The UK is ‘shattered’ into different ideological factions, a report has found, with each holding distinct ideas about what’s wrong with the country and how to fix it.
Politicians face a serious challenge winning back the trust of Brits too, with almost nine in ten having little or no faith in them, according to the findings.
A major new poll at the centre of the report lays bare just how disillusioned we are with the current system, and the depth of pessimism over whether things will get better.
Three in five Brits say they wouldn’t trust Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch or Reform leader Nigel Farage to even watch their bags – with similar levels of distrust for all three.
And the one word used most to describe the state of the country is ‘broken’, followed by ‘mess’, ‘struggling’, ‘divided’ and ‘expensive’.
According to More in Common, the pollsters behind the ‘Shattered Britain’ report, most people in the UK can fit into one of seven segments that show their attitude to the nation’s issues.
Sign up to Metro’s politics newsletter, Alright Gov?
Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here.
They are:
- Progressive Activists: Highly engaged in politics but feeling alienated, they are concerned with social justice and issues like climate change. Make up 12% of the population.
- Incrementalist Left: Generally left-of-centre but preferring gradual change over revolutionary reform, with high levels of trust in experts. Make up 21% of the population.
- Established Liberals: Believe the system broadly works as it currently is and have faith in the UK’s institutions to deliver continued progress. Make up 9% of the population.
- Sceptical Scrollers: Seek alternative sources of truth online due to loss of faith in traditional institutions, and are drawn to conspiracies. Make up 10% of the population.
- Rooted Patriots: Feel abandoned and overlooked by political elites, but not keen to overthrow the system as a whole. Concerned about community decline and migration. Make up 20% of the population.
- Traditional Conservatives: Respectful of authority and nostalgic for the past, believe in established norms. Make up 8% of the population.
- Dissenting Disruptors: Drawn to dramatic change and strong leadership that will overthrow the status quo, feel disconnected from society and opposed to multiculturalism. Make up 20% of the population.
The report was based on a survey of 20,000 and dozens of focus groups which took place across the UK.
It found a lot of concern about money among the British public, too, with more than half saying they don’t think the cost of living crisis will ever end and 43% citing money as their biggest source of stress.
Meanwhile, a majority of Brits – 53% – said they thought those in their children’s generation would have a worse life than those in their parents’ generation.
Two-thirds of people also said they’re not sure politics will ever return to normal after saying it had become more chaotic over the past ten years.
Dianne from Bridgwater, described as a ‘Rooted Patriot’ in the report, told the pollsters: ‘I think our government’s the worst ones actually.
‘They don’t respect the people that vote for them, and if they were to do that then it would be a lot better, but they don’t. You try to get the best for everybody and the government just laugh at you.’
Maddie, a ‘Progressive Activist’ from East Dulwich in London, said: ‘You notice a difference, you notice everything going up, that transport and we’re all sort of living on top of each other as well.
‘And the rich are richer and the poor are poorer.’
It’s not all bad news, though – the survey found people are largely very positive about the area in which they live.
While ‘broken’ was the most common word to describe the UK as a whole, people mostly said the place where they live is ‘quiet’, followed by ‘nice’, ‘rural’, ‘safe’ and ‘peaceful’.
And in stark contrast to their attitude towards politicians, a majority Brits from all seven of the ‘segments’ included in the report said they trusted their neighbours.
Luke Tryl, Director of More in Common, said the research shows the country is ‘exhausted, increasingly fragmented, and yearning for change – but deeply divided on what that change should look like’.
He added: ‘Britain has seen difficult times before, and the purpose of this research is to help leaders navigate these new fault lines to find a way out of the current era of malaise.
‘If political leaders want to rebuild trust and build a broad coalition to fix a Britain that increasingly feels broken, they will have to navigate the new political map of Britain.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.