03
Centrist Liberals
Centrist Liberals are evenly spread across all age groups, though they are slightly more likely to be women than men. They tend to have university degrees and the highest household income of any segment, and are the least concerned about the cost-of-living. Spread primarily across London and the South, they are more likely to live in Conservative-Lib Dem marginal seats than in Conservative-Labour battlegrounds. They represent 17% of the electorate in England and Wales.
Overview
Who they are
What they think
Centrist Liberals sit on the centre-left on economics and are liberal on social issues, though less so than the Activist Left. On societal issues, they believe that more must be done to improve inequality between sexes, although they are divided on the same question when applied to sexuality and race. They are concerned about climate change but don’t tend to believe it should be prioritised over economic growth. On the economy, they are in favour of greater redistribution of wealth, but they are less willing to compromise a growth agenda to pursue this.
Who are they?
Spread primarily across London and the South, Centrist Liberals are more likely to live in Conservative-Lib Dem marginal seats than Conservative-Labour battlegrounds. They represent about 17% of the electorate in England and Wales. They are the largest voter segment in North East Hampshire, Wokingham and South West Hertfordshire.
Where are they?
Centrist Liberals are fairly evenly represented across the age spectrum and are slightly more likely to be women than men. They tend to have a university degree or higher, and have the highest household income of any segment.
What do they think?
Centrist Liberals sit on the centre-left on economics and are liberal on social issues. They believe that more must be done to improve inequality between sexes, although they are divided on the same question when applied to sexuality and race. They are concerned about climate change, but don’t tend to believe it should be prioritised over economic growth. On the economy, they are in favour of greater redistribution of wealth, but are less willing to sacrifice economic growth in pursuit of this.
What do they care about?
Centrist liberals are more likely than the average voter to consider climate change a top priority (41%), and are half as likely to be concerned about immigration (14%). Despite being the most affluent of our segments, inflation and the cost of living is still the issue they most often cite as a top priority (56%).
How would they vote?
In 2019, Centrist Liberals were split between the Conservatives and Labour, with 36% backing the Conservatives and 35% backing Labour. Since then, they have switched in large numbers to Labour. While no other segment supports the Liberal Democrats to the degree that they do, don’t be fooled by the name: these liberal voters back Labour by a wide margin. Since 2019, Labour has drawn support particularly from those who voted Conservative in 2019 and a group of voters who chose to sit the 2019 election out and did not vote.