Britons afraid to show national pride in public for fear of ridicule or abuse, poll finds

'In today’s political and cultural climate, in a divided Brexit Britain, expressing pride in your birth nation can feel like something of a social grey area'

Britons are increasingly afraid to show their national pride in public for fear of ridicule or abuse, a poll has found.

Many of those surveyed believed national pride is on the wane, with younger generations placing less importance on patriotism than ever before,

The 1940s was the decade when patriotism was at its height, when the nation brought together by the Second World War.

Of those polled, 79 per cent said they considered themselves patriotic in some way and almost nine in 10 agreed they are proud of their birthplace.

But 22 per cent feared they would be made to feel ashamed of their patriotism if their views were to be aired in public. One in five felt they could only truly display their patriotism during large events when national pride is encouraged.

“In today’s political and cultural climate, in a divided Brexit Britain, expressing pride in your birth nation can feel like something of a social grey area," said Greg Tatton-Brown from online casino Casumo, which commissioned the study. “Many of us are proud of our country, although they feel it is generally only appropriate to express this pride at particular times.”

The World Cup was named the occasion where Britons feel most comfortable indulging their patriotic side, followed by the Olympic Games and Armistice Day.

Generally, older Britons feel more patriotic than younger generations, with 40 per cent of those aged 55 and over describing themselves as “very patriotic”, compared to 18 per cent of those aged 18 to 24.

Only 29 per cent of young adults surveyed felt this way, compared to 19 per cent of those aged 55 and over, while a quarter of 18 to 24 year olds think patriotism does not really matter in modern society, compared to 15 per cent of over 55s.

Of the 2,000 adults surveyed, one in two own something bearing the flag of their home country. Seven per cent have a tattoo of their country’s flag, patron saint or symbol on their bodies, while 48 per cent wish there were more flags bearing their home country flying in their local town or city.

Despite this, only 17 per cent would feel comfortable flying a national flag in their garden or outside their property, while 72 per cent of Britons think people are less patriotic than they used to be.

With Saint George’s Day next week, one in seven of those surveyed said they celebrate the day of their nation’s patron saint every year and one in four have celebrated the day at least once in the past.

Mr Tatton-Brown added: “British patriotism has something of an image crisis and each flying national flag is heavy with history and context which can be problematic.

“It is interesting to see from our findings Britons would feel more comfortable representing their nation during a sporting event than, say, a patron saints holiday, as perhaps the context of sporting rivalries and team support smooths over the harder edges of patriotism.”

SWNS