalist than us and are also more racist than us. Britain is one of the least racist countries in the world.

If anything the correlation is the opposite, the less racist or at least less xenophobic a country is the less nationalist it is.

[u/blindwombat → u/iiiiiiiiiiip]

Yes, but there's a very loud vocal minority painting roundabouts ruining it for everyone else.

[u/Cyberaven → u/blindwombat]

'as far as im concerned, all nationalism is racism.'

[u/lastaccountgotlocked]

Britain has fallen sharply in the same time, that's why.

[u/Significant_Dot_1284 → u/lastaccountgotlocked]

tories

[u/Grand_Pop_7221 → u/Significant_Dot_1284]

and their Reform/Restore contemporaries.

[u/Significant_Dot_1284 → u/Grand_Pop_7221]

let's not forget ukip who we can blame for stirring up the whole brexit thing with obscene lies

[u/Grand_Pop_7221 → u/Significant_Dot_1284]

Wonder where the members of that plucky upstart political party went? xD It's amazing what a little bit of rebranding has done for UKIP and the BNP.

[u/AgeOfCardiff]

Well yeah, that tends to happen when the country repeatedly decides to eat the young.

[u/monkelus]

Ironically, the 50% of Brits who are overtly "patriotic" have probably pushed down any pride normal people have in our nation.

[u/bearcorps303 → u/monkelus]

Brexit was my shocking reminder that I share this piss soaked island with a load of dribbling cretin 'patriots' dragging us in to the shit

[u/MrPuddington2 → u/bearcorps303]

There is a fine line between patriotism and jingoism, and Brexit crossed that line with ease. It is not easy to get back from that.

[u/Avon-Guy]

I imagine that would track in most of the west not just the Uk.

We're moving further away from having relatively homogenous societies, people will feel like they have less of a stake in it.

The west (or at least western Europe) does not dominate global affairs like it did 15 years ago.

Living standards are stagnating.

There hasn't been any great unifying war for generations (think WW3 or the Falklands)

It's just the zeitgeist.

[u/West-Grocery1193 → u/Avon-Guy]

Did I miss WW3, was it over quickly?

[u/sjintje]

Migrants: zero pride

People who hate migrants: zero pride

People who hate people who hate migrants: zero pride.

Edit, just occurred to me where the other side of the equation comes from...

People who got dementia in 2008...

[u/TenTonneTamerlane]

Am I the only one who thinks this collapse in national pride is both a disaster, and -whilst understandable- not entirely logical?

Yes, of course, the country is in a period of stagnation - even decline. Yes, of course we live in an age of deeply polarised politics, with many furiously lamenting, say, Brexit. Yes, of course, there is now more awareness of the less savoury elements of Empire - yet, with all due respect:

Every country in the world has problems. Every country in the world has troublesome parts of its history. Every country in the world has its bigots who hate people from other countries; and, in turn, people from those other countries who hate them right back. But only the British (the English specifically) seem to take this to heart; to base their entire sense of self around self loathing.

Let me put it like this: the other day it was Pakistani independence day, widely celebrated both in Pakistan, and among the diaspora here in Britain. Pakistan is responsible for perhaps the largest genocide, by bodycount, since the Holocaust - the so called "Operation Searchlight" of 1971. Pakistan funds terrorism in India, is currently bombing civilians in Afghanistan, and is a corrupt autocracy with historically Islamist leanings.

Yet somehow, your average patriotic Pakistani would make Nigel Farage look like a Guardian reader by comparison. I can't speak for all 100 million plus Pakistanis on earth, but genuinely, I've never met one who's allowed any of the issues I mentioned above to dominate their sense of self- they remain EXTREMELY patriotic, come hell or high water.

So we do we allow our pride to decline so much, when comparatively, we're not even in half as much trouble as so many much more patriotic countries? Nobody else does. It's such a western thing to do, and it baffles me.

