Key findings
- 16% of business leaders are confident politicians understand the issues that matter to businesses like theirs. 42% are not.
- 30% of consumers are confident. 37% are not.
- 42% of business leaders and 33% of consumers say they don't know or haven't heard enough.
Do businesses think politicians understand them?
Mostly not. We asked business leaders how confident they are, thinking about recent messages and policies from the major parties, that politicians understand the issues that matter to businesses like theirs.
One in six (16%) are confident: 10% very and 6% fairly. More than four in ten (42%) are not: 24% not very confident and 18% not at all.
Do consumers think politicians understand them?
Opinion is more divided, and still negative on balance. Three in ten consumers (30%) are confident politicians understand the issues that matter to people like them, while 37% are not. One in five (21%) are not at all confident.
Neither the public nor business is convinced politicians understand them
Thinking about the messages and policies you’ve heard from the major political parties recently, how confident are you that politicians understand the issues that matter to people/businesses like you?
37% not confident · 30% confident · 33% don’t know
42% not confident · 16% confident · 42% don’t know
- Not at all confident
- Not very confident
- Fairly confident
- Very confident
- Don’t know / haven’t heard enough
View data
| Audience | Very confident | Fairly confident | Not very confident | Not at all confident | Don’t know | Total confident | Total not confident | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumers | 11% | 19% | 16% | 21% | 33% | 30% | 37% | -7 |
| Business leaders | 10% | 6% | 24% | 18% | 42% | 16% | 42% | -26 |
How many people weren't listening?
A lot. A third of consumers (33%) and 42% of business leaders say they don't know or haven't heard enough to judge.
Conference season is the parties' biggest set-piece of the year. For four in ten business leaders, it left no impression strong enough to form a view.
“Don’t know / haven’t heard enough”
What this means
There are two problems in this data, and they need different fixes.
The first is disagreement. People who heard the messages and concluded politicians don't understand them. That is a substance problem.
The second is silence. People who didn't hear enough to say. That is a reach problem, and among business leaders it is as large as the first.
Any organisation that speaks to both the public and to business has the same risk. It is easy to assume a message landed because it was delivered. Our companion piece on what each group wants the Government to prioritise shows how far apart the two audiences start.
Frequently asked questions
Do UK businesses think politicians understand them?
Only 16% of UK business leaders are confident politicians understand the issues that matter to them, according to polling by The Reality Department. 42% are not confident and 42% don't know.
Do voters think politicians understand their concerns?
30% of consumers are confident politicians understand the issues that matter to people like them. 37% are not confident.
How many people followed the 2026 party conferences closely enough to form a view?
33% of consumers and 42% of business leaders said they didn't know or hadn't heard enough to say whether politicians understand their issues.
Methodology
The Reality Department surveyed 500 nationally representative UK consumers and 250 business leaders following the 2026 party conferences. Fieldwork: October 2026. Figures may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
Related: What should the Government prioritise?
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