In the UK it seems that more Tories respect the Lib-Dems than vice versa, according to a recent, nationally representative survey of 1737 British adults conducted online by YouGov.
Respondents were asked several statements about the three major parties and asked to say, in each case, to which party they thought it applied the most – Conservatives, Labour or Liberal Democrats (Lib-Dems).
In response to the statement, “It seems rather old and tired”, 67% of Tory voters thought this applied most to Labour, while just 17% of Tories said it applied most to the Lib-Dems. Among Lib-Dem respondents, however, a larger 34% believed this applied best to the Tories – although it’s also worth noting that Labour came out significantly worse in this regard, being selected by a larger 49% of Lib-Dems.
Meanwhile, 17% of Conservatives said that even though they don’t always agree with it, at least the Lib-Dem Party has its heart in the right place. The figure for Lib-Dem voters vice-versa was just 6%.
Lastly, in response to the statement, “It seems to appeal to one section of society rather than to the whole country”, 16% of Tory voters thought this applied most to the Lib-Dems, while a notable 56% majority of Lib-Dems thought this applied most to the Conservatives.
If coalition politics have softened the innate, ideational enmity, therefore, between Tories and Lib-Dems, this is more a case among Tories than their minority Coalition partners.
