In a poll recently conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, we asked the British public on a scale of 0 to 10 how aligned they feel their views are with the views of the Conservative Party under Boris Johnson and the Labour Party under Keir Starmer. Here, we compare how respondents who voted Conservative or Labour in the 2019 General Election feel they align with the two Parties’ views in 18 areas.

Regarding the views of the Conservative Party under Boris Johnson, both 2019 Conservative and Labour voters feel most aligned with the Conservative Party on Coronavirus Restrictions. The median response is 8 and average response 6.8 for Conservative voters. Meanwhile, with an average response of 4.0, this area finds the highest average alignment with the Conservative Party for Labour voters.

All but one of the remaining policy areas saw a median response of 7 for Conservative voters, while Labour voters’ median responses range from 3 to 4. With respect to such areas as Healthcare, the Economy, Education, Government Spending, and Taxation, the average alignment for Conservative voters is between 6.2 and 6.7.

In other areas—like Issues Regarding Race/Ethnicity, Environmental Policy, and Globalisation—the average alignment for Conservative voters is slightly lower, ranging from 5.4 to 5.9, showing that some answers skew lower in these questions.

2019 Labour voters feel their views are least aligned with the Conservative Party under Boris Johnson’s views on Immigration, Cultural Issues, and Relations with China, each averaging 3.1. Conservative voters also feel least aligned with Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party’s views on Relations with China, with an average alignment of 5.1 and a median alignment of 6.

Looking instead at how respondents feel their views align with those of the Labour Party under Keir Starmer, both 2019 Labour and Conservative voters feel most aligned with the Labour Party on the issue of Healthcare. In this regard, Labour voters’ average response is 5.8—which is notably lower than Conservative voters’ highest average alignment (6.8) with Conservative Party views. For Conservative voters, the average alignment with the Labour Party’s views on Healthcare is 4.2, demonstrating the minimal alignment that Conservative voters feel exists between their views and the views of Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.

Compared to the other areas in question, the average alignment with the Labour Party’s views on Education is also relatively high for Labour (5.6) and Conservative (3.9) voters.

In most other areas, the median alignment for Labour voters is 6, with average alignments ranging from 4.8 to 5.3, indicating a slight skew downwards. For Conservative voters, the average alignment on these questions ranges from 3.0 to 3.8.

On the topics of Relations with China and Scottish Independence, both Conservative and Labour voters feel their views are least aligned with the Labour Party’s under Keir Starmer. Conservative voters feel their views align at an average of 2.9 regarding Relations with China and 3.0 regarding Scottish Independence, while also averaging 3.0 on Immigration. For Labour voters, the average alignment is 4.4 on both Relations with China and Scottish Independence.

When looking at the 18 areas in total, Conservative voters feel on average a 6.1 out of 10 in alignment with the views of the Conservative Party under Boris Johnson. By contrast, Labour voters on average feel a 5.1 out of 10 in alignment with the Labour Party under Keir Starmer, suggesting that on these topics, Labour voters are at present slightly less aligned with the Party they voted for compared to Conservative voters.

It is important to note, however, that a significantly greater proportion of respondents said they did not know how their views align with the views of the Labour Party under Keir Starmer. On the questions regarding the Conservative Party under Boris Johnson, the proportion who selected ‘don’t know’ ranges from 2% to 16%, compared to 10% to 25% on the questions regarding the Labour Party under Keir Starmer. This discrepancy is likely due to the fact that, as the Opposition and not the governing Party, the current Labour Party’s positions are less known, particularly under the relatively-new leadership of Keir Starmer. Indeed, our research found 42% of Britons said they feel unfamiliar with Keir Starmer and what Labour stands for under his leadership.

Overall, voters of both parties feel their views are most aligned with the Conservative Party’s views on Coronavirus Restrictions and the Labour Party’s views on Healthcare. Immigration appears to be one area where voters feel particularly unaligned with the views of the Party for which they did not vote, while Relations with China is an area in which Conservative and Labour voters do not feel very aligned with either Party’s views. With an average alignment score of 6.1, Conservative voters seem to feel their views on these subjects more closely align with the views of the Conservative Party under Boris Johnson than Labour voters feel theirs align with the views of the Labour Party under Keir Starmer.