YOU might say Labour are the party with the most popular policies in Scotland, given how many people voted for them in July.

Now, I suspect quite a few folk might be wondering why they supported Labour, especially if they depend on the Winter Fuel Allowance or are living on low pay with more than two children.

It’s even worse in the US and has been for decades. Working people regularly vote for the Republicans who keep their incomes low, costs high and deny them medical care.

They do it because they think the Republicans will keep gay, trans, black, Hispanic people and women “in their place” by denying them civil and human rights. They think the Republicans will keep out and send back “illegal” migrants.

You might say they shoot themselves in the foot – then discover they have no medical care for that foot which they’ve just shot.

So, how can we find out what policies people do actually prefer?

Opinion polls are not perfect but with some more reliable academic research, they’re the best we have and there are some useful ones for us. In October 2022 and again in July 2024, YouGov found that support for nationalising utilities and public transport had grown significantly in the last seven years.

By 2024, it was 87% in favour of keeping the NHS in the public domain, 82% for water companies, 76% for the railways and 71% for energy companies. Even among Conservative voters, there were large majorities for nearly all of these. Only the nationalising of energy companies was close, seeing 52% support.

On these issues, Labour and the Conservatives have no plans at all, leading us to wonder if voters pay any attention to the facts. Researchers have shown that most people vote on values and not in their self-interest, so maybe it’s no surprise.

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The SNP are committed to public ownership in all of these areas other than energy where, to be fair, they have tried to increase community ownership of renewable energy projects. Only the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) are fully committed to nationalising all utilities and public transport, yet most voters choose to vote for parties that do not support their views or self-interest.

On taxation and public spending, the National Centre for Social Research found in 2022 that a majority of people in Britain are still in favour of higher taxation and greater government spending.

While the majorities were smaller than for public ownership, two-thirds (67%) agreed that ordinary working people do not get their fair share of the nation’s wealth, up 10 points since 2019 and, once more, even among Conservative voters there was 46% support for increased taxation and greater spending.

As with public ownership, there is little enthusiasm in the current Conservative and Labour leaderships for these ideas – though, to be fair, Labour claim they will increase public spending when the economy can afford it, and have made one popular move in taxing the inheritance of the more affluent farmers.

The SNP have introduced more progressive taxation but recent changes in leadership cast doubt on their current direction. Only the SSP is explicitly committed to a radical redistribution of wealth to fight inequality and poverty.

Finally, based on a YouGov poll in August 2024, only in Scotland is there a majority for ending the monarchy and only the Scottish Greens and the SSP describe themselves as republican.

Overall, the evidence is clear. Not only do most people not vote for their self-interests, but they also often vote against them. Why is this? No doubt it’s complex but media coverage seems likely to be the main factor.

John Robertson is a member of the Scottish Socialist Party