02
The Patriotic Left
Overview
Who they are
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% of the electorate in England and Wales.
What they think
The Patriotic Left are Labour’s old core vote in industrial towns, whose attitudes to social issues are conservative, while their economic attitudes are firmly to the left. On social issues, they are profoundly patriotic, negative about the impact of migration on the country and want to reduce it, and likely to believe that efforts towards greater social equality have gone too far. On the economy, they are interventionist: they distrust businesses and favour nationalisation, they want greater investment in public services and they want to redistribute the nation’s wealth.
Who are they?
The Patriotic Left are 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 are the largest segment in Easington and Hartlepool. In Red Shift, where we first set out these segments, we brought these voters to life through the character of “Workington Man”, an archetype first developed by the think tank Onward in 2019.
Where are they?
The Patriotic Left tend to be middle aged or approaching middle age, and are the most likely of any segment to not be in work. They have the lowest income and education level of all the segments, and are the most likely group to be renting their home from the council or a housing association.
What do they think?
Whilst the Patriotic Left’s attitudes to social issues tend to be conservative, their economic attitudes are firmly to the left. On social issues, they are profoundly patriotic, negative about the impact of migration on the country, and favour tougher punishments for criminals. On the economy, they are interventionist. They favour of nationalisation and redistribution of wealth, though are divided on increasing tax and spend versus reducing.
What do they care about?
The Patriotic left are the most likely to be concerned about the cost of living and inflation across all of the segments (63%). They are also more concerned than average about immigration and asylum, with half citing this as a top issue (51%), whilst being less concerned about climate change and the environment (22%).
How would they vote?
The Patriotic Left backed Brexit by a wide margin, with around three quarters (74%) voting Leave. Their votes are often seen to have swung the Brexit Referendum towards Leave. Historically Labour voters, often for generations, in 2019 many of them voted Conservative for the very first time. That year, nearly half (49%) backed the Tories and they carried Boris Johnson to power. Since then, that support has collapsed. Now, half back Labour and Conservative support has collapsed. However, a large number of voters in this group still say that they are undecided about who they intend to vote for, or whether they will vote at all.