Experts have devised a revolutionary new system for classifying voters that could hand political parties the key to unlocking victory at the next general election, The Independent can reveal.

The project headed by BMG Research drives a horse and carriage through traditional class-based views of how voters act and instead divides them into 10 electoral “clans”.

After interviewing almost 30,000 people over a year, researchers identified the distinct values of each clan and the issues on which they overlap – with parties able to politically position themselves on these sweet spots, standing to gain the backing of multiple groups.

Today BMG are launching a new online tool exclusively with The Independent, which allows anyone to discover which clan they belong to and to access data pointing to how groups may vote come 2022.

The study, a collaboration with academics in Bristol and Manchester, also offers a valuable insight into the politics of Brexit, which have cleaved through the traditional voting coalitions relied on by the major parties.

Dr Michael Turner, BMG’s research director and the report’s lead author, said: “All political parties are coalitions of voters with different priorities, and these coalitions are changing.

“The old way of looking at the world, through demographic factors such as social class, age, education, and where we live – all have much smaller influences on the way we vote compared to values and identity politics.

“The research team have also created an incredibly powerful and engaging tool, so the public can understand for themselves, what these clans are and how they differ, revealing the siloed and fractured nature of our politics at this time.”

The study interviewed 27,000 people to identify the “like-minded values groups”, and then devised 27 “golden questions” which if answered by any voter allows them to be categorised into one of the clans.

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(If you cannot access the interactive questionnaire above it can be completed here.)

Identified groups include those such as the “Bastions of Tradition and the Individual” clan, the “Strength, Agreeable and Respect” clan, the “Modern Working Life” group and the “Notting Hill Society”.

The biggest single clan is the “Proud and Patriotic State”, making up some 15 per cent of the voting public and tending to favour redistribution of wealth, nationalisation of key industries and with a strong dislike of multiculturalism and freedom of movement.

Next biggest is the “Common Sense Solidarity” clan, which are also strong supporters of renationalisation and trade unions and believe firmly in the redistribution of wealth via taxation.

But while these two groups share a desire for left-wing economic policy, they are fundamentally divided over multiculturalism, with “Common Sense Solidarity” members far more at ease with immigration – the two groups were on opposite sides of the Brexit debate.

The ten voter clans of the British electorate Show all 10 1 /10 The ten voter clans of the British electorate The ten voter clans of the British electorate Bastions of Tradition & the Individual Those in the Bastions of Tradition & the Individual clan combine support for a small state and low taxation, with ‘small c’ conservative views on social issues, immigration and family life. Members of the BTI clan are strong supporters of traditional British institutions such as the Royal Family and tend to celebrate Britain’s colonial heritage. The ten voter clans of the British electorate Global Green Community Global Green Community clan members combine an array of socialist views on the economy, with liberal and environmentalist stances on social issues. Their version of socialism has distinctly environmentalist overtones. GGC members have a strongly civic interpretation of Britishness, little interest in the nation-state and want governments to pursue an ethical and inclusive foreign policy. The ten voter clans of the British electorate Proud & Patriotic State The Proud & Patriotic State clan tend to be in favour of redistribution of wealth and nationalisation of key industries, with a strong opposition to the emergence of multiculturalism and freedom of movement. PPS clan members could be characterised as patriotic people with socialist stances on the economy. The ten voter clans of the British electorate Orange Book Orange Bookers combine what you might call ‘centre-right” views on the economy with liberal views on society and immigration. The title refers to ‘The Orange Book - Reclaiming Liberalism’, penned by prominent Lib Dem politicians, and advocates liberal solutions to various social and economic issues. Orange Bookers are some of the most supportive clan members of free trade, free movement and multiculturalism. The ten voter clans of the British electorate Common-Sense Solidarity Common-Sense Solidarity clan members are very strong supporters of renationalisation, trade unions and believe firmly in the redistribution of wealth via taxation. The CSS clan are fairly comfortable with immigration and have mixed views on a number of social issues such as welfare, human rights and parenting. The ten voter clans of the British electorate Notting Hill Society The Notting Hill Society clan are the most pro-business of all clans. Mixing a modern form of conservatism on the environment and society, with traditional views on family life and British institutions, ‘Notting Hill Society’ is a reference to the Conservative party modernisation project under David Cameron and George Osborne. The ten voter clans of the British electorate Strength, Agreeable & Respect What best distinguishes Strength, Agreeable and Respect from other clans is their tendency to favour authority and discipline in different areas of public policy, including human rights, the justice system, defence and welfare. Otherwise, on many social issues and the economy, members tend to have mixed and moderate views, often close to the national average. The ten voter clans of the British electorate Modern Working Life Modern Working Life clan members are strong believers of the virtues of hard work and social mobility, supporting the view that it is always possible to achieve your goals, so long as you work hard. On balance most MWL clan members believe the individual, not the state, should be responsible for their own well-being, and tend to have liberal views on the environment, LGBT rights and gender equality. The ten voter clans of the British electorate The Measured Middle The Measured Middle clan tend to have balanced social views, with high numbers opposed to open borders and multiculturalism. On social issues, they are fairly liberal, believing more needs to be done in order to achieve gender and LGBT equality, but are more conflicted on issues such as adolescents choosing their own gender identity. TMM are known for not having very strong political views. The ten voter clans of the British electorate Apathy Members of the Apathy Clan are generally disinterested and disengaged with politics, with very few strong views on many issues. They are unlikely to have given much thought to most economic, political and societal questions, either because they are simply not interested, or because they feel alienated by the current state of our politics.

