New poll shows importance of faith in general election

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

Below the topline figures from this weekend’s ComRes poll, which showed the gap between Labour and the Tories had fallen to 8 points, there is some interesting and important new insight into the voting intentions of different faith groups.

In the poll, commissioned by the Theos think tank, 57% of Muslims said they intend to vote Labour, but that only 32% of Muslims are “absolutely certain” to vote at all – well below the national average of 47%.

48% of Christians polled, meanwhile, said they are “absolutely certain” to vote, a figure which rises to 61% amongst Christians who say their faith is very important to their lives. Conservatives have made only very small gains amongst Christians, from 38% to 40% since 2005, compared with a rise from 21% to 34% amongst those of no religion.

Director of Theos, Paul Woolley, said:

“The result of the election looks too close to call. We’re in hung parliament territory. The balance of support among the different faith groups shows that the Conservatives cannot afford to lose the current support they have among Christians. Labour is in a position where it could benefit from reaching out, especially to Christians.”

The full poll results can be read here.