Poll shows support for Starmer's ‘island of strangers' warning
Sir Keir Starmer was right to warn that Britain risks becoming an island of strangers, a poll suggests.
British people feel disconnected from society, wary of other people and worried about community tensions, according to the survey carried out by the non-profit More in Common.
Half of adults said they felt disconnected from society, while 44 per cent said they sometimes felt like a 'stranger' in their own country.
The findings come a week after Sir Keir Starmer argued that Britain risked becoming an ' island of strangers ' if immigration did not come down.
The poll suggested that the reasons for disconnection went beyond immigration and culture, with 47 per cent of British Asians saying they felt like a stranger in Britain – more than the 44 per cent of white Britons who said the same thing.
The survey found economic insecurity was most closely related to alienation. Two thirds of people who said that they struggled to make ends meet also said they felt disconnected, compared to only 37 per cent of those were more comfortable financially.
Focus groups also suggested that a decline in face-to-face interaction driven by technology, social media and working from home had changed how people interacted with each other.
Luke Tryl, director of More In Common, said the research showed 'an urgent need to think again about how we rebuild a united and cohesive society'.
He added: 'The polling puts into sharp relief something that will come as no surprise to many Britons – a growing sense that we've turned inward, away from each other, becoming more distant and less connected.'
The study marks the launch of a new national project – This Place Matters – focused on strengthening social bonds and backed by the UCL Policy Lab, campaign group Citizens UK and More In Common.
Matthew Bolton, executive director of Citizens UK, said: 'The answers to this don't lie in Whitehall.
'By listening to people closest to the ground about what causes division and what builds unity in their neighbourhood, we can build a blueprint for cohesion rooted in local leadership and community power.'
As well as increasing feelings of isolation, the poll suggested significant rates of mistrust, with 53 per cent of people agreeing that 'you can't be too careful with most people'.
Younger people were far less like to trust others, with the figure rising to 65 per cent among those aged between 18 and 24 and 62 per cent among 25-34-year-olds.
The public is also split on whether multiculturalism benefits or threatens Britain's national identity, with 53 per cent saying it is a benefit and 47 per cent saying it is a threat, with some saying they believe there has not been enough integration.
More In Common said focus groups had shown the fallout from last year's riots 'continues to reverberate and affect community cohesion', with many seeing the Prime Minister's response as 'one of his most impressive moments', but a minority feeling the Government had been 'too heavy-handed'.
The More In Common poll surveyed 13,464 British adults between March 14 and April 7.
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