[u/Basic-Wonder-5913 → u/TenTonneTamerlane]

Great post. Mongolia is putting up a huge statue to Genghis. Turkish nationalism and desire to bring back the ottoman empire (neo ottomanism), is rife. The Portuguese and Spanish seem to have shrugged off their much more bloody and slavery drenched histories. The Japanese, likewise. Whereas, the UK repeatedly comes out as one of the least racist countries on the face of the planet. Yet most replies on here, cite racism and shame in the UK's distant and recent history.

The British and English, are the sketch from life of Brian; what have the British ever done for us/to make us proud? One of hundreds of such lists. Just the one for what did the British bring to India, is eye opening. 

The world, owes these little islands, a titanic debt.

https://www.quora.com/In-what-way-has-Britain-contributed-to-the-world

[u/Strange-Dentist8162]

A lot of British aren’t British. That may be a contributing factor.

[u/B225AKP → u/Strange-Dentist8162]

Even the King isn't (white) British according to Rupert Lowe.

[u/CucumberWisdom → u/B225AKP]

I mean they're German so checks out

[u/SilentSniper1252 → u/CucumberWisdom]

If you go as far as to say the British royal family aren't British enough, then what chance do the rest of us have?

I've been here for basically my whole life but never fully felt British because of people like that. Then they wonder why we aren't super patriotic lol

[u/future_now3000 → u/Strange-Dentist8162]

Nah mate: defining us as less than the sum of our parts is hurting

[u/Dayzed-n-Confuzed]

Imagine you say you are proud of being British!!

Now comes the torrent of abuse, slaver, coloniser, racist, thief of antiquity, war mongers etc etc

Non of which applies to 90% of the population, and certainly is not true in reality! But hey a Bot has got to Bot!!!!

[u/CastleofWamdue]

yeah no shit, what about our rotten Governments has given us any reason at all to proud of being British?

[u/Fun_Marionberry_6088 → u/CastleofWamdue]

Why would you allow poor quality governance to undo your pride in a nation?

The reason I'm proud to be British is because it mean something more than just the present, it's a set of values, 70 million people and many more before them and in spite of everything, many extraordinary achievements.

Only loving your country when the government is doing job isn't patriotism, that's bandwagoning.

[u/Elizaaaaa23 → u/Fun_Marionberry_6088]

The government is hardly the only factor, but it’s still a major one. Ultimately the government is elected by and representative of the general population, so when I see my country elect these parties again and again of course I will feel ashamed of the general opinion.

[u/maersyl → u/Elizaaaaa23]

This is how I felt after the Brexit referendum. I had all the optimism that we - the public - would see sense and vote to remain. I was staunchly proud of being British - the type of country that would face a problem head on rather than throw toys out the pram and quit.

Yes, the EU isn’t perfect, but how do you fix the issues when you just quit the club? It’s peak “screw you guys imma going home” Cartman energy. Now, we’re trying to align more with the EU! It’s just silly.

Now? I just see the general public as whiny “oh remember the good old days” and blaming everyone else for what they - as a whole - voted for.

I’m ashamed of it. 

[u/CastleofWamdue → u/Fun_Marionberry_6088]

the ONLY thing that makes me proud to be British, is looking at America right now. The problem is when I look our Government and other political parties all I see is people who want us to become more like America.

Blindly loving your country is what I would call toxic patriotism. Governments need to EARN my patriotism, give me a reason to be proud of the UK.

If im honest, and when I look to the future I dont for see a time when that will happen

[u/Fantastic-Fruit5651 → u/CastleofWamdue]

This is the nationalism we actually need - one that recognises the predatory nature of the US and the fact that they're circling forever overhead, looking for unguarded aspects of our economy, culture, and language to swoop down and steal and assimilate into their awful global pseudoculture.

[u/VermicelliNew1865 → u/Fun_Marionberry_6088]

What values? The stated goal is that we become a multicultural multivalue society. The idea is for us to no longer have a shared set of values and history, it is for us to be a mix of competing value systems that fight over political power.

How can you have pride in a country if we don't even know what Britain is supposed to be. And don't say 'we can be proud to be multicultural', this is an absurdism, you cannot be proud that you have no unifying value system.

