London Conservative voters the most uncooperative and least likely to share, poll finds

It's all about Game Theory

London commuters trudge past Tower Bridge (Getty )

Londoners who voted for the Conservative party in the last election have been found to be the least likely to share and the most uncooperative, according to a new YouGov poll.

The polling company posed the game theory puzzle to respondents, offering them either 25 or 100 free points (on top of the usual 50) if they responded to the survey – but with a crucial catch: if more than 10 per cent of respondents picked 100 free points, then no one received any extra credits.

The theory reveals just how much certain groups are prepared to act in a collaborative manner to achieve success.

YouGov’s data found that people from London are most likely to choose 100 points (50 per cent), followed by those from the North (42 per cent). Only 39 per cent of respondents from the rest of the south of England picked 100 points.

46 per cent of Conservative voters picked 100 points (against 54 per cent who picked 20 points). Labour voters followed shortly behind with 40 per cent choosing the larger number.

Liberal Democrat voters were the most generous, with an overwhelming 70 per cent electing to choose the smaller number.

Ukip voters were the next most likely to choose 25 points – 66 per cent of respondents who voted for the anti-Europe party in the last election chose to be generous.

The data also revealed disparity depending on the age of the participants: over 60s were more likely to be generous and take the smaller point bonus (64 per cent) but younger individuals (aged 25 to 51) chose the most self-interested option, with 51 per cent electing to take the 100 points.

Game Theory is the study of strategic decision making. A US psychology professor's final question to his students went viral last week for its twist on the classic theory.