With Reform UK regularly polling between 8-12% in opinion polls, it is worth taking a deeper look at the people it is attracting.
We undertook a mega poll of 25,000 voters earlier in the year. Our findings reveal which voters are attracted to Reform UK and why. We found strongly rightwing and authoritarian views among Reform UK. Find out more below.
Who are they?
- Of the 1,843 people who said that they would vote Reform UK if the election was held at the time they completed the survey, just over a third (36%) were over 65, another third were aged between 45-64 and 29% were aged between 18 and 44.
- Sixty per cent were male and 75% did not have a University degree. Over nine out of ten were ethnically white, while half of the remainder were Asian (predominantly Hindus and Sikhs).
- A higher proportion of Reform UK voters (49%) own their own home outright compared to the population as a whole (36%), and its voters are also likely to be marginally poorer than society as a whole.
What do they believe?
- When it comes to political views, the Reform UK voter is fairly hardline on immigration and multiculturalism. Over three quarters (76%) think immigration has been bad for Britain, while 81% do not think multiculturalism is working. 81% agree with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s comments that “immigrants are going to overwhelm us and destroy our democracy”, with 64% strongly agreeing. Over four-fifths (83%) support plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
- Only 21% think Muslims face discrimination in today’s Britain, while 77% believe that “Islam poses a serious threat to Western civilisation”.
- Unsurprisingly, most Reform UK supporters (60%) identify themselves as “anti-woke”, with just 9% saying that they are “woke”. This should be compared to the national average of just 22% who define themselves as “anti-woke” and 15% as “woke”.
- Only 11% of Reform UK supporters do not understand the terms ‘woke’ and ‘anti-woke’, as opposed to 26% in society as a whole.
- On cultural issues, Reform UK voters are far to the right of the population as a whole. Over a third hold very negative feelings towards trans people, twice that of the general public, whilst almost a half (46%) have very negative attitudes towards climate change activists. This is probably not surprising, given that 41% think that climate change is not happening or are not sure.
- There are deeply authoritarian attitudes amongst Reform UK voters. Over half (53%) would prefer a strong leader with the power to ignore or override Parliament, while 41% believe that “in certain circumstances, violence can be necessary to defend something you strongly believe in.”
What media do they consume?
- A third (32%) say they get their news from the Daily Mail (compared to 22% of society in general), while another 42% list the Daily Telegraph, The Sun and The Express, compared to 31% generally.
- More Reform UK supporters (26%) get their news from GB News, while 23% list the BBC. For society as a whole, 4% choose GB News and 43% choose the BBC.
What next?
Reform UK are taking their far-right beliefs to the polls at the next General Election but we will be there every step of the way to stop them. We have already exposed a number of their Parliamentary candidates for extreme and hateful views in recent blogs:
At the General Election, we will campaign against hateful candidates
At the General Election, we will campaign against candidates who cross our Red Lines and stand a chance of winning. That’s candidates with a history of hateful politics, dividing communities or who are part of a growing Radical Right force in this country.
Find out more about our plans and whether we’re campaigning near you.Join the campaign
Join the campaign
