Workington man
Workington man is a political term used by polling companies in the United Kingdom. Named after the Cumbria town of Workington, the term was first used ahead of the 2019 general election. Workington man describes the stereotypical swing voter who it was believed would determine the election result. Their support of the Conservatives in the 2019 election helped the party break the Labour Party's Red Wall of safe seats.

The term was invented by Onward in collaboration with Nick and Judy Reynolds, a think tank supporting the Conservatives, with a "Guardian" article describing the characteristics of Workington man as a northern male over the age of 45 without a university degree, who enjoys rugby league, and who had previously supported Labour but voted for Brexit in the 2016 referendum. The "Financial Times" described the term as "just the latest depressing political caricature". The term is similar to political stereotypes used at previous elections, such as Worcester woman, who were thought to define the characteristics of a key target voter.

Labour had held the Workington constituency for most of its 100-year history, with the exception being the period following the 1976 by-election, which saw a Conservative candidate elected against a backdrop of Labour in government at national level. Less than three years after this by-election victory, the seat returned to Labour at the 1979 general election. Going into the 2019 general election, it was seen as a key marginal seat for the Conservatives to win from Labour. On a 9.7% swing, it fell to the Conservatives on election night, marking the first time the seat had elected a Conservative at a general election.
Q49958
polling
Concept
Q145
United Kingdom
LOC
Q23066
Cumbria
Concept
Q1538358
Workington
LOC
Q30173038
2019 general election
Concept
Q1184751
swing voter
UNK
Q9626
Conservatives
Concept
Q9630
Labour Party
Concept
Q85796374
Red Wall
UNK
Q7398544
safe seat
Concept
Q11148
Guardian
MEDIA
Q10962
rugby league
Concept
Q7888194
Brexit
Concept
Q21812812
2016 referendum
Concept
Q183399
Financial Times
MEDIA
Q8034241
Worcester woman
ORG
Q873994
Workington
LOC
Q8035014
1976 by-election
Concept
Q918450
1979 general election
Concept
Q85816195
Workington man
Concept
Q85816195
Workington man
Concept
Q85816195
Workington man
Concept
2019-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2019
DATE
2019-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2019
DATE
2016-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2016
DATE
1976-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1976
DATE
1979-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1979
DATE
2019-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2019
DATE
+45^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
45
NUMBER
+9.7^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
9.7
NUMBER
country
has cause
point in time