ABSTRACT

The Conservative rank and file are by some distance the most right-wing on tax, spending and the role of the state, while members of the other five parties are generally left of centre - indeed, quite far to the left in the case of Labour and the Greens. This includes members of UKIP who, while they might not be that keen on redistribution and are not utterly opposed to austerity, are suspicious of big business and display the kind of ‘welfare chauvinism’ evinced by supporters of populist radical-right parties throughout Europe. UKIP members, however, are far more socially conservative and anti-immigration than the members of any other party, including rank and file Tories. Green (and now Labour) members are easily the most socially liberal and pro-immigration. But the biggest gap by far between the four self-styled progressive parties (Labour, the SNP, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens) and the other two (UKIP and the Tories) is on Brexit. This holds out the intriguing (and for the two major parties, highly worrying) prospect of a future realignment of support, both among rank-and-file members and voters.