British attitudes toward remembrance poppies, Digi Mart USA News (United Kingdom): Remembrance season is upon us, with ceremonies this Sunday and next Wednesday commemorating the deaths of British and Commonwealth service personnel in the two World Wars and later conflicts.
Many Britons choose to mark the season by wearing remembrance poppies. Some have accused the traditional red poppy of having become politicized in recent years, with concerns that it has been co-opted by far-right groups.
Few Britons, however, see someone wearing a red poppy as making a political statement. In a YouGov survey, 86% view it as an expression of remembering the war dead, 67% as support for the Royal British Legion, 63% as showing respect for the armed forces, and 38% as an expression of patriotism.
Still, 14% of Britons see wearing a poppy as an explicit statement of support for Britain having a strong military that should be ready to be used. Five percent associate it with right-wing views and 3% with anti-immigrant views.
In all, 18% associate wearing a red poppy with at least one of these outright political statements, including 26% of those who voted Reform UK or Green at the last election and 22% of those who voted Conservative.
Alongside the red poppy, the charity Animal Aid offers a purple poppy to symbolize remembrance for animals that served during wartime. The Peace Pledge Union offers a white poppy, which aims to commemorate all victims of war and promote peace.
Most Britons (54-57%) say they are unaware of these alternative poppies, while 35-38% say they were aware of them before taking the survey. Although the Royal British Legion has said these are not in conflict with the red poppy, some have criticized the white poppy in particular.
Former veterans’ minister Johnny Mercer called them “attention seeking rubbish” in 2018.
Nonetheless, just 15% of Britons believe it is unacceptable to wear a white poppy during remembrance season, and only 9% feel it is wrong to wear a purple poppy. Opposition to the white poppy is highest among Reform UK and Conservative voters, with 27-34% saying it is unacceptable to wear one.
At least 42% of these voters, however, consider it perfectly fine to mark remembrance season with a white poppy.
