Generally, men and Conservatives are most willing to date those they might clash with politically
Love and politics can be a tricky combination at the best of times, but what about when a potential partner sits on the other side of the political spectrum? A new YouGov survey asks Britons how willing they would be to date someone with the opposite political views.
Labour voters are the least willing to date across political lines
YouGov’s research reveals that Labour supporters are less open to dating those tied to the Conservatives than Tories are to dating Labour supporters. Some 49% of Conservatives would date someone who voted Labour in the 2019 general election, with around a quarter (24%) saying they would not.
Another 43% of Conservatives would date someone who was a member of the Labour party, with 31% opposed to the idea of doing so.
Among Labour voters, 35% would date a Conservative voter, however half (50%) would not. Further to this, only 27% would date a member of the Conservative party, while six in ten (60%) would not – including a third (34%) who would “definitely not”.
Opinion towards apolitical partners is similar among both major parties, with 60% of Conservatives and 59% of Labour voters saying they would date someone who did not vote in the 2019 general election.
Are men or women more concerned over their partner’s politics?
When it comes to gender, men are generally more open to partners with opposing politics. Some 56% of men who voted Conservative in 2019 would “probably” or “definitely” date someone who had voted Labour, compared to 43% of Conservative-backing women who say the same.
Conservative women are more likely to be unsure when it comes to dating Labour voters (29% versus 19% of men), while similar proportions of Tory men (24%) and women (26%) are opposed to dating Labour voters.
While Labour voters on the whole are less likely to consider dating Conservatives, Labour men (41%) are more likely to say they would than women (30%). Over half of Labour-voting women (53%) say they would not date someone who had voted Conservative, including 26% who would “definitely not”. This is compared to 46% of Labour-voting men.
Men are also more open to dating people who did not vote in 2019: some 70% of Conservative men would do so, as would 65% of male Labour voters. This compares around half of women (51% of Conservative voters and 53% of Labour voters).
Remain voters are less likely to date Leave voters than the other way round
Westminster politics is one thing, but would people be willing to date those with the opposing Brexit stance?
Around half of Remain voters (50%) say they would not, including 21% who “definitely would not”. Another 56% would be unwilling to date someone who had worked for the Leave campaign. A third (33%) of Remain voters would date a Leave voter, and 28% would go out with a Leave campaigner.
On the other side of the EU debate, some 47% of Leave voters would date a Remain voter, and 43% would date someone who had worked for the Remain campaign. Just over a quarter of Leave voters (28%) would be opposed to seeing a Remain voter romantically, and a third (32%) wouldn’t date a Remain campaigner.
As with party politics, opinion towards those who did not vote is similar among both groups. Just over half of Leave voters (57%) would date someone who didn’t vote in the EU referendum, as would 52% of Remain voters.
See full results here
