Two in five Leave-voting Brits say that hearing people talk in non-English bothers them, new research has found.
YouGov asked British adults the question: “When in the UK, are you bothered when you hear those from a non-English speaking country talking to each other in their own language, or not?”
The majority of those surveyed said they were not bothered at all, but when the figures were broken down by political allegiance, 41 per cent of people who voted Leave in the EU referendum said they would be bothered by hearing conversations not in English.
That compares to only 14 per cent of Remain voters.
A quarter of Brits (26%) – and 41% Leave voters – say they're bothered when they hear those from a non-English speaking country talking to each other in their own language whilst in the UK https://t.co/akekgz2WLE pic.twitter.com/uAACcyRM1o
— YouGov (@YouGov) February 3, 2020
Least likely to be bothered
Men were more likely to be bothered than women, while 18-24-year-olds were the least likely age group to be bothered.
In an earlier survey YouGov asked participants whether disliking people who reside in the UK speaking languages other than English in public was racist.
Nearly 60 per cent of people said they thought it was racist behaviour, while 31 per cent said it was not.
Racism is a problem in UK society
Another survey found that nine out of 10 Brits agreed that racism is a problem in UK society.
It also found that on the whole, most Brits think people in the UK are uncomfortable talking about race.
Just over a third think we are either ‘fairly uncomfortable’ or ‘not comfortable at all’, with next to no variation along gender, age, or political lines.
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