Event

Dividing lines: a classification of British voters

This hybrid event aims to explore a new classification of British voters.

Attend this event online

Event time:

5th June 2024 10:30 BST – 11:30 BST
Event address:

Room 206, Birkbeck University, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HY
Format:

hybrid

On Wednesday, 5th June, the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) released a new set of profiles of British voters. These insights were based on decades of research from the annual British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey – the longest-running measure of public opinion in Britain. Based on who voters were and where they lived, this set of six voter profiles showcased attitudes on relevant topics and positions for and against key policy areas.

NatCen have found that asking a core set of 12 questions allows us to draw clear distinctions between segments of the British electorate. The rich data that the BSA survey holds gives a unique insight into who these people are, where they live, how engaged they are and their views on key campaign policy issues such as immigration, climate change and the NHS.

This research is being used to inform the BBC’s Undercover Voters project, and will help anyone interested in politics to better understand how British voters think and feel about social and political issues that matter.

Speakers

Lovisa Moller Vallgarda

Director of Analysis National Centre for Social Research

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Lovisa is the Director of Analysis at NatCen. She has over a decade of experience in designing and delivering quantitative research to inform and influence policy. Lovisa’s work spans across a wide range of policy areas, including health, social care, gender, market regulation, ESG, quality of government, and human rights. Lovisa is passionate about ensuring that recent breakthroughs in data science are used to make lives better.
Before NatCen, Lovisa was Head of Analysis at Engage Britain, where she set up the analytical function focused on public opinion research, deliberation and co-design. Prior to this, Lovisa was the lead advisor on business and human rights for ActionAid International, delivered high-profile analysis of the IMF’s track-record on gender and carried out statistical modelling of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute’s (RNLI’s) UK-wide rescue operations.
Sir John Curtice

Senior Research Fellow National Centre for Social Research

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Sir John Curtice is Senior Research Fellow at NatCen, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University, and Chief Commentator on the What UK Thinks: EU and What Scotland Thinks websites.
He has been a regular contributor to the annual British Social Attitudes report since 1986 and an editor since 1994. He has also been a Co-Director of the Scottish Social Attitudes survey since its foundation in 1999, and his analyses of Scottish public opinion in the run up to the independence referendum were frequently featured throughout the campaigns.
In 2018, he received a knighthood in the New Year's Honours list. Sir John is a regular media commentator on both British and Scottish politics.

Chair

Francis Elliott

Editor of The House magazine

Francis Elliott is the Editor of The House magazine, written both for and by MPs and Peers. He joined The House in 2023 after three years as Director of Advocacy at Engage Britain. Francis was formerly the Political Editor of The Times and has also written for Scotland on Sunday, Sunday Telegraph, and the Independent on Sunday.