Strong appetite for new party if it offers something new
The latest research by Opinium, commissioned by Progressive Centre UK, shows a large amount of voter enthusiasm for a potential new party, but offers a challenge to this week’s defectors that they will need to develop a distinctive offer to stand any chance of success
The new research found that half (50%) of UK adults think there is a need for a new centre-ground political party in Britain, including three quarters (75%) of 2017 Liberal Democrats and over half (51%) of Labour voters.
A fifth (19%) of UK adults think the party could become a sizeable third party in Parliament at the next general election. However, a quarter (24%) think the party could supplant one of the two major parties by becoming either the Official Opposition (13%) or coming first in a general election (11%).
Even if some voters think a new party could displace either the Conservatives or Labour as one of the largest groupings in parliament, most think it should aim to be an entirely new party (54%) rather than trying to simply replace one of the current major parties (29%).
