Interest in politics hits 25-year high

Interest in politics has reached a 25-year high in the UK, driven by Brexit, Donald Trump and Jeremy Corbyn’s left-wing agenda, new research has shown.

The British Social Attitudes Survey, which has put the same question to a large sample of electors at regular intervals since 1991, found 43% of voters are now quite or very engaged in politics.

Over the past 25 years, interest has hovered around 33%. The report’s authors attribute the sharp rise over the past two years to a combination of controversy over the Brexit referendum and negotiations as well as the more left-wing domestic agenda embraced by Labour under Corbyn.

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The survey also showed voters believe Labour and the Conservatives to be as far apart ideologically as they were in the 1960s and 1970s. At least 45% thought there was a big difference between the two main parties at the last election, compared to just 27% when David Cameron beat Ed Miliband in 2015.

Polling guru Sir John Curtice said this divide “obviously also helps to bring voters in general to the polls but is not necessarily helpful to Labour. It is going to help to increase turnout in general”.

The Times quoted the report’s authors as saying “heightened interest in politics may damage Mr Corbyn’s prospects as his supporters are less likely to vote”, and pointing to the fact that turnout among Tory supporters was 88% last year, but only 80% for Labour.