Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Sep 05, 2025

Queen’s platinum jubilee: the royals must span the social divides

Queen’s platinum jubilee: the royals must span the social divides

Brexit, Covid and Black Lives Matter have highlighted divisions in society. But we have more in common than we sometimes realise
In fragmented times, there is a public appetite for things that can bring us together. The jubilee is seen as the most important event of the year, ahead of the football World Cup, though that vote of confidence in the monarchy comes with future challenges. Support is rock-solid among older people in England’s home counties but only a minority of those in Scotland, of ethnic minority Britain and of the youngest adults are in favour.

The monarchy should resist all attempts to turn it into a symbol of tradition to see off “woke” younger generations – and instead respond to the public appetite for a Crown that bridges divides. In this year of welcoming, the royal estates should be part of Homes for Ukraine, celebrating both hosts and guests, and how those welcomed to Britain from Hong Kong and Afghanistan today, join new Britons from Uganda, Zimbabwe and Vietnam over the decades.

It feels as if half a century of change has been packed into the volatile decade since the last jubilee summer - the diamond and, indeed, Olympic summer of 2012. Brexit, Covid and the Black Lives Matter protests all illuminated social divides and brought previously unknown words into the public conversation. The past decade has been one in which many of us realised that Britain was more divided, anxious and fragmented than any of us would want – yet perhaps not as divided as we had told ourselves.

When it comes to the “culture wars”, Covid showed why Britain is not the US. While in the US, choosing to wear a face mask or not became like strapping your presidential ballot paper to your face, here the pandemic generated the broadest social consensus on any contested issue in decades. That earlier sense of unity has since fragmented, as anger with rule-breaking at the top combines with anxiety about the rising cost of living.

It is also a decade since British Future launched – to make our contribution to a more inclusive Britain. Tracking attitudes since 2012 picks up some dramatic shifts. There has been a 30-point swing towards seeing immigration as positive rather than damaging for economic recovery – a view held by 53% to 23%, a direct reversal of the 24% to 55% finding in 2012. The prominence of NHS workers during the pandemic helped drive a net 42-point rise in seeing immigration as good for the NHS.

There is more confidence about the positive contribution of ethnic diversity, too. Today, 72% say that having a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures is part of British culture, while 28% believe it can undermine British culture. That question split the public down the middle a decade ago. If political discourse can lag behind these shifts, the findings show the risks for politicians, on both right or left, who don’t realise that the appetite for culture wars is very much a minority sport. There are identity divides to bridge, but more common ground than is sometimes recognised.

Asked to do the impossible and look 10 years ahead, this “wisdom of crowds” method throws up some interesting predictions. Two-thirds of people think that the rather disunited UK will remain intact (though the majority is slimmer in Scotland), but most people don’t expect a licence-fee funded BBC to survive in its current form. Two-thirds of people think Britain will still be arguing with France over Brexit in 2032, and we are split down the middle on whether Covid will still be blighting our lives. There is consensus that climate change will be taken seriously, but scepticism that “levelling up” will have made a difference.

So Britain heads into the jubilee with a mixture of hopes and fears. Pessimism about economic pressures dominates public perceptions today. That the dramatic volatility of the last decade did not derail our society should be grounds for confidence that we can face this uncertain future with a resilience that can get us through.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
×