How To Vote - the longest-running UK general election site

Go back to the 2010 version of How To Vote

The election istoday, May 6th 2010!
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how2vote 2005 overall results:

Initial preference Result of how2vote

37% Conservative 35%
30% Labour 25%
32% Lib Dems 41%
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how2vote policy summary statistics
Other statistics pages: By result - By section - By question - By key policies

On this page you can find out which answers/policies are most frequently chosen. You can also switch to an alternative version of this page which only shows results when the 'key issue' box was ticked for a question.

The first table on this page shows how often each manifesto statement in favour of a policy or a belief was chosen as a percentage of all the people completing the site. The second table shows the same results but includes people disagreeing with a policy too - there are more than 125 rows in this table, allowing a real insight into the popularity (or otherwise) of the parties' manifesto policies.

The second table differs more strongly from the first when you include the requirement that the person completing the questionnaire ticked the 'key issue' option for the relevant question - click here to see the alternative 'key issue' policy results.

The 2005 how2vote quiz has so far been completed over 22500 times. This page is generated live on each view.

This table shows you how often each answer has been chosen. This provides an indication of which particular policies are most popular. This table also tells you which policies are most important to supporters of the different parties:

Overall popularity of policies
Click on a column heading to sort by it

Popularity by initial party preference

Policies / Beliefs in favour of: Overall Conservative Labour Lib Dem No preference

Use private healthcare to speed diagnosis of serious illness 48% 46% 47% 50% 48%
Ban smoking in public (see footnote) 47% 43% 50% 52% 46%
Elderly can't be forced to sell homes to pay for healthcare 45% 40% 45% 50% 46%
Use private hospitals for additional NHS capacity 44% 43% 44% 47% 44%
Points-based work permits for immigrants 43% 47% 41% 40% 43%
Imprison high-risk offenders indefinitely 43% 47% 40% 39% 43%
Free off-peak bus travel for elderly 41% 36% 44% 48% 40%
Free personal care for elderly 41% 34% 43% 48% 41%
Allow asylum-seekers to work 41% 36% 44% 50% 39%
Free eye and dental tests 39% 32% 39% 48% 39%
Community service for non-violent offenders 39% 31% 42% 49% 38%
Permanent immigrants must pass English language test 37% 44% 32% 33% 37%
Stop building on greenfield sites 37% 32% 36% 45% 36%
24-hour port surveillance 34% 43% 30% 28% 35%
Need robust new terrorism laws 34% 37% 36% 27% 34%
3rd world debt relief the highest priority 33% 16% 44% 50% 31%
Increase maternity pay to minimum wage 33% 25% 37% 41% 32%
Abolish central hospital targets 32% 36% 26% 40% 31%
Dedicated border police 32% 40% 28% 25% 33%
50% on £100K income tax 32% 18% 37% 46% 31%
Withdraw Iraq troops by year-end 31% 25% 24% 40% 34%
Remove unhelpful speed cameras 31% 35% 27% 31% 31%
Yearly quota for asylum seekers 31% 42% 23% 20% 32%
Join Euro or hold referendum 30% 14% 42% 46% 27%
Electronic border system 30% 36% 27% 24% 30%
Scottish MPs only vote on Scottish issues 30% 34% 27% 35% 27%
Free rail discount cards for concessions 29% 23% 32% 37% 29%
Extend maternity leave from 6 to 9 months 28% 20% 34% 34% 28%
Re-open closed railway stations 28% 25% 28% 35% 27%
Abolish school exam grade allocation targets 28% 28% 26% 37% 26%
National ID card 28% 28% 34% 22% 28%
Publish individual exam marks 27% 26% 26% 30% 27%
Local communities can ban GM crops 27% 22% 25% 34% 27%
Expand asylum detention places 27% 35% 24% 20% 27%
Add 20,000 new prison places 26% 36% 24% 21% 25%
University tuition fees 25% 22% 35% 20% 25%
Repeal the recent Terrorism Act 25% 23% 20% 37% 23%
Homeland Security Minister 25% 27% 25% 20% 25%
Right to buy for housing association tenants 24% 23% 23% 27% 23%
Replace council tax with local income tax 24% 18% 19% 37% 23%
Abolish central house-building targets 23% 26% 18% 28% 22%
Restore disbanded army regiments 23% 32% 18% 18% 22%
Harder school exams 23% 29% 19% 24% 21%
Re-elect whole councils every 4 years 23% 23% 22% 26% 22%
Charge for road usage 22% 18% 25% 30% 20%
Extend length of rail franchises 22% 24% 22% 21% 21%
Head teachers given full control 21% 31% 16% 18% 21%
Legalise cannabis for personal use 21% 15% 24% 30% 20%
Schools can offer international exams 21% 20% 19% 24% 21%
Favour EU constitution 20% 7% 32% 33% 17%
Dedicated car-pool lanes 20% 13% 24% 28% 18%
Link pensions with earnings 20% 23% 18% 20% 19%
Pay half the cost of the equivalent NHS op when going private 19% 29% 14% 15% 19%
House of Lords reform was botched 19% 14% 22% 26% 17%
Strengthen regional assemblies 19% 12% 22% 29% 16%
Single transferrable vote 17% 14% 18% 25% 16%
Repeal fox-hunting ban 16% 30% 7% 12% 14%
Cut government ministers by a third 15% 20% 10% 15% 15%
Cut number of MPs by 20% 15% 18% 11% 14% 16%
Give the vote to 16 year-olds 13% 8% 14% 19% 11%
Merge GCSEs and A-levels into diploma system 9% 7% 11% 10% 8%

