Brits overwhelmingly reject Elon Musk as half say he’s ‘threat to democracy’

A new poll found both the erratic tech billionaire, and Tommy Robinson whom he championed on Twitter, are deeply unpopular with the public

Brits have overwhelmingly rejected Elon Musk’s bid to derail UK politics – with half saying he’s a “threat to democracy.”

A new poll found both the erratic tech billionaire, and Tommy Robinson whom he championed on Twitter, are deeply unpopular with the public.

Just 16% believed Mr Musk’s interventions on the grooming gangs scandal were motivated by a desire to secure justice for victims.

Most of those polled (44%) said they thought he was doing it for attention – while 17% said he was doing it to have a public argument with Keir Starmer.

But in figures that will surprise many who are sceptical that Mr Musk’s outbursts “cut through” with the public, nearly two thirds of those polled said they were aware of his comments on British politics.

The More in Common poll found the public had little faith in the justice system to tackle child sexual exploitation – with 57% saying they didn’t have faith the system would take allegations seriously.

And 41% believe that the activities of the gangs were deliberately covered up, while a further 36 per cent believe they were not properly investigated due to incompetence or lack of resources.

“What is beyond doubt is that Elon Musk’s comments have cut through to the public and many people share the same anger about the handling of grooming gangs,” Luke Tryl, the Director of More in Common said.

“The public is concerned that the issues were deliberately covered up or overlooked due to incompetence or a lack of resources.

“However, that is as far as their agreement with Musk goes. Musk is a deeply unpopular figure in the UK, with a net favourability rating of -35, lower than Nigel Farage or Tommy Robinson.

“What’s more, most of the public thinks that Musk’s interventions are motivated by a desire for attention rather than genuine concern for victims – and think he needs to get a grip on hate speech on X.”

The poll also found Nigel Farage had a higher approval rating among his party’s supporters than any other party leader – making the chances of Mr Musk’s apparent bid to unseat him as leader of Reform UK unlikely to succeed.

Mr Tryl added: “Clear majorities of the public are concerned about racism, anti-semitism and islamophobia and voters across the political spectrum support Farage’s decision to reject Tommy Robinson from Reform UK, including a majority of Reform voters.”