by Eleanor Langford, The i
Half of Britons say they feel disconnected from the society around them, with more than four in ten reporting that they sometimes feel like “strangers in their own country”, according to one of the UK’s largest studies into social cohesion.
A poll of over 13,000 people by More in Common, in partnership with Citizens UK and UCL Policy Lab, revealed many Britons reported feeling unease about the state of community and belonging across Britain.
Among the headline findings, 50 per cent of those surveyed said they feel disconnected from society. Forty-three per cent said they sometimes feel like a stranger in their own country – a sentiment that rises to 47 per cent among Asian Britons.
The findings come after Sir Keir Starmer faced criticism for saying in a speech last week that the UK risked becoming an “island of strangers” due to high levels of immigration.
Starmer made the comments alongside the launch of the long-awaited immigration white paper, in which the Government laid out plans to halt care worker visas and a crackdown on sectors heavily reliant on foreign workers.
However, the researchers who conducted the poll argue that concerns about a lack of social cohesion go well beyond immigration.
Luke Tryl, Director of More in Common UK said that “the public point to a range of forces driving us apart” in their responses.