Footnote: Of those in favour of banning smoking in enclosed public spaces, some were in favour of an exception to allow smoking in licensed premises which do not serve food. The breakdown on this issue for all in favour of banning smoking is as follows:
Overall: 32% want to exclude bars without food from the ban / 68% want a complete ban
And similarly in favour of the exception by initial party preference: Conservative: 33% / 67%; Labour: 32% / 68%; Lib Dem: 32% / 68%; No preference: 32% / 68%

This percentage breakdown shows how many times a policy was chosen out of all the people taking the how2vote quiz or expressing the relevant initial party preference. Click on column headings to re-sort.

This table shows you how often each policy has been either agreed or disagreed with, shown as 'For' or 'Against' respectively. This provides an indication of which particular policies are most popular and unpopular. This table also tells you which policies are most important to supporters of the different parties:

Overall Popularity/Unpopularity of policies
Click on a column heading to sort by it

Popularity/Unpopularity by initial party preference

For? Policy / Belief Overall Conservative Labour Lib Dem No preference

For Use private healthcare to speed diagnosis of serious illness 48% 46% 47% 50% 48%
For Ban smoking in public (see footnote) 47% 43% 50% 52% 46%
For Elderly can't be forced to sell homes to pay for healthcare 45% 40% 45% 50% 46%
For Use private hospitals for additional NHS capacity 44% 43% 44% 47% 44%
For Points-based work permits for immigrants 43% 47% 41% 40% 43%
For Imprison high-risk offenders indefinitely 43% 47% 40% 39% 43%
For Free off-peak bus travel for elderly 41% 36% 44% 48% 40%
For Free personal care for elderly 41% 34% 43% 48% 41%
For Allow asylum-seekers to work 41% 36% 44% 50% 39%
For Favour free eye and dental tests 39% 32% 39% 48% 39%
For Community service for non-violent offenders 39% 31% 42% 49% 38%
For Permanent immigrants must pass English language test 37% 44% 32% 33% 37%
For Stop building on greenfield sites 37% 32% 36% 45% 36%
For 24-hour port surveillance 34% 43% 30% 28% 35%
For Need robust new terrorism laws 34% 37% 36% 27% 34%
For 3rd world debt relief the highest priority 33% 16% 44% 50% 31%
For Increase maternity pay to minimum wage 33% 25% 37% 41% 32%
For Abolish central hospital targets 32% 36% 26% 40% 31%
For Dedicated border police 32% 40% 28% 25% 33%
For 50% on £100K income tax 32% 18% 37% 46% 31%
For Withdraw Iraq troops by year-end 31% 25% 24% 40% 34%
For Remove unhelpful speed cameras 31% 35% 27% 31% 31%
Against Repeal fox-hunting ban 31% 16% 42% 38% 31%
For Yearly quota for asylum seekers 31% 42% 23% 20% 32%
For Join Euro or hold referendum 30% 14% 42% 46% 27%
For Electronic border system 30% 36% 27% 24% 30%
Against Tuition fees 30% 27% 23% 43% 29%
For Scottish MPs only vote on Scottish issues 30% 34% 27% 35% 27%
Against Give the vote to 16 year-olds 30% 33% 30% 30% 28%
For Free rail discount cards for concessions 29% 23% 32% 37% 29%
For Extend maternity leave from 6 to 9 months 28% 20% 34% 34% 28%
For Re-open closed railway stations 28% 25% 28% 35% 27%
For Abolish school exam grade allocation targets 28% 28% 26% 37% 26%
