Voters in rural areas are now just as likely to vote for the Labour Party as they are to vote for the Conservative Party, a new survey published today (Friday, December 23) has shown.
The two parties are both seen to be attracting the support of 30% of people in rural areas, according to the survey of over 3,000 people carried out by YouGov on behalf of the Fabian Society.
40% of people surveyed said they would “never consider” voting for the Conservative Party, with only 13% saying they “would definitely consider” voting for them.
This is in contrast to only 8% saying they would “never consider” voting for the party at the general election in 2019.
Senior researcher at the Fabian Society, Ben Cooper, said the survey shows that the Conservative Party has lost rural support.
“The Conservatives are no longer the party of the countryside,” he said.
“Rural voters see the Tories as out of touch with their values and unable to understand their communities. Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have broken a historic bond between the Tories and rural Britain.”
20% of people said they would “never consider” voting for the Labour Party, with 21% saying they “would definitely consider” voting for them.
In the last general election in 2019, the Labour Party was 33 points behind the Conservative Party outside of urban areas.
“Too often, Labour thinks rural voters are out of reach. But a third of the most marginal seats have a substantial number of rural voters,” Cooper said.
“Labour’s path to power runs through rural Britain, as well as our towns and cities.”
Political values
Of the 3,333 people surveyed, only 25% said that the Conservative Party shares shares some or all of their values, compared to 59% saying it does not share many or any of their values.
The Labour Party seen a boost in support, with 43% of people saying the party shared some or all of their values, compared with 39% saying it did not share many or any of their values. 18% of people were unsure.
In terms of understanding life in rural areas, only 5% of those surveyed believe that the Conservative Party understands people in their area “very well”, with 38% believing that the party does not understand people in their area “at all”.
The Labour Party polled slightly better, with 11% of people saying it understood people in their area “very well”, compared to 19% of people saying it did not understand people in their area well “at all”.
“Labour is well on track to make significant gains in rural Britain, but still has to convince rural voters that they understand the countryside,” Cooper said.
“Labour must set out a vision that all places, including rural communities, can feel a part of. And they must address a specific rural perception of feeling left behind.
“In doing so, the party can secure a broad ‘one-nation’ mandate to govern the country at the next election.”
