Lottery wins make people ‘more right-wing’

Lottery winners become more right-wing and less interested in equality after they enjoy a win - and the bigger the winnings the more right-wing they become, according to research published today.

An examination was carried out into the opinions of people who won thousands of prizes in the British National Lottery, from the smallest prizes up to £200,000 lump-sums.

However, it does not include anyone who won millions, though the survey’s authors say that men are more likely to become more right-wing in their views than women are after a win.

"We are not sure exactly what goes on inside people's brains," said one of the academics involved in the survey, Prof Nick Powdthavee.

"It seems that having money causes people to favour conservative right-wing ideas. Humans are creatures of flexible ethics," the London School of Economics declared.

Winning a few thousand pounds in the lottery, just like finishing secondary school, is likely to make people more likely to hold conservative political opinions, the survey found.

The study, “Does Money Make People Right-Wing and Inegalitarian: A Longitudinal Study of Lottery Wins”, does not include anyone who has “won millions and millions”.

"We'd certainly love to be able to track the views of the rare giant winners," said co-author, Professor Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick.