Multidimensional issue preferences of the European lavender vote

Abstract

ABSTRACT Are lesbian, gay and bisexual voters in Western Europe europhile globalists or eurosceptic nativists? The recently established ‘sexuality gap’ between lavender voters and heterosexuals in Western Europe shows that LGBs are more likely to support left-leaning parties and identify ideologically with the left than their heterosexual peers. We know very little, however, about how this gap plays out in the multidimensional space in Europe where cultural concerns like immigration and EU integration are increasingly important. In this paper, I use cumulative data from the European Social Survey to investigate the impact of LGB status on support for EU integration and immigration. The results show, in line with theoretical expectations regarding the socializing effect of the LGB experience in encouraging support for social liberalism, that lavender voters in Western Europe are significantly more pro-integrationist and pro-immigration than comparable heterosexuals.