New polling by Savanta ComRes shows significant differences between how 2019 Conservative and Labour voters perceive their own parties.
Overall, half of UK adults say that the Labour Party is not clear about what it stands for (50%), including a third (33%) of its 2019 voters. By contrast, eight in ten Conservative voters say their party is clear about what it stands for (81%), with just one in seven saying that its not (14%).
Furthermore, among 2019 Labour voters, over two in five say the Conservatives are clear about what they stand for (43%).
Have the parties lost their way?
A majority of UK adults say that the Labour Party has lost its way (61%).
This includes a similar proportion of their own voters from 2019 (57%), and three quarters of 2019 Conservative voters (75%).
Again, by contrast, 2019 Conservative voters are much more forgiving of the Conservatives, with just a quarter saying that the party has lost its way (26%).
Representing a change for the better and presenting a vision for the future
UK adults are significantly less likely to view Labour as representing a change for the better (38%), than the Conservatives (49%) and less likely to view Labour as presenting a vision for the future (38% vs 52%).
Even among 2019 Labour voters, around three quarters believe they represent a change for the better (72%), with just three in five saying that Labour present a vision for the future of the country (62%).
Just one in five 2019 Con voters (21%) say that Labour present a vision for the future of the country and represent a change for the better (18%).
By contrast, amongst 2019 Conservative voters, eight in ten say that the Conservative Party presents a vision for the future of the country (81%), with a third of 2019 Labour voters also saying this (34%).
Even among younger people, generally more likely to support Labour, equal proportions say that the Conservatives (50%) and Labour (53%) offer a vision for the future of the country.
This is the same proportion of 18-34-year-olds who say that the Green Party offer a vision for the future of the country (50%).
The party of ‘aspiration’
2019 Labour voters are significantly less likely to say that Labour is the party of aspiration (60%), than 2019 Conservative voters are to say the same about the Conservatives (75%).
In fact, a third of 2019 Labour voters say that the Conservatives are the party of aspiration (34%), while just one in five 2019 Conservative voters say this about Labour (19%).
Overall view of the four main English parties
Commenting on the findings, Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta ComRes said, “Labour’s challenge is laid bare here for all to see. Even among their own voters, who remained loyal to the party in 2019 when so many flocked to the Conservatives, they’re less likely than their Conservative counterparts to view their own party as clear on what they stand for, representing change for the better, presenting a vision for the future of the country and, crucially, being the party of aspiration.
With significant proportions of Labour voters thinking that the Conservatives embody these characteristics, it seems that Boris Johnson’s party offer a much better package to the electorate and therefore it is perhaps little wonder that, despite being in government for well over a decade, the Conservatives continue to enjoy unprecedented electoral success considering the stage of the electoral cycle.”