Strength of political party identification 1987-2012 Britain

This statistic shows how strongly people in Great Britain identified with a particular political party from 1987 to 2012. In 2012, 22 percent of people didn't identify with any party. This completed a 25 year run of increasing political apathy and disengagement in Great Britain. 1987 to 2012 saw a 14 percent increase in people who stated they didn't identify with any political party. Meanwhile, among those who did identify, the number who 'very strongly' identified with a party almost halved.
In the survey, participants were first asked if they identified with a particular political party. If the respondents answered 'yes', they were then asked to what degree they identified with the party. They were also asked with which party they identified.

Strength of identification with a single political party in Great Britain (GB) from 1987 to 2012, by degree of strength

Characteristic	None	Not very strong	Fairly strong	Very strong
2012	22%	47%	25%	6%
2010	17%	41%	29%	7%
2005	13%	46%	28%	7%
2001	12%	49%	29%	7%
1997	10%	47%	28%	9%
1987	8%	40%	35%	11%

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Release date

September 2013

More information

Region

United Kingdom (Great Britain)

Survey time period

1987 to 2012

Number of respondents

2,985*

Age group

18+

Method of interview

Computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI)

Supplementary notes

* Number of respondents:
2012: n = 2,985 (weighted)
2010: n = 3,294 (weighted)
2005: n = 2,847(weighted)
2001: n = 3,287(weighted)
1997: n = 3,620 (weighted)
1987: n = 2,847 (weighted)
Information from the source: In this statistic, no party identification (‘None’) only includes those who explicitly deny that they identify with a party. It excludes those saying “don’t know”, or giving some other answer other than naming a party.
The proportions of respondents answering "Don't know" or not giving an answer are not shown. This, together with the effects of rounding and weighting, means that percentages will not always add to 100 per cent.

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