As the UK government confronts a mounting fiscal challenge, with public sector borrowing exceeding £17bn in May, debt at its highest since the early 1960s, and a looming black hole left by welfare U-turns – foreign investment has become even more critical to closing the fiscal gap. A new nationally representative survey by Nepean has found:

• One in four Reform voters think foreign investment should be reduced or eliminated entirely.

• Voters of all parties put China and Saudi Arabia at the bottom of the list for foreign investment.

• Attitudes towards foreign investment are increasingly polarised, with Reform and Green voters both viewing it less favourably over the last 12 months.

• A majority of voters believe that public utilities and defence companies should be protected from foreign ownership or control.

• Of the nine sectors polled, Conservative voters were less supportive of foreign investment in five sectors than Labour.

• Just 17% of voters believe investors from China should be able to buy UK companies.

With general support for foreign investment still high – 72% of voters believe that it is good for the UK economy – a breakdown by sector shows that not all industries are created equal. Two sectors emerged where a majority of voters favoured protection from foreign ownership: defence and public utilities.

Broken down politically, Reform voters tended to be more in favour of protection than Labour or Conservative voters, while Liberal Democrats were most open. In five out of the nine sectors we polled, the Conservatives were more protectionist than their Labour counterparts in what feels like a continuation of a longer-term trend: the Conservative Party is no longer the natural home of business.

China and Saudi Arabia the most disliked investors in the UK

Q. In your opinion, should investors from the following places be allowed to buy UK companies?

Key data points:

• The only country to receive the support of a majority of voters is Canada (51%), with Australia (49%), Germany (45%), France (44%) and the US (44%) all close behind.

• Just 17% of all voters support investment in UK companies from China, with Saudi Arabia faring little better at 18%.

• The US is the most polarising of all nations polled: just 30% of Green voters believe that investors from the US should be allowed to buy UK companies, compared with 55% of Reform voters.

Defence and utilities have majority cross party voter support for protection

Q. Which sectors, if any, do you think should be protected from foreign investment?

Key data points:

• Of the nine sectors, polled Conservative voters were more protectionist that their Labour counterparts in five of the nine.

• More Reform voters believe that housing should be protected from foreign ownership than Labour voters (40% vs 38%).

It also turns out that origin matters. While broadly supportive of investment from English-speaking and European countries, both China and Saudi Arabia polled poorly with voters of all persuasions. The US was the most polarising nation, with just 30% of Greens supporting American investment in contrast with 55% of Reform voters.

Gavin Davis, Managing Partner at Nepean, said: “With Reform topping the national polls and increasingly influencing Labour policy, it would be naïve for foreign investors to ignore how its voters think. We may still be four years away from a general election, but Nigel Farage’s protectionist rhetoric will chime with old-school Labour voters in the so-called ‘Red Wall’, putting Sir Keir Starmer under further pressure.”