For National ID card 28% 28% 34% 22% 28%
For Publish individual exam marks 27% 26% 26% 30% 27%
For Local communities can ban GM crops 27% 22% 25% 34% 27%
For Expand asylum detention places 27% 35% 24% 20% 27%
For Add 20,000 new prison places 26% 36% 24% 21% 25%
Against Pay half the cost of the equivalent NHS op when going private 26% 14% 36% 35% 24%
Against Join Euro or hold referendum 26% 37% 16% 17% 27%
Against Head teachers given full control 25% 16% 30% 34% 25%
For University tuition fees 25% 22% 35% 20% 25%
Against Withdraw Iraq troops by year-end 25% 26% 35% 25% 21%
For Repeal the recent Terrorism Act 25% 23% 20% 37% 23%
For Homeland Security Minister 25% 27% 25% 20% 25%
For Right to buy for housing association tenants 24% 23% 23% 27% 23%
Against Dedicated car-pool lanes 24% 28% 21% 21% 24%
For Abolish council tax 24% 18% 19% 37% 23%
For Abolish central house-building targets 23% 26% 18% 28% 22%
For Restore disbanded army regiments 23% 32% 18% 18% 22%
For Harder school exams 23% 29% 19% 24% 21%
For Re-elect whole councils every 4 years 23% 23% 22% 26% 22%
Against 3rd world debt relief the highest priority 22% 31% 16% 15% 24%
For Charge for road usage 22% 18% 25% 30% 20%
For Extend length of rail franchises 22% 24% 22% 21% 21%
Against Charge for road usage 22% 23% 20% 20% 22%
Against EU constitution 22% 36% 13% 14% 22%
For Head teachers given full control 21% 31% 16% 18% 21%
For Legalise cannabis for personal use 21% 15% 24% 30% 20%
For Schools can offer international exams 21% 20% 19% 24% 21%
Against Homeland Security Minister 21% 16% 22% 31% 19%
Against 50% on £100K income tax 21% 33% 17% 11% 20%
For EU constitution 20% 7% 32% 33% 17%
Against Favour free eye and dental tests 20% 21% 23% 16% 20%
For Dedicated car-pool lanes 20% 13% 24% 28% 18%
For Link pensions with earnings 20% 23% 18% 20% 19%
For Pay half the cost of the equivalent NHS op when going private 19% 29% 14% 15% 19%
Against Replace GCSEs and A-levels 19% 17% 23% 22% 18%
Against National ID card 19% 16% 14% 31% 18%
For House of Lords reform was botched 19% 14% 22% 26% 17%
Against Harder school exams 19% 11% 23% 23% 18%
For Strengthen regional assemblies 19% 12% 22% 29% 16%
Against Yearly quota for asylum seekers 18% 8% 24% 31% 15%
For Single transferrable vote 17% 14% 18% 25% 16%
Against Restore disbanded army regiments 17% 7% 23% 25% 16%
Against Replace council tax with local income tax 16% 19% 17% 12% 16%
For Repeal fox-hunting ban 16% 30% 7% 12% 14%
Against Legalise cannabis for personal use 16% 13% 18% 17% 16%
Against Extend maternity leave from 6 to 9 months 16% 22% 14% 13% 15%
Against Expand asylum detention places 16% 9% 18% 24% 14%
Against Remove unhelpful speed cameras 15% 9% 22% 21% 14%
Against Link pensions with earnings 15% 12% 23% 18% 14%
For Cut government ministers by a third 15% 20% 10% 15% 15%
For Cut number of MPs by 20% 15% 18% 11% 14% 16%
Against Local communities can ban GM crops 15% 15% 18% 16% 13%
Against Abolish central hospital targets 14% 10% 23% 11% 14%
Against Cut number of MPs by 20% 14% 12% 21% 19% 11%
Against Publish individual exam marks 14% 11% 17% 17% 13%
Against Legalise cannabis for personal use 14% 21% 11% 9% 14%
Against Single transferrable vote 14% 17% 15% 13% 12%
