Hello
Last week we released a joint survey of Mumsnet users with feminist organisation Fawcett Society about the Tory leadership contest, those battling it out to be our next PM.
We found that just one quarter of swing vote women say Conservatives are “putting real effort into attracting women voters” and the women who are swing voters are four times more likely to say investment in public services would affect vote than corporation tax cuts.
More stats from the survey: The data shows that the issues focussed on in the leadership election are leaving women cold. Just 37% of Conservative swing or undecided women said that an income tax cut of a penny in the pound would make them more likely to vote Conservative, and just 21% said a corporation tax cut would do so. But investment in public services was far more likely to influence their vote:
- 83% said investment in the NHS would make them more likely to vote Conservative
- 79% said extra spending on social care would make them more likely to vote Conservative
- 81% said investment in education would make them more likely to vote Conservative.
Just 21% said that the Conservative Party’s policies support families like theirs.
Among these women, 35% said the Labour Party was most likely to tackle the cost of living crisis, compared to 19% for the Conservatives and with 43% saying neither party. The data suggests this lack of confidence in the Tories’ ability to tackle the crisis is because of both leadership campaigns’ failure to focus on the solutions that women feel would be most effective.
Asked what policies would be most impactful in tackling the cost of living crisis across the country, more Conservative swing and undecided voters ranked support with energy bills in their top two priorities (82%), and slightly more put support with childcare costs (31%), free school meals (30%), and higher Universal Credit payments (31%) in their top two as selected tax cuts (26%).
Justine Roberts, Founder and CEO of Mumsnet, said: “As they battle to win over an Conservative Party electorate that is overwhelmingly male - and in doing so ignore the concerns of vital women voters - it seems that Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak risk throwing away the next general election before they’ve even had a chance to fight it.
“Millions of women across the UK are bearing the brunt of a cost of living crisis, and it's clear from our research that from childcare to public services to the culture at Westminster, neither candidate is tackling the issues that matter to this vital group of women swing voters. If the next Prime Minister fails to address their concerns, he or she is likely to find that their stay in Downing Street will be a short one.”
On the question of whether candidates have something to offer women, 7% of Conservative swing or undecided women said Rishi Sunak did compared with 31% for Truss."
Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts wrote a joint opinion piece with Fawcett director Jemima Olchawski in the Times about how the Conservative party could win back women's votes.
Thanks.
MNHQ