Britons come together for the Last Night of the Proms but there are concerns about deep tensions (Image: PA)

Professor Bobby Duffy of KCL said: “This latest study shows a frightening increase in the sense of national division and decline in the UK in just a few years.”

Dr Rakib Ehsan, of the Policy Exchange think tank, called for a “meaningful response” to the public’s “craving for a greater sense of stability and belonging”.

They discovered the proportion of the public who think transgender rights have gone too far has shot up from 17% to 39% since 2020. However, 19% say these rights have not gone far enough, while 27% say they have gone as far as they should; 15% did not give an opinion.

“Three-quarters of Reform supporters say there is a ‘great deal’ of tension between immigrants and people born in the UK, twice the level of Labour, Lib Dem and Green supporters. Six in 10 young women say that transgender rights have gone as far as they should or have not gone far enough, while six in 10 older men say transgender rights have gone too far.”

“Only then can we begin the process of reuniting our country.”

Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake says ‘lack of integration’ should not be ignored (Image: Getty)

Gideon Skinner, of Ipsos, said: “Continued global and domestic disruption and fragmentation is reflected in our latest study, which illustrates how the narrative around culture wars is intensifying in the UK. Perceptions of political and cultural disharmony are growing, reflecting a society grappling with nostalgia, the pace of change, and growing tensions over immigration, and with polarised views over what terms like ‘woke’ signify.”

He said the challenge is to “understand the roots of these divisions and use these insights to create dialogue and policy that can help reduce further polarisation”.

Shock Poll Exposes ‘Frightening’ Increase in Sense of National Division and Decline in UK

Britain is facing a growing sense of division, cultural uncertainty and declining national pride, according to a major study by King’s College London and Ipsos. The research suggests that many people increasingly believe the country is divided, that cultural change is happening too quickly and that tensions between different sections of society are becoming more pronounced.

The findings are particularly striking because they come from a long-running study that has tracked British attitudes since 2020. Researchers surveyed 4,027 people aged 16 and over between 21 and 27 August 2025 using the Ipsos UK KnowledgePanel, a representative random-probability sample designed to reflect the wider population.

The headline figure is perhaps the clearest indication of the changing mood.

Eighty-four per cent of respondents said they felt Britain was divided. That compares with 74 per cent in 2020, meaning the proportion has increased by 10 percentage points over five years. The researchers said this represented the highest level recorded since the project began.

Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, described the development as a “frightening increase” in the sense of national division and decline.

The study also found that the nature of Britain’s divisions has changed.

The Brexit referendum and its aftermath once represented one of the most obvious political fault lines in the country. But the research suggests that tensions between Leave and Remain supporters have gradually eased. In 2020, 78 per cent of respondents perceived tension between the two groups. In the latest survey, that figure had fallen to 52 per cent.

That does not mean Britain has become less divided overall.

Instead, researchers argue that political and cultural disagreements have shifted towards other subjects, particularly immigration, national identity and so-called culture wars.

One of the most significant changes concerns perceived tensions between immigrants and people born in Britain.

In 2023, 74 per cent of respondents said there was tension between these groups. By 2025, the figure had risen sharply to 86 per cent, the highest level recorded in the study.

This finding does not measure the actual level of conflict between communities. It measures how people perceive the relationship between immigrants and British-born people. That distinction is important because perceptions can be influenced by personal experience, political debate, news coverage and social media.

Nevertheless, the increase provides evidence that immigration has become a major source of perceived social tension.

The divide is particularly pronounced among supporters of different political parties. The researchers found that Reform UK supporters were especially likely to perceive tension between immigrants and people born in Britain. Around three-quarters of Reform supporters said there was a “great deal” of tension, compared with substantially lower proportions among Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green supporters.

This helps explain why immigration has become such an important issue in British politics.

Reform UK has placed immigration and integration at the centre of its political message, arguing that successive governments have failed to control migration adequately. Other parties have also changed their positions in response to public concern, making immigration one of the most prominent subjects in political debate.

But the study suggests that the issue goes beyond party politics.

Half of respondents said British culture was changing too quickly. In 2020, only 35 per cent held that view. The increase was particularly notable among older and middle-aged respondents, with 65 per cent of people aged 55 and over saying cultural change was happening too quickly, compared with 47 per cent in 2020.

At the same time, nearly half of the public expressed a desire for Britain to return to the way it used to be.

Forty-eight per cent said they would like their country to be “the way it used to be”, compared with 28 per cent five years earlier. Interestingly, this sense of nostalgia was not restricted to older generations. Among 16-to-24-year-olds, the proportion expressing the same view almost doubled, rising from 16 per cent in 2020 to 31 per cent in 2025.

These figures suggest that dissatisfaction with the direction of the country cannot simply be explained as an attitude belonging to one generation.

Another notable finding concerns national pride.

