Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Half of Ukip voters say they are prejudiced against people of other races

Many who admit to being 'racially prejudiced' insist they are 'not racist', however

Jon Stone
Sunday 22 February 2015 13:25 EST
Comments
Ukip leader Nigel Farage pictured in November
Ukip leader Nigel Farage pictured in November (AFP/Getty )

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Around half of Ukip voters say they are prejudiced against people of other races, new opinion research has found.

When Ukip voters were asked by the pollster YouGov whether they would describe themselves as prejudiced “against people of other races”, only 49 per cent said they were not prejudiced.

42 per cent of the party’s supporters admitted to being “a little prejudiced” while 6 per cent said they were “very prejudiced” – a total of 48 per cent.

The results of the poll suggest that Ukip voters admit to being significantly more racially prejudiced than the population as a whole.

Around half of Ukip voters say they are racially prejudiced to some degree
Around half of Ukip voters say they are racially prejudiced to some degree

Around a quarter (26 per cent) of the general population said they were slightly racially prejudiced, just over half the number of Ukip voters.

Sixty per cent of Conservatives said they were not prejudiced, 72 per cent of Labour voters, and 73 per cent of Liberal Democrats.

Many of Ukip’s supporters who admitted to being “racially prejudiced” somehow insisted they were not “racist”, however.

When asked directly in a separate question whether they held “racist” views, 28 per cent, significantly fewer, said they did – while 64 per cent said they did not.

The percentage of voters from each party who they hold explicitly "racist" views.
The percentage of voters from each party who they hold explicitly "racist" views.

The latest in an endless stream of race rows rocking Ukip involved an ex-councillor for the party saying she dislikes what she called ‘negroid features’.

Rozanne Duncan was expelled from the party, claiming she was “no racist” and that she felt “betrayed” by the Ukip leadership.

Ukip voters were also twice as likely as Conservative or Labour supporters to say they held anti-Semitic views.

Eight per cent of Ukip voters admitted to being anti-Semitic, compared to 3 per cent of Conservatives and 3 per cent of Labour supporters.

The group which admitted to being most anti-Semitic were the Liberal Democrat voters, 9 per cent of which said they held such views.

The poll was carried out by YouGov for the Sunday Times. Fieldwork was conducted on the 19th and 20th of February.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in