Do you consider yourself to be a Londoner?
In 1977, a poll asked people living in London this question. 73% said yes. Another 37% living just outside the city also claimed to be Londoners.
The numbers are perhaps surprising, given that just 12 years earlier, the London Government Act 1963 had sucked in many unwitting towns and villages from the home counties. (Some people still won't admit they're part of Greater London.)
A similar poll was carried out in September 2017 — this time using a 0-10 scale. Here are the results:
This time round, 63% said they identified strongly as Londoners. Not an overwhelming majority perhaps, but then, in total 89% of Londoners said they identified as Londoners to some extent. So you could argue that a similar percentage of people consider themselves Londoners now, than they did 40-odd years ago — despite the fact that London is more ethnically diverse, and the share of Londoners born outside the city has doubled.
Brexit doesn't necessarily = anti-British
But — as this research from Centre of London suggests — though London appears the most popular identifier, this does not seem to be at the expense of British identity. 86% in the 2017 poll also felt British to some extent (even though only 75% have a British passport). Interesting to note that even though almost 60% of Londoners voted against Brexit, that doesn't necessarily impinge on their notion of 'being British'.
Another surprise, perhaps: in a 2014 survey, 77% of those asked said they were 'proud of London'. The same question in 1977? Just 64% considered themselves proud of their city. Goes to show that not everyone in the good old days was having a good time.
Read more in-depth analysis over at Centre for London.
