In an electoral climate otherwise beset by apathy and disillusionment with major parties, Cambridge students seem poised to throw their support behind the Liberal Democrats in the next general election, a Varsity survey reveals.

The survey of undergraduates and postgraduates showed that if the election were to be held tomorrow, 31 per cent would vote for the Liberal Democrats, 25 per cent would support Labour, and 19 per cent would cast their ballot for the Conservatives.

The Green Party came in fourth place with 11 per cent of the support. The remainder was split between those who would choose not to vote and those supporting other parties. Other parties supported by students included the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the Scottish National Party (SNP). The BNP received two per cent of student votes.

The Liberal Democrats even won support from international and other non-voting students, with 36 per cent of overseas students saying they would vote Lib Dem, compared to 21 per cent voicing support for Labour and 14 per cent for the Conservatives.

When asked if they would pursue a career in politics, 31 per cent of the 17 per cent of overall survey takers who responded affirmatively said they wanted to pursue politics as a Lib Dem, compared to 20 per cent as a Labour politician, 19 per cent as a Tory, and nine per cent as a Green.

The survey also showed an increasing amount of student apathy towards politics. An overwhelming 76 per cent of students said they “agreed” or “strongly agreed” with the statement, “British politicians across party lines fail to make strong ideological commitments in their quest to appeal to voters.”

The attitude was reflected in responses to many other questions. One survey-taker commented: “All political parties amount to the same thing: fundamental change is needed; party politics is all about staying in power,” whilst another said he or she was “pretty disillusioned with politics”.

Part of the disillusionment can be linked to the monopoly enjoyed by the major parties. As one participant commented, “This is a two party system, and those parties that do have some sensible ideas do not have a chance without proportional representation to prove their credibility.”

When asked which issue was the most important to them in the upcoming election (and given a choice between options which included international relations, domestic policy, the British economy, immigration, and education issues including fees), students rated domestic policy (28 per cent support) and the economy (24 per cent support) as the most crucial.

The environment and education came next, with 12 per cent and 11 per cent of participants, respectively, naming them as the most important issues.

Issues relating to foreign affairs do not seem to rank highly amongst the concerns of students this election season. International diplomacy and Britain’s role in the EU both registered less than 10 per cent support.

Despite the fact that immigration is cited by Cambridge Labour candidate Daniel Zeichner as one of this year’s top issues, it gained only 2.9 per cent support from survey participants.

Participants were also asked to rate each of the past four Prime Ministers on a scale of one to ten on four individual issues: international diplomacy, personal likeability, domestic policy, and economic policy.

The results of these polls were, in some cases, surprising. For instance, Gordon Brown, whose period as Prime Minister has seen the advent of perhaps the worst financial crisis in living memory, emerged as the front-runner in the economic policy category, with an average score of 5.5.

In the same poll, Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher, and John Major had average ratings of 4.9, 4.2, and 4.1, respectively.

The most noteworthy result of the polls by far, however, was that in every single category, Margaret Thatcher got the most ratings of ‘1’ and the most ratings of ‘10’, suggesting that among students she is the most polarising of the four leaders.

Of those students who said they planned to seek a career in politics after leaving University, 24 per cent said they sought to be MPs. 28 per cent said they hoped to become Prime Minister. One student said he hoped to be King.

Responding to the breakdown of party support, Christopher Hill, Sir Patrick Sheehy, Professor of International Relations in the Department of Politics and International Studies, said: “Cambridge students seem to be reflecting the local constituency more than the national picture, with 67 per cent favouring supposedly left-of-centre parties.”

Professor Hill was also surprised by the level of support for the Lib Dems: “[It] is striking that the Lib Dems are the most favoured party. This may be a harbinger of a nasty surprise for the other two main parties if students actually do turn out to vote.”

Overall participation in the survey was mixed, with History and Natural Sciences students forming nearly a third of all respondents. Among Colleges, King’s and Sidney Sussex were most well-represented, forming 25 per cent of all participants. Clare and Emmanuel were close behind at 15 per cent of total survey takers.