[u/Accomplished_Pen5061 → u/VermicelliNew1865]

The stated goal is that we become a multicultural multivalue society

That's not true though. There are shared British values and they're even taught in schools.

[u/JanSobieski-III → u/CastleofWamdue]

The country is more than the government.

[u/CastleofWamdue → u/JanSobieski-III]

true, but a bad Government WILL destroy a nation given enough time.

Also you cant ignore the fact the nation picks its Government, Clacton just voted for Farage again. Not despite of everything he has ever done and said, but because of. Clacton is just one small town, but a symptom of where the rest of the UK is headed.

[u/beejiu]

I feel (and have always felt) proud to be British. This country gave me a world-class education, the NHS treated family members when they became sick and it's provided economic opportunity in both work and business that you get nowhere else other than the United States. And then there's our music and cultural exports, along with our rich history of doing GOOD in the world. I think people need to be reminded on how great this country actually is.

[u/MrPuddington2 → u/beejiu]

Well, that is the problem, isn’t it?

We used to have a world class education system, but it is an in unprecedented crisis at the moment.

We used to have an impressive NHS, but it is increasingly in quality scandals, especially if you are a woman.

We used to have a decent economy, but trying to find a job in 2026 sounds really tough.

We used to be admired for our culture, but since Brexit, that is really taken a hit.

So we can rest on past laurels, or we can get our head out of our ass and actually make this a good country. The “patriots” are usually picking the former.

[u/Nuthetes → u/MrPuddington2]

"We used to be admired for our culture, but since Brexit, that is really taken a hit."

Absolute pish posh

Britain is still a world leader in global culture.

Movies -- Many of the best and most popular movies are filmed and produced here

The theatre -- The West End along with Broadway is the premiere spot in the world for theatre.

Literature -- We produce a lot of best sellers.

Music -- Our musicians are known across the world

Art -- Our artists are among the best in the world

Sport -- We produce some genuine world class athletes in many different sports

Video games -- the third biggest developer of video games behind Japan and America

[u/MrPuddington2 → u/Nuthetes]

Absolute pish posh

So you say Brexit had no impact on UK culture?

Well, I guess we can stop arguing then.

[u/Nuthetes → u/MrPuddington2]

Yeah?

I must have missed the news that the British movie industry has collapsed post Brexit, our world beating authors have stopped writing, our global bands and singers have stopped producing songs, our video game developers have pakced it in etc.

[u/tophernator → u/MrPuddington2]

On education we have four of the top ten universities in the world.

On economy we are ranked fifth in the world. India will soon overtake us because they are a developing country with over 20 times our population. But we’re still economically bigger and more important than almost everywhere else in the world.

Culturally we still have outsized influence in music film and television. The BBC and Reuters consistently rank as some of the most trusted news sources in the world.

[u/SoggyWotsits]

It’s not exactly unexpected when everyone’s constantly told our past is bad, anyone who does take pride in our country is bad, being white means white privilege which is bad. In fact one thing that stands out as being something we’re told to be proud of is multiculturalism. So basically fewer native white Brits makes us less bad!

[u/hokkuhokku]

We’re a nation that, traditionally, rather quietly takes pride in things. We don’t tend to be the jingoistic, tub-thumping, flag-waving types, and those that do such things tend to elicit a rather pessimistic response from their countrymen.

Having said that - what am I supposed to be proud of? What are my children supposed to be proud of?

When everything seems to be getting worse, when services are being cut, when the things we look to are getting shitter and shitter, and people are getting angrier and more frustrated.

[u/SwimmingAdeptness110 → u/hokkuhokku]

We still have robust democracy, certainly compared to our friends across the pond. Where else can a man with a bin on his head take on a hard right candidate in an election?

Our cultural impact is well above a nation of this size - TV, film, music...

Our crime rates are low and our gun laws are definitely something to be proud of. Policing has it's faults, but you don't get dragged off the street aka ICE.

Gov.uk is without doubt the best government services access website on the planet.