The proportion of respondents who said they felt proud of their country fell from 56 per cent in 2020 to 46 per cent in 2025. For the first time in the study’s period, fewer than half of respondents expressed national pride in this measure.

That does not necessarily mean that most Britons feel ashamed of their country. The survey question measures whether people feel proud, and people can simultaneously have affection for Britain while expressing dissatisfaction with its current political or social direction.

Nevertheless, the decline is significant because national identity can play an important role in social cohesion.

The researchers also examined attitudes towards culture wars.

Sixty-seven per cent of respondents said they believed Britain was divided by culture wars. Five years earlier, the figure was 46 per cent. Meanwhile, 64 per cent agreed that culture wars represented a serious problem for British society and politics, compared with 52 per cent in 2023 and 44 per cent in 2020.

The term “culture war” itself remains contested.

It can refer to disputes over subjects such as immigration, gender identity, religion, national symbols, political correctness and social values. But the researchers also found that many people believe politicians and the media exaggerate such conflicts.

Sixty per cent of respondents said politicians invent or exaggerate culture wars as a political tactic. Meanwhile, 66 per cent believed the media often makes Britain appear more divided than it really is.

These findings create an important complication.

Britons may simultaneously feel that the country is deeply divided while believing that politicians and media organisations sometimes make those divisions appear even greater.

In other words, the perception of division has itself become part of Britain’s political environment.

The survey also examined attitudes towards transgender rights, another issue that has become increasingly prominent in British political debate.

Thirty-nine per cent of respondents said transgender rights had gone too far, compared with 17 per cent in 2020. However, there was no clear national consensus. Nineteen per cent believed rights had not gone far enough, while 27 per cent believed they had gone as far as they should.

This illustrates a broader feature of the study: Britain is not simply divided into two perfectly defined camps.

Views vary considerably depending on age, political affiliation and personal experience. On many controversial issues, substantial numbers of people occupy positions between the two extremes.

The research also suggests that some divisions have actually weakened.

Perceived tensions between social classes fell from 74 per cent in 2020 to 62 per cent in the latest survey. Political-party tensions, meanwhile, increased slightly from 64 per cent in 2023 to 68 per cent, but remained below the 75 per cent recorded in 2020.

The overall picture is therefore more complicated than the phrase “divided Britain” might suggest.

Some historic divisions are healing, while new ones are emerging.

The Brexit divide appears less intense. At the same time, arguments about immigration, cultural change and identity appear to be becoming more prominent.

This transformation may help explain the changing political landscape.

Reform UK supporters were particularly likely to express dissatisfaction with the direction of the country. Eighty-eight per cent said they would like Britain to be the way it used to be, compared with 20 per cent of Green Party supporters. The researchers said Reform supporters stood out for their particularly negative perceptions of the country’s direction and divisions.

That finding does not mean all Reform voters share the same motivations. Nor does it establish that dissatisfaction automatically translates into support for any particular political party. It does, however, show a substantial difference in how supporters of different parties perceive Britain’s recent social and cultural development.

For Britain’s political leaders, these findings present a complicated challenge.

A government seeking to reduce division cannot simply address one issue. Immigration, economic insecurity, regional inequality, cultural change, national identity and political trust can all contribute to how people perceive the country.

The survey suggests that many Britons are not only concerned about individual policies. They are also uncertain about the broader direction of British society.

That uncertainty can have political consequences.

When people believe their country is changing too rapidly, they may become more interested in questions of national identity and social stability. When people believe that political opponents represent fundamentally different values, compromise can become more difficult.

At the same time, the survey provides evidence that Britain is not locked permanently into one pattern of division.

The reduction in Brexit-related tension demonstrates that political disagreements can change over time. Issues that once dominated national debate can become less emotionally charged, while new questions take their place.

The challenge for politicians is therefore not simply to win arguments but to understand why public perceptions are changing.

The latest KCL-Ipsos study provides an unusually detailed picture of that change. It shows a country where 84 per cent perceive division, 86 per cent perceive tension between immigrants and British-born people, 50 per cent believe cultural change is happening too quickly and 46 per cent express pride in their country.

Those numbers do not prove that Britain is objectively in decline.

They demonstrate something different but equally important: a growing number of people believe that the country is divided, changing too quickly and losing some of the qualities they associate with its past.

That perception is now a major part of Britain’s political reality.

The findings therefore provide a warning about the importance of social cohesion. If political and cultural disagreements continue to intensify, the challenge will be to understand the underlying causes without exaggerating divisions or reducing millions of people to simplistic political categories.

Britain’s political future will be shaped not only by elections and party competition, but also by whether citizens believe they share enough in common to live together as one society.

The latest poll suggests that confidence in that shared identity has weakened.

What happens next will depend on how Britain’s political leaders, institutions and communities respond.

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