OUR WORK
Our work explores who Britain’s voters are, and how a future Labour government could better serve them.
Latest Report
Past Reports
Insights
Fresh polling and analysis from Labour Together
Britain’s Voters
In April 2023, Labour Together published Red Shift, a report that set out the six groups of voters in the electorate. Two groups, in particular, will be essential to deciding the outcome of the next election.
The first we called the Patriotic Left. Socially conservative, economically left-leaning, these voters live in post-industrial areas often described as the “Red Wall”. The second was newer to our political debate and we call them Disillusioned Suburbans. They are balancers on most issues, a little to the left economically and a little to the right on culture. They are defined primarily by the precarity of their financial lives, and by their sense that politics has stopped delivering for them. We brought this group to life in the character of “Stevenage Woman”, a young mother struggling to get by living in a bellwether New Town that Labour must win.
If you want to read more about our voter segmentation, you can do so here.
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Disillusioned Suburbans are the largest of our segments, particularly well represented in the East of England, in London’s suburbs, and in the North East and West. They are young, economically insecure, worried about their finances, and unlikely to own their own home. They are mostly women and, while 75 percent are White British, they have the highest ethnic minority representation. They represent 21.8 percent of the electorate in England and Wales.
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The Patriotic Left are an older voter, most highly represented in the West Midlands, Yorkshire, the North West and Wales. They are particularly prevalent in the seats branded the “Red Wall” at the 2019 election. They tend to not be university educated and they are the most likely segment to not be in work. They have the lowest income of all the segments and are the most likely group to be renting their home from the council or a housing association. They represent 15 percent of the electorate in England and Wales.
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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 16.5 percent of the electorate in England and Wales.
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The Activist Left are one of our youngest segments: a large majority have a university degree, and they are the most likely to be in full-time work. Concentrated in cities and university towns, many live in safe Labour seats or in Conservative and Liberal Democrat marginals. They tend to have above average incomes, and they are the most likely group to be renters or mortgage-payers (rather than owning their home outright). They represent 18.3 percent of the electorate in England & Wales.
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English Traditionalists are the oldest of our segments, with most of the segment from the 'boomer' generation. They are, unsurprisingly, the most likely to be retired. Alongside the Patriotic Left, they are the least likely to be university educated. But they are less likely to be economically insecure and they are more likely to own their own home. They represent 17.8 percent of the electorate in England & Wales.
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The Rural Right are older voters, a third of whom are retired. They live primarily in rural areas across England, particularly in the North East, South East, and Yorkshire and the Humber. Over a third of them are retired and they are economically secure, likely to own their own home outright. Our smallest segment, they represent 10.6 percent of the electorate in England & Wales.
“With a deep focus on the voters – who they are, what they think, what they value – Labour Together ensures that Labour will never again lose touch with the people we exist to serve.”
— Shabana Mahmood MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
