Environmentalism and feminism are viewed favourably by most Britons
Ideologies are central to politics. They serve as inspirations for activists, blueprints for politicians and the basis for political parties. Because of this, terms like liberalism, conservatism and socialism are familiar to many of us, but how do Britons actually view the major ideologies?
The most well-received ideology of the 12 we polled is environmentalism, which two-thirds of Britons (64%) have a favourable opinion of, compared to one in six (18%) who see it unfavourably. Feminism is the only other ideology seen positively by a majority of Britons, with twice as many seeing it positively (56%) as negatively (28%).
Of the more traditional ideologies polled, liberalism is the only one which Britons have a clear net positive opinion of, with four in ten (41%) seeing it favourably and a quarter (26%) unfavourably. Socialism is more divisive, with the British public splitting 38% to 36%, while for the 32% of Britons with a favourable opinion of conservatism there are 43% with an unfavourable view.
Few like the more extreme ideologies, with only 10% of Britons having a favourable view of communism and 8% of anarchism. This is against around two thirds (67-69%) holding an unfavourable opinion of either. Fascism, though, is the least popular overall, with just 2% of Britons having a positive opinion of the far-right ideology.
Capitalism and nationalism are both seen favourably by around three in ten Britons (29-30%), though with 44-45% of the public looking upon them unfavourably.
How do different voters see political ideologies?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, conservatism is the top ideology of Conservative voters, with eight in ten (79%) seeing it favourably. Aside from this, environmentalism is seen positively by 63% of Tories, while around half (50-51%) have a favourable opinion of capitalism and feminism.
Among Labour, Lib Dem and Green voters, environmentalism (74-83%) and feminism (68-80%) are the overall most favourably viewed ideologies. Additionally, over six in ten Labour and Green voters (62-63%), as well as half of Lib Dems (49%), see socialism positively, while 64% of Lib Dems, 56% of Labour voters and 47% of Green voters are favourable towards liberalism.
Six in ten Reform UK voters (59%) see nationalism positively, with 55% also holding a favourable opinion of conservatism and 44% of capitalism. Reform UK supporters are the only voters where a minority see environmentalism (35%) or feminism (30%) in positive terms, though both score more highly than populism (24%) or libertarianism (22%), terms the party is sometimes identified with.
Most likely to be approving of far-left ideologies are Green voters, with three in ten (31%) having a positive opinion of communism and a quarter (25%) looking at anarchism favourably. While one in seven Labour voters (14%) also have a positive view of communism, this is less than the 23% with such an opinion of capitalism.
Do you like conservatism more as you get older?
As might be expected given common sayings about people getting more right-wing as they get older, younger Britons do indeed tend to have more favourable opinions of socialism, feminism, communism and anarchism than their older counterparts. For instance, half of 18-24 year olds (51%) have a positive view of socialism, compared to only a third of those aged 65 and over (32%).
By contrast, positivity towards more right-wing ideologies like capitalism, conservatism and nationalism increases with age. Half of over 65s (51%), for example, see conservatism favourably, relative to just one in five 18-24 year olds (20%), among whom it is as popular as communism.
Nonetheless, there are some ideologies where opinions don’t change with age. Environmentalism is seen favourably by 62-69% among all age groups, while around four in ten (38-44%) across the generational spectrum have a positive opinion of liberalism.
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Photo: Getty
