London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 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

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×