Thread by @sundersays

There is loads of evidence* that more unites than divides most people in Britain on history - across politics, social class, & (with some challenges) across generations, and faith & ethnicity too. (*Coming up)

A real failure if we lose that to hyper-polarisation.

*How* not to

Political leadership (national + local) has a role.

Media portrayals can project artificial polarisation. V.few people are hard left or hard right (5-10% flanks)

A big opportunity & challenge for heritage, history & museums, education & civic society to engage everyone else.

We need biggest ever inter-generational history project in our history. So next generation, in all its diversity, capture the lived memory of our 90-something veterans, in all their diversity. Key new 2020s resource for 2039-45. PM & Opposition should complete to steal this!

This "Crossing Divides" report on the future lessons from the 14-18 centenary has useful information on why it worked - and notes several opportunities on how to keep applying those lessons outside of a centenary.
britishfuture.org/articles/cross…

That Centenary took place across the most polarised period of British politics for a century, with two hotly contested referendums and two elections. There was absolutely no culture war over the centenary, which quietly changed some very important things in public knowledge

With apologies to Basil Fawlty and Lord Kitchener, @britishfuture spent time in 2012-13 asking people how they thought about history. What they expected from a centenary? Most knew next to nothing about WW1 (a bit more about WW2) - many hoped centenary could be a chance to learn

That 2013 pre-centenary research showed much common ground on meanings of the centenary Note that the idea that "peace" belongs to the left or that "sacrifice" belongs to the right isn't true for the general public. An overlapping consensus.

Two reasonable but polarising messages
- Victory: less futility, tell them we won the war
- Futility: worry about commemoration being jingoistic.

These start off with some minority appeal in 2013, and interestingly they lose support later.

The third of people for "Victory, not the pity of war" is down at 23% by July 2016 and 14% post-centenary.

The fifth of people who worry it will be jingoistic dips to 14% too.

Good evidence that the centenary did not get polarised despite everything in politics doing so

Encouraged by 80% support vs 4% opposition for making sure that all children knew about Commonwealth soldiers: "it is important for integration today that all of our children are taught about the shared history of a multi-ethnic Britain".

(We'll put those 4% in hard to reach!)

Though most people think that's important, most people don't know about the Commonwealth soldiers in WW1! So lots of voices tried to increase that

The biggest shift of attitudes we picked up during the centenary is that knowledge of Indian soldiers rises from 4/10 to 7/10

At the end 3% are aggrieved to have heard "too much" about Empire and Commonwealth soldiers. In 2018 43% (43% of the white British and 46% of ethnic minorities) feel there was "too little" about them, still wanted more on this theme. A third think about right

Nb: not polarising

Knowledge of Muslim soldiers doubled - 22% to 38% - and of Sikh soldiers rose, from 33% to almost half. So there is a platform & more to do. (Edward Fox may later have helped the half who still didn't know about Sikh soldiers find that out!)

This short #RememberTogether film of descendants of Indian Army British officers and Indian Muslim soldiers visiting the National Archives together

David Rennie wrote this excellent feature about his experience of being among the descendants of Indian Army officers & Indian Muslim troops going through the Kew Gardens archives together for @n_Horizons & @britishfuture

1843magazine.com/dispatches/dis…

Paddy Ashdown (RIP) met those who had taken part in the project and spoke about his father returning from Dunkirk with the Indian Army in WW2

britishfuture.org/articles/owe-e…

My colleague Avaes Mohammad on bringing together working-class loyalists and local Muslims in Belfast
ww1muslimsoldiers.org.uk/belfast/

This short film is of an Imams #RememberTogether workshop led by @QariAsim

We also did some research into how those with different views of Muslims responded to this film

In a split-sample experiment, where half saw the film: a 12% drop in perceptions that Islam is incompatible with British society. Shows how shared history messages - that reflect the historic facts - can be one useful tool in anti-prejudice campaigns
britishfuture.org/publication/ca…

A different creative approach to the story of Muslim contribution was led by Blazer Boccle with school students in Bradford
britishfuture.org/articles/bradf…

One finding surprised me.

Our July 2016 poll, after Somme centenary, fell a month after the EU referendum. We hadn't split the 2013-14 findings by Remain/Leave! So I thought they might now diverge on centenary views. Yet they were astonishingly similar

britishfuture.org/articles/no-cu…

A small gap on European reconciliation as a theme (July 2016)

No Remain distancing from the Centenary at all; almost identical views across this significant cultural and political cleavage

Need more confidence to engage the broad public - on difficult conversations in history, such as slavery, Empire and decolonisation. There is an age gap on interest in history. Young people want it to be more hands-on & more relevant to them. Controversy may also engage.

Big generation gap has emerged on race (inc for many young white people). Heritage approaches of outreach to ethnic/faith "minority communities" which don't consider generational, geography & gender dynamics seem unlikely to engage (large) younger cohorts easterneye.biz/protests-spark…

I am running this anecdotal Twitter snapshot of ethnic minority views of the Churchill statue

I think I now have 2 tweets for removal and about 75 to keep it

Broad perception of those replying that family & friends would mostly keep it too

https://twitter.com/sundersays/status/1271412252525113344?s=19

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