News

The Guardian

19 February 2025

Leftwing activists less likely to work with political rivals than other UK groups, study finds

The study by the polling group More in Common finds that 8-10% of the population, whom they classify under the heading “progressive activists”, hold strikingly different views on a range of issues than the rest of Britain.

Luke Tryl, and his co-author Ed Hodgson, found that on a range of political and cultural issues, this group stands out from every other section of the UK electorate.

The authors argue that given this divergence from the rest of the population, it is a particular problem that progressive activists are more likely to misunderstand other voters, criticise them and even refuse to campaign alongside them.

Financial Times

11 February 2025

Kemi Badenoch and Keir Starmer’s battle of weaknesses

Part of the Labour government’s problem is that, in the absence of a set of clear principles and aims from the centre, inevitably, what dominates is “what do voters really care about”. Most voters do not care about growth in the abstract, and do not think it will benefit them, according to this new poll by More in Common.

The Times

10 February 2025

Diversity is the future — better get used to it

Trevor Phillips: Donald Trump is trampling DEI initiatives but, virtue-signalling silliness apart, companies see value in reflecting changing Britain.

In spite of the many widely recycled examples of progressive overreach, DEI is seen as a plus by most employees. Recent research by the polling company More In Common found that by a margin of 46 per cent to 28 per cent, British workers thought DEI programmes delivered fairer outcomes. Even among “Backbone Conservative” voters, DEI is supported by 39 per cent to 29 per cent.

The Independent

8 February 2025

Top pollster says Farage’s Reform challenge is real

Leading polling experts Professor John Curtice, Lord Hayward and Luke Tryl explain why the surge in support for Reform UK, coupled with a historic collapse for Labour, is a genuine trend in British politics.

Mr Tryl of More In Common said, “There’s no doubt Reform have momentum and we are seeing people who had previously been in the ‘I like Farage but I don’t think he should be PM’ camp now saying, ‘well, we may as well roll the dice given Labour haven’t delivered and Tories had 14 years’.

“But that places a few tests on Reform – what’s the wider policy programme? Can they find the candidates? And, crucially, is 25 per cent a new ceiling?”

The Economist

29 January 2025

The rise of the Net-Zero Dad

Although middle-aged men might care a bit less about the problem, they are often much keener on the solution. When it comes to adopting green measures, whether it be installing a heat pump, driving an electric vehicle or running the tumble dryer at 4am, it is middle-aged men who lead the way. The supposed villains of the climate transition are the heroes. The hour of the Net-Zero Dad has come.

Heat pumps are only the most prominent example; middle-aged men with kids are among the keenest on installing a heat pump, according to More In Common.

The Times

28 January 2025

Starmer is sinking faster than soggy Sunak

The prime minister’s personal approval ratings are even lower than his predecessor’s as Tories shambled towards defeat.

As well as asking its question on approval, More in Common asked for a single word to describe the prime minister. It then produced a wordcloud featuring most prominently those words used most often. The cloud is dominated by the word “useless”, although “bad” and “liar” don’t do badly. There are hardly any positive descriptions. There is a medium sized “good”, which is a little smaller than “incompetent” and a little bigger than “idiot”. There is also a tiny “hopeful”, which is roughly the same size as “clueless”.