Number of people who say Britons must be ‘born British’ is rising, study shows

Police officers hold back protesters at a far-right rally in central London in September. Photograph: Tayfun Salcı/EPA

The number of people who believe “Britishness” is something you are born with has almost doubled in two years, according to research that warns of a rising tide of ethno-nationalism in Britain.

Although a majority of the public still believe being British is rooted in shared values, a growing proportion see it as a product of ethnicity, birthplace and ancestry, according to analysis carried out by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and shared with the Guardian.