What does ‘putting Britain first’ look like?

Insight
16 July 2025

The Global Future Foundation commissioned More in Common to conduct polling to understand what Britons would think of the UK adopting an ‘America First’ style agenda here in the UK. The polling shows that most Britons want to see politicians prioritise national interests, industries and identities. Yet despite the appeal of a ‘Britain First’ approach, few want to follow in the footsteps of President Donald Trump: in fact Britons are now less likely to think that it is in our interest to be on the same side as the US - and most think the President’s re-election has had a negative impact on the United States.

More than three in five support a ‘Britain First’ approach

Sixty-three per cent of the public say that they would support a “Britain First” approach, prioritising national interests, industries and identities over our international relationships and reputation.

Interestingly, this is not a point of partisan polarisation: across every voter group except for those who backed the Green Party in 2024 say that they would support a ‘my country first’ approach. Reform UK voters were the most supportive, with 85 per cent saying they would support this approach.

But few want to follow in President Trump’s footsteps: Britons now want greater independence from the US.

Since the beginning of 2024, the proportion of Britons who think it is in the UK’s best interest to be on the same side as the US has dropped by 8 percentage points, while the proportion who want us to be independent has increased by 5 points.

What’s more, previous More in Common polling found that 56 per cent of the public believe that Donald Trump’s re-election has been bad for the US. While ‘my country first’ is commonly associated with President Trump’s MAGA campaigns, it seems that Britons want something different from ‘Britain First’.

What does ‘putting Britain first’ look like in practice?

We asked the public what would make them more or less proud to be British.

A large majority of Britons (72 per cent) said they want to see a revival of British manufacturing and industry. Majorities also said that strengthening border controls, celebrating British history and values, and investing in defence would make them feel proud.

But Britons’ sense of pride is not entirely inward-looking: pluralities say they would be proud to see the country leading on the international stage: half of the public say they’re proud of leading on global climate change agreements, while 46 per cent said they’d be proud if we engaged more with the EU.

Britain’s role in supporting Ukraine is a strong source of pride for Britons: 46 per cent say that taking an even more active role would make them feel proud, compared to only 13 per cent who said less proud. While some of these issues are politically polarised, Ukraine is an exception - every voter group is more likely than not to say that greater support for Ukraine would make them proud.