A report from Hope not Hate, based on polling of more than 4,000 people, has found that attitudes towards race, religion and identity have become more positive since its base-line report in 2011. Its latest report, Fear and Hope 2016: Race, faith and belonging in today’s England, finds that growing optimism about the economy, the key driver in determining hopes and fears, coupled with changing demographics, have led to more positive attitudes than five years ago.

Almost a third of people are very positive towards England’s multicultural society and the most hostile proportion has fallen from 13% to 8%. While 43% report thinking that Muslims are ‘completely different’ to them, much higher than for other religious minorities, that figure is also lower than in 2011 despite, the authors note, the growing fear of Islamist extremism. The English reject arguments which stigmatise British Muslims and are concerned about their media portrayal.

Hope not Hate is a non-governmental organisation which combines authoritative research with community action to counter hate-promoting groups and build community resilience against extremism.