17/12/2007
Voter Loyalty - now impossible to buy at any price?
New research from the Future Foundation has illustrated just how much the old tribal loyalties, which once defined political affiliation in the UK, are in decline.
Less than 10% of people under 24 now profess a strong expectation that they will naturally always vote for the same political party throughout their lives.
Among those who have reached degree-level education, only 12% agree strongly that they will probably always stick with the same political party preference.
Citizens from the lowest socio-economic groupings are twice as likely as those in the highest to confirm a strong, possibly lifelong party loyalty. But even in this section of the community it is now a minority of people who reckon they will stick forever with a previously favoured party brand.
In addition, substantial numbers of citizen-voters are content that today’s leading politicians share the centre-ground of politics rather than holding firmly ideological positions of right or left.
Over half of older adults - those who by now will probably have voted in around five separate General Elections - now take this view. Only around 5% of young people (under 24s), once upon a time considered the most politically radical demographic, are now strongly against the proposition that the centre-ground is where our leading political practitioners should be.
Political radicalism is now as popular as pigeon-fancying, as trendy as embroidery. Given this, it is not surprising that millions want to set limits on that government and parties should do.
Around 70% of the UK is now firm that the Government should not increase the amount of personal taxes which people like myself have to pay. Across the different income groups, there is virtually no variance in this opinion.
And in fact, the 18-24 year olds - in an extra revealing insight into radicalism-in-decline - are more anti tax increases than any other age segment (74% - with almost two thirds strongly opposed).
Commenting on the findings, James Murphy, Editorial Director of the Future Foundation, said:
“The British political scene is now presenting one of the most fascinating battles for market share now visible within the whole world of marketing and communications.
Just as political parties have to slug it out for the votes of a few potentially promiscuous people in around 30 marginal constituencies, so their leaderships have to keep a focus on the weakening bonds of natural loyalty now characterising millions of British voters, notably the young.
In addition, they have to contend with a society clearly not strongly motivated by ideologically based solutions. And yet ideological feelings of right or left are what drive activists into political parties and bind them together as distinct individual brands. Parties have a problem.
Our findings here (and those gathered across the last decade) speak of just how comprehensively socio-economic change has restricted the room-for-manoeuvre of the entire political class.
For example, the appetite for tax increases - whatever valuable social objective might be in view - is now virtually non-existent. And there is not much point in appealing to the political utopianism of the young because there is precious little evidence that any such thing exists any more”.