Survey reveals glaring contrasts between Tories and other parties

While members of other parties favour a second referendum on Europe by overwhelming majorities (Labour 78 per cent, SNP 87 per cent and Lib Dems 91 per cent), just one in ten Tory members (14 per cent) agree. Nine out of ten members of the other parties support continued membership of the single market (Labour 87 per cent, SNP 95 per cent, Lib Dem 96 per cent) and the customs union (Labour 85 per cent, SNP 91 per cent, Lib Dems 95 per cent), but only a quarter of grassroots Tories would like to see such a soft Brexit (25 per cent favouring staying in the single market, 27 per cent in the customs union).

The publication is based on a survey of Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, and SNP party members following the June 2017 election.

On the economy, 11 per cent of Tory members agree that austerity has gone too far, compared with 98 per cent of Labour members, 93 per cent of SNP members, and 75 per cent of Lib Dem members. And on the question of economic fairness, only 19 per cent of Tory members agree that ordinary working people don’t get their fair share of the nation’s wealth, compared with 97 per cent of Labour members, 95 per cent of SNP members and 79 per cent of Lib Dem members.

On social issues, Conservative members have more authoritarian attitudes than members of the other three parties. More than half of Tory party members (54 per cent) support the death penalty (SNP 23 per cent, Labour 9 per cent, Lib Dem 8 per cent) and 77 per cent agree that young people don’t have enough respect for traditional British values (SNP 23 per cent, Labour 20 per cent, Lib Dem 18 per cent).