The Liberal Democrats’ divided legacy
The Liberal Democrats’ divided legacy
When we asked likely voters about the Liberal Democrats? decision to join the government in May 2010, a third (34%) thought that it had been bad for the UK, while 28% think it has been good for the UK.
Unsurprisingly, a large proportion of Lib Dem supporters (81%) think it has been good for the country, but this most definitely does not extend to all of those who said they voted Lib Dem in 2010 who were far more evenly divided (41% a good thing vs 34% a bad thing).
Perceptions of the Liberal Democrats
Fortunately for the Liberal Demcorats, voters were somewhat sympathetic to their argument that they have prevented some of the excessive things that a Conservative majority government might have done in government alone. 44% agreed with this statement, while 24% disagreed with it.
However, 44% do not think that the Lib Dems are a party of government, despite being a part of the Coalition for nearly 5 years. An exception to this is among the younger generation (aged 18-34), almost half (48%) of which think the Lib Dems are a party of government.
Opinium Research carried out an online survey of 1,947 GB adults aged 18+ from 10th to 12th March 2015. Results have been weighted to nationally representative criteria.
