The A Place for Pride 2026 report shows a steep generational divide, and Lowri Griffiths asks what a nation is supposed to do with a number like that
Forty-Seven Percent Proud: Demos Finds British National Pride at a Record Low, Down From 74 Percent in 2011
The A Place for Pride 2026 report shows a steep generational divide, and Lowri Griffiths asks what a nation is supposed to do with a number like that
By Lowri Griffiths, patriotism and current affairs correspondent
The Number
According to IBTimes UK reporting on the Demos report published on 16 August 2026, 47 percent of people say they are proud to be British, down from 74 percent in 2011. The report is called A Place for Pride 2026, and the article describes the figure as the lowest recorded level. The article does not state the sample size, so I would treat the headline as a good reason to read the full report rather than a final word.
Three quarters to under a half in fifteen years is a fall that deserves a proper look. It is also a fall that arrives in a country which still manages to find a flag for every occasion, which is a puzzle worth a few paragraphs.
Young and Old
The article says the decline is steepest among younger generations. Among under-25s, net pride in British history fell from 54 percent in 2011 to minus 4 percent in 2026, which means more of them now say they are not proud than say they are. Among over-65s the figure dipped only from 70 percent to 66 percent.
Pride in British history across the whole population fell from 65 percent to 39 percent over the same period. Anyone who has sat through a family Christmas argument about the Empire will know the gap exists. What the figures add is a measure of its size, which is roughly the width of a dinner table with a paper hat at either end.
Rich and Poor
The geography matters too. The article reports that only 18 percent of people in the most deprived areas said they were proud of British people, against 42 percent in the least deprived areas, a gap of 24 points. People in poorer areas report lower pride than people in wealthier parts of Britain.
It is not hard to see why. It is difficult to feel warmly about a country that seems to be sending you the bill. Pride is easier to feel on a good street with a working bus than on a bad one with a bus that is a rumour.
The Local Exception
One figure runs the other way. Pride in local communities rose from 29 percent to 40 percent over the same period, according to the article. People, it seems, have not stopped being proud. They have moved the pride closer to the front door, where the bins are collected and the pub quiz is held.
That may be the most British finding of the lot. We have reduced our national self-regard to the size of a village hall and, judging by the raffle, are doing rather well.
What Demos Says
Polly Curtis, the chief executive of Demos, said the shift does not necessarily reflect a rejection of pride itself, but an erosion of confidence in the state. She said national pride is not about “flag waving or nostalgia” but reflects the underlying health of society, according to the article.
That reading is more generous than the headline and, to my mind, more useful. People who say they are not proud may be telling a pollster that something is broken, which is a different message from “we dislike our country.” A shop that gets a complaint does not conclude that the customers hate shopping.
The Government’s Answer
The article says the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, described his “place first” approach as an attempt to “rewire Britain.” I have no further detail on what that involves and would not want to guess. The idea, as quoted, is that pride follows from places that work, which is at least consistent with the Demos reading.
A reader who wants to judge it should look at the policy itself rather than the slogan. Rewiring is a word with a long history of arriving in a van, taking a long time and costing more than the quote.
A Fair Caution
Polls of pride depend on how the question is put, who is asked and when. The IBTimes article gives the Demos numbers but not the method, and I have not seen the report itself. A fall from 74 to 47 is large enough to be real in any reasonable survey, but I would not build a theory of the national soul on one release.
Other work points the same way. The NatCen British Social Attitudes study on national identity, which I look at in another piece in this series, found pride in British history falling from 86 percent in 2013 to 64 percent in 2023. Different surveys, different wording and different years, and yet the direction is the same.
What To Do With It
The sensible response is neither panic nor a new flag. It is to ask what people are not proud of and to fix a few of those things. Most of them, I suspect, are on the list that every doorstep canvasser could recite: housing, transport, waiting lists and the state of the pavement outside.
Pride is a by-product. It tends to turn up when people are not looking for it, usually somewhere between a good cup of tea and a train that is on time. The second is the harder to arrange.
A Note From the Comic Press
Comic writers work the same news cycle from another angle. A recent run of dispatches on a property slump in Cebu shows the form: Manila News on slow condominium sales in Cebu, the London Prat on British pensioners asked for referees and a letter from the vicar (at https://prat.uk/cebu-estate-agents-demand-character-references/) and Bohiney on an Ohio realtor whose showings now last two hours. Each is anchored to a real market story and uses exaggeration openly. More is at prat.uk and bohiney.com.
Note: Philippine authorities are examining unproven allegations about Thomas Markle Sr., who lived in Cebu until earlier this year, as GMA News and the Guardian have reported. No charges have been filed. Child protection is a serious matter; the jokes here are about a property market and the paperwork.
For the lighter side of the news, there is always The Daily Mash.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/cebu-realtor-cant-sell-beachfront-listings/