As Britain heads to the polls new research shows that the Conservatives have seen a significant decline in support from homeowners, with recent polling showing a drop from 38% in 2019 to just 19% today.
This marks a major shift, as homeowners are now more inclined to vote Labour, with 30% expressing support for the party. In comparison, 38% of homeowners voted Conservative in 2019.
Overall, Conservative votes across all tenure types have decreased by 16% since 2019, while Reform has gained 10%, suggesting it may be attracting some former Tory voters. Among those with a single property and a mortgage, Conservative support has halved from 27% to 13%.
Jackson-Stops conducted the survey through OnePoll, reaching over 2,000 respondents across the UK. The analysis indicates that Labour is now the preferred party for homeowners with a mortgage, receiving 40% of votes, up from 33% in 2019. In contrast, Conservative support in this group has dropped from 27% to 13%.
Nick Leeming, chairman of Jackson-Stops, said: “We are observing an interesting shift in the voting patterns of homeowners, with more indicating support for Labour in the general election. A fall in votes driven by homeowners is especially fascinating given the Tory party has historically been known as the party of homeownership. Whether Conservative voters just feel disenchanted more generally, an appetite for change is clearly evident.”
Labour’s commitment to addressing the housing crisis appears to resonate with voters, with 27% of respondents citing the delivery of more affordable and social housing as crucial for improving the housing market.
The survey shows that Labour has become the favourite party for homeowners who own one property with a mortgage, receiving 40% of the votes. This is a significant increase from Labour’s 33% of votes in 2019, indicating many homeowners hope a change in party leadership will support mortgage affordability and lower interest rates.
Data also reveals that the number of Conservative votes from those who own a single property outright has halved, from 46% in 2019 to 22% today. For those who own more than one property without a mortgage, Conservative support has dropped from 59% to 39%.
Renters remain largely loyal to Labour, with 38% indicating they will vote for the party, up from 35% in 2019. The number of renters who plan to vote Conservative has halved from 20% to 10%.
Labour strongholds include the North West of England (42%) and the West Midlands (45%), while Conservative strongholds are in the East of England (25%) and East Midlands (20%).
Leeming added: “The East-West divide is interesting to see as many might assume the Conservatives dominate the South, where in fact our results show that in places like the South East Labour dominates. High house prices and a lack of building in these areas of the country will no doubt be playing a part in these votes. In the South East we can see that 17% of our poll plan to vote Conservative next week, whereas in 2019 this figure was more than double at 39%. Labour (25%), Reform (12%) and the Liberal Democrats (16%) have all seen significant upticks this year in the South East.”
Written by Ryan Fowler in The Intermediary
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