The research, which has run since 2020 and is based on a representative survey of 4,027 people, found that 67% felt the country was divided by culture wars, up from 46% in 2020 and 54% since 2023.

The percentage of the population that felt that there was division in society in general rose to 84%, up from 79% in 2023 and 74% in 2020.

Half of the public felt that culture in the UK is changing too fast, compared with 35% five years ago, and 48% want the country to be “the way it used to be”, according to the research, up from 28% in 2020 and rising across both young and old.

Culture wars were seen as a serious problem for UK society and politics for 64% of respondents, up from 52% in 2023 and 44% in 2020, and with the proportion strongly agreeing with the statement doubling in two years to 20% of respondents.

The share of people who felt proud in their country has dipped to 46%, down from 56% five years ago.

In addition, 86% of respondents felt there was tension between immigrants and people born in the UK, up from 74% in 2023.

However, divides over Brexit continued to fall, from 78% in 2020 to 52% today.

Almost half ( 48%) of respondents deemed the term ‘woke’ to be an insult, up from 42% in 2023 and 24% in 2020, and the proportion who felt that transgender rights had gone too far was at 39%, up from 17% in 2020.

Part of a long-term research programme into culture wars in the UK, the study uses random probability sampling and involves providing offline households with tablets and internet access to take part.

Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, said: “This latest study shows a frightening increase in the sense of national division and decline in the UK in just a few years.

“We lived through an incredibly divisive period around the EU referendum and its aftermath, when there were there was stark opposition and real tension between those who identified with the ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’ sides of the argument.

“This has died down, with a steep fall in the tension that people see between Leavers and Remainers today. But, rather than leading to a sense of greater national connection, the division has morphed into party political and other splits, with attitudes to immigration and the speed of culture change more generally at the heart of them.”

Gideon Skinner, senior director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said: ”Perceptions of political and cultural disharmony are growing, reflecting a society grappling with nostalgia, the pace of change and growing tensions over immigration, and with polarised views over what terms like ‘woke’ signify.

“At the same time, we need to be aware of the nuance in public opinion on this topic. On many issues there is no clear consensus, with a need to understand the differences under the topline figures; it should not be forgotten that many people are not on the extremes in their views; some tensions such as over Brexit are lessening; and in most cases only a minority say they can’t be friends with supporters of opposing political parties (although Reform again provokes stronger feelings).

“The challenge is to understand the roots of these divisions and use these insights to create dialogue and policy that can help reduce further polarisation.”