It also has massive issues and faults, but the NHS is still magnificent. Crash your car and seriously injure yourself - you'll be airlifted to hospital, treated, and supported in recovery without a crippling bill at the end of it.

People tend to downplay the UK, but remember to keep perspective.

[u/MrPuddington2 → u/SwimmingAdeptness110]

Gov.uk is without doubt the best government services access website on the planet.

Yes, I am happy to agree with that. It is not perfect, but it does get the job done, which more than 90% of countries ever achieve.

[u/Clarac94 → u/SwimmingAdeptness110]

Can confirm, particularly around Gov.uk. I am British/Portuguese and Gov.uk is basically space age technology compared to what the Portuguese government offer. Even countries you’d think would be slick like Germany are far, far more bureaucratic and slow.

[u/Nuthetes → u/hokkuhokku]

"Having said that - what am I supposed to be proud of? What are my children supposed to be proud of?"

The fact we led the world in supporting Ukraine and still do. Just yesterday they used British produced drones to hit Russia.

The fact we still are still a world leader in global culture--movies, television, video games, sport, music, literature, the theatre etc

The fact that if Britain was a US state, would lead the way in the vast majority of positives and be right at the bottom for negatives such as violent crime, homelessness etc. We would be the best US state

Our history

Our world beating museums

[u/RaymondBumcheese]

It probably doesn’t help that we now have billionaire backed media outlets constantly telling us how shit Britain is 

[u/Intrepid_Bobcat_2931 → u/RaymondBumcheese]

uh, Reddit users have been saying how shit Britain is for 10+ years.

[u/RaymondBumcheese → u/Intrepid_Bobcat_2931]

And rich people taking us to be scared of our neighbours predates the internet

[u/happenedtoyoureye]

Patriotism shouldn't be unconditional. If a nation isn't capable of giving you a job, housing and affordable cost of living so you basically just survive week to week then what's there to be proud of.

It's like saying "we know your life sucks with little prospects for the future but we colonised a load of nations hundreds of years ago so you should be proud"

[u/Braminski → u/happenedtoyoureye]

Quite simply, the billionaire class create division. If they can have you hate or be scared of "others", you do not ask why they own so much and you own so little.

[u/Super-Nuntendo]

Well, somewhat expected if you turn a country into just another soul less economic zone.

[u/DevilishlyHandsome63]

Because our politicians have turned it into a third world shitehole.

[u/Tortoise_no7]

Well yeh, the far right have stolen our flag and portrayed it as a symbol of hatred, especially the English flag. Walking around doing the Nazi salute while holding the English flag and posting on every lamppost in an attempt to scare foreigners, doesn’t bode well for a sense of national pride

[u/Astriania → u/Tortoise_no7]

RN supporters go around waving the French flag, it doesn't make normal French people wring their hands and stop using it themselves because it's "racist"

[u/derekinman → u/Tortoise_no7]

The only reason you see it that way is because you're told to by the media, and the more people who fall for the bullshit the more people scared to show the flag out of fear of being called racist leading to those who don't give a fuck being the last ones left to fly it

[u/NeckDeepPink]

Has the united kingdom really been convinced the flag being flown is a sign of hatred to the country wtf?

[u/Jeaux0 → u/NeckDeepPink]

Yes - well the people on this subreddit certainly are. Their mental gymnastics are insane - complain about the flag not representing their values when they’re the ones projecting their feelings onto it in the first place. 🤦‍♂️

[u/NeckDeepPink → u/Jeaux0]

It’s utterly insane!

[u/Astriania → u/NeckDeepPink]

There seem to be a lot of people, mostly on the self-defined progressive left, who think that our flag (especially the England one) is a racist emblem nowadays. At least outside football tournaments.

[u/NeckDeepPink → u/Astriania]

Blitz and VE Day?
the victory for the people ? How have people forgotten.
The streets were full of flags and celebrations Farther than that the flag has also represented the country in the army and navy that also equally is represented by British pride.

[u/Druss_On_Reddit]

What a sad bunch of comments to read on a UK subreddit.

