Sajid Javid has warned the country risks “being torn apart by our differences” as figures from across public life launch a project that asks what it means to be British. The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, co-chaired by the former Conservative chancellor and former Labour party policy chief Jon Cruddas, is urging the public to share their personal vision of their community and country in the National Conversation project.
The commission includes the human rights and counter-extremism activist Sara Khan, the former West Midlands mayor Andy Street, Laura Marks, the chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the former Green party leader Caroline Lucas, and the activist Tim Montgomerie, of Reform UK. Convened by the Together Coalition – the nonprofit cohesion campaign co-founded by Brendan Cox, the widower of the murdered MP Jo Cox – the commission aims to map out a shared vision for the future amid a fraught political climate.
Questions at the heart of the project include what it means to be British, English, Scottish or Welsh. The research aims to determine what unites and divides the public, what connects us to our neighbours, and what makes the country feel like home. Members of the public are asked to complete a 10-minute survey and leave a 60-second voice note detailing their vision for the future. Thousands of small group discussions will also take place across the country.
Polling from the British Red Cross last month found three-quarters of UK adults (75%) believe Britain is divided, and 72% say the country has become more divided over the last five years. A report will be published later this year combining public insight with academic research, expert testimony and commissioners’ deliberation. The National Conversation runs from 18 May until the end of August.
