Research on Britishness

How and why has the British collective identity changed over the last 50 years and how is this reflected thhrough the media?

• 2001: just over 87% said that they were White British. 1.2% Irish.
• 2011: just over 80% said that they were White British. 0.9% Irish.
• Mixed and multi ethnic groups: proportions in all of the groups increased between 2001 and 2011.
• England and Wales has become more ethnically diverse with rising numbers of people identifying with minority ethnic groups in 2011.
• White ethnic group is decreasing in size, however, it is still the majority ethnic group that people identify with.
• During the Middle Ages, the few black faces in Britain appeared to be entertainers linked to royal entourages. 1500-1700
• There was an increase in the number of African men, women and children resident in Britain. Approximately 14,000 black people lived in England by 1770.
• In Wales, Scotland and for Catholic participants in Northern Ireland they see the English as arrogant, superior and aggressive.
• However, young white people in England find it hard to distinguish between being English and British: the two appear interchangeable.
• British themes: old, Traditional, Hierarchical, Distant from everyday life, Political discourse and Parent to child.
• Britain is proud of welcoming new migrants who will add to the diversity and dynamism.
• Thanks to immigration Britain's demographic trends are healthier than in many neighbouring countries.
•  The Guardian's beautiful maps still show vast swaths of the country which are over 90% white Briton – Cornwall is 98%, where foreign-looking faces are rare.
• In the Mail melancholy writer Douglas Murray argues that the scale of immigration in the noughties has been too fast to absorb. 
• Associations with Britishness amongst young people include the Queen, tea and crumpets, and Big Ben etc, which are rather “old world” versions and do not reflect a contemporary Britain or social reality.
• For many young people Britain represents an old, hierarchical, traditional, political discourse that does not fit with the fresh, inventive, messy and often chaotic world of a teenager.
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