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Few britons will get a say over their subsequent prime minister. Solely the roughly 180,000 members of the Conservative Party could vote on who can be its subsequent chief and therefore transfer into 10 Downing Road. Betting markets now reckon Liz Truss, the overseas secretary, has a three-in-four chance of victory over her rival Rishi Sunak, a former chancellor. However who’re the Tory celebration’s members and the way do they differ from the remainder of the nation? (See chart.)
The Conservative Party doesn’t disclose particulars about its members. However Professor Paul Webb of the College of Sussex, together with two of his colleagues, has been amassing information on the membership of Britain’s political events via common surveys. The latest, accomplished in January 2020, revealed that the typical Tory member suits the celebration’s stereotype neatly: they’re extra male, older, whiter, richer and higher educated than the broader citizens.
Their views on financial points differ markedly from the remainder of the nation. Practically half agree with the assertion that “atypical working individuals get their fair proportion of the nation’s wealth”. Simply 17% of the broader citizens answered the identical. Equally, 20% of Tory members agree that there’s “one legislation for the wealthy and one for the poor”; the determine for voters of all persuasions is 63%. These statements present that the typical Tory member is extra economically right-wing than the citizens as an entire.
However on social points the Tories hew nearer to the remainder of the nation. Round 40% of members and half of the broader citizens agree that the “censorship of movies and magazines is critical to uphold ethical requirements”. Equally, about half of Tory members agree with the assertion that “for some crimes, the demise penalty is essentially the most applicable sentence”. The determine for the citizens is 47%. A majority of Tory members and voters as an entire assume younger individuals don’t respect “conventional British values”, a lament which frequently arises with age quite than political opinions. Grumbling in regards to the younger seems to be like frequent floor. ■
