Politicians top list of Britons’ biggest fears

MPs beat heights, spiders, clowns, Brexit, debt and fear of missing out

Are the Cabinet really scarier than The Exorcist?
(Image credit: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images)

Politicians scare British people more than heights, clowns and drowning, according to a poll revealing the country’s biggest fears.

In the run-up to Halloween, the gift retailer Clintons has compiled its annual fear index. Politicians have come out top, with more than half (56%) of those surveyed saying they are scared by their elected representatives.

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It is also the first time that a form of social anxiety, FOMO, or fear of missing out, polled higher than horror movies.

Tim Fairs, VP Marketing & eCommerce at Clintons, said: “It’s extraordinary that people are more afraid of Prime Minister’s Questions and Question Time than they are of The Exorcist.”

Clintons fear index top 14:

  1. 56% - Politicians
  2. 39% - Heights
  3. 33% - Spiders
  4. 28% - Evil Clowns
  5. 28% - Brexit
  6. 25% - FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)
  7. 22% - Drowning
  8. 17% - Coriander
  9. 17% - Debt
  10. 17% - Needles
  11. 11% - North Korea
  12. 6% - Flying
  13. 6% - Herds of Cows
  14. 4% - Horror Movies
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