News

British Future’s new report, State of the Nation 2013: Where is bittersweet Britain heading? looks at where we are in Britain after 2012, and how we’ll fare our first teenage year in the 21st Century.

Entering the new year, Britons are more positive about the economy, the family, and Britain itself, than we were this time last year. But will that glimmer of hope drift away or can it be built on?

2012 was a year where British pride was at an all time high. The London Olympics, Team GB and the announcement of the royal baby gave us all a renewed sense of pride, but behind these celebrations, the Armed Forces were always visible. Sarah Cottam of Loughborough University talked to a group of young people to find out how they felt about the Armed Forces after 2012.

Scottish writer Hardeep Singh Kohli tells why he thinks independence wouldn’t stop Scots feeling British, and how the bigger question is how England would cope with the split. Here’s a preview.

Mark Sedwill, the newly appointed permanent secretary at the Home Office, has pledged to carry on tweeting when he takes up his new role as the top civil servant running the most challenging of domestic departments.

The bigger picture suggests the Monarchy ended 2012 more secure than ever. Even when things went wrong, as the Thames river pageant turned into a grey and cold test of endurance in the driving rain, it was the BBC which seemed to cop the flak. The Queen’s surprise Olympic contribution to a James Bond stunt helped to seal Danny Boyle’s great fusion of the traditional and the modern in the Olympic opening ceremony, writes Sunder Katwala.

The spirit of 2012 challenged the core instincts of both left and right, argues Sunder Katwala. But will that optimistic sense of what is distinctive about Britain survive into 2013?

Britons from ethnic minority backgrounds are most likely to say that race should not be a factor in finding adoptive parents for children in care, new polling shows.

British Future’s first year has been an eventful one. The success of the Jubilee and the Olympics made 2012 a year to celebrate being British, and British Future followed this success through the year. We would love to thank everyone who has been involved with our work – from those who joined us in a bed in Yorkshire to those who ate food from around the world and painted their faces at our refugee Jubilee street party in Brixton. And we would also like to say thank you to everyone who worked on our publications and research.

But mostly we would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a happy new year.

British Future’s Matthew Rhodes gave a speech in Dudley on International Migrants Day, at a Migrants Alive event run by the 5 Estates Plus Project. Read what he said.