Recently Queen Mary University, London & Sussex University did a massive survey of the membership of the 4 largest political parties in the UK (us 'obvs', Labour, Conservatives and the Scottish National Party). They came out some pretty interesting stuff, such as...

1. The Lib Dems are the youngest political party.

via GIPHY

20% of Lib Dem members are under 35, meaning we are way ahead of Labour and the SNP with 16% and even further ahead of the Tories on 14%.

2. Lib Dems are much more likely to be members of the National Trust.

via GIPHY

35% of members surveyed said they are also members of the National Trust. Good thing we commissioned the National Coastal Pathway whilst in government.

3. Our members are slightly more left wing than they think the party is.

via GIPHY

Lib Dem members were asked to place themselves on a left/right scale and then to do the same with the party. Whilst thinking the party is rooted in the centre ground, our members position themselves slighly left of centre.

4. 91% of Lib Dem members want a referendum on the final Brexit deal.

via GIPHY

With 95% of our members wanting to stay within the Customs Union and 96% wanting to stay in the Single Market, the Liberal Democrats have the most pro-EU members than any other party. Despite 78% of Labour members wanting a final say on the Brexit deal, Jeremy Corbyn is still pursuing a Hard Brexit.

5. Of the options given, improving career prospects was the least likely reason someone would decide to join the Liberal Democrats.

via GIPHY

The most highly ranked reason for joining the Lib Dem movement, was a belief in our policies, followed closely by an eagerness to oppose the other major parties.

6. Lib Dem members influence Lib Dem policies - and they know it.

via GIPHY

75% of Lib Dem members said that they have a significant say on party policy. This is wildly different to the Conservative members at 28%. The Liberal Democrats are the only party in the UK which enables all members to have a say on every policy.

7. 25% of our members joined through talking to friends and family.

via GIPHY

As we are all living in our own social echo chambers, why not make use of it? A quarter of our members joined the Lib Dems after being asked by a friend or a family, so why no give it a go? What's the worst that can happen?

And finally, a massive thank you to Queen Mary University, London and YouGov for doing the survey and crunching the numbers. You can find out more about their work here: esrcpartymembersproject.org