Ahead of an expected government attempt to block a vote on the Genocide amendment of the Trade Bill tonight, and backbench attempts to force it, polling by HOPE not hate has found that an overwhelming majority of the public – especially Conservative voters – oppose the UK signing trade deals with countries committing genocide.
We found:
This polling sends a clear message that Conservative MP’s should not underestimate the strong feelings on this issue amongst the general public and Conservative voters. MPs must be mindful that voting for Government’s wrecking amendment will be seen for what it is – a vote to block measures protecting human rights, measures that the country is overwhelmingly in favour of.
Awareness of the Uyghur’s plight is higher than average amongst Conservative voters and the scale of these human rights abuses means people rightly feel strongly about the issue. Conservative backbenchers should feel empowered to stick by their convictions because the public is with them, and what they do now counts.
Key findings
A huge majority of people – especially Conservative voters – are against the UK doing a trade deal with a country engaged in a genocide, with 71% saying we should NOT make trade agreements with a state committing a genocide
By a margin of 75% to 5%, the public wanted the international community to work together to force China to improve its human rights record
A big majority of respondents (67%) say they would shy away from companies who benefit from forced labour
The full results
“To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?… The UK should not make trade agreements with states committing genocides.”
“To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?… The international community should act together to force China to improve the human rights and individual freedoms of its citizens.”
“As a consumer, would you or would you not buy products or services from a company found to be directly or indirectly complicit in involvement in a genocide?”
“Are you aware that the Chinese authorities have locked up anywhere between one and three million Uyghurs (who are Muslim) against their will in internment camps as a means to eradicate Uyghur culture and language?”
Fieldwork: 25 and 26 February 2021
Sample: 1492
Weighting: GB nationally representative – weighted to age, gender, region and education
This survey was conducted using an online interview administered by Focaldata.
Focaldata collected data from a representative sample of 1,492 respondents between 25th and 26th February 2020 using its proprietary data collection platform Focaldata Core, which plugs into a global network of panels and uses machine learning to automatically detect and screen out inconsistent and disengaged respondents. Users fill out the surveys in real-time across mobile, desktop, and tablet devices on the focaldata platform.
The data was weighted to be representative of the GB population. Focaldata contacted members of the panel that match the demographic profiles of the country, in particular age, gender, and region. It then weighted the raw data to match the known population of Great Britain.