Who says politics is neat? Liberal attitudes on social issues and hardline stances on borders can coexist in one person, a point backed up by a new report which introduces a striking new coinage: homo-nativists. The LSE British Politics and Policy unit argues that an emerging portion of the electorate — 31%, to be exact — has progressive views on homosexuality and is sceptical of immigration.
Very interesting study. 31% of the UK electorate are "homo-nativists":
Positive on homosexuality, negative on immigration
Something that is increasingly apparent in many nationalist parties in Europe (France and the Netherlands especially)https://t.co/9txuvH1yzw
— François Valentin (@Valen10Francois) April 4, 2024
These positions shouldn’t be incompatible: there have been plenty of notable gay Right-wingers in European politics in recent years, such as the former vice president of France’s Rassemblement National, Florian Philippot. What is more revealing is how widely accepted homosexuality has become, including on the Right. Where over half of Britons considered being gay to always be wrong as recently as 1992, the figure is now below 10%. Amid this liberalisation, British attitudes against immigration have largely increased in the last five years.
At 31%, these homo-nativists form a larger constituency than Britons who are in favour of both homosexuality and more immigration, and those who are sceptical of both. Should we watch out for another breakaway party?
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