Is British history something to be proud of?

Pride in Britain's history has declined at a "startling" rate, said Philip Johnston in The Daily Telegraph, according to "depressing" findings in this year's British social attitudes survey. According to the poll, only 64% of people are "proud" of Britain's past – a drop from 86% a decade ago and the lowest since 1995, when the question was first asked.

In addition, reported the London Evening Standard, 53% were proud of Britain's democratic system, down from 69% in 2013, and only 44% said they were proud of its economic achievements, "a fall from 57% in 2013".

The generation game

Factors, including a greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion, economic stagnation and the impact of Brexit were cited as reasons for shifting attitudes towards British history.

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Researcher Alex Scholes from the National Centre for Social Research, which conducted the survey, also highlighted the loss of the Second World War generation, with fewer people alive who had fought or lived through the conflict. "It definitely has an impact," he said.

However, for Johnston in The Telegraph, there was only one answer for the decline: the rise of "Left-wing circles" that have "hammered away at our history for years, leaving it a bloodied wreck". Because of this, Britons are no longer allowed to "praise" the Navy's role in ending the slave trade or "marvel" at the country's role in the Industrial Revolution.

Reform MP Nigel Farage, speaking on his GB News show, agreed. A "Marxist takeover of people who hate the country" is behind the "really extraordinary" fall in national pride. Britain's education establishment "from primary school to university" appears to "rejoice in talking down Britain’s past".

An overdue reckoning

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown for the i news site said those angry at the survey should: "Calm down dears" as "Blighty" wasn't finished yet. Britons are now questioning their past, and "questions lead to curiosity and creativity". Much of what Britons had learnt was based on "fake histories – as bad as fake news" and the survey results merely show a "vital, long-overdue reckoning with truth and change".

Indeed, added Helen Coffey in The Independent, such has been the transformation of society over the last ten years that not even the allegations surrounding "Strictly Come Dancing" – "a symbol of Britishness on a par with scones, Paddington Bear and the royal family" – surprised her. With all the political, royal and celebrity scandals, it was understandable that pride in the country has fallen.

When it comes to British history, however, there were "obvious triumphs" that should not be forgotten, such as the country uniting "to defend freedom against fascism" during the Second World War. It may be that it is not Britain's history people have turned against, but the "jingoism" around it that is used by some as "a flimsy cover for racism". In which case, the fact Britons no longer "brag about our history" is a good sign. The proportion who think it is important to be born in the country to be "truly British" has fallen from 74% in 2013 to 55%. "If racism, prejudice and xenophobia really are on the wane – well, that really is something to be proud of".