We love Britain, but Union's future is uncertain

More than six out of 10 English voters say they feel "British", according to a new opinion poll.

An even greater proportion - 69 per cent - want to keep the historic Union between England and Scotland, while only 24 per cent want the two countries to separate.

However, the ICM survey for The Sunday Telegraph also reveals great concern about the future of the Union, and only 48 per cent believe it will survive a maximum of 25 years.

Just over half (59 per cent) believe it will be gone in a maximum of 50 years, while only 18 per cent think it will survive indefinitely.

The poll suggests the concept of "Britain" still retains a deep hold on the affections of English people, and 62 per cent say their British identity is just as important to them as their Englishness. Only 17 per cent believe England would be better off without Scotland.

In a particularly surprising finding, 57 per cent of English voters are in favour of a British football team, with only 34 per cent against. The poll comes just two weeks after England failed to qualify for next summer's European Championships.

Commissioned to mark the launch of a Telegraph "Call Yourself British" campaign 300 years after the Act of Union was signed, the poll will be seized upon by the leaders of England's three main political parties, all of whom insist they want the Union to survive.

It will also be studied closely by Alex Salmond, the Scottish National Party leader and First Minister of Scotland, whose party was elected on a platform of full independence but who is not currently forcing the issue north of the border.

Despite an overall satisfaction with their Britishness, 59 per cent of those polled would call themselves "English" if asked their nationality by a foreigner, while 37 per cent would call themselves "British."

Around a third think children growing up today are more likely to think of themselves as English rather than British compared to those growing up 20 years ago.

Asked if they were aware that 2007 is the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union, 73 per cent said they were and 27 per cent said they were not.

Overall, the poll reveals unhappiness with the current imbalance in the political settlement between the two countries. Some 63 per cent say higher public spending in Scotland is not justified and 62 per cent say Scottish MPs should not have the right to vote on specifically English or Welsh legislation.

There is a boost for David Cameron's party, with 27 per cent of voters believing the Conservatives are more likely to stand up for England's interests than Labour, which scores 10 per cent despite Gordon Brown's constant emphasis on Britishness.

A clear majority, however, say there is "not much difference" between the two parties on the issue.

Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, said: "This is why it is so dangerous for the Tories to go down the route of English-only voting at Westminster, which would ultimately lead to the break-up of the Union. This is not what the British people want and David Cameron should listen to them."

Vincent Cable, the acting Liberal Democrat leader, said: "The Union is one of our greatest achievements and it is alarming to see the growth of pessimism about its future."

The ICM poll comes as all political parties continue to debate the future of the Union and the settlement between England and Scotland, particularly the "West Lothian Question," which asks why it is fair that Scottish MPs can vote on English issues while the reverse does not apply.

A Tory policy commission chaired by Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former foreign secretary, proposed an "English grand committee" at Westminster so that only MPs with English seats could vote on legislation solely affecting England.

Mr Cameron is currently studying the plan but has not said whether he will adopt it. Ministers, led by Mr Brown, have denounced the proposal as a serious threat to the future of the Union.

Continuing ill-feeling over differences in spending on either side of the border was highlighted last week when it emerged that police forces in Scotland will get a 2.5 per cent pay rise next year, while officers in England and Wales will get just 1.9 per cent.