Love across the political divide? Not so easy, say Britons

A recent Ipsos UK poll conducted on February 7-11, 2025, reveals Britons’ views on what they look for in a partner ahead of Valentine’s Day, as well as whether they would consider dating someone with different political beliefs to their own. 

Looking for love

• Ready for romance: Overall, three in five (59%) Britons would describe themselves as a romantic person. Those aged 18-34 (75%) are more likely to consider themselves romantic than those aged 35-54 (57%) and 55-75 (46%).
• The perfect partner: When asked what factors they consider to be most important in a partner, Britons are most likely to say personal hygiene and caring (95% each), followed closely by a good sense of humour (94%) and sharing common interests (90%). Both men and women consider similar factors as most important.

• Supporters of Labour, Conservatives, Reform UK and the Lib Dems all prioritise the same top four attributes in a partner: Regardless of political affiliation, hygiene, being caring, having a good sense of humour and things in common rank at the top of the list.
• The importance of politics: 42% think a potential romantic partner’s political views are important. This rises to 50% among those aged under 35, 53% among Remain voters and 55% among graduates. However, some party supporters are more likely to prioritise specific attributes than others:
  • 2024 Conservative voters are more likely than average to say family background (55% to 46%), job / financial situation (65% to 56%) and confidence (85% to 77%) are important. 
  • 2024 Labour voters are more likely than average to say a potential partners political views are important (49% to 42%).
  • 2024 Lib Dems are more likely than average to prioritise having things in common (97% to 90%) and less likely to prioritise family background (39% to 46%), whether or not they want children (53% to 59%), whether they dress well (63% to 68%) or romantic history (32% to 37%).
  • 2024 Reform voters are more likely than average to prioritise looks (78% to 71%) and less likely to prioritise job / financial circumstances (48% to 56%), family background (40% to 46%) or intelligence (78% to 84%).

Romance across the political divide 

• Political compatibility: Overall, Britons are most likely to say they would find it easy being in a relationship with a Labour (37%) or Green Party (36%) supporter. 35% of Britons say that they would find it difficult to be in a relationship with a supporter of Reform UK.  But in most cases, large numbers don’t have an opinion either way.
  • 41% of Labour voters and 34% of Liberal Democrat voters say that they would find it difficult to date a supporter of the Conservative party. Conversely, 43% of Reform UK voters and 39% of Conservative voters say they would find it difficult to be in a relationship with a supporter of the Labour party.
  • The most opposed groups to dating a supporter of another party were the 51% of Labour voters and 52% of Lib Dems that would find it difficult to have a romantic relationship with a supporter of Reform UK.

Love life satisfaction

Ipsos also conducted a 30-country survey to assess love life satisfaction globally: 

• Overall, eight in ten (80%) Britons say they feel loved, up 4pp from the global average of 76%.   
• 58% of Britons are satisfied with their romantic/sex lives, -1pp from the global average of 59%. 
• Great Britain ranks 5th in the percentage of people who are very/somewhat satisfied with their partner or spouse (87%, up 5pp from the global average of 82%).

Holly Day, Senior Researcher at Ipsos said: 

As a rule, Brits tend to want a romantic partner that is caring, funny, and smells nice who they have things in common with. Political views are generally not the most important factor people keep in mind when they are looking for love, though four in ten do think political views are at least somewhat important in a partner, rising to half or more among younger cohorts, remainers, and graduates. Meanwhile, around half of Labour and Lib Dem voters say they would find it difficult to be in a romantic relationship with a supporter for Reform UK. So the data shows that politics and romance don’t always mix.

Technical note: 

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 2,160 online British adults aged 18-75 across Great Britain between the 7th-11th February 2025. 
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.