Silversurfers.com 10th anniversary survey reveals the over 50s will vote Conservative

Despite political scepticism, 70% of the over 50s are happier now than 10 years ago

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Silversurfers online community, the management team ran an online survey to compare members’ opinions of key life aspects now with 10 years ago. Over 3,000 people participated in the survey, representing views from all over the UK.

Political views

Martin Lock, CEO of Silversurfers comments, “Despite the two Labour by-election wins last week and the findings of current political polls, if there was an election today, according to our survey, 28% of the over 50s would vote Conservative and only 19% Labour. This could be attributed to the fact that 31% believe that the Conservatives have coped reasonably well considering the worldwide turmoil of the last 10 years.”

Lock continues, “Other key survey findings about politics reveal that over 50% of our members do not trust politicians any more, to the extent that 12% told us they were so disillusioned they wouldn’t vote any longer. This seems to reflect the low turnout rate at Wllingborough and Kingswood last week (38.1% and 37.1% respectively). This is significant as the over 50s turn out to vote more than younger generations**.”

Nor are the over 50s confident in the two major parties as 31% feel lied to by the Conservatives and 26% think that Labour lack the ideas and experience to be in power.

Other survey results on Silversurfers member's political views reveal that 98% of the over 50s think that Liz Truss was the worst Prime Minister in the last 10 years and 50% believe David Cameron was the best. (see Editor’s Note for all results).

Opinions on Brexit
When it comes to Brexit, 68% of respondents do not feel that Brexit has had any impact on their lives. However, 27% did say that Brexit has had a negative impact and only 5% say it has a positive impact.

We asked if respondents could change their Brexit votes what would they vote for now:
- 47% voted for Brexit and haven’t changed their views
- 35% voted to remain and haven’t changed their views
- 10% who voted for Brexit have now changed their views
- 2.5% of Remainers have changed their minds

Regarding views on the long-term impact of Brexit, the Silversurfers survey found that members were equally divided regarding whether Brexit would have a negative or positive impact (38% negative 37% positive) and 21% are neutral.

The over 50s are happy

Despite negative feelings about politics, the over 50s views about politics do not carry over to their general feelings about life. Survey results showed 70% of the over 50s still feel as happy or happier than they did 10 years ago.

This could be because 30% take more holidays than they did in 2014 and 71% feel financially secure (36% more secure and 35% as secure as they were).

Martin Lock concludes, “The survey revealed that despite challenges, respondents commented on the importance of positive outlooks, gratitude and adapting to life changes and 45% don’t feel any older than they did 10 years ago.”

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For further information please contact Martin Lock-CEO Silversurfers at Martin@silversurfers.com

Editor’s Note:
The Silversurfers survey was run online on Silversurfers.com. The objective was to provide insight into trends and opinions of the over 50s demographic. There were 3,106 respondents to the survey aged from 50 to 80+ and they represent views from all over the UK. If you would like a copy of the entire Silversurfers.com 10th Anniversary Survey, please contact Martin Lock on martin@silversurfers.com.

Survey results for Prime Ministers
Best Worst
David Cameron 50.47% 49.53%
Theresa May 46.50% 53.50%
Boris Johnson 44.43% 55.57%
Lis Truss 2.20% 97.80%
Rishi Sunak 38.16% 61.84%


** British Election Study Age and voting behaviour at the 2019 General Election


About Silversurfers

Silversurfers is a unique and informative lifestyle website and online community for the over 50s. The site was launched 10 years ago by an experienced team for the 18 million online users who are aged over 50.

The management team has extensive knowledge of the online world and is supported by a diverse board that is guiding the business’s rapid growth.


Silversurfers is the UK’s largest online community for the over 50s with a highly engaged community and social media presence (the largest UK over 50s Facebook site with over a million followers and a reach of up to 51 million monthly) and provides an integrated and enjoyable social experience for users who want to meet new friends, connect with old friends, enjoy themselves, find useful information and share it online.