Londoners don’t feel proud to be English – but the rest of the country does People outside of London are far more likely to identify as English and feel proud of where they live, a […]

People outside of London are far more likely to identify as English and feel proud of where they live, a new survey has revealed.

The survey, carried out by YouGov for the BBC, found that less than half of Londoners feel proud to be English.

Meanwhile, six in ten outside of London say they do feel pride in being English.

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The survey also found that northerners are far more proud of their region than people in the rest of the country, and that feelings of both national and regional identity get stronger the further you are from London.

The poll of more than 20,000 people was conducted for the BBC’s ‘The English Question’ project, which is aiming to get to the bottom of what makes us feel English and why.

Both pride and a feeling of national identity are stronger outside of London

People who identify as being English, by region: London: 63 per cent Rest of South: 83 per cent Midlands: 83 per cent North: 84 per cent

People who feel proud to be English, by region: London: 45 per cent Rest of South: 60 per cent Midlands: 59 per cent North: 61 per cent

Some other key learnings from the survey include:

Younger people are far less likely to feel proud to be English than older people. 45 per cent of 18-24-year-olds said they felt proud, compared to 72 per cent of over-65s.

White people were almost twice as likely to feel proud to be British (61 per cent) than people from black and ethnic minority background.s (32 per cent)

Nearly 80 per cent of Conservative voters feel proud to be English. For Labour and Lib Dem voters, it was around 45 per cent.

Leave voters are far more proud to be English (75 per cent) than Remain voters (44 per cent).

John Denham, director of the Centre for English Identity and Politics at the University of Winchester, said: “Young people will tend to be less patriotic than older people wherever they are, whether that’s England, Scotland or Wales.

“They will have a more cosmopolitan view of the world. And in the younger generation there are more people from black and minority ethnic groups who are more likely to identify as British than as English.”

Was England better in the ‘good old days’?

Unsurprisingly, the survey found that most older people think England was better in the past, while younger people are more optimistic about the future.

Overall though, 49 per cent of people feel England’s best days are over, and just 17 per cent think they are yet to come.

People who feel England was better in the past: 18-24-year-olds: 28 per cent 25-49: 45 per cent 50-64: 55 per cent 65+: 60 per cent

Slightly more Leave voters think things were better in he “good old days” (20 per cent) than Remain voters (15 per cent).

Meanwhile, more than half of the country consider England the best or better than other countries.

What makes someone English?

The survey found that being born in England was the qualifier that made most people consider someone English.

This was followed closely by having two English parents.

Around two-thirds of people said that growing up in England makes someone English.

Less than 40 per cent of people feel that someone considering themself English makes them so, while around two-thirds say even living in England for 10 or more years is not enough to make them English.

What makes an English identity?

The poll found that having a good sense of humour, honouring traditions, good manners, a sense of fair play, friendliness and tolerance were the qualities people associated most with being English.

People also consider the English countryside and the country’s history important parts of the national identity.

Nearly two-thirds of people said the classic British ‘stiff upper lip’ was a key part of being English.

Meanwhile just under 40 per cent said ‘yob culture’ was a strong part of English identity.

Mr Denham said: “So-called yob culture is not such a dominant image of Englishness as some people think.

“If you see footage of English football fans smashing up a town square, you’re going to think about yob culture at the time, but most people associate Englishness with much more positive values most of the time.”

However, while more than 60 per cent of respondents feel English people are friendly, tolerant and welcoming, less than half – 48 per cent – think the English are liberal.

See the full YouGov data here.