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Almost half of English don’t feel they have much in common with Wales – YouGov

23 Apr 2020 2 minute read
England’s flag

On St. George’s Day, almost half of the people of England don’t believe they have much in common with Wales, according to a YouGov poll.

With don’t knows removed 31% in England told the pollster that they didn’t have much in common, with 15% feeling they had nothing in common, a total rounded up to 47%.

Rather surprisingly, 4% in Wales also thought they did not have much in common with Wales.

Many in Britain also see themselves as having less in common with Northern Ireland, and support the region holding a reunification referendum.

With don’t knows removed, 59% of Britons were supportive of a border poll taking place in Northern Ireland. 66% in Wales thought there should be a poll.

“It appears there is significant disinterest amongst the British public regarding the future of Northern Ireland, as more than half of all Brits (54%) say they would not be bothered either way by the region leaving the UK,” YouGov said.

 

Flag

The poll also shows that Welsh and Scottish people display a level of antipathy to the English flag that is not reciprocated by the English.

Only 44% of Welsh people and 30% of Scottish people hold a favourable view of someone flying the English flag. By contrast, 56-57% of English people have a favourable view of someone flying the Scottish or Welsh flag.

79% of people in Wales had a favourable view of the Welsh flag while only 21% didn’t like seeing it fly. 24% also didn’t like the Union Flag.

“Scottish and Welsh people are much less friendly to the England flag than English people are to Scottish and Welsh flags,” YouGov said.

The poll, however, showed that there was support across the UK for making St. David’s Day, St. George’s Day, and St. Andrew’s Day bank holidays, but only in their respective countries.

50% of people in England thought St. David’s Day should be a bank holiday in Wales, with 20% thinking it should be a bank holiday across the UK.

53% in Wales thought St. George’s Day should be a bank holiday in England, while 19% thought it should be a bank holiday across the UK.


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Michael McGrane
Michael McGrane
3 years ago

Blame the education system.

J.D
J.D
3 years ago

I worked for 10 years in Suffolk, most people who heard my accent thought I was Polish. So this survey does not surprise me.

Gruff Williams
Gruff Williams
3 years ago

Please try to avoid using “Welsh people” when you mean people who live in Wales. Almost 40% of people living in Wales, by their own definition, do not consider themselves in any way Welsh.

John Evans
John Evans
3 years ago
Reply to  Gruff Williams

I’m sorry to press you but where do you get this statistic?

Gruff Williams
Gruff Williams
3 years ago
Reply to  John Evans

Hello John, Please see the link. The last census (2011) had 58% as identifying as Welsh only, another 7% identifying as Welsh and something else and the rest with no Welsh identity. The link shows a downward spiral over the last 18 years in the percentage who have any Welsh identity. Next years census will reveal where we now stand. https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Equality-and-Diversity/National-Identity/nationalidentity-by-localauthority-year?fbclid=IwAR2ECTZhe-tS3A-8vY0YXCzWch1mgWMfZv12_gOjI5yTopWxjkEJUKLWUos

Gruff Williams
Gruff Williams
3 years ago
Reply to  Gruff Williams

This is, of course, related directly to demographic change, the movement into Wales of large numbers of people from England. If you open the link, go to the top left, change “origin” to England and “destination” to Wales, you can see the numbers involved.
https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Population-and-Migration/Migration/Internal/migrationoriginsanddestinationsbetweenlocalauthoritiesinwales-by-periodofchange-agegroup-gender?fbclid=IwAR1-kiko-_Nnieqo_cfQXftZ3RDAG0DPHBulXehDW69D-V5TINrNmdrewec

Jase
Jase
3 years ago
Reply to  Gruff Williams

Spot on, I was welsh now i’m just British, welsh has beome toxic with ethno purity in latter years

Leigh Richards
Leigh Richards
3 years ago
Reply to  Jase

Eh? Its the british far right who are the ethno purists – have you never heard of the likes of tommy robinson and the newly formed neo fascist political parties ‘for britain’ and ‘britain first’

Ian Parri
Ian Parri
3 years ago
Reply to  Jase

And the British identity isn’t about ethno purity and downright xenophobia?

