New research suggests that your political leanings could significantly impact your chances of finding love online.
A joint study by the University of Southampton and Harvard University has revealed a distinct political divide in the world of online dating.
The analysis found that not only are voters unlikely to “swipe right” on a profile from the opposite end of the political spectrum, but Reform and Conservative voters generally have less success on dating apps than their Labour, Green, and Lib Dem counterparts.
While the study showed a clear aversion to cross-party matches, researchers noted that those identifying as centre-right were more inclined to choose profiles further to their political right, rather than those with centre-left views.
Researchers hypothesise that the relative success of left-leaning daters may be due to the demographics of dating app users.
The study suggests that because dating apps tend to attract a younger demographic, who are often more socially liberal, this could account for the disparity in match rates.
However, Reform voters enjoy more success on dating apps than Conservative voters, the researchers found.
Dr Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte, lead author of the study, from the University of Southampton, said the results were another example of the political polarisation of society.
He said: “Voters from the two main parties are very unlikely to want to date someone from the other party.
“Conservative voters were much happier to match with a Reform UK voter than someone who voted Labour.
“This isn’t about falling in love with the radical right, it’s about Conservative voters being more comfortable dating someone they disagree with on some things than dating someone from the opposite ideological camp altogether.
“That’s a striking illustration of just how polarised our societies have become.”
The study, published in the Journal of Politics, asked 2,000 people in Britain and Spain aged between 18 and 40 – the demographic which makes up 85 per cent of Tinder users – to look at 20,000 fictitious dating profiles on an online app.
The profiles were AI-generated variations of attractive men and women’s faces and their bios contained information including their occupation, hobbies, interests, and schooling. Some included an indication of who they voted for.
Dr Alberto Lopez Ortega, a co-author on the paper from Harvard University, said: “While Reform voters had a below average favourability on dating apps, they are four points more likely to enjoy success on the dating market than Conservative supporters.
“This suggests that dating a Reform UK voter is not ‘beyond the pale’ and support for the radical right has become more normalised.
“That said, we found expressing support for either party is likely to be a ‘red flag’ for more left-wing dating app users.”
