One in three Tory voters says they are racist

Almost one in three Conservative voters think they are ‘racially prejudiced’.

That’s according to a study released by the National Centre for Social Research and Runnymede, which found 33% of Tory voters were found to racially prejudice compared to only 18% of Labour voters.

The study looked at how the level of racism differs between political stance and gender.

It revealed 29% of men and 23% of women admit to some level of racial bias.

Although these results may initially seem high, the level of prejudice has never fallen below a quarter in the study, which has been completed every year for the last three decades

It peaked at 39 percent in 1987 and again at 37 percent in 2011.

Just over one in three people (34 percent) who voted Leave in the EU referendum described themselves in this way, in comparison to 18% of Remain voters.

In 2015, a former Conservative party adviser and friend of David Cameron blasted the Tories as ‘the ultimate racists’.

Derek Laud said that a poster in 2013 that called on illegal immigrants to ‘Go home or face arrest’ was a prime example of the type of dog-whistle tactics used by the party.

“It was a shocking example of how they use people for an advantage,” he said. “Immigrants are not taking our jobs, and nor are they disproportionately on benefits. There is no other party better at pointing the blame their way than the Tories. They are the ultimate racists because they deal in stereotypes.

The Tories were also widely accused of using dog-whistle tactics during the London mayoral election in 2016.

Some of the party’s own MPs such as Baroness Warsi were among those ‘appalled’ by the Zac Goldsmith’s ultimately unsuccessful campaign.

Nancy Kelley, Deputy Chief Executive at The National Centre for Social Research, said of the study: “Prejudice on this scale is something we as a society should be concerned about, not least as there is a significant body of evidence that even subtle racial prejudices contribute to racial inequality in areas such as education, employment and in the criminal justice system.”

The study also looked at specific forms of racial prejudice, and found that nearly one in five (18 percent) people agree that “some races or ethnic groups are born less intelligent”.

However, it also found that 44 percent said that races some are naturally harder working.

Dr Omar Khan, Director of Runnymede said: “We have been far too complacent about a rising wave of tolerance leading to a less prejudiced society. We need new ways of talking about race to tackle the stereotypes and fears of difference that give rise to unfairness. But even more importantly, we need policies that tackle racial inequality and enable greater social interaction between people from different backgrounds.”

READ MORE:

National Action banned from using aliases such as Scottish Dawn and NS131
EU plans to bring 50,000 vulnerable refugees from Africa to Europe
Britain and EU in rare Brexit agreement