THE British identity is in steep decline south of the border with the number of people who would describe themselves as English over British soaring, a poll has revealed.

The study found that the number of people in England who would now describe themselves as English rather than British rose to 63 per cent, as opposed to 41 per cent in 2008.

The YouGov poll also discovered that just 20 per cent of the UK population preferred a British identity to any other, down from 42 per cent three years ago.

The poll, taken last month, appears to show that English nationalism is on the rise at the same time as Scottish nationalism is the predominant force in politics north of the border.

It prompted warnings of a shift that could threaten the Union.

The findings were last night seized on by campaigners for a separate English Parliament as further evidence that there was now a major social shift developing across the country.

And John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, said that a weakening of “Britishness” in England could have massive repercussions for the future of the Union.

He said: “Adherence to a common sense of ‘Britishness’ is often thought to be a vital part of the emotional glue that helps keep the Union together. That glue has long since lost much of its strength in Scotland. If it has now been eroded in England too, the long term prospects for the Union would seem rather bleak indeed.”

The SNP said that the figures showed there was a desire for a new “equal relationship” between Scotland and England, with the nations standing on their own.

The figures in the new YouGov poll on English and British identity are a marked change on previous polling undertaken in recent years.

Of 1,700 adults around Britain, 2 per cent said they were “mainly” European, 19 per cent said British, 1 per cent said Irish, 5 per cent Welsh, 8 per cent Scottish and 63 per cent said English. In 2008, asked which best described how people felt about themselves, 42 per cent said British, 1 per cent said Irish, 4 per cent Welsh, 8 per cent Scottish and 41 per cent said English.

The new poll, published in this month’s Prospect magazine, was carried out as part of a wider study on British attitudes to Europe.

It was claimed last night that the increase in ‘Englishness has been fuelled in part by resentment about perceived Scottish “freebies”, especially concerning university tuition fees, soon to rise to £9,000 a year south of the border.

Calls for an English “parliament” are growing. Labour MP Frank Field has now laid down a parliamentary motion calling for the pros and cons of such a devolved chamber to be examined.

Eddie Bone of the Campaign for an English Parliament said: “People may not understand the Barnett Formula (which provides the block funding grant to Scotland), but they understand the issue of prescription charges, elderly care, NHS cuts and particularly tuition fees. There is a real feeling among young people in England now that they are being treated very badly. ”

He added: “What is coming out is that more and more people identify themselves as English and that they are subsidising the rest of the UK.”

SNP Ministers have pointed out that Scotland generates more tax revenues than its per capita share in an attempt to scotch the “subsidy myth”. But recent polls have shown a growing discontent in England about Scotland’s share of public spending.

“ARE you English or British?” “Why both. What’s the difference?” Such conversations about national identity are often thought to be commonplace south of the Border. Residing in by far the largest part of the UK, people in England often talk as though Britain and England are but one and the same place.

So should we take much notice when a YouGov poll discovers that three times as many people in England say they are “mainly English” than say they are “mainly British”?

Well, adherence to a common sense of “Britishness” is often thought to be a vital part of the emotional glue that helps keep the Union together. That glue has long since lost much of its strength in Scotland. If it has now been eroded in England too, the long-term prospects for the Union would seem rather bleak indeed.

There are, though, some caveats about YouGov’s poll. When they try to find out people’s identity, polls typically ask how their respondents how they “think” or “feel” about themselves. After all, an identity is a label or badge that people apply to themselves and towards which they feel a degree of emotional attachment. Such a wording helps get at that.

In their latest poll, YouGov just asked people whether they were mainly English, British or whatever.

Such an approach might be thought to invoke a factual description rather than an identity. Yet if that were all YouGov’s poll was picking up, we would not anticipate that which description people chose would make much difference to the views they expressed on other subjects in the poll. But it did. Those who described themselves as English had a distinctly more “nationalist” outlook.

Fifty-seven per cent of them said they would vote in favour of leaving the European Union. So YouGov’s poll does seem to have picked up something of a genuine “little Englander” mood south of the Border – stimulated perhaps by the recent travails of the eurozone.

ARE the English feeling less British? We visited historic Union Street in Plymouth – which connects the city centre to the Devonport naval shipyard – to find out.

Sean Lodge, 24, a medic in the Navy from Plymouth: “I describe myself as British but in future English people will be more likely to describe themselves as English. It would benefit England if Scotland were to be independent. We pay high taxes to subsidise tuition fees and cheap prescriptions in Scotland which we don’t see the benefits of.”

Kizzy Dowding, 20, a shop supervisor from Plymouth: “I describe myself as English rather than British. If Scotland wants to be independent they should go for it. Scotland has its own parliament so I don’t see why it can’t.”

George Peart, 48, a plasterer, originally from Newcastle: “I describe myself as British as it is all encompassing. Britain as a whole has its customs and traditions and I feel a sense of pride at being from Britain, not just England. Being from Newcastle I feel closer to Scotland than people living in the South. But Scots have always considered themselves to be independent.”

While 79 per cent of the Britons quizzed said they agreed with the statement ‘I am proud to be a British citizen’, the figure rose to 83 per cent among Muslims.

And Muslim Britons were also found to be significantly more optimistic than most with just 31 per cent agreeing with the notion that Britain’s best days are in the past compared to an average of 45 per cent.

National pride: A group of Muslim women enjoy a stroll in Regent’s Park. A new survey has found Muslims to be more patriotic than the average British citizen

The figures are, to some extent, understood to reflect a reaction to the hostility and distrust felt by many British Muslims in the post 9/11 world.

There is also the belief that Muslims are more able to appreciate the political freedoms UK citizens enjoy as they can trace their family roots to far more oppressive and non-democratic regimes.

British-Pakistani boxer Amir Khan, one of the most prominent flag wavers among the nation’s Muslim population, often speaks in interviews about his sense of national pride.

The poll of 2000 people, taken by the think tank Demos, was designed to find what symbolises the best of Britain.