12 January 2021

Towards the end of 2020, the Coalition for Global Prosperity ran their very first opinion polling project to explore views on Global Britain and the UK’s place on the world stage. The polling aimed to explore the views of voters in areas in the North of England that are often referred to as the “Red Wall”. We spoke to voters who supported the Conservatives at the 2019 General Election but supported other parties in the 2017 election. The poll was conducted in October with the backdrop of the UK negotiating its exit from the European Union and the continued prevalence of Coronavirus. 

The project uncovered some interesting results. 

Of those polled, 85% voted to leave the European Union in the 2016 Referendum, 13% to remain and 2% didn’t vote. There was an even split between men and women with 36% of the group being aged 65 or older. 

More Generally, 90% of respondents support Britain signing new trade agreements following our exit from the European Union and 64% agree that helping the world’s poorest is the right thing to do. This was emphasised further when over 96% stated that it was important to end human trafficking and modern slavery with 93% highlighting that increasing access to clean water, hygiene and sanitation services was also important. The high importance placed on clean water and hygiene is likely to be due to the increased focus around personal hygiene and being able to tackle the Coronavirus. However, this is still a very welcome position as the public have proven that for particular issues, there is substantial support for UK leadership and development assistance.

When asked how important they rated various strands of UK aid, 95% of voters said that it was important for Britain to support developing countries to prevent and contain future pandemic diseases like the Coronavirus. 86% stated that it was important that the UK provides disaster relief and humanitarian assistance whilst 88% said it was important to promote British value like democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and tolerance. These results go some way to demonstrating the general support for the “Global Britain” strategy of the UK Government and set a backdrop for an electorate that is obviously not opposed to the UK providing assistance overseas where it is needed most. 

However, the most interesting outcome from the poll was that when asked about Britain supporting developing countries directly, 30% believe Britain should be supporting developing countries, 37% oppose supporting developing countries and 33% are undecided. This incredible split demonstrates that the argument around UK aid is not yet final and that there is a third of voters who could still be persuaded on the issue. We also found that 62% of those polled are more likely to vote for a political party that is dedicated to protecting Britain’s reputation as a force for good in the world. This shows that although the majority of debate around the Red Wall has focused on Brexit, there is much more to this group of voters and they will continue to be vital for any party looking to hold the keys to Downing Street. 

Just as decision makers should not assume those who switched to the Conservatives in 2019 are all anti-aid, similarly charities and NGOs should take another look at how best to communicate with this large section of influential voters, a third of whom have yet to make up their minds.  

(Polling was conducted between 16th and 23rd October 2020 with a sample of 761 voters)