Searchlight

Issue

The Searchlight Educational Trust was looking to conduct an in-depth and sophisticated study of English attitudes towards identity, faith and race, to inform its Fear and HOPE report here. In particular, Searchlight wanted the study to provide a robust source of honest, accurate and clear facts in a debate that is often characterised by rhetoric and unsubstantiated claims.

Solution

Populus conducted an online survey among a nationally representative sample of 5,000 people in England. Using statistical analysis, we found that there were six groups of people who held distinct attitudes towards identity, faith and race from being actively open and welcoming to actively hostile. This analysis not only identified who in the sample belonged to each group, it also identified the number of people across the whole of England who fell into each group, as well as which parts of the country they lived in.

Outcome

The findings provided a crucial insight into the attitudes of people in this country on potentially divisive and inflammatory topics and were used by Searchlight to form the foundation of its Fear and HOPE report, which transformed the debate on race and immigration in the UK. The research identified the number of people who were open to arguments made by far-right parties and found that almost half would consider supporting a party which advocated policies proposed by far-right parties, if it was not associated with violence. It also discovered why people were potentially receptive to the ideas put forward by such organisations. We also produced a ‘heat map’ of England showing where people who were most open to the ideas of far-right parties lived, providing an insight into potential flashpoint areas. As well as being reported by all major newspapers, the report was cited by numerous public figures, including David Miliband, in lectures, speeches, and policy debates. The findings in the report continue to be used as a key benchmark by people discussing these issues.