Covid-19 and British voters

We explore the early potential political impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic in Britain. When Boris Johnson won a majority as Prime Minister of the Conservative Party in December 2019, he did so helped by voters who had previously voted Labour, and who also supported Brexit. 

What is the impact of the government’s handling of the pandemic on the support of the Conservatives among those new voters, and others? 

Our research explores the electoral liability of the government’s pandemic handling so far, how this is related to different social and electoral groups, and to preferences over lockdown, and to preferences about Brexit. Early findings suggest that the Conservatives cannot rely on Brexit to insulate them from their poor handling ratings among important electoral groups for the party.