BRITAIN — The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion launched the National Conversation project on 18 May, inviting members of the public across Britain to share their views on what unites and divides the country. The project will run until the end of August.

Participants are asked to complete a 10-minute survey and leave a 60-second voice note detailing their vision for the future. Thousands of small group discussions organized by partner organizations will also take place across the country, and a report combining public insight with academic research, expert testimony, and commissioners' deliberation will be published later this year.

The project asks what it means to be British, English, Scottish, or Welsh, and seeks to determine what unites and divides the public, what connects neighbours, and what makes the country feel like home. It aims to develop a shared vision for the future using public input.

The commission is co-chaired by former chancellor Sajid Javid and former Labour party policy chief Jon Cruddas. It was convened by the Together Coalition, which was co-founded by Brendan Cox, the widower of the murdered MP Jo Cox.

"Our country is in real peril. Unless we can regain a shared sense of what unites us – of what we have in common – we risk being torn apart by our differences," Javid said at the launch. "I'm a great believer in the wisdom of the public – we hope this conversation gives that wisdom voice."

Cruddas said "Rebuilding Britain's social fabric and sense of community has never been more urgent. But the answers to this don't lie in Westminster."

Other members of the commission include the human rights and counter-extremism activist Sara Khan, former West Midlands mayor Andy Street, Laura Marks, chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, former Green party leader Caroline Lucas, and activist Tim Montgomerie of Reform UK. Previous exercises by the commission have taken evidence on housing, education, the economy, and trust from people including Michael Gove, Mary Beard, Paul Johnson, and David Cameron.

The survey was designed by the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, and James Graham helped advise on the design of the project. Melinda Mills, a professor of demography at Oxford's Nuffield College, said "AI had revolutionised the ability to conduct mass listening exercises."

Polling by the British Red Cross found that 75% of UK adults believe Britain is divided as a country, and 72% said the country has become more divided over the last five years. The commission said those findings informed the rationale for launching the National Conversation project.