Robin Lynn
Robin Lynn
3 years ago

Who’d have thought it!

Jonathan Gammond
Jonathan Gammond
3 years ago

Sometimes the don’t knows are the ones who have thought most about the question and what it exactly means so they shouldnt be excluded.

Bryn Colion
Bryn Colion
3 years ago

“Wales” (Cymru – decolonised name) – is not represented on the UK empire flag …. even though the Welsh spilt much sweat, toil and blood for the flag while pissing of natives around the world………

I just find that amazing that after all the sacrifices of Wales for England, Wales is not represented on any symbols or flags…..even the Three feathers is an English monarchy symbol

Huw Davies
Huw Davies
3 years ago

Big deal – I don’t feel I’ve got much in common with England. Wouldn’t miss it if it dropped off !

Jase
Jase
3 years ago
Reply to  Huw Davies

Don’t think I have much in common with you either and i’m not English

j humphrys
j humphrys
3 years ago
Reply to  Jase

Anything in common with Pete?

Rhosddu
Rhosddu
3 years ago
Reply to  j humphrys

Jase = Pete. Check out the writing style and the one-line insults, as well as the unsubstantiated claim to being Welsh and (in his responses to other articles) the mistaken belief that people in certain parts of Cymru have “more in common” with people on the other side of the clawdd.

Jase
Jase
3 years ago

English people are less insular, rural wales is very backward looking and resentful – many welsh speakers harbour feelings of entitlement and superiority,

j humphrys
j humphrys
3 years ago
Reply to  Jase

Okay, so write that In Cymraeg, then?

Leigh Richards
Leigh Richards
3 years ago
Reply to  Jase

Dont tell me – you went into a pub in gwynedd and ‘everyone started speaking in welsh’ …..yawn

Jason Evans
Jason Evans
3 years ago
Reply to  Jase

The subservient Welshman (?) speaks, they love the likes of you in Westminster. You happy that Welsh resources are nigh on given away, that 1/3 of Welsh children live in poverty, that 30% of Welsh people live in fuel poverty while Cymru/Wales is in the top 10 fuel producers in the world. Are you happy that WM (under the guise of PHE) has stopped companies selling PPE to Cymru/Wales. This is the union you love and cherish and you’re welcome to it but thankfully I see more eyes being opened in Cymru/Wales everyday to how your beloved union works and… Read more »

Ceri
Ceri
3 years ago
Reply to  Jase

Backward and insular, yet entitled and feel superior… Low, sub humans and snooty elites? Pick a prejudiced image, focus the lense, take the snap. Your xenophobia is a bit blurry, good sir troll.

Rob Hughes
Rob Hughes
3 years ago
Reply to  Jase

I think it’s more your feeling of inferiority rather than any supposed feeling of superiority on my part, which I certainly don’t have. Dw i’n siarad Cymraeg achos dyna’r iaith dw i mo’yn siarad. I don’t do it to make you feel inferior. That you do is your problem, not mine.

Leigh Richards
Leigh Richards
3 years ago

An interesting set of poll results – maybe the standout findings are : even half of people in England think St David’s day should be a public holiday in Wales, a quarter of people in Wales have a unfavourable view of the union flag and 66 percent of people in Wales think there should be a border poll on irish reunification

Ian Parri
Ian Parri
3 years ago

I quite agree with the English. They don’t have much in common with us.

ROBERT MATTHIAS
ROBERT MATTHIAS
3 years ago

English flag comments are rubbish . The last time England were in the world cup i saw a number of England flags in our village and one on a school gate in N Wales with the words POB LWC LLOEGR

Wrexhamian
Wrexhamian
3 years ago

Mi gaeth Cymru y faner orau yn y byd, beth bynag.

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