And the polls say… talk about potholes in your political leaflets

New research from More in Common includes this question about what people are interested in seeing people running for Parliament mention in their leaflets:

The reason for that list of categories is that the polling is part of wider research into what the public makes of culture was issues. As it concludes:

An election strategy based on culture wars is more likely to cause voters to “tune out” of political debates, further increasing cynicism in politics. Voters perceive the focus on niche dividing-line issues as a distraction from their everyday priorities…

Voters see politicians’ engaging in culture war debates as a sign of desperation and lack of seriousness – while many participating in culture war debates might see it as an opportunity to project strength, many voters see it as a sign of weakness.

Culture wars don’t land with the public because voters are more worried about day-to-day concerns such as the cost of living and the NHS, and want a sober debate about issues such as levels of migration.

This echoes previous research from Ipsos which concluded that the public increasingly thinks politicians invent or exaggerate culture wars.

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