Shakespeare tops list of symbols of national pride for Britons

[1]

English playwright William Shakespeare and the iconic pop group, The Beatles, are the cultural icons which inspire Britons to take pride in their country.

Shakespeare topped the list of symbols that inspire a sense of pride in the British public, according to a survey. The Fab Four pop group from Liverpool made the list at 10th spot, above Parliament and the legal system.

Britons have more pride in the National Trust, which made the second spot on the list after Shakespeare, and National Health Service than in more explicitly patriotic institutions like the monarchy. Parliament and the legal system came at the bottom of the list in the poll commissioned by British think-tank Demos.

Only 47 per cent of the respondents agreed with the sentence “I am proud of Parliament as a symbol of Britain” and 51 per cent with the statement, “I am proud of the legal system as a symbol of Britain.”

The respondents were asked in the survey whether they agreed that they were proud of the following things as symbols of Britain: Shakespeare (75%); National Trust (72%); armed forces (72%); Union Jack (71%); The pound (70%); NHS (69%); The monarchy (68%); BBC (63%); sporting achievements (58%); The Beatles (51%); The legal system (51%); and Parliament (47%).

Surprisingly, the monarchy and the royal family only made the seventh spot on the list. “The royal family, while popular, does not in and of itself inspire widespread pride. However, it is certainly the case that – through their unique capacity to hold and lead genuinely national events – the royal family has a central role to play in developing pride,” Demos said in explanation.

“The sentiments expressed towards the royal family were overwhelmingly positive but they were not, on the whole, feelings of ‘pride’. This is borne out by our polling: while the royal family scored positively, only 33 per cent of people felt strongly that they were proud of the royal family,” the think-tank added.

Volunteering was the main factor influencing how patriotic Britons are, according to Demos. It also recommended the introduction of at least 16 hours of accredited volunteering as a “practical” element of the Life in the UK citizenship test for immigrants.

“Gaining citizenship without a volunteering element is like getting a drivers' licence after only passing the theory test. Britishness is more about what you do than what you know,” Max Wind-Cowie, author of the report, said.