November 2023: Engage Britain has now merged with Demos. You can still find all our work from 2019-2023 here, but to get in touch or find out about our new ventures, go to https://demos.co.uk/

Divisions in Britain – the evidence

Working with King’s College London, we’ve explored whether we’re really as divided as the media debate would lead us to believe. Our findings reveal that we’re not a country split neatly in two, rather a nation with fragmented views.

The papers would have us believe we’re a nation polarised by politics. But the Divided Britain? report proves otherwise. In fact, the degree to which each generation identifies with political parties has been on a steady decline since the 1960s.

Generational decline in support

There are still some issues, mainly economic ones, where old left / right splits are prominent and are reflected in our support for different political parties.

British economy chart

But for other issues, like immigration, we’re split by how socially liberal or socially conservative we are ­– this is reflected in our positions on Brexit.

Immigration chart

Brexit split us in almost perfectly in half. But even within those splits there are opposing views. Leavers, for example, have differing opinions on protectionism and globalisation, and only half of remain voters have a positive view on European identity.

Leave voters are split on relationship to world - chart

Divided Britain? reveals that we’re not a country split into two completely separate tribes. Rather, our views are fragmented; so groups that disagree on one thing are likely to agree on others.

Read the full report here.