FORMER Conservative home secretary and chancellor Sajid Javid has warned that Britain faces a real danger of being split apart by its divisions, as a cross-party commission launched a major public engagement exercise aimed at rebuilding the country's sense of shared identity.
The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, co-chaired by Javid and former Labour policy chief Jon Cruddas, has called on the public to share what being British means to them as part of what it is calling the National Conversation, according to the Guardian.
"Our country is in real peril. Unless we can regain a shared sense of what unites us, we risk being torn apart by our differences. That vision won't come from politicians — it can only come from the public," Javid was quoted as saying.
The commission has brought together figures from across the political spectrum, including former Green party leader Caroline Lucas, human rights activist Sara Khan, former West Midlands mayor Andy Street, and Reform UK activist Tim Montgomerie.
It has been convened by the Together Coalition, the cohesion campaign co-founded by Brendan Cox, widower of murdered MP Jo Cox. The project asked the public to explore what connects them to their neighbours, what makes Britain feel like home, and what divides the nation.
Members of the public are invited to fill in a ten-minute survey and leave a 60-second voice note outlining their vision for the country's future. Thousands of small group discussions are also planned across Britain.
Oxford demographer Professor Melinda Mills, who designed the survey, said artificial intelligence had transformed the ability to carry out mass listening exercises at this scale.
The initiative comes as polling by the British Red Cross found three-quarters of UK adults believe the country is divided, with nearly as many saying things have got worse over the past five years.
Cruddas said the answers to rebuilding Britain's social fabric "don't lie in Westminster — they lie in communities up and down the country."
The National Conversation runs until the end of August at thenationalconversation.org.uk.
