Never Mind the Ballots! Most single people in Gloucester are more likely to be ‘liberal’ with love when it comes to dating at election time, sickness finds dating app TrueView … (and perhaps unsurprisingly, pill UKIP is a big no-no!)
As election day looms, most of us are already sick of the sound of all the party leaders (plus, er, Al Murray) droning on about, well, politics. And when it comes to dating, we’d like to keep politics out of it as much as possible (well, at least until it comes to the fifth date…). Free and award winning dating app, TrueView, surveyed 1500 people (Google surveys) to find out which political party mentioned in someone’s profile would be the biggest turn-off in the South West.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, they first found that any mention of political parties in an online dating profile at all would instantly put 51.2% of people off. Come on, folks, don’t you know you’re meant to stick to talking about loving long romantic walks, cosy nights in on the sofa, and crazy nights out in the pub (not all at once, obviously)?
When the figures were analysed, TrueView found that the least unpopular party with everyone who took part (it’s probably a stretch to call them the most popular) were the Conservatives, who would only put off, on average, 8.3% of prospective South West daters.
The people polled ranged from 18 to 65+ and universally, the political party which all of them would find the biggest turn off if it was mentioned on someone’s dating profile was….UKIP. Almost a third of the South West’s single population (29.8%) would shudder at the thought of dating a UKIPPER. Well, what with their reputation for being ‘swivel-eyed loons’, it’s no great surprise really…
Although, interestingly, the tolerance for a UKIP partner does seem to increase with age – while nearly 62.5% of 35-44 year olds would be appalled by a potential date voting for good old beer-swilling Nige, by the time you’re 55 or over, you’re (apparently) more willing to put up with more (or just more willing to settle for less) – as only 33.3% of over 55s would object to meeting up with one of Farage’s followers!
Labour come second in the top five of worst parties to say you support on a dating site, particularly with 35-44 year olds; 50% of them would be horrified to find a prospective partner voting for Ed.
Trueview founder Matt Verity says; ‘it’s probably best not to go on about your political leanings in a dating profile, as the topic can be so divisive. Of course, there’s nothing quite like some healthy debate, which can spice up an evening out, but it’s better not to nail your colours to a political mast until you’ve actually met, for fear of putting someone off. Personality, after all, should count for more than politics, but remember it’s healthy to have different interests; it is entirely possible for a Labour supporter to fall for a Tory, for example!’
At least it shows that everyone seems to know who these parties are and what they stand for; hopefully that will result in a good voter turnout at the polls on the 7th May.