We're just not proud of being British any more

At the same time the numbers of those seeing themselves as English first and foremost have shot up.

The figures confirm the drift away from support for Britain and the growth in nationalism in England as well as in Scotland.

Twenty-five years ago 55 per cent said they felt "very proud2 to be British but that figure has dropped to 45 per cent.

Researchers said older people had a strong attachment to Britain but that the young were more prone to listen to the appeals of nationalists.

Britishness is becoming a label only used on holiday, they said.

The report was produced by the National Centre for Social Research, which has been carrying out regular polling since the early 80s as part of its British Social Attitudes project.

2Just as members of minority communities define themselves as Black British or Asian British, people from the white majority tend to emphasise their Britishness when they move from their home territory to a different one," the study found.

Devolution has promoted English nationalism, it said.

The proportion of men and women in England who think of themselves as English rose from 31 per cent in 1992 to 39 per cent in 2003.

It reached a temporary peak of 44 per cent in a reaction to Scottish and Welsh devolution in 1999.

"Senses of British identity and pride in Britain were strongest in England," the researchers said.

In Wales, and even more so in Scotland, substantial minorities did not feel British at all.

The report said: "But although overall levels of Britishness are much lower in Scotland and Wales than in England the extent of changes over time have been rather modest, and appear to be part of longer-term trends rather than specifically affected by devolution."

The study found that devolution had had the greatest impact on sense of identity in England, where it may have strengthened an awareness of differences between English and British identity.

"There appears to be a gradual long-term process of declining British identity that predates devolution," the researchers said.

The study also said people in Scotland and Wales have more trust in the devolved authorities than they have in the UK Government.

It added that "there remains a

substantial appetite for further devolution of power in both territories".

There was, however, clear evidence of some disillusion and a belief that devolution has not brought the expected benefits.

In Scotland, 73 per cent of respondents in 1997 thought a Scottish Parliament would increase their living standards, but by 2003, only 23 per cent believed it was actually doing so.

The study was sponsored by the state-run Economic and Social Research Council.

It comes on the eve of elections that many believe will see a Scottish Nationalist administration installed in Edinburgh.

The party says it wants to hold a referendum on independence for Scotland.

Critics say younger citizens are likely to have lost interest in Britain because of the breakdown of teaching of British history in schools and because politicians and state organisations do not endorse Britishness.

Pupils are now taught 20th century history in which Hitler and Stalin are the predominant figures.

British achievements in defeating Napoleonic tyranny or in resisting European conquest in earlier centuries have little place.

The British Empire has begun to be widely regarded as responsible for racism and exploitation in former colonies.

Its successes in spreading wealth, technology and learning are ignored, as are British achievements in suppressing slavery.