Growing sense of Englishness explains why less than half of country feel British

Less than half of the public say that "British" is the best or only way to describe themselves, according to the Social Attitudes survey. The decrease in a sense of Britishness, long established in Scotland and Wales, is partly explained by a rise in a feeling of Englishness, according to researchers. Four in 10 people in England now regard themselves as solely or primarily English.

Evidence of an apparent shift away from a united British identity comes at a politically sensitive time, with the pro-independence Scottish National party making a strong showing before the Scottish parliamentary elections in May. Earlier this month Gordon Brown, the chancellor, called for a renewed sense of Britishness and warned of the need to "resist any drift towards a Balkanisation of Britain".

The British Social Attitudes survey, which tracks public attitudes on key issues, found that the proportion of the British public who say British is the best or only way to describe their national identity has declined from 52% to 44% in just 10 years since 1996.

That decade saw significant constitutional change, including Scottish and Welsh devolution, which, the study acknowledges, might be expected to create a "heightened awareness" of separate identities in Scotland and Wales.

However, it points out that the decline in a sense of Britishness has been more marked in England over the last decade. The proportion choosing Englishness as their best or only identity was 40% in 2005, up from 31% in 1992. In Scotland, just 14% felt their identity was British in 2005, compared with 79% defining themselves as Scottish.

The survey's study of identities also confirmed the major decline in religious identity, with more than two-thirds of people (69%) saying they do not belong to a religion or have never attended a religious ceremony, compared with just 26% in 1964.

There has been an increase in the numbers regarding themselves as middle-class - 37% place themselves in this category, although 57% still identify themselves as working-class.