Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour has a huge poll lead over Theresa May’s Conservatives among LGBT voters
PinkNews Exclusive
Labour has seen a huge surge in support among LGBT voters, a new poll has found.
In a survey of 1,012 PinkNews readers, Labour showed an almost 14% increase in its vote share from 2015 under leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The party is now backed by 44% of LGBT voters, up from 30% in the last two years.
Theresa May’s Conservatives polled 32%, an increase of five points since the last general election.
The poll also found that almost one-third of LGBT people say they fear the UK will get less safe during the next parliament.
The results come as the parties go head-to-head for LGBT voters’ backing in the Stonewall and PinkNews debate.
The PinkNews poll also shows a decline in for the Liberal Democrats’ support, whose vote share has decreased for the second election in a row.
Tim Farron’s Lib Dems, who have faced controversy over his views on whether gay sex is a sin, are down to 14%, after polling 17% in 2015, and 39% in 2010.
The Green Party has seen the biggest fall in its vote share during the last two years, falling from 19% in 2015 to just 6% at the present election.
Nationalist parties saw no change, with the SNP remaining at 3% and Plaid Cymru on 1%.
UKIP is polling at 0% among LGBT voters.
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The results are in contrast to polling among the general electorate, where Conservatives have shown a clear lead in most results.
The trend among LGBT people would appear to be the same, however, with voters returning to the two major parties.
This comes despite Green co-leaders Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley being the most popular.
They were ranked as the most friendly to LGBT voters, closely followed by Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn in second place.
Theresa May has been at the centre of the Tories election campaign, which could explain the party’s lagging performance among the LGBT electorate.
She was the second least trusted leader, with only UKIP head Paul Nutall being more unpopular.
There was even more bad news for Theresa May when compared against her Tory predecessor, David Cameron.
A huge 87% of LGBT people say they prefer Cameron to May when it comes to being supportive of LGBT rights.
RELATED: This is what Labour’s manifesto pledges on LGBT rights.
78% of those surveyed backed Remain in last year’s EU referendum, while just 16% voted to leave the EU, which has been a centre piece of the Conservatives’ election campaign.
The poll also found that health and social care is the number one issue among LGBT voters, while LGBT issues ranked as only the fifth most important policy area at this election.
Brexit ranked as the third most important issue, with the economy coming in at second.
Education, where the parties have disagreed, was ranked as the fourth most important area.
The Conservative Party ordered a review of sex education in schools while in government, but not explained their approach for LGBT students, while Labour has pledged mandatory LGBT-inclusive sex education.
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Brexit could explain the large portion of voters who fear the UK will get less safe to live openly as an LGBT person, after anti-LGBT hate crimes significantly increased following last year’s vote.
31% said they fear things will get worse, while 25% believed the UK will get more safe in the next five years.
37% said they expect no change for LGBT people.
PinkNews mistakenly did not include Women’s Equality Party leader Catherine Mayer in the poll of most popular leader.
