Census data: How do constituencies with different demographics vote?

Do the demographics of a constituency affect which party it’s likely to vote for? Our data tool lets you compare how constituencies with different demographic profiles voted at the 2024 general election.

The demographic data we use is from the census. Censuses were carried out in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in March 2021 and in Scotland in March 2022.

Use the drop-down menu below to select a census variable. The text explains the trend across all constituencies, and the chart shows data for individual constituencies grouped by how they voted in 2024.

The census happened a year later in Scotland than in the rest of the UK. Differences between Scottish constituencies and the rest of the UK may be partly down to the difference in timing.

Full screen version

If you would like to access this information in an alternative format please email papers@parliament.uk.

When using this tool, keep in mind that statistics about a whole area don’t describe all of its residents. Looking at constituency data alone can’t tell us how a particular demographic group voted, particularly when the demographic group in question only makes up a small part of a constituency’s voting population.

For example, a constituency with a relatively high proportion of veterans may have voted Conservative. But we don’t know for sure whether it was the veterans driving the Conservative vote, or other people in the constituency.

Some demographic characteristics correlate with each other, which complicates the picture. We know that veterans are likely to be older, and that older people are more likely to vote Conservative. On its own, constituency data doesn’t tell us whether veterans are more likely to vote Conservative than other people their age.

We can only estimate how different demographic groups voted by looking at polls of individuals. The Library briefing on the 2024 general election results has analysis of what polling data tells us about how different demographic groups voted in section 4.5.

Looking for more detailed constituency data? See our constituency data dashboards for census topics, get other headline statistics for your constituency, or browse all our constituency and local area data.

Office for National Statistics, 2021 census: Create a custom dataset

Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), 2021 census: Flexible table builder

Scotland’s Census, Search census data

House of Commons Library, General election 2024 results

Separate censuses were administered in England and Wales (by the Office for National Statistics), Northern Ireland (NISRA) and in Scotland (by the National Records of Scotland).

In some cases, questions in the censuses were phrased in different ways. We have combined data where the questions were broadly comparable, but please note the differences described below.

Disability

The variable “percentage of people who are disabled” shows the proportion of people who say they have a physical or mental health condition or illness expected to last 12 months or more.

In England and Wales, respondents were asked: “Do you have any physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last 12 months or more?”

If they answered yes, they were asked a further question: “Do any of your conditions or illnesses reduce your ability to carry out day-to-day activities?”

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, respondents were asked a single question: “Are your day-to-day activities limited because of a health problem or disability which has lasted, or expected to last, at least 12 months?”

Ethnic group

Census respondents were asked the question “What is your ethnic group?”.

In England and Wales, response options were grouped under the headings “White”, “Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups”, “Asian or Asian British”, “Black, Black British, Caribbean or African” and “Other ethnic group”. Respondents could tick a box or write their own responses under one of these headings.

In Scotland, response options were grouped under headings that were slightly different. All ethnic groups under the headings “African, Scottish African or Black African” and “Caribbean or Black” are grouped under the “Black” category in this dashboard.

In Northern Ireland, the tick-box options were different and were not grouped under headings. The options “White”, “Irish Traveller”, and “Roma” were presented separately, but have been grouped together as “White” in this dashboard so they are consistent with the categorisation used in England and Wales.

Religion

In England and Wales, respondents were asked the question “What is your religion?”. Respondents could tick a box (choosing from “Christian” or one of several other religious groups, as well as “No religion”) or write their own responses.

In Scotland, respondents were asked “What religion, religious body or denomination do you belong to?”. Tick boxes were provided for several Christian denominations, other religions, and “None”, as well as the option for respondents to write their own responses.

In Northern Ireland, respondents were asked “What religion, religious denomination or body do you belong to?”. Tick boxes were provided for Christian denominations and “None”, as well as the option for respondents to write their own responses. A separate question also asked respondents about the religion they were brought up in.

Because the religion questions are phrased differently, data for different parts of the UK should be compared with caution. Data for Northern Ireland in particular should not be treated as directly comparable with other parts of the UK.