Public attitudes on the state of the state
Current and Previous Reports from Our Surveys
Our surveys have formed the basis of multiple reports and one book (so far) over the years. Downloads of the reports and links to buy the book, Englishness, are below.
All reports are available copyright free and the data that underpins them is in the process of being uploaded. For updates on future publications, including Richard and Ailsa's next book, Britishness, you can follow us on Bluesky.
The Shameful Conquest of England
Analysis from the 2024 Future of England Survey
A report published by the Union Survey, the Wales Governance Centre, and the Centre on Constitutional Change. Authors: Ailsa Henderson & Richard Wyn Jones "...an England whose English-identifying inhabitants, at least, are deeply conscious of what they clearly regard as a jarring contrast between past glories and a present brought-low; an England whose eponymous national group seems to feel besieged both from within and without; an England that has secured major changes (not least, Brexit) in order to assuage its concerns, yet remains deeply dissatisfied with the results; an England that is angry at its lot."
Public attitudes towards the constitutional future of the UK
Analysis from the 2023 State of the Union Survey (2023)
A report for the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales Authors: Ailsa Henderson & Richard Wyn Jones "...Wales remains the part of the state that is most supportive of the maintenance of a union with some if not necessarily all of its current constituent units. While developments elsewhere may yet see the union brought to an end, our survey of public attitudes suggests that the Welsh are unlikely to be the instigators of such a development."
The Ambivalent Union (2023)
Findings from the State of the Union Survey
Publisher: Institute of Public Policy Research Authors: Ailsa Henderson & Richard Wyn Jones "[T]he findings underscore the potential implications of an ambivalent union. We highlight the potential challenges for unionist parties arising from the presence of territorially-distinct attitudes towards the union even within their own ranks. We also point out that, given the plurality of unionism, to champion a single understanding of and vision for the union is to risk alienating many of those who regard themselves as unionists as well as those who are already less convinced of the Union’s benefits."
Englishness
The Political Force Transforming Britain
Publisher: Oxford University Press Authors: Ailsa Henderson and Richard Wyn Jones A major new analysis of Englishness as a political force. Unique survey data showing that English Euroscepticism is strongly linked to a sense of grievance about England's place within the United Kingdom and a strong feeling that the state is no longer 'theirs'. Makes a number of new and compelling arguments about Britishness, including the extent to which Britishness means very different things in different parts of the Britain and that British identity aligns with different - in some cases opposite - political attitudes across England, Scotland, and Wales.
England and its Two Unions
The anatomy of a nation and its discontents
Publisher: Institute of Public Policy Research Authors: Richard Wyn Jones, Guy Lodge, Charlie Jeffery, Glenn Gottfried, Roger Scully, Ailsa Henderson & Daniel Wincott "For some, Englishness seems to be regarded as a dark and chauvinistic force, best kept under wraps. The evident association of English discontentment with the right-wing populism of Ukip may well reinforce that concern. In particular, progressives may be reluctant to engage with the emerging English agenda for fear of legitimising what they see as the grievances of ‘little Englanders’."
The Dog that Finally Barked
England as an emerging political community
Publisher: Institute of Public Policy Research Authors: Richard Wyn Jones, Guy Lodge, Ailsa Henderson & Daniel Wincott "Ignoring the developments highlighted in this paper – growing popular dissatisfaction with the territorial status quo and support for an English dimension to the institutions of government – will not make them disappear. Especially given that they are buttressed, not only by the workings of a system of asymmetric devolution that ensures that a de facto English polity is emerging ever more clearly into view, but also by changes in patterns of national identity."
Taking England Seriously:
The New English Politics
The Future of England Survey 2014
Publisher: Centre on Constitutional Change Authors: Charlie Jeffery, Richard Wyn Jones, Ailsa Henderson, Roger Scully & Guy Lodge "[I]t is not clear that any of the main political parties in England has yet fully recognised the potential opportunities that that could arise from positioning themselves as advocates of an English territorial interest; or, indeed, the potential pitfalls that could arise from surrendering ‘England’ to their rivals. It will, however, be clear from the preceding analysis that UKIP and the Conservatives are currently best placed to capitalise."