Poll: Tory and Reform voters more likely to back majoritarian government

The National

29-04-2025

Survey work completed by the Diffley Partnership for Electoral Reform Society (ERS) Scotland also found that Scots are more likely to trust their local supermarket than the police, courts, councils, or national parliaments.
To produce the results which highlighted a divide between Reform and Tory voters and other parties' supporters, the poll of 1005 Scots adults asked people to say which of two statements came closest to their view:
1: 'Parliament should consider all opinions before enacting new laws, even if it takes longer to get things done' – or 'Parliament should be able to quickly and efficiently enact new laws, even if it means ignoring some opinions'.
2: 'It is important that the seats in Parliament reflect the results of elections proportionally' – or 'It is important that the seats in Parliament lead to a majority Government'.
3: 'I prefer a leader who seeks consensus before making decisions' – or 'I prefer a strong leader who makes decisions without compromise'.
4: 'Equality and diversity must be considered when making decisions' – or 'The pursuit of equality and diversity gets in the way of making decisions'.
It found that, overall, Scots opted for the choice which involved more collaboration and careful deliberation.
On question one, 73% said all opinions should be considered while 27% preferred rapid action. On question three, 72% preferred a leader who seeks consensus while 28% backed one who acted without compromise.
The Diffley Partnership reported that the options which represent 'majoritarian' views were more likely to be supported by Tory and Reform voters, by men, and by over 55s.
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Data showed that among Tory voters, 35% backed at least three out of four of the majoritarian options, while 27% of Reform voters did so. This compared to 15% of SNP and Labour voters, 14% of LibDem voters, and just 5% of Green voters.
Elsewhere, 21% of men backed at least three out of four of the majoritarian options compared to 14% of women, and 23% of over 55s did so, compared to 13% of people aged 16-54.
The polling also asked Scottish adults to rate how much it trusted public bodies, figures, and institutions on a scale of 1-10. Averaged out, it found that Scots gave the NHS a rating of 6.5 – the highest in the country.
In second place were supermarkets, with a rank of 5.5. This was above the police (5.2), the banks (5.1), the courts (4.9), and the local council (4.1).
National parliaments and politicians came bottom of the pile, although trust was shown to be higher in the Scottish Parliament (3.9) than the UK Parliament (3.4). Political parties scored 3.1, while politicians scored just 2.8.
The polling results were presented by Mark Diffley, the director of the Diffley Partnership, to ERS Scotland's conference.