What do we use cookies for?
We use cookies and similar technologies to recognise your repeat visits and preferences, as well as to measure the effectiveness of campaigns and analyze traffic. To learn more about cookies, view our Cookie Policy. By clicking "Accept" or using our site, you consent to the use of cookies unless you have disabled them.
Elon Musk’s increasingly forceful interventions into British politics and in particular his personal attacks on Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips on grooming gangs, and support for Tommy Robinson have dominated the news agenda over the past week.
Based on polling of 2000 people, More in Common has explored what the public really think about the events of the past week. We have found that:
Unsurprisingly, Elon Musk’s comments have had significant cut through with the public. 63 per cent of the public have heard at least a fair amount about Elon Musk’s interventions into UK politics.
However, the polling also reveals that Elon Musk - and Tommy Robinson, whose cause Musk has championed - are unpopular with the public, with a net favourability rating of -35 and -34 respectively. Keir Starmer’s favourability rating also sits at -34 reflecting the fall in his popularity throughout the Autumn. In contrast, Nigel Farage fares slightly better with a net rating of -18, while opposition leader Kemi Badenoch sits at -13.
Musk’s call for Reform to replace Nigel Farage as leader is likely to fall on deaf ears, with Reform voters almost twice as likely to say they have a positive view of Nigel Farage (84 per cent) than Elon Musk (42 per cent).
In general, the public are more likely to say that Elon Musk could run a successful business (81 per cent think this of Musk, compared to 52 per cent who say the same of Farage). However, they are much more likely to think that Nigel Farage understands the concerns of ordinary British people (48 per cent to 21 per cent). Additionally, half of Britons believe Elon Musk poses a threat to British democracy.
While the public tend to approve of Musk’s management of SpaceX and Tesla, they disapprove of his management of Twitter/X. In part, this is because the UK public tend to think Musk has got the balance wrong on managing hate speech on Twitter. 56 per cent of Britons think the bigger priority for Musk should be stopping people spreading hate speech, compared to 33 per cent who think the priority should be protecting free speech.
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage’s decision to rule out Tommy Robinson joining Reform UK is popular with voters across the political spectrum: half of Britons say that Tommy Robinson should not be allowed to join Reform UK, while just 12 per cent say he should. Among Reform voters, 57 per cent say Farage made the right decision, compared to just 21 per cent who disagree. Conservative voters in particular are likely to say the decision reflects well on Reform UK.
The polling reveals that the public have little faith in the justice system to tackle child sexual exploitation: a majority of 57 per cent say they don’t have confidence in the justice system to take allegations seriously, compared to only 36 per cent who say they do have confidence.
What’s more, 41 per cent of the public believe that the activities of the gangs were deliberately covered up, while a further 36 per cent believe they were not properly investigated due to incompetence or lack of resources.
The most common reason cited for enabling grooming gangs is the failure to take the concerns of women and girls seriously, with 78 per cent of Britons saying that this had an impact. Additionally, three quarters of the public (73 per cent) believe the scandal was driven by authorities’ fear of accountability, and the same proportion cite a reluctance to inflame community tensions. A majority also feel that neither the previous Conservative Government (69 per cent) nor the current Labour Government (60 per cent) has done enough to tackle the issue.
However, most Britons are sceptical about Elon Musk’s intervention in the scandal. Only 16 per cent believe that Musk genuinely cares about achieving justice for victims (16 per cent); instead, Britons are most likely to say that he is doing it for attention (44 per cent), or because he wants a public argument with Keir Starmer (17 per cent).
Voters also broadly condemn Musk’s comments on Jess Phillips: half of the public (51 per cent) say that his comments were inappropriate, while only 22 per cent say they were appropriate.
There is strong cross-party support for implementing mandatory reporting for CSE, as recommended in Prof. Alexis Jay’s report. Three quarters of Britons support this policy (74 per cent), including a strong majority of voters across all major parties.
Along with public anger at failure over grooming gangs the public are also concerned about religious and racial division in the UK - and in particular racism, Islamophobia and anti-semitism. Two thirds of the public say that racism is a serious issue in the UK today and over half believe that Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism are serious issues. The public are also concerned about the risks of extremism and terror. 62% of the public believe far right terror is a risk and 72% say the same of Islamist terror.