At the 2015 election 31 per cent of the “Proud and Patriotic State” clan backed Labour, 35 per cent backed the Tories and 22 per cent backed Ukip.

But two years later in 2017, 50 per cent of the group swung behind Theresa May’s Conservatives, despite their desire for the redistributive and nationalisation policies more commonly connected to Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour.

Paula Surridge, senior lecturer at the University of Bristol, said: “The research reveals how these clans might interact with each other, where conflict between different groups is more likely, and which groups might form broader coalitions to achieve their desired outcomes.

“The ‘clans’ presented here offer a new and more powerful way of understanding these choices and their roots. Understanding the ‘clans’ offers valuable insights into who might want what from Brexit and how this might affect future elections, or indeed referendum outcomes.”

Between the 2015 and 2017 election both Labour and the Tories increased their share in many of the groups, squeezing out smaller parties.

How big are the UK's voter clans and how do they vote? Show all 4 1 /4 How big are the UK's voter clans and how do they vote? How big are the UK's voter clans and how do they vote? The size of the voter clans This graph shows the relative sizes of each of the ten voter clans identified by BMG Research How big are the UK's voter clans and how do they vote? How the voter clans in the referendum This how the voter clans voted in the 2016 referendum on the UK's membership of the EU How big are the UK's voter clans and how do they vote? Who the clans backed in 2015 This how the voter clans voted in the 2015 general election How big are the UK's voter clans and how do they vote? Who the clans backed in 2017 This how the voter clans voted in the 2017 general election

But the most noticeable change between the two elections was the growth in turnout from liberal, left-of-centre groups, the “Global Green Community”, up by almost 8 per cent, and “Common Sense Solidarity”, up by more than 4 per cent – with both groups overwhelmingly falling in behind Mr Corbyn’s Labour.

Overall the Conservatives were ahead across a greater range of groups – in seven of the 10 clans three years ago, down to six last year.

The only group that changed allegiance was the “Orange Book” clan – connected to Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats – which tipped from overall support for the Tories in 2015, to marginal backing for Labour in 2017.

It is these findings that led researchers behind the report to conclude the key factor in the 2017 result was not a “youthquake” – a spike in turnout among young people inspired by Mr Corbyn – but a “liberal tremor”, those with liberal views turning out in greater numbers and switching to backing the Labour leader.

The tool, useable on this page, allows anyone to answer the 27 “golden questions” themselves and find out which clan they are a part of.