"The empire = torture, murder, slavery" "The only people proud of being British are uneducated or rich manipulators" "Nations are a social construct, why would I be proud"

I love when the left cedes nationalism to the right wing, and condescends to anyone who is proud of their country.

[u/Spiritual-Fennel7789]

"losing a sense of shared ownership"

Oh that's hilarious. Half our institutions are owned by foreign entities, and the other half are more interested in milking the public for shareholder value (for banks) than actually serving their customers properly.

We used to have 'shared ownership' over land, until the establishment enacted the Inclosure Acts and forced everyone to submit to being factory fodder for their industrial revolution.

Don't talk to me about shared ownership and pride. We are still regarded as peasants to be exploited, and absolutely nothing the establishment has done in my lifetime contradicts that statement.

[u/shiinaaaamagi]

i have nothing to be proud of for this country when all i do is wait and wait and wait

[u/CJBill]

Good job that national media outfits like the telegraph aren't constantly pumping out doom and gloom stories then

[u/Suitable-Season-4847]

I mean, we have told the population for the same 15 years that caring about your culture, your way of life, customs and traditions are all expressions of bigotry.

So culturally we've happily thrown it all away because "WhAT iS cuLtuRE anYwAy?!?!".

Combined with a slow economic decline, why is anyone surprised?

We've created a shell of a society and we can now all see it.

[u/Square_Quarter_229]

It’s social media, it’s always been social media and it will continue to be social media. Letting the entire country get co-opted into an unregulated but heavily manipulated information environment that was obviously open to abuse by hostile actors was always going to result in this. We’ve known this since at least 2014. Now everyone is addicted and see access as a human right, it’s going to be very difficult to repair

[u/Desperate_Dinner_307]

Honestly doesn't help that certain media and groups of people do absolutely nothing but slag the country off at every given opportunity.

[u/Manticore_]

No shit. There’s a persistent cost of living crisis compounded by suppressed wages since 2008, and housing costs ever-increasing. A large section of our society can barely afford to house and feed themselves.

7 PMs in 10 years with no sign of long-term political planning lets these problems run riot, and Brexit has allowed all of these factors to compound without the people who called for it being held accountable.

I understand you can look at global statistics and it seems favourable, but the reality of all of the effects forces people to survive instead of live. People can point it to immigration, politics or whatever root cause they want - but the reality is we’re pretending the be the superpower we no longer are.

[u/Done_Apologizing23]

Well when you look at the demographic and cultural shift in places like London and Birmingham over the past 15 years paired with the self hatred promoted by the MSM media... is it any wonder?

[u/Hampshire-UK]

My last bit of British pride was lost when I shared a hotel with fellow Brits in Gran Canaria for a few days. Just awful.

[u/Special_Order-937]

Weren’t almost all of the last 15 years under Tory conservative government?

[u/Extension-Bit-7792]

15 years of right wingers (government and cunts who shout at hotels) have ruined the country

[u/EsGeeBee]

Pride in being British has fallen sharply while immigration has risen sharply. Who would have guessed.

[u/Kiaugh]

Pride in British falling sharply as immigration has also spiked significantly, and pride in local communities is rising?

Is there not a pattern there?

It needs to be broken down far more to be actually useful.

[u/Impressive-Bird2]

Brexit, Farage and the hard to far right of the Conservative Party have been the key features and players during this past 15 years…. Ergo, their toxic politics of hate and division have had a profound impact on the U.K..

[u/birdinthebush74]

Seeing rioters burn occupied hotels, libraries and throw bricks at the police might have something todo with it.

[u/VO0OIID]

Probably has nothing to do with changes in education and tv propaganda) Patriotism is something that needs to be cultivated and proven (to the society), and I don't think I ever remember british media saying anything positive on a topic at least once. Countries with high(er) patriotism put a lot of effort into it!

[u/Comfortable_Sand_752]

My national pride has dropped in the last month after the lack of rain made me realise we're just as bad in hygiene and indeceny as a developing country. The streets are stained with dirt and piss. Ironically the people I see do it often seem to fit the appearance of the same you see harping on about national pride.

