20 per cent of the population
A patriotic but politically untethered group which feels abandoned and overlooked by political elites and yearns for leaders with common sense, but does not want to overthrow the system as a whole. They are particularly concerned about community decline and the pressures of migration. Interventionist on economics but conservative on social issues, they have shaped much of Britain's politics over the past decade.
“I think we're lucky to be living in a country that is really, really good. Yeah, you could say it's getting worse or going downhill, but I'd still say it's probably one of the best countries in the world. We've got stuff like the NHS that yes, there's long waiting lists, but if there is a medical emergency you can get seen to pretty quickly still.”
Charlie, Wrexham
“We're a generation where we've all worked, we've all been brought up respectfully and society has gone downhill in my view for lots of reasons. Whether it is money, whether it is immigrants, whether it is expectations, it's very hard to actually think. I can't think of something that has improved.”
Susan, Bridgwater
Key words
Patriotic, nostalgic, cautious, overlooked, cautious, family-focused, disillusioned, common- sense, pessimistic.
What they worry about
Immigration levels and pressure on public services, the cost of living, politicians being out of touch, the decline of British culture and values, crime and antisocial behaviour, the NHS.
Where you might find them
In villages and rural areas; living with their spouse in homes they own, ; working in practical jobs, retired or caring for grandchildren; often in post-industrial, ‘Red Wall’, or coastal towns; in constituencies such as Scarborough and Whitby, Merthyr Tydfil, Redcar, Hartlepool, North West Norfolk.
How they get their news
Facebook community groups and local news, BBC television news and local radio, occasional glances at newspaper headlines.
Learn more about Rooted Patriots
Sally
Sally lives in Whitby where she has worked as a cleaner for most of her adult life, though at 64 she has cut back to part-time and spends two days a week looking after her grandchildren while their parents work. She had hoped to be fully retired by now, but with bills rising faster than her pension prospects, she cannot afford to stop completely - even fish and chips from the town chippy, once a weekly treat, has become something she has to think twice about.
Sally takes real pride in keeping the holiday cottages she cleans spotless for the tourists, but it stings that she can barely afford to live in the town she has called home her whole life while people holiday there. She feels that politicians have forgotten about people like her who have worked hard for so long and just want basic respect and security in return. She voted Labour last year – for the first time since 1997 - hoping they would finally put working people first, but when they scrapped the Winter Fuel Allowance she felt like yet another politician's promise had been broken.
She catches up on news through Facebook while having her morning cup of tea, preferring the local community groups to complicated political debates that just leave her feeling more frustrated. Sally’s relationship with social media reflects her broader approach to information - she trusts her neighbours' experiences more than expert analysis, and finds the local Facebook groups more useful than national news sources that seem to speak a different language entirely.
Sally is frustrated that Whitby’s high street is gradually filling up with gift shops and cafes aimed at tourists rather than locals like her. She is not against visitors coming to enjoy the town she loves, but it frustrates her that their needs seem to take priority over those of people who've lived here all their lives.
The political conversations Sally overhears at work or in the supermarket often echo her own disillusionment - friends who voted Conservative for decades feeling abandoned, others who tried Labour feel equally let down. She finds herself drawn to Reform UK not because she agrees with everything they say, but because they seem to be the only party acknowledging that ordinary people like her feel forgotten. She thinks that politicians these days seem more interested in impressing university graduates and foreign leaders than listening to people who just want common-sense solutions to everyday problems.
She is proud of Britain's history and traditions, but worried that the country her grandchildren inherit will bear little resemblance to the one that shaped her values of hard work, fairness, and looking after your own community first. She worries that the country has lost its way, and that in modern Britain hard work no longer guarantees security.
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