The ‘most British’ institutions revealed – from white van men to roast dinners and the royal family

The UK’s most British institutions from roast dinners to the Royal Family have been revealed.

In a poll of 2,600 conducted by Direct Line, people were asked to rank what they thought made Britain the place it is today.

Shockingly, it turns out that the UK’s army of white van drivers were found to be more of a British institution than the Royal Family. 

The poll also found that food dominated what we think of as the ‘most British’, with a Sunday roast and Full English in the top five. 

Alan Robertson, 43, of Glasgow, said: ‘Everyone loves a white van man or woman – they fix things we can’t do ourselves, and they’re not the demons on the road they used to be.

A Sunday roast dinner was voted as the third most British institution (stock image)

He said: ‘I’m not anti-Royal, but when was the last time one of them helped fix my leaky pipe?’

White van drivers clocked up 56% in the poll, while the Royal Family notched up just 33% – with a whopping difference of 23%. 

A Sunday roast dinner and Full English were next as they both received 24%. Following them was tea, complaining about the weather and black cabs (all 20%).

Queuing (19%), fish & chips (16%) and the seaside (14%) made up the rest of the list entries.

The phrase ‘white van man’ was coined in 1997 to describe the estimated 2m men and women who travel around in vans working in various trades.

Among them include builders, locksmiths, painter & decorators, plumbers, electricians and delivery drivers – usually self-employed or running a small business and driving a light goods vehicle, aka a white van.

The study, however, also found that the reputation of a white van man had changed over the past 27 years, with 72% of those polled saying they considered white van drivers to be ‘courteous’ drivers.

Amazingly, white van drivers received a higher share of the vote than the Royal Family

A cup of tea was fifth in the list, just behind a Full English and above complaining about the weather (stock image)

A spokesman for Direct Line said: ‘The white van is a classic symbol of the nation. So deep is our connection with the great white van that 23% of Brits see them as more British than the Royal Family.’

He added: ‘We also found that white vans are a more iconic symbol of Britishness than Sunday roasts (24%), black cabs (20%) complaining about the weather (20%), and queuing (19%).’

Eva Sandstra-Bennett, of Direct Line, said: ‘White vans and their drivers are a British icon and backbone of the nation, travelling an estimated 57 billion miles a year to repair our homes, fix utilities and deliver our orders.

‘It’s refreshing to see that people appreciate the hard work of white vans and their drivers and that old stereotypes are starting to wane.’