The relationship between deprivation and UKIP’s electoral support

That’s the title of a report published by the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI) in the run up to this year’s election. The authors found that voters in areas of higher deprivation were least likely to vote for one of the ‘big three’ main parties in 2010. Although they found very little correlation between deprivation and specific support for UKIP, when combining data for UKIP support they point to a slightly stronger relationship that they argue shows “Supporters of rightwing, anti-establishment parties were more likely to reside in more deprived constituencies”

The report also noted that UKIP does not necessarily represent as much of a threat to the conservative party’s vote share as commonly thought, and indeed may be just as problematic for Labour.