National Conversation project launches as Britain risks being torn apart by differences'

"Sajid Javid has warned the country risks being torn apart by our differences as figures from across public life launch a project that asks what it means to be British. The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, co-chaired by the former Conservative chancellor as well as the former Labour party policy chief Jon Cruddas, is urging the public to share their personal vision of their community and their country in the National Conversation project."

"The commission includes the human rights and counter-extremism activist Sara Khan, the former West Midlands mayor Andy Street, Laura Marks, the chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the former Green party leader Caroline Lucas, and the activist Tim Montgomerie, of Reform UK. Convened by the Together Coalition the nonprofit cohesion campaign co-founded by Brendan Cox, the widower of the murdered MP Jo Cox the commission aims to use the project to map out a shared vision for the future amid the fraught and fractured political climate."

"Questions at the heart of the National Conversation project include what it means to be British, English, Scottish or Welsh. The research aims to determine what unites and divides the public, what connects us to our neighbours, and what makes the country feel like home. I'm a great believer in the wisdom of the public,' said Sajid Javid. Photograph: Suki Dhanda/The Guardian Javid said: 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. That vision won't come from politicians it can only come from the public. I'm a great believer in the wisdom of the public we hope this conversation gives that wisdom voice. Members of the public are asked to compete a 10-minute survey to take part in the National Conversation, filling in details about their neighbourhood before leaving a 60-second voice note detailing their vision for the future."

Sajid Javid warned that the country risks being torn apart by differences unless a shared sense of what unites people is regained. The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion is launching the National Conversation project to gather personal visions of community and country from the public. The commission is co-chaired by Sajid Javid and Jon Cruddas and includes figures from human rights, counter-extremism, local government, Holocaust remembrance, environmental politics, and activism. The project is convened by the Together Coalition, co-founded by Brendan Cox. The initiative asks what it means to be British, English, Scottish, or Welsh, and seeks to identify what connects neighbours and makes the country feel like home through a survey and short voice notes.

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