A majority of British people believe immigration has had a negative impact on the country, and that the nation wasn't doing much to protect its culture and traditions, a report from a Left-leaning think-tank said.
A majority of Britons feel that migrants have left towns and cities more divided and this feeling is strongest in areas that have witnessed large-scale migration over the years. However, they remain optimistic about the future.
The report by think-tank Demos also notes that a large number of people are "particularly incensed by cultural pluralism, seen to be favoured over British values and traditions, and political correctness, regarded as taxing and repressive."
The report added: "Despite the widespread critiques of contemporary British society, and anxieties about the future, many citizens remain both resilient and begrudgingly optimistic – a point that sets them apart from participants in our French and German focus groups."
To come to these conclusions, Demos -- a leading cross-party think-tank founded in 1993 -- questioned more than 1,000 Sky TV subscribers and found that only 43 per cent thought immigration into Britain had been positive. Forty Four per cent thought it had a negative impact.
Nearly 71 per cent said immigration had divided communities and nearly half, 47 per cent, felt that protecting British values should take priority over multiculturalism.
The Demos report said: "Only three issues appear to truly unite the nation – the belief that the country is in a state of decline and that further change lies on the horizon, feeling that immigration has negatively impacted British society, and believing the nation's cultures and traditions are not being sufficiently defended and promoted."