Against House of Lords reform was botched 13% 13% 16% 14% 12%
Against Right to buy for housing association tenants 13% 10% 15% 14% 12%
For Give the vote to 16 year-olds 13% 8% 14% 19% 11%
Against Link pensions with earnings 12% 10% 10% 14% 13%
Against Electronic border system 12% 7% 15% 20% 11%
Against Cut government ministers by a third 12% 9% 19% 15% 9%
Against Dedicated border police 12% 5% 16% 20% 10%
Against Strengthen regional assemblies 12% 18% 11% 9% 10%
Against Add 20,000 new prison places 11% 5% 14% 18% 11%
Against Permanent immigrants must pass English language test 11% 4% 16% 17% 10%
Against Increase maternity pay to minimum wage 10% 16% 9% 7% 10%
Against Community service for non-violent offenders 10% 15% 9% 6% 10%
Against Extend length of rail franchises 10% 8% 12% 15% 9%
Against Free rail discount cards for concessions 10% 13% 10% 9% 9%
Against Abolish school exam grade allocation targets 10% 8% 12% 9% 10%
Against Need robust new terrorism laws 9% 5% 9% 19% 8%
Against 24-hour port surveillance 9% 3% 13% 17% 8%
For Replace GCSEs and A-levels 9% 7% 11% 10% 8%
Against Free personal care for elderly 8% 10% 10% 7% 8%
Against Re-open closed railway stations 8% 9% 9% 8% 7%
Against Elderly can't be forced to sell homes to pay for healthcare 8% 8% 10% 8% 7%
Against Stop building on greenfield sites 8% 9% 10% 7% 7%
Against Allow asylum-seekers to work 7% 10% 6% 4% 8%
Against Re-elect whole councils every 4 years 7% 8% 9% 9% 6%
Against Abolish central house-building targets 7% 5% 11% 8% 6%
Against Ban smoking in public 7% 9% 5% 7% 6%
Against Repeal the recent Terrorism Act 7% 7% 10% 4% 6%
Against Use private hospitals for additional NHS capacity 7% 4% 10% 10% 6%
Against Replace council tax with local income tax 7% 7% 12% 3% 5%
Against Use private healthcare to speed diagnosis of serious illness 6% 3% 10% 9% 6%
Against Head teachers given full control 6% 3% 9% 8% 6%
Against Points-based work permits for immigrants 6% 3% 8% 11% 5%
Against Scottish MPs only vote on Scottish issues 6% 4% 9% 8% 6%
Against Imprison high-risk offenders indefinitely 6% 2% 9% 10% 4%
Against Free off-peak bus travel for elderly 4% 5% 3% 4% 4%

Footnote: Of those in favour of banning smoking in enclosed public spaces, some were in favour of an exception to allow smoking in licensed premises which do not serve food. The breakdown on this issue for all in favour of banning smoking is as follows:
Overall: 32% want to exclude bars without food from the ban / 68% want a complete ban
And similarly in favour of the exception by initial party preference: Conservative: 33% / 67%; Labour: 32% / 68%; Lib Dem: 32% / 68%; No preference: 32% / 68%

This percentage breakdown shows how many times a policy was agreed or disagreed with out of all the people taking the how2vote quiz or expressing the relevant initial party preference. Click on column headings to re-sort.

Other statistics pages: By result - By section - By question - By key policies

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Links to official party manifestoes (or policies, for parties currently without published manifestoes):
Conservative party draft manifesto - Labour party policies - Liberal Democrats party policies

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