Elon Musk has succeeded in uniting voters across Labour-Conservative divides, according to a new poll – with most voters for both main parties agreeing they would like the US billionaire to intervene less in UK politics. Six in ten Brits (61%) want Elon Musk to intervene less in UK politics and current affairs, including 67% of Labour voters and 63% of Conservatives, according to a new Focaldata poll British Future. Even voters for the Reform Party, to which Musk suggested he may offer financial support, are more likely to want to hear less from Musk (35%) on UK affairs than more (29%).
The new findings are released ahead of a series of UK events from British Future with US immigration strategy expert Frank Sharry, former lead advisor on immigration policy to the Kamala Harris Presidential campaign. They kickstart a new British Future initiative with Sharry examining the comparative lessons from the US for the UK and continental Europe for how to challenge populist media and political narratives on immigration.
Sunder Katwala, Director of British Future, said:
“Musk sees himself as a global Citizen Kane for our age – trying to make and break governments by sending tweets across the Atlantic. Yet his interventions in British politics are unwanted because the public do not trust his motives. Musk is spreading the type of language that incites violence against politicians. He could seem a cartoonish pantomime villain in British politics were it not for the dangerous echoes of last summer’s riots.”
With Donald Trump’s inauguration as US President on Monday 20 January, around half of Brits (47%) think the Trump presidency will be negative for Britain and the world, while only 3 in 10 think it will be positive. Most Labour voters (54%) see Trump as a likely negative influence on the UK and globally and Conservatives are more likely to have a negative outlook (45%) than a positive one (36%). Only Reform voters expect Trump to be a positive force beyond the US, with six in ten (61%) having positive expectations of the new US President.
Frank Sharry was lead advisor on immigration policy to the Kamala Harris Presidential campaign. He is in London with British Future for a series of events examining lessons from the US election for the UK and Europe. He said:
“The stakes are high on whether Keir Starmer’s government can find the antidote to Trump’s populist politics of immigration. Populists weaponise migration in order to exploit grievances and gain power. Those of us who want liberal democracy to prevail over illiberal populism stand ready to help Britain to make the governance and the politics work. We got it wrong in America. We are counting on the UK to get it right.”
Twice as many people in Britain think Keir Starmer should focus more on the UK’s relationship with the EU (34%) than prioritise relations with the US (14%), according to the new findings. Four in ten people (41%) feel the PM should focus on both equally. Voters who backed Starmer’s Labour Party in the 2024 election are particularly keen that he prioritise relations with the EU over the US, by 40% to 9% (though 43% think he should focus on both equally).
The survey was conducted 8-10 January 2025 by Focaldata, with a nationally representative sample of 1,013 GB adults aged 18+.
Frank Sharry and Sunder Katwala are both speaking at ‘The return of Trump: what America’s polarisation can teach us about divided societies’, a lunchtime webinar from British Future and the Policy Unit at Kings College London on Thursday 16 January. Click here details and registration.