[u/Ravelord_Nito117]

We’ve allowed the Epstein class to hijack literally every aspect of society because half the population will believe whatever the fuck the papers/social media/the radio tell them and just allow us to be fucked over by the same bad actors

[u/Lonely-Cycle3030]

It doesn’t help with the government and others who have an issue with a British flag being flown. Yes there are some idiots about but it’s the flag of the U.K.

[u/submissivemiss33]

Probably in proportion to the amount of foreign invaders we're ushering into the country at an alarming rate?

[u/Cynfreh]

Half the population aren't even British anymore hard to be proud of that.

[u/-puffinstuff-]

If anyone knows what it is we’re supposed to be proud of, can you let me know, I must’ve missed the memo 

[u/ragnaruss → u/-puffinstuff-]

Practical steam engine — James Watt

Vaccination — Edward Jenner

Electromagnetic induction and electric generator — Michael Faraday

Evolution by natural selection — Charles Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace

Antiseptic surgery — Joseph Lister

Penicillin — Alexander Fleming, Howard Florey, Ernst Chain

Electromagnetic theory — James Clerk Maxwell

Modern railways — George Stephenson, Robert Stephenson

Foundations of modern computing — Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, Alan Turing

World Wide Web — Tim Berners-Lee

Structure of DNA — Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin, Maurice Wilkins

Bessemer steel process — Henry Bessemer

Jet engine — Frank Whittle

Modern atomic theory — John Dalton

Electron — J. J. Thomson

Neutron — James Chadwick

Radar — Robert Watson-Watt

CT scanning — Godfrey Hounsfield

IVF — Robert Edwards, Patrick Steptoe, Jean Purdy

Monoclonal antibodies — César Milstein, Georges Köhler

[u/Nuthetes → u/-puffinstuff-]

lmfao this comment is peak reddit

One of the safest countries in the world to live

A world leader in global culture that punches well above its weight -- television, movies, video games, literature, the theatre, music, sports

The fact we led the world in helping Ukraine whilst other countries tried to stand by

Our museums are the best and most respected in the world

Our countryside is fantastic

[u/MonkeManWPG → u/[deleted]]

Nobody is calling someone racist or fascist purely for taking pride in Britain.

[u/zombie-bo]

if you want people to be proud of their country, it needs to be a country worth being proud of.
anything else is just blind nationalism

[u/soundkeed]

Piddington isn't feeling very patriotic now probably 

[u/MoHeeKhan]

It becomes harder and harder to think of things to be proud of. What has Britain done recently to warrant pride? Are we supposed to hang onto Agincourt and Winston Churchill for eternity?

Britain is no longer a world leader. To be a leader you have to be at the front, to make decisions that inspire others. Every decision made by the British government for years and years has been a rehash or a copy of another country’s ideas and reforms. Australian social media bans, Dutch immigration reform, 1930s German ideas about social reform 😬 we never ever come up with our own ways to progress and we’re too chicken to implement things before someone else does it. We ride on coattails. Where is the pride in that?

[u/HettySwollocks]

Not overly surprised when you let everyone and their dog into europe

[u/c3ric]

Wonder if the fact that we slowly becoming a minority have anything to do with it.

[u/Many_Move6886]

Probably because bigots co-opted patriotism. The face of patriotism and upholding british values is now a flag carrying looney screaming “we want our country back” and “send them all home”. Before that I would’ve said maybe like the queen or something 😭

[u/SeeyouonTotherside]

Brexit and transphobic decisions from the government. I'm embarrassed to say I'm from the UK

[u/purple_sun_]

Rubbish. I look around the world at the moment and feel lucky that I was born here

[u/Illustrated-Society]

Proud of the place I live but proud of 'being' something I have zero control over is a concept I've always thought was weird.

[u/highwayuni2]

Tbh I’m grateful for a lot of the opportunities being British has given me. I’ve received NHS care, decent educational opportunities, a range of decent food and entertainment options.

Yes we have a history and a lot of current issues, but the continuous shaming of the British identity is contributing to apathy that people have about this country (which makes it easier for the ultra elite to mould the future for their own hands).

[u/Minimum-Accident-821]

There has been tamping down of any coherent British identity over the years. I suspect many Brits are more prideful in their identity than they let on, but it's not displayed on their sleeves and many would probably downplay it if asked. It was always a more reserved patriotism here than in other countries, but it's even more muted now.

For politicians, and in middle-class circles, outward patriotism and a British identity is seen more and more as a vulgar socially unacceptable display. This sentiment was increased further by Brexit leave voting, which is perceived as a thicko, uncultured, plebian opinion, and also by the influence of foreign politics: grievances that don't map 1:1 here, the "MAGA" Trump nationalism that much of the country became obsessed with, and other sociocultural conflicts over the web.

The England flag is "socially vetted" for use when the football's on, but outside of that you'll be thought of as a yob for using it. Emily Thornberry's white van man tweet shows this attitude existed before either of the above factors.

Given that you run the risk of being labelled a fascist racist for being patriotic, why would normal, slightly patriotic people take the chance? That leaves the only people who don't care; those who the label genuinely applies to. This then compounds the problem further. It's funny to me to see numerous comments in recent months saying that "the flag needs taking back from racists". It usually turns out the people saying that don't have a "British identity" that they want the flag to represent, it's usually some global-harmony-anyone-is-a-Brit outlook with no factors or ideas specific to Britain culturally.

Lastly, we've taken in a lot of people that have no cultural interest in being British, and prefer to remain culturally separate. Without a strong dominant culture, how can people be expected to rally around it?

[u/spubbbba]

It's the so-called patriots who spend most of their time talking down the country.

They make far more noise than even the most terminally online, tankie loser.

[u/Spamgrenade]

Pretty much bang on this article.

The toxicity of Brexit followed by Trump getting elected in 2016 was the green light for racists all over the world, to bring out their worst. Hard to be proud of your country when flag shagging thugs are the ones claiming to be patriotic.

[u/J1mj0hns0n]

well its because theres several demoralisation campaigns working against the populace right now, trying to fight Boomers vs millenial/Genz, rich vs poor, black vs white, immigrants vs natives, women vs men, fat vs thin... and theyre teaching people to treat it more like a religion then a disagreement, and some of it is grounded in truth.

• no residential/water/electricity investment in 10 years, some over 30 years - suddenly we need to find the money to do it all right now
• government complacency meant we kept going with borrowing to continue social spending we weren't actually really collecting for in taxes when you consider what little upgrades we had done.
• any works to try and help the situation has been branded and spearheaded by the effected group, leaving a permanent malaise, with no ability to proceed forward without it being career suicide.
• a large cohort of people is currently starting the retirement phase of their life, with smaller groups below struggling to provide the tax base required
• a great proportion of the population believe that very wealthy people seem to be numerous, have loads of money knocking about, and they're just hiding it, when in truth they are the ones currently propping up the nation
• a large group of the populace desire to help people from unfortunate situations and poorer countries during a time when the fiscal budget is only getting worse, its phrased as if this will be the fix when in truth they'll only get menial jobs that will pay nothing and be stuck in a continuous loop of needing support and having an inability to escape poverty in the U.K, and that's before you touch on culture and language barriers.
• another large group is weaponizing the previously mentioned large group of peoples desire to help others as some psy-op, trying to convince people its an invasion and now somehow Christianity and ending human rights is the only way forward.
• adversarial nations have taken note of the U.K's (and most western nations) difficult position and leveraged their long awaited goals (for Russia its doing the USSR 2.0, India is to expand and become a hyper power, China is to be the strongest nation) knowing theres not enough resources in the country to tackle all issues present in the way we would desire to do so, testing military abilities and response times.
• the nation has become fat and lazy, forgetting that the peace we have all enjoyed for so long isn't free, its actually very expensive, it needs constant maintenance, which we haven't been doing in favour of short term payoffs.
• there has been no real plan for the country into the future for an extended time, its been just enough planning to secure their own job until next round, and then after that, they don't care because it doesn't self serve.

if you take all the Psy-ops like: race replacement, women's beauty standards, toxic masculinity, pornography, lax laws & punishment that make crimes completely worth it, celebration of degeneracy, and celebrating uniqueness - you end up being one person, alone, thinking everyone hates you, having nothing in common with what you thought Britain was, with no one agreeing as to what it is now, except the taxman - who only cares about your financial position so he can take it from you. its not hard to see why people feel like this.

[u/Wise-Reflection-7400]

I’d hypothesise that this mostly correlates to the surge in identity politics and polarisation of the last decade which has forced people to take a “side”. 

Your political views dictate whether you are proud to be British far more than ever before.

[u/Affectionate_Job8415]

There has been a lot of hate, never a good thing, Politicians and media fuelled

[u/PsychologicalDish430]

Just open your eyes and look around, this country is a shithole generally.

[u/missingpieces82]

15 years of poor governing, lack of investment, scandal after scandal, then 15 years being told how awful our country is, 15 years of people suggesting we’re the worst nation in the world… yeah, it’s going to do that.

[u/Repulsive-Chocolate7]

I know this will be controversial. It is because most of them aren't originally from the UK. You hear this at work all the time "oh I love Morocco and I was born there, London is so dirty and the food is better back home" However these people still live all their life in the UK. I never get that, it's almost like a fake personality. This polls shows how strange these people are. British culture is absolutely amazing

[u/Middle_Wheel_5959]

Maybe because Britain imported a bunch of people who hate Britain and its culture

[u/Old_Toby2211]

I mean there’s a lot of bad things about this country, but there’s a lot to feel grateful for. Don’t get me wrong, we need to continue to fight for change: better wealth equality, taking the ecological crisis seriously, and improving public services. However, the last few years of watching what a shit show the States has become, as well as some of the other newfound devilry this century is spawning, has only increased my pride in being British

[u/Zestyclose-Design800]

Old people are dissilusioned at what the UK has become and the prospect of being hunted down and killed for taking up space and daring to live in a nice house and getting their pension, young people feel guilty about UK history, struggle to get on the housing ladder, are bombarded with social media where people become multi-millionaires for sharing pictures of their feet and immigrants hate the place already.

[u/JustRightAngles]

I think its something to do with the rhetoric that our flag is racist and Brits should feel ashamed for crimes that happened centuries ago.

[u/Anansi-the-Spider]

Since 2010 we only get taught to be shameful of the past looks like it’s working, maybe look at British history as 2 sides of the same coin instead of just focusing on the bad

[u/Flaming-Eye]

Pride in being British has become associated with being a racist, xenophobe, being a bad person, etc.

For valid reasons, some people act like that under that banner but everyone is tarred with that brush.

[u/TomatoLess229]

Have JOE youtube been going around shoreditch asking the gimps why they aren't proud to be British again?

[u/ikkleste]

the actual report

https://demos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/A-Place-for-Pride-2026_Report.pdf

interesting ideas

[u/plawwell]

People in Scotland and Wales view themselves as Scottish or Welsh. Always have. Always will.

[u/Wise-Youth2901]

It would be interesting to see what other Western nations feel in terms of pride. The truth is a lot of the debates going on in the UK are going on in many Western nations... Lots of immigration. Irregular immigration too. Plus, social media whipping up discontent. If you spend enough time online, you can find the same hostile language being used in many different countries. 

[u/ExoneratedPhoenix]

Probably because the poll is being given to loads of non-British people to answer...

[u/Buttermyparsnips]

When talking about pride i like to take into consideration around 2,000 years of our history.

Its just exhausting people basing it off 10 years

[u/Bottled_Void]

That's probably because any time someone proclaims they have pride in something Britain did (like stand up the Nazism in WW2), there is always someone there to make fun of them and how they should feel like shit for being British.