Fewer than half of black people in the UK feel “proud to be British”, a new survey has found.

The Black British Voice Project spoke to more than 10,000 people between November 2021 and March 2022 in research that covered topics such as Britishness, work and education.

Participants were asked if they were proud to be from the UK – with 49% indicating they were definitely, or somewhat proud to be British.

Of the remaining participants, 45% said they were not really, or not at all proud, with 6% saying they did not know or would not answer.

Authors of the study, whose researchers were from The Voice, Cambridge University and I-Cubed, said in a report: “Interviewees who expressed pride in being British often gave examples of activities or institutions that have enabled them to successfully participate in British society – eg being ‘a Londoner’, homeownership, working for the NHS etc.

“Whereas respondents who said they were not proud to be British cited negative factors such as colonialism and historically racist immigration policies as reasons contributing to their responses.”

Elsewhere in the survey, 98% of respondents said they at least sometimes have to “compromise who they are and how they express themselves to fit in at work”, with examples given including altering hairstyles, speech patterns or being expected to join in social events, the report said.

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Lester Holloway, editor of The Voice, said: “This study should be a wake-up call for Britain.

“We have many fourth-generation black Brits and, as a community, we should be feeling part of this country.

“Yet the lived experience of racism in every area of life is leading many to not feel British.

“We cannot keep ignoring racial disparities and its impact.

“There needs to be a national conversation about this, and we need race back on the political agenda, so we can tackle the causes of this disconnect between black Brits and the only country they know.”

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Some 80% of those polled believed racial discrimination was at least somewhat of a barrier to the academic attainment of young black people.

Dr Kenny Monrose, of Cambridge University’s Department of Sociology, the project’s lead researcher, said: “We are mindful that historically black communities have been wary of reports conducted on race, as they attempt to limit or invalidate the reality of their lived experiences.

“However, the carpet of data captured within this report reliably highlights the chronic level of racial disparities and unequal outcomes that they face on a